Aggregates and Concrete Today

U.S. Jobless Rate Falls to 3-Year Low, Report Shows

2012-02-03T07:21:00.000-08:00

The United States economy gained momentum in January, adding 243,000 jobs, the second straight month of better-than-expected gains.

The unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent, giving a cause for optimism as the economy shapes up as the central issue in the presidential election.

Twin Cities add 1,400 construction jobs

2012-02-02T08:42:00.000-08:00

The Twin Cities area added 1,400 construction jobs between December 2010 and December 2011, according to a new Associated General Contractors analysis of federal employment data.

The Twin Cities, with its 3 percent increase in construction employment, ranked 96th out of 337 metro areas analyzed by the AGC. Duluth was close to the bottom with a 6 percent decrease (299th).

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

North American aggregates market on the rise

2012-01-31T14:44:00.000-08:00

The North American market for construction aggregates is expected to increase an average of 4.3 percent per year to 3.7 billion metric tons by 2015. This comes after an average annual decline of 1.7 percent from 2005 to 2010. These and other trends are presented in World Construction Aggregates, a new study from The Freedonia Group Inc., an industry market research firm.

Read more in Pit & Quarry.

Minnesota Chamber: Still room for improvement on environmental permitting

2012-01-30T07:57:00.000-08:00

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and state legislators made a big push last year to make the state’s environmental permitting process more business friendly. But the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce says there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

“We’ve also heard from regional meetings, we’ve also heard from our members that the time to get an environmental permit in this state takes too long, it costs too much, and once we finally move through that process we aren’t certain we’re going to get that permit at the end,” Tony Kwilas, the Chamber’s environmental policy expert, told members during the group’s Session Priorities meeting in St. Paul on Tuesday.

Read more in Finance and Commerce.

North Dakotans find that wealth can come at a cost

2012-01-29T14:54:00.000-08:00

The gravel road that borders Dave Hynek's farm is designed to carry 10 tractor-trailers a day. In a recent 24-hour period, about 800 passed by. Some are traveling 90 minutes west to Williston, where school Superintendent Viola LaFontaine expects as many as 3,800 students in the fall, about 57 percent more than her primary schools were built to hold.

North Dakota's economy outpaced every other state in 2011, with the fastest growth in personal income, jobs and home prices, according to Bloomberg Economic Evaluation of States. Yet the oil boom fueling the nation's lowest unemployment rate also has a dark side. It's pushing rural North Dakota's housing, electric, water, police and emergency services to the breaking point.

Read more in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Transportation projects are priority for Gov. Dayton

2012-01-27T10:06:00.000-08:00

The governor's wish list for transportation in the legislative session includes money for a third light rail line, bridge repair, and transit in greater Minnesota. But Republican transportation leaders have different priorities.

Listen to the story on Minnesota Public Radio.

East Grand Forks leaders divided by half-paved roads

2012-01-25T13:59:00.000-08:00

Melanee Myers’ home in East Grand Forks is sometimes coated with dust inside-and-out because 14th Avenue Southeast on the city’s edge is unpaved.

“The drivers feel like they’re still on a country road (because it’s unpaved), so they drive 50 mph. I’m worried for the safety of my grandchildren.”

It’s still unclear whether Myers and her neighbors will get a fully paved street because the City Council is divided on an auxiliary issue.

Read more in the Grand Forks Herald.

Anderson-KM gets TIF help with home base

2012-01-24T14:28:00.000-08:00

Avoiding a fate similar to that of the cobbler’s children, a St. Louis Park construction company will put as much into the appearance of its new $3.5 million office building as it does into client projects.

And the city is going to help.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

Target to expand Brooklyn Park campus by 700,000 square feet

2012-01-23T11:50:00.000-08:00

Target Corp. is planning 700,000 square feet of additional space at its Brooklyn Park campus, and intends to quadruple its workforce in the city to 5,200 by 2014, according to environmental review documents posted on the city’s website.

The Minneapolis-based retail giant presently has 561,000 square feet of office space and 130,600 square feet of technical support space located in four office buildings and two technology buildings at its Target North Campus, which sits on 330 acres northeast of U.S. 169 and Highway 610.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

Concrete Goes To College

2012-01-20T09:23:00.000-08:00

Concrete is one of the oldest materials on the planet, but it has taken thousands of years for it to mature. Scientists have only begun to decode how concrete behaves at the atomic level. Those molecular structures are yielding new clues that could change the way industry builds.

Read more at ENR: Engineering News Record.

