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The gubernatorial race in North Carolina has come down to Bev Perdue (D), current Lt. Governor of N.C., and Pat McCrory (R), current mayor of Charlotte, N.C. The next few blog topics will present the positions of these two candidates regarding issues that affect the construction industry. These summaries have been compiled from the candidates’ web sites.

Pat McCrory: McCrory pledges that there will be no more transfers from the Highway Trust Fund, and he will ask the State Auditor and State Treasurer to investigate past “transfers” of money from the Highway Trust Fund so that any money that was used improperly will be repaid. McCrory plans to develop a 50-Year Transportation and Road Plan for the state that will take a detailed look and curre...Read More

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I recently visited Christiansburg, Virginia, for a story opportunity with Norfolk Southern Railroad. Norfolk Southern is in the process of modifying 28 tunnels on a route between Hampton Roads, Virginia, and Chicago in order to accommodate double-stacked railcars. (You’ll read more about this in an upcoming issue of Construction.)

            In this case, the tunnel I visited, which was originally constructed between 1911 and 1919, was having the cap of its concrete liner removed – along with installing rock bolt reinforcements and shotcrete to the exposed rock – to make way for these double-stacked cars. This particular tunnel is the longest on the route at 0.6 miles, and to observe the equipment in the tunnel and see the work in progress, I h...Read More

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Downsized Six-Year Plan Hearings Kick Off April 16

The Commonwealth of Virginia will host six public hearings across the state in April and May to receive public input on a scaled down program for highway and transit improvements. Hearings will be held at the following locations. For a list of locations click here.

Six-year transportation revenue projections are down $1.1 billion from a year ago. These revenue shortfalls will result in a 44-percent reduction in funding for primary, secondary and urban highway construction, and a 10-percent reduction in transit allocations.

The ...Read More

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On Saturday, May 3, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., the Hispanic Contractors Association of the Carolinas (HCAC) will hold a Construction Safety Fair at Plaza Fiesta Carolinas in Fort Mill, South Carolina. HCAC is concerned about the tragic statistics of Latino construction fatalities registered in the past few years. As a response to this problem, the HCAC is organizing a Construction Safety Fair with the purpose of educating the Hispanic construction community about the importance of safety and its impact on Latino families. HCAC believes that the construction worker should not be the only one with a safety mentality about work, but that their families should also be supportive in order to make sure that each family member returns home safely every day.

HCAC intends to continue...Read More

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Fatalities from workplace accidents fell 30 percent in North Carolina last year — the largest decrease ever recorded according to the N.C. Department of Labor (NCDOL). The number of fatal work accidents fell from 65 in 2006 to 45 in 2007. NCDOL investigated 68 workplace fatalities in 2005 and 75 in 2004. In 2000, North Carolina had a workplace injury and illness rate of 5.7 cases for every 100 fulltime workers in the private sector.

            The latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show by 2006 the state’s injury and illness rate had dropped to 4.0 in the private sector. The national rate was 4.4 for 2006.

Of the 45 fatalities in 2007, 20 occurred in constru...Read More

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Governor Timothy M. Kaine has signed House Bill 1578 which establishes procedures to return taxes and fees collected by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. The Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the imposition of regional taxes and fees by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority was unconstitutional.    

The seven taxes and fees will be returned as follows:

• The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will return the 1-percent initial vehicle registrat

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Governor Martin O’Malley unveiled his vision for the development of sustainable communities around Maryland’s existing transit stations. Governor O’Malley’s vision includes promoting future growth in areas served by transit, enhancing economic vitality, increasing transit ridership, reducing sprawl, and vehicle emissions impacting the environment and improve the quality of life in the state.

Governor O’Malley has introduced legislation to allow Maryland to aggressively promote transit-oriented development (TOD) as a smart growth tool to revitalize communities.  The legislation now before the Maryland General Assembly (HB373/SB 204 – Maryland Transit Administration – Transit Oriented Development) puts investment in transit comm...Read More

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The prospect of joining the web community known as “bloggers” is a bit daunting to me. Although I am a writer/editor by trade, I am not a journal keeper. Never have been.

            When it comes to arguing a point, I tend to do so on an emotional level rather than a factual level. “Just do it because it’s right!” Unfortunately that argument doesn’t always work. So, perhaps this new blog will force me to change that.

      &n...Read More

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