Maine Governor Baldacci recently detailed a $197-million bond package. Under review by the State Legislature, the proposed package includes critical investments for jobs, transportation infrastructure, clean water and the environment, education, and Land for Maine's Future. The governor said the bond package would create good paying jobs with benefits and grow Maine's economy. The investment proposal would leverage more than $250 million in federal and private matching funds, for a total infusion of nearly one-half billion dollars into Maine's economy. A half-billion dollars in construction, real estate, finance, research, and engineering would create or sustain more than 2,000 jobs in 2006 alone, with more jobs to come in the future, according to the governor. The bond package calls for nearly $79 million to be invested in job creation, and $38 million for transportation projects, including highway, bridge and rail access projects, and a $1.5-million investment in a small harbor improvement program. Other transportation proposals are trails and bicycle facilities, aviation, transit, and buses. Education investments in the bond package amount to $12 million, and consist of $5 million for campus building renovations, a $2-million learning center and $5 million for community college building renovations. Clean water, environment and health investment proposals total $16.5 million, including drinking water infrastructure, wastewater disposal and state-owned dam repair, among other improvements.

The producer price index (PPI) for finished goods climbed 0.3 percent in January, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported recently. Commenting on the report, Kenneth Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, noted it is more alarming that the "core" PPI, which omits energy and food costs, jumped 0.8 percent, the highest monthly increase in six years. The PPI for construction materials and components has risen 10.8 percent since January 2004. Notable 12-month increases included steel mill products, 46.5 percent; fabricated structural metal products, 17.5 percent; gypsum products, 21 percent; cement, 9.5 percent; and concrete products, 9.3 percent. The PPI for crude materials for construction climbed 6.9 percent over 12 months while the index for construction machinery and equipment rose 5.9 percent over 12 months. BLS also noted that the PPI for construction equipment rental and leasing fell 7.2 percent from January 2004.

Jewett Construction recently began construction of a new 14,500-square-foot auto dealership for Don Allen Ford in Nantucket, Mass. Included in the new facility are a 4,500-square-foot Colonial-style showroom building and a 10,000-square-foot pre-engineered metal building to house the service department. The Raymond, N.H.-based contractor will also perform site work including paving, landscaping, building retaining walls, and installing on-site storm water detention. Design for the project, which is scheduled for completion in July, is being provided by Kimball Chase of Portsmouth, N.H. Jewett's building team is led by project manager Mike Wissler and superintendent Joe Lord, working with key subcontractors Construx Inc., Interstate Electrical Service, Plymouth County Mechanical, and Shepley Wood Products. Challenges faced by the contractor include transporting and coordinating materials over water, and building the new dealership while the existing facility remains open for business. The old facility will be demolished once the new one is completed.

All MassHighway projects this year will include Quality Control/Quality Assurance mandates in specifications, according to Leo Picard Jr., president, Massachusetts Aggregate and Asphalt Pavement Association Inc. Picard said he received a letter from MassHighway that Hot Mix Asphalt and Portland Cement QC/QA specs will be used, together with incentive/disincentive clauses applicable on few selected projects. Contractors will be required to use New England Transportation Technician Certification Program (NETTCP) qualified personnel and NETTCP qualified laboratory facilities to perform quality control inspection, sampling and testing. He added that NETTCP certification course schedules and laboratory certification information are available on the website, www.nettcp.com.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) commended Reps. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.) and Robert Cramer (D-Ala.) recently for introducing legislation that will permanently repeal the estate or "death" tax, which threatens the survival of small, family-owned construction companies nationwide. The Hulshof-Cramer Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005 will make permanent the temporary repeal of the estate tax signed into law by President George W. Bush as part of his tax relief package, the "Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001." The tax will be reinstated when the temporary repeal expires in 2011, unless Congress takes action before that time to make the measure permanent. The group also praised President George W. Bush's call for passage of Association Health Plan (AHP) legislation in his State of the Union address. Related to this, Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) joined a bipartisan group of legislators, including Reps. Albert Wynn (D-Md.), Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) and John Boehner (R-Ohio), to introduce the Small Business Health Fairness Act (H.R. 525) in the U.S. House of Representatives, a measure that will allow small businesses to join together nationwide through federally certified AHPs to purchase affordable, quality health care for their employees.