Homebuilder plans residential twist on Minnetonka data center

2012-01-19T15:15:00.000-08:00

A luxury homebuilder is planning to construct a $30 million, 36,311-square-foot data center in Minnetonka. And surprise, it's going to look like a mansion.

The Minnetonka Planning Commission on Thursday will meet to review plans from Excelsior-based Keith Waters & Associates to build a data center for FiberPop Solutions, an Owatonna-based startup that says it wants to create 10 community-based data centers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Missouri.

See the rendering and read more about this at Finance & Commerce.

Baby steps for Minnesota construction jobs in 2011

2012-01-19T14:41:00.000-08:00

Minnesota’s much beleaguered construction sector saw a slight uptick in jobs over the course of 2011, with specialty trades adding jobs over a 12-month period for the first time since 2006, according to figures out Thursday from the state Department of Employment and Economic Development.

The state’s overall unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell two-tenths of a percentage point, to 5.7 percent, in December, its lowest level since before the financial panic of 2008.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

Survey: Employers in Minnesota, nationwide see steady growth in 2012

2012-01-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

A survey of close to 2,000 employers nationwide, including Minnesota, reflects an optimistic view for 2012.

In Minnesota, 72 percent of employers said they expect an increase in sales in 2012 compared to 2011.

The overall results to the 2012 Economic Trends Survey, conducted by the Employer Associations of America, did not vary significantly by region or state.

Read more in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Concrete offers many creative uses for the home

2012-01-09T08:50:00.000-08:00

You may think it odd to hear someone declare, "What a gorgeous concrete floor!" After all, when most folks think of concrete, they envision industrial spaces, parking garages, driveways and patios. But concrete has found a solid place (pun intended) as a design element inside people's homes, and the results can be surprisingly stunning.

U.S. Economy Gains Steam as 200,000 Jobs Are Added

2012-01-08T08:32:00.000-08:00

Maybe it is time to start calling the glass half full.

Employers in the United States added 200,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday, a report that came on the heels of a flurry of heartening economic news and signaled gathering momentum in the recovery. Consumer confidence lifted, factories stepped up production and small businesses showed signs of life. The nation’s unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent, its lowest level in nearly three years.

Read more in The New York Times (subscription may be required).

The Porous Road Less Traveled

2012-01-04T12:05:00.000-08:00

Permeable pavement can make old-school road engineers and pavement builders anxious. To them, the idea of water seeping through roads like they’re made of Swiss cheese just doesn’t seem right. Water runs off roads, not through them. Or at least it used to.

In the Northwest, there’s a growing acceptance of the use of pervious concrete and porous asphalt for roads, sidewalks, parking lots and driveways.

Read more in Sightline Daily.

How fracking might have led to an Ohio earthquake

2012-01-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

The link between "fracking"-related activities and earthquakes was thrown into stark relief over the weekend when a magnitude 4.0 quake struck Youngstown, Ohio – typically not a hot bed of noticeable seismic activity. The quake triggered shaking reportedly felt as as far away as Buffalo, N.Y., and Toronto.

The temblor struck Dec. 31 and was the latest and strongest of 11 minor-to-light quakes that have hit the region since March. The epicenters are clustered around a wastewater injection well for a hydraulic fracturing operation.

Read more in The Christian Science Monitor.

Minnesota manufacturing sector continues to grow

2012-01-03T08:36:00.000-08:00

Minnesota's manufacturing sector continues to expand, according to the latest Business Conditions Index report from Creighton University.

In December, Minnesota's index climbed to 56.9, up from 54.7 in November. A score above 50 indicates growth. December marked the 26th straight month that factories in the state signaled expansion. Durable goods manufacturers have noted healthy gains over the past few months, while non-durable goods producers, such as food manufacturers, have suffered somewhat of a slowdown.

Source: Minnesota Public Radio.

Renters want to be green, too, and developers respond

2012-01-03T06:35:00.000-08:00

Composting food waste is an eco-conscious activity typically associated with single-family home neighborhoods rather than apartment complexes. But composting will be easy for residents of the green-centric apartment complex being built at 701 2nd St. N. in Minneapolis, which will open later this year.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

U.S. DOT Takes Action to Ensure Truck Driver Rest Time

2011-12-26T07:52:00.000-08:00

U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced December 22 a final rule that employs the latest research in driver fatigue to make sure truck drivers can get the rest they need to operate safely when on the road. The new rule by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revises the hours-of-service (HOS) safety requirements for commercial truck drivers.

"Trucking is a difficult job, and a big rig can be deadly when a driver is tired and overworked," said LaHood. "This final rule will help prevent fatigue-rleated truck crashes and save lives. Truck drivers deserve a work environment that allows them to perform their jobs safely."

