John LattaConExpo-Con/AggVolvo Introduces 55 new products and Ups U.S. InvestmentBy John Latta- Las Vegas- Saying that North America remains ‘a strategically important home market’, Volvo Construction Equipment President and CEO Olof Persson introduced more than 55 new or updated products and a $100 million in a product and production expansion program at the company’s North American facilities at CONEXPO. Persson described “substantial improvements” in […]March 23, 2011RoadbuildingHTF problem? No problem, says LaHoodIt appears that I have been mislead. The Highway Trust fund is doing just fine. It can pay for current and future projects. In fact it’s so okay that fears of another bailout maybe being required are completely unjustified. And I thought we had a problem with the HTF Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, here cited […]March 11, 2011RoadbuildingTexas’ transportation funding nightmareHere is a very scary prediction: “By 2025, only 21 percent of Texas’ roads will be in good or better condition.” It’s not my prediction, it comes from the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Texas, and its contained in a story from the Houston Chronicle’s chron.com. The story should upset us. It […]March 10, 2011RoadbuildingClimate-controlled street and traffic lightsIt’s Cornhusker common-sense. Nature is being called on to provide light at night for people using roads in Lincoln, Neb. The city is testing wind and solar power as a source of energy to power street and traffic lights. It’s a green initiative of course, but it’s also aimed at saving money. When we talk […]March 9, 2011RoadbuildingPothole Perspicacity: A ‘smart’ way to fix potholesTUCSON, Ariz.—From the road at a joint meeting of the following organizations: ARRA Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA), Asphalt Emulsion Manufacturers Association (AEMA), International Slurry Surfacing Association (ISSA), and the Pavement Preservation Recycling Alliance (PPRA). While addressing the opening session at this meeting, Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup explains a “smart” way the city he […]February 23, 2011RoadbuildingMendez, Mica: ‘We’ll have a surface transportation bill by August recess’by John Latta, Better Roads Editor-in-Chief ORLANDO–1st International Transportation Construction Management Conference Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) head Victor Mendez had at least positive notions today at the 1st International Transportation Construction Management Conference that is loaded with intense technical presentations. One: Mendez and House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman John Mica appear to be […]February 8, 2011RoadbuildingBuild now, pay laterA $1.8 billion road project in Florida is being done for the state without the state itself paying a penny for it. Yet. The repair and widening of I-595 will be finished before the contractor gets paid. It’s a public-private arrangement and another example of creativity in finding ways to work on our bridges an […]January 24, 2011RoadbuildingRoad funds low? Use Canadian moneySlowly, but inevitably, there are stories surfacing that show just how much our roads need work and just how badly underfunded are the agencies that would do that work. In Michigan, Canadian money will help kin the short term. It’s not a loan, it’s part of a new trans-border bridge deal. Creativity comes along with […]January 24, 2011RoadbuildingZen and the Art of Parachute JumpingI wonder. If politicians, wearing government-issue parachutes, jumped out of airplanes (or were pushed, remember they’re politicians) and decided not to deploy the chute to show their voting constituents how reluctant they are to waste taxpayer dollars (remember, they’re politicians) would they pull the rip-chord when the ground got dangerously close? You bet your (fill […]January 6, 2011RoadbuildingSAFETEA-LU Extended Again. Again.I suppose the best that can be said of it is that they didn’t go playing brinkmanship games. The House just went ahead and approved a $1.2 trillion continuing resolution to keep federal agencies (including Federal highway programs) funded and thus up and running through the end of September. Next week the Senate may, or […]December 10, 2010Previous PagePage 31 of 43Next PageTop StoriesTelehandlersBobcat Unveils Electric Telehandler PrototypeThe new zero-emissions machine is powered by liquid-cooled batteries and has a rated operating capacity of 5,511 pounds.Safety & ComplianceContractor Faces $394K in Fines After Worker Dies in TrenchWheel LoadersLiebherr Debuts World's First Large Wheel Loader with a Hydrogen EngineDozersHyundai Breaks into the Dozer Market with HD100The DirtTest Run & Review: The Market's First Electric Mini Excavator, JCB’s 19C-1E