Officials broke ground recently for a $4.5-million expansion to the Lowell, Mass., Catholic High School. As designed by architects Belanger & Foley Inc., the 25,000-square-foot addition will include a new gymnasium and an academic building containing classrooms, laboratory, lecture hall, and a chapel. Sasso Construction of Wilmington, Mass., is the general contractor. Reportedly formed by the merger of five former Catholic schools, Lowell Catholic is the city's only Catholic high school and intends to expand its enrollment from approximately 280 to 400 within the next four years. School construction is also in the news in Manchester, N.H., where a $27-million renovation and addition are under way by ProCon Construction. The project calls for a new gymnasium building and renovations to more than 57,000 square feet of the existing building.

Aggregate Industries, which produces building supplies, asphalt and ready-mixed concrete and operates 142 quarries in Britain and the United States, will be purchased by Holcim Ltd., the world's second-largest cement maker. In a recent announcement, Holcim said it would buy AI for about $3.4 billion cash. Holcim, based in St. Gallen, Switzerland, also would spend about $800 million on acquisitions through a new strategic alliance with Gujarat Ambuja Cements, India's third-largest cement maker. Holcim operates in more than 70 countries. In related news of the cement industry, Cemex of Mexico has reportedly bid $5.8 billion for RMC Group of Britain, which would make Cemex the world's second-largest cement producer. Holcim would then be the third-largest cement producer. Lafarge, a French company, would still be the world's largest cement maker.

A Greenwich, Conn., school will undergo $22 million worth of additions and renovations under the construction management of PinnacleOne, a national consulting firm headquartered in Phoenix. PinnacleOne will oversee the partial demolition, preservation, and reconstruction of the Hamilton Avenue School. Built in 1914, the existing 55,750-square-foot building will be replaced with a new 72,555-square-foot-building. The original building will be partially demolished with the remaining historic façade left intact to maintain the school's architectural character. The architectural firm of Swanke, Hayden, Connell of New York City has been hired by the town to complete the design, which will incorporate sustainability, as defined by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program (LEED)

The hot pace of construction recently sparked some positive statements by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Kenneth D. Simonson, chief economist for AGC, commented on the value of construction put in place, which soared in December to an 11th consecutive record $1.03 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, as reported by the Census Bureau. The preliminary full-year total for 2004 was $998 billion, a 9-percent increase from 2003. Simonson said the numbers mark a real turnaround for nonresidential construction and show good acceleration at yearend. He added that private nonresidential construction, after falling for three years, wound up 4-percent higher than in the previous year. In addition, public construction was 3-percent higher for the full year. In related news, in the last 12 months construction added 220,000 jobs (3 percent), with a seasonally adjusted employment total of 926,000 in residential building, 753,000 in nonresidential building, 898,000 in heavy and civil engineering, 2,117,000 in residential specialty trade contactors, and 2,372,000 in nonresidential trades.

The Mashantucket Tribe plans a $700-million expansion for its Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Conn. The planned 2-million-square-foot addition would include a hotel with more than 800 rooms, a 5,000-seat theatre, restaurants, retail space, and a large convention area. Two design proposals are reportedly under consideration with the tribe expected to select one of the designs soon. It's estimated that the casino takes in more than $1 billion per year so the tribe apparently has sufficient funds to finance the expansion themselves. Foxwoods' biggest competitor in the area is the Mohegan Sun Casino operated by the Mohegan Tribe. When opened, the expanded facility will require well over 2,000 additional employees to operate. Completion is scheduled for mid-2008.

Online reverse auctions do not deliver promised savings in markets in which they are being used, according to a new study released by The Associated General Contractors Education and Research Foundation (AGCERF) and the Foundation of the American Subcontractors Association (FASA). The study, authored by James H. Gill Jr., J.D., AIC, and Yilmaz H. Karasulu, Ph.D., COSS, of Louisiana State University, reviewed published literature on reverse auctions, excluding advertising materials, concluded that there is no data supporting the claims of cost savings for construction services. A bibliography of the materials reviewed is available online at www.cm.lsu.edu/reverseauction.htm. AGCERF and FASA urged individuals with proof that reverse auctions of construction bids reduce costs to submit the information to the foregoing website. AGCERF and FASA commissioned the study and provided the primary financial support for it. The study received additional funding from the Associated Specialty Contractors Inc., the Canadian Construction Association and the Construction Management Association of America.