Read more on the U.S. DOT website.

Planning commission members speak out about last week’s frac sand vote

2011-12-21T12:37:00.000-08:00

A frac sand moratorium would raise issues of property rights, limit economic development, and may not be necessary, according to county planning commission members who voted last week against recommending one.

“My constituents who have contacted me and who I represent don’t feel a moratorium is necessary,” said Commissioner Marcia Ward, who sits on the planning commission. She said the county’s existing zoning ordinance adequately addresses the permitting process for sand mines.

Read more in the Winona Daily News.

Mpls. Fed sees moderate regional growth in 2012

2011-12-21T12:25:00.000-08:00

The Minnesota economy is expected to grow moderately in the year ahead, the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank forecasts.

The Fed sees moderate growth throughout the Ninth District economy.

In Minnesota, employment is expected to grow by a faster-than-average 2.8 percent over the year, while the unemployment rate should either hold steady or drop. There's nothing to indicate that it will increase, Fed economists said at a media briefing Tuesday.

Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

Aggregate production up slightly in third quarter

2011-12-20T07:53:00.000-08:00

An estimated 619 million metric tons (Mt) of total aggregates were produced and shipped for consumption in the United States in the third quarter of 2011, a very slight increase compared with that of the same period of 2010, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The estimated production for consumption in the first nine months of 2011 was 1.48 billion metric tons (Gt), a slight decrease compared with that of the same period of 2010.

Read more in Pit & Quarry.

Housing starts hit 1.5 year high in November

2011-12-20T07:48:00.000-08:00

Housing starts and permits for future construction jumped to a 1-1/2 year high in November as demand for rental apartments rose, suggesting the housing market was starting to recover.

Read more from Reuters.

Freeway explosion caused concrete to boil over, blow out in chunks

2011-12-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

A tanker truck explosion that closed the 60 Freeway Thursday was fueled by 8,800 gallons of gasoline and caused moisture inside the concrete overpass to boil over and blow out chunks of rubble, fire officials said.

Read more in the Los Angeles Times.

Minn. unemployment rate dips again to 5.9 percent

2011-12-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

Minnesota's unemployment rate has taken another big drop, falling to 5.9 percent for November.

The state Department of Employment and Economic Development said Thursday that the Minnesota's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate last month was a half-point lower than in October. The rate dropped even though employers cut 13,700 jobs.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. A subscription may be required.

Frac sand concerns including water quality, monitoring

2011-12-13T12:41:00.000-08:00

About 80 people gathered Monday afternoon at the Winona County History Center to talk about frac sand mining in the county.

"I know this is a hot issue that's on the minds of many people," said Jason Gilman, the county's community and environmental services director.

Monday's discussion ranged from land reclamation to concerns about potential effects on drinking water and the health of local residents.

Read more in the Winona Daily News.

Survey points to more pain in construction hiring

2011-12-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

A Manpower hiring survey out Tuesday calls into question whether Minnesota's slight uptick in construction jobs will continue into 2012 - even as the overall hiring situation brightens.

Construction and nondurable manufacturing such as food and paper products are the two sectors in the state where job cuts are planned in next year's first quarter, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. The Minneapolis-St. Paul area will also see staffing reductions in government.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

Summit Academy program provides hands-on training for aspiring contractors

2011-12-12T18:19:00.000-08:00

Eric Eleby was fairly content in his job at Home Depot in St. Louis Park, but at the age of 37, he wanted to do more. With the help of an eight-year-old vocational program in Minneapolis, he may soon get his chance.

Summit Academy, a nonprofit vocational center in north Minneapolis, is preparing to graduate the latest crop of students from its pre-apprentice carpentry program, which it calls 100 Hard Hats.

EPA: 'Fracking' likely polluted town' water

2011-12-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

A controversial method of drilling for oil and natural gas appears to be the cause of groundwater pollution in a central Wyoming town, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday.

The EPA last month said it had found compounds associated with chemicals used in the drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the groundwater beneath Pavillion. Many residents say their well water has reeked of chemicals since the drilling began there and first complained to the EPA in 2008.

Read more at MSNBC.

NSSGA applauds House passage of bill halting expansion of federal dust regulations

2011-12-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association commends the U.S. House of Representatives for passing H.R.1633, the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act, a bill to protect producers of resource-based products, including aggregates, as well as farmers and ranchers, from increased regulation of a naturally occurring substance.

Read more on the NSSGA website.

Minnesota's transportation system needs more money

2011-11-30T13:47:00.000-08:00

Just three years after the passage of a major transportation funding bill, Minnesota transportation advocates are beginning a public campaign for another increase in funding to address what they see as major unmet needs.

Read more in MinnPost.

Minnesota's transportation system needs more money

2011-11-29T08:05:00.000-08:00

Just three years after the passage of a major state transportation funding bill, Minnesota transportation advocates are beginning a public education campaign for another increase in funding to address what they see as major unmet needs.

Read more in MinnPost.

New road paving mix is strong, but spotty

2011-11-26T10:39:00.000-08:00

A longer-lasting, more expensive blacktop experts liken to a "granite countertop on the road" just made its debut on two heavily traveled metro highways. But it's so new that an unexpected problem has already popped up.

The new material was installed this fall on Interstate Highway 35E in Eagan and Hwy. 52 through Inver Grove Heights, and to the dismay of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the coarse new pavement has developed unwanted smooth surface spots in dozens of locations.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription may be required).

Minnesota shutdown cost $1.8 million in overtime

2011-11-26T10:26:00.000-08:00

The rate of overtime collected by Minnesota state employees nearly doubled during July's 20-day government shutdown compared with when it's business as usual.

About $1.8 million was paid in overtime as the 43 state agencies that continued operating during the shutdown were forced to reduce staffing and prioritize workloads.

Read more in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Building a Better World With Green Cement

2011-11-23T16:35:00.000-08:00

“You know, cement is everywhere,” Nikolaos Vlasopoulos, an environmental engineer at Imperial College in London, says while sitting in a brightly lit college conference room in a hulking seven-story building held up by the topic of conversation. “It’s all around us.”

Read more in Smithsonian Magazine.

Attempts to block EPA fast-track of water rule fail

2011-11-23T08:29:00.000-08:00

Senate Democratic leaders blocked an attempt by Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., to introduce an amendment to the energy and water "minibus"appropriations bill to stop the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from fast-tracking a rule to expand federal jurisdiction to all areas where water flows in the United States.

Read more in Pit & Quarry.

High Concrete Group unveils high solar reflectance concrete mix design

2011-11-22T15:57:00.000-08:00

US-based precasting embedment supplier High Concrete Group LLC has unveiled a new high solar reflectance concrete mix design that enhances the heat reflectance of precast concrete surfaces, allowing them to stay cooler.

BASF Construction Chemicals has conducted a solar reflectance test and confirmed that the mix design has a solar reflectance index (SRI) of 82, nearly doubling the SRI of the company’s conventional gray concrete mixes.

Learn more at World Construction Network.

Two Percent Cement

2011-11-22T15:31:00.000-08:00

A new concrete mix that combines recycled materials with a tiny amount of portland cement is this year’s winner of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Charles Pankow Award for Innovation. The team that developed this concrete, and was presented with the award, was St. Paul, Minn.-based American Engineering Testing Inc. (AET), and Cemstone, Mendota Heights, Minn.

Read more at Concrete Construction.

Officials: Minnesota government shutdown cost nearly $60 million

2011-11-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

Minnesota budget officials said today that a 20-day government shutdown in July cost the state nearly $60 million but saved it about $65 million in salaries that weren't paid to state employees.

In a report released today, the Minnesota Management and Budget department said the state lost almost $50 million in revenue and spent about $7 million preparing for the shutdown and $3 million in recovery costs. Those cost estimates could rise, it said.

Read more in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Minnesota Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit lags in job creation

2011-11-21T08:10:00.000-08:00

Minnesota's Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit has yet to create the construction jobs promised when former Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed it into law in April 2010.

A report out Monday from the University of Minnesota Extension and the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office found that the 14 projects approved, as of June 30, to take advantage of the credit are expected to create 1,808 construction jobs. The estimate when the tax credit was approved was 12,000 to 20,000 jobs.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

Builder Confidence Rises Three Points in November

2011-11-17T15:32:00.000-08:00

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose by three points to 20 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for November, released today. The gain builds on a revised three-point increase in October, and brings the confidence gauge to its highest level since May of 2010.

Read more on the NAB website.

Minnesota unemployment rate drops in October

2011-11-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

Minnesota's unemployment rate continued its slow decrease in October.

The state Department of Employment and Economic Development says Thursday that the Minnesota's unemployment rate last month was 6.4 percent, which is a half-a-percent decrease from September.

Read more at MSNBC.

Proposed Gravel Pit Causes Concerns Along St. Croix River

2011-11-16T14:49:00.000-08:00

Some residents are concerned about the environmental impact of reopening a gravel pit near Scandia along the St. Croix River.