Sabrina Hagler of equipment dealer Chadwick-BaRoss' Chelmsford, Mass., branch was recently honored by LBX Company LLC, maker of Link-Belt earthmoving, forestry and material handling equipment. Sabrina was one of 10 recipients of the manufacturer's 2005 Parts Distributor of Excellence Awards. The awards recognize sales and program participation within LBX distributors' parts departments.

Komatsu America Corp. (KAC) announced that production of its 30-ton-to-40-ton articulated trucks used in earth moving, road construction and quarry applications has moved from Mooka, Japan, to Chattanooga, Tenn. The 488,000-square-foot Chattanooga manufacturing facility has been in operation since 1986, producing excavators, mid-size wheel loaders, motor graders, and cranes.

Park Construction of Fitzwilliam, N.H., will soon start demolition and relocation of underground utilities including water and sewer pipe as part of the first phase of a three-phase project to improve access to I-293 in Manchester, N.H. State officials approved a $9-million contract this week for the four-year project to improve the Granite Street Interchange. Expected to be completed in late 2008, the project will result in the construction of both on and off ramps for both barrels of the busy highway. The state will receive 80-percent funding from the federal government. In connection with the project, the city of Manchester will expand Granite Street itself. The project is part of a continuing program of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to improve safety on the key highway that links the Everett Turnpike with I-93.

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) ended its 2004 financial year with strong fourth quarter results and announced, that for the year, it had sold an all-time high of nearly 30,000 machines — a 25-percent increase over the previous year. Sales in North America were up over 50 percent in 2004.The company said it will continue to expand its product lines with several new products to be introduced at the ConExpo trade exhibition in Las Vegas, Nevada, in March, highlighted by the launch of a new 70-ton excavator.

United Rentals has opened an aerial equipment branch in West Lebanon, N.H. The new 6,500-square-foot facility on Interchange Drive will provide customers in northern New Hampshire and Vermont with equipment rentals, new and used equipment sales, repair and maintenance services, and a comprehensive line of contractor supplies. Scott Drouin is the manager for the new branch, which will offer aerial work platforms, forklifts, scaffolding, and related equipment for commercial and industrial construction. The branch also provides equipment delivery service and professional safety training for customers. Headquartered in Greenwich, Conn., United Rentals is the largest equipment rental company in North America, with 730 rental locations in 47 states, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The company has 13,200 employees and offers for rent over 600 types of equipment with a total original cost of $3.7 billion.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has recognized the American Road & Transportation Builders Association's (ARTBA) role in helping to reform federal tax policy relating to the sale of ethanol-blended motor fuels. ARTBA received an "Industry Partner Award" February 9 during RFA's 10th Annual "National Ethanol Conference," held in Scottsdale, Ariz. ARTBA believes "The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004," signed into law by President Bush last October, will generate more than $22 billion in additional user revenue to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) over the next six years to finance highway and bridge improvements and will also help create nearly one million job opportunities in the transportation construction and related industries. The organization said the law achieved two long-standing ARTBA legislative goals. It ensured that motorists using ethanol-blended motor fuels are contributing the same federal user fee resources to support transportation improvements as those who purchase straight gasoline and also provided resources necessary to combat unlawful motor fuel tax evasion. ARTBA and the RFA began a partnership in 2001 to unite the groups in a consensus legislative solution.

The president's budget for fiscal year 2006 calls for spending $284 billion for surface transportation between October 2004 and September 2009, a marked increase over last year's budget proposal of $256 billion for the same six years. It reportedly matches the amount approved by the House last year and included in a bill introduced on Tuesday by the chairman of the House Infrastructure and Transportation Committee. The budget would increase the obligation limitation to $222 billion for highways and $40 billion for the mass transit. The obligation limit for highways in Fiscal Year 2006 is $34.7 billion, up slightly over the previous year. Furthermore, the budget proposes about $1 billion per year in additional Highway Trust Fund receipts by requiring the general fund rather than the HTF to pay fuel tax refunds to exempt users, such as state and local governments.