Scandia City Administrator Anne Hurlburt tells KSTP.com the gravel pit is located east of Highway 95 at Highway 97. The 114 acre site sites between the highway and the St. Croix River.

Read more on the KSTP website.

Engineer 'Toilet-Trains' Concrete Mix

2011-11-16T14:45:00.000-08:00

Contractors bidding on projects for the City of Bellingham, Wash., have the option of adding a new element to concrete mixes—toilets.

The city wants recycled aggregate in concrete flatwork projects to catch on, so much so that engineers have experimented with using crushed toilets in a new “poticrete” mix. They unveiled the first stretch of sidewalk sporting poticrete in late September.

Read more in Engineering News-Record.

Central Corridor heavy construction to take a winter break

2011-11-15T08:26:00.000-08:00

It's been the better part of a year since four lanes of traffic flowed through the light-rail transit (LRT) construction zone on University Avenue. With deep ground frost less than a month away, contractors are making their last digs of the year and paving lanes to ready them for cars and snowplows.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

No easy answer to fix risky local highway intersections

2011-11-14T12:23:00.000-08:00

During rush hour, vehicles are backed up for blocks. As soon as the light turns green, drivers speed through. The stragglers try to beat the red. . . . Last month, the Minnesota Department of Transportation named Minnesota Highway 15 and Second Street South the most dangerous intersection in the state.

Read more in The St. Cloud Times.

Senate Passes Repeal of 3% Withholding

2011-11-11T11:16:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Senate passed a bill that would repeal a requirement that federal, state and local governments begin withholding 3 percent of payments to their contractors in 2013.

Today's 95-0 vote returns the legislation to the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed a similar measure last month. The Senate amended the House bill to include tax credits for companies that hire unemployed veterans and mandate a study on how to prevent tax evasion by government contractors.

Read more in Bloomberg News.

Why not do it with concrete?

2011-11-11T08:46:00.000-08:00

Perhaps you've seen it but didn't recognize it. Stylish concrete is appearing everywhere these days. Concrete is adding noticeable improvements to Portland-area homes and landscapes. The sophisticated look is handmade and one-of-a-kind.

Read more in The Times.

County agency calls for moratorium on frac sand mining

2011-11-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

Winona County's Soil and Water Conservation District voted unanimously Wednesday to support a one-year moratorium on frac sand mining in the county.

"There's still a lot of questions and controversy over environmental concerns, said Daryl Buck, the district's manager. "Our job isn't to say yes or now, but to help the county assess what needs to be done and what concerns need to be addressed."

Read more in the Winona Daily News.

October construction takes hit

2011-11-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

The construction industry lost 20,000 jobs between September and October as the industry’s unemployment rate hit 13.7 percent, according to an analysis of new federal employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said the employment drop reflects continued declines in public sector investments. They added that construction employment could benefit from increased transportation investments and other pro-growth measures designed to boost private sector demand.

Read more in the Pit & Quarry e-newsletter.

Fleet Farm criticized in Carver County over hiring

2011-11-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

Carver County officials are complaining that too few county residents are being hired to construct a new Fleet Farm store in the city of Carver after providing more than $3 million in tax subsidies and loans to support the project.

Read more in Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

For homebuilders, price increases hit the drywall

2011-11-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

Still trying to emerge from a lousy homebuilding market, local residential builders and remodelers are in store for another challenge in 2012: steep price increases in drywall products.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

New life for stones from the city's most famous landmark

2011-11-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

The granite blocks stacked at a construction site on Eat Street have attracted some attention lately, especially when a foul-mouthed fellow in overalls is blasting them with an artistic flamethrower. His name is Zoran Mojsilov, a Serbian-born sculptor now carving in northeast Minneapolis, and he fashions enormous rounded structures of stone and wood, sometimes bound with iron cables.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription may be required)

Bridge construction: 'It's a wet job'

2011-10-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

Seagulls soared and the sun shone over the Mississippi River as morning commuters rumbled across the old Hastings bridge about 55 feet overhead.

Another 60 feet below, beneath the murky river's surface, four men worked inside a coffer dam -- sort of an inverted island of dryness jutting into the water and encased in a sheath of steel sheet pilings.

Read more in Minneapolis Star Tribune.

EPA Develops New Planning Approach to Improve Water Quality in U.S. Cities

2011-10-29T14:53:00.000-07:00

Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a commitment to using an integrated planning process to help local governments dealing with difficult financial conditions identify opportunities to achieve clean water by controlling and managing releases of wastewater and stormwater runoff more efficiently and cost effectively.

The integrated planning process, outlined in a guidance memo to EPA’s regional offices from EPA’s Office of Water and Office of Enforcement and Compliance, will help municipalities prioritize infrastructure investments to address the most serious water quality issues and provide flexibility to use innovative, cost-effective stormwater and wastewater management solutions.

Read more at EPA News Releases.

Construction overwhelms supply of building materials

2011-10-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

The high demand for certain construction materials in western North Dakota is making it difficult for contractors to get supplies. Builders say that could have implications for how quickly new homes get built in Minot and the affordability of that housing.

Minot developer John Coughlin said a shortage exists in construction materials such as gravel, cement, recycled asphalt and riprap.

Read more in Minot Daily News.

Status of state shutdown construction claims still murky

2011-10-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

The 2012 construction season will probably be well under way before any definitive answers emerge regarding the state's payments of construction claims related to July's 20-day government shutdown.

One thing is clear: It won't be revealed anytime soon how much money the state's Transportation Department will have to pay in claims or where the money will come from.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

NSSGA member takes dust-regulation concerns to Congress

2011-10-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

Pete Lien, president of Pete Lien & Sons Inc. in Rapid City, S.D., told the House Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce that impractical attempts by the federal government to control natural dust sources could cause catastrophic job losses in an industry that already has been battered by the economic downturn.

Ready more in Pit & Quarry.

McGraw-Hill Construction forecasts little overall change for 2012

2011-10-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

McGraw-Hill Construction released its 2012 Dodge Construction Outlook, which predicts that overall U.S. construction starts for next year will remain essentially flat. the level of construction starts in 2012 is expected to be $412 billion, following the 4 percent decline to $410 billion predicted for 2011.

Read more in Pit & Quarry.

How to comment on proposed gravel pit

2011-10-25T15:29:00.001-07:00

If you're concerned about S.M. Hentges & Sons' plan to create a gravel pit along Valley View Drive, here are a few facts, as well as ways to comment on the project.

Ready more in the Jordan Independent.

Vandalism totals $30K at Mankato concrete company

2011-10-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

Someone used a forklift, a dump truck and a pickup to vandalize a Mankato concrete contractor over the weekend. Mankato police say someone started a forklift outside the Hoffman Concrete plant and drove it into a dump truck. . . .

Read more at Minnesota Public Radio.

MoDOT Pours Smog-Eating Concrete Today

2011-10-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is pouring smog-eating concrete this week for a section of Route 141 in St. Louis this week.

According to Eureka-Wildwood Patch, MoDOT is using a two-lift paving process and one layer will use the new concrete which has a photo-catalytic additive of titanium dioxide. The additive absorbs smog, uses sunlight to break it down, and releases the smog as nitrogen and carbon dioxide.

Read more.

Recycling on steroids: Veit waste facility recycles 70 percent of debris

2011-10-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

Steve Halgren shouts over the din of the front-loader, backhoe, conveyor belts and wood grinder inside a hangar-like building on the eastern border of Minneapolis.

“They’re dropping the recyclable commodities down, as you see. We’ve got cardboard, metal, this is ground-up-wood … and at the very end is the concrete,” says Halgren, listing the four major materials recycled at the facility.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

Klobuchar to sponsor jobs bill proposal focusing on infrastructure

2011-10-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is introducing the next bill the Senate will consider as part of President Barack Obama’s jobs proposal.

The bill, called the “Rebuild America Jobs Act,” would invest $60 billion in infrastructure projects and seed money for a national infrastructure bank.

Read more in MinnPost.

Down: AIA billings index, construction contracts

2011-10-20T16:39:00.000-07:00

The outlook for future nonresidential construction in the Twin Cities region and across the country took a step in the wrong direction last month.

The American Institute of Architects’ architecture billings index (ABI) released Wednesday showed billings at design firms across the country were down in September compared with August activity.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

EPA to retain PM10 air quality standard

2011-10-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

According to Pit & Quarry, the EPA has signaled that it will keep the current coarse particulate national ambient air quality standard. This is good news for the aggregates industry because a reduced standard would have required many facilities to cut product, especially in the West and Midwest.

Read more in Pit & Quarry.

New image for the Twin Cities: Prosper

2011-10-12T08:53:00.000-07:00

The Twin Cities is about to get an image overhaul. Saying the region needs to dump its militant modesty to attract companies, the area's new regional economic development group has unveiled a global brand marketing campaign that trumpets the region's virtues.

. . . . The group, now called Great MSP, rolled out is new "prosper" brand identify for the Twin Cities at the Pantages Theatre in downtown Minneapolis Tuesday night.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Clark County (Wisc.) May Go Back to Gravel Roads

2011-10-10T03:53:00.000-07:00

Could you imagine paved highways going back to gravel? That’s what officials are talking about in Clark County in west-central Wisconsin.

Highway Commissioner Randy Anderson says there’s no longer enough money to keep repairing Clark County’s 300 miles of paved roads

Read more in the Pierce County Herald.

Approval nears for gravel mine near historic ranch

2011-10-07T16:26:00.000-07:00

Visitors to the historic ranch of Theodore Roosevelt secluded in the Badlands may soon be seeing a gravel mine across the Little Missouri River.

The U.S. Forest Service is in the process of approving a gravel operation on a $5.3 million ranch it acquired four years ago from the Eberts family to preserve a cattle range once associated with Roosevelt's Elkhorn Ranch.

Read more in The Bismarck Tribune.

AGC report: no quick recovery for construction

2011-10-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

A new report from the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota offers little hope for a quick, robust recovery for the state’s construction industry.

The report, based on a survey of construction-related businesses in Minnesota, shows a slight uptick in positive feelings about market conditions. But the “positive signs are too weak to predict any recovery for 2012,” the report noted.

In short, the report indicates that 2012 will be better than 2011, “but not by much,” Dave Semerad, CEO of AGC-Minnesota, said during an AGC-Minnesota event Wednesday morning at which the report was unveiled.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

Stricter pollution rules could kill Xcel Energy's plan for fly-ash site

2011-10-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

It's taken more than three years to hash out, but new rules requiring safer locations for future landfills in Minnesota are heading into the home stretch.

The regulations, which still need final approvals, would place tighter restrictions on where industrial and municipal landfills could be built and would limit taxpayer exposure if things go wrong. . . .

Expected to affect a couple of proposals a year, the rules would bar new landfills from areas where groundwater could move contaminants quickly, and would make it more difficult in areas containing karst, a porous limestone.

Read more in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Ham Lake concerned about MPCA stormwater permitting program

2011-10-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

Ham Lake fears it may have to budget anywhere from $250,000 to $300,000 from 2012 through 2016 for an extensive inventory and study of all stormwater features in the community that are designed to keep the natural bodies of water clean.

Read more in ABC Newspapers.

House GOP looks to curb EPA rules on concrete

2011-10-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

Last fall, amid growing signs of Republican gains in Congress, cement-industry lobbyists began meeting with GOP lawmakers t share their complaints about new Environmental Protection Agency rules that would sharply reduce mercury and other pollution from their plants.

Read more in USA Today.

Minneapolis city planners: Industry belongs on the Mississippi

2011-09-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

After years of living under the threat of eventual displacement to make way for pricey residential development along the Mississippi River, some Minneapolis businesses got a break Tuesday night.

City planners revealed they were recommending scaling back an ambitious 11-year-old land-use policy known as Above the Falls. . . .

"I'm relieved," said Bob Bieraugel, property manager for Aggregate Industries, whose Minneapolis barge terminal is at 26th Avenue North and Pacific Street North.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

Road and bridge building costs will increase significantly without fly ash

2011-09-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

According to a recent report by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), road and bridge building costs will increase by more than $100 billion over 20 years if fly ash is not available as a building material. Taxpayers will foot the increased bill.

"Despite it's many documented advantages and widespread use, new proposed disposal regulations may limit or eliminate its availability," according to the report, commissioned by Headwaters Resources, Inc.

Read more about the report on the ARTBA website.

Even a state hard at work can't shake hard times

2011-09-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

A strong penchant for work -- any work -- buffered Minnesota against the latest economic recession, but the state still saw household incomes shrink, home values plummet and poverty rise last year, according to new U.S. census data.

The Twin Cities "employment ratio'' ranked first out of 50 large metropolitan areas, with 74.8 percent of working-age adults holding jobs in 2010. Minnesota as a whole ranked fifth among states with an employment ratio of 74.3 percent, compared with a national rate of 66.6 percent.

Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Gravel truck hits power lines near Glyndon, causes power outages, $50,000 damage to traffic lights

2011-09-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

The raised bed of a gravel truck hit power lines near the intersections of Highway 10 and Highway 9 just east of Glyndon this morning, causing power outages throughout the area and about $50,000 damage to new traffic lights recently installed there.

Read more in the Detroit Lakes Tribune.

Lack of confidence creates vicious economic cycle

2011-09-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

If you are confident that the economy will turn around in the near future, then you would be in the minority…and that’s just the problem, according to a panel of economic experts.

It’s all about confidence and the U.S. doesn’t seem to have any right now, said Michael Miller, an associate professor of economics at DePaul University at CREW Chicago’s annual economics program.

Read more in the REJ Blog.

U.S. Transportation Secretary touts jobs act on Central Corridor

2011-09-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Using the $957 million Central Corridor LRT project as a backdrop, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood joined other federal and local officials at St. Paul's Union Depot Monday to push for President Barack Obama's American Jobs Act.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

Dayton to name new Minnesota mining coordinator

2011-09-19T19:08:00.000-07:00

The Mesabi Daily News in Virginia recently reported that Governor Dayton has set up a subcabinet on mining. According to IRRRB Commissioner Tony Sertich, the subcabinet "will be hands-on with mining development projects and will report directly to the governor."

He will appoint a mining coordinator of this group shortly.

Right here in Minnesota, a windfall of bad policy

2011-09-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

If you want to know what's wrong with the nation's energy policy, look no further than Goodhue County, Minnesota.

Environmental activists are blocking a job-creating and profitable sand-mining operation that is vital to the newest energy technology that's releasing copious amounts of shale gas and oil from beneath the Earth's surface. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is ramming through a taxpayer-subsidized, 78-megawatt wind far that promises little in the way of abundant or affordable power.

Read more of this opinion piece by Jason Lewis in the Star Tribune.

County is likely to use concrete more on its highway projects

2011-09-16T11:24:00.001-07:00

Expect to see more concrete paving on Anoka County roads in the future.

The Anoka County Board gave the Anoka County Highway Department the green light for two such concrete overlay projects this year.

Read more in the Anoka County Union.

Minnesota considers partnerships to pay for infrastructure work

2011-09-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

The hunt is on for new ways to pay to fix and expand Minnesota’s transportation infrastructure.

It’s a tall order. According to one estimate, the state could spend more than $670 million a year for the next two decades just to fix existing roads. New roads? That’s another big dollar sign.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

LaHood, transportation leaders call for infrastructure investments

2011-09-13T10:44:00.000-07:00

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined with Washington, D.C., officials and construction industry leaders at the construction site for D.C.’s 11th Street Bridge Project and called on Congress to pass the American Jobs Act and make significant investments in job-creating infrastructure projects. Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent C. Gray, DDOT Director Terry Bellamy and Associated General Contractors CEO Stephen Sandherr joined LaHood at the event.

“We’ve got unemployed construction workers, standing by, ready to roll up their sleeves right now,” LaHood said. “This is the moment for Congress to set aside the politics and partisanship, to pass the American Jobs Act, and to put America back to work.”

Read more in Pit and Quarry.

Mower County Gravel Pit Owner fined $19,000 by MPCA

2011-09-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

Lawrence Hansen, who owns and operates a gravel-mining business near Rose Creek in Mower County, has agreed to pay a $19,000 penalty to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for allegedly violating solid waste laws by disposing of concrete, plastic and other materials in ponds at his gravel pit facility.

Read more on the MPCA website.

CSM retail plan for Lockheed site reflects uptick in development

2011-09-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

According to Finance & Commerce, Minneapolis-based CSM Corp. has plans for 480,000 square feet of retail space on the Lockheed Martin property in Eagan. The plans will require that the Lockheed facility be razed and include a new 75,000 square-foot office building on the site.

Analysis: 8,500 apartment units proposed across Twin Cities

2011-09-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

Most of the activity in local development circles today boils down to one word: apartments.

With the Twin Cities rental vacancy rate at the lowest point since the late 1990s, a host of developers are competing to build new apartment projects. Developers being developers, they believe they can out-hustle their competitors to land city approvals, secure financing and start construction.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

Covered Bridges, Beloved Remnants of Another Era, Were Casualties, Too

2011-09-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

As the country watched scenes of devastation from Hurricane Irene, thousands of history and engineering buffs were on edge for another reason, waiting to hear the fate of hundreds of antique covered bridges that dot the Eastern Seaboard and that are especially concentrated — and beloved — in the unexpectedly ravaged state of Vermont.

Covered-bridge enthusiasts and others shuddered as they watched an amateur video, on the Internet, of the Bartonsville bridge in Vermont sliding almost intact into the Williams River on Sunday.

$2 billion wish list for bonding projects next year

2011-09-01T07:47:00.000-07:00

State agencies have submitted their preliminary requests for construction projects that they would like to see funded in preparation for a bonding bill during the 2012 legislative session. Given the state’s limited financial resources, House Capital Investment Chairman Larry Howes said he will have a lot of trimming to do if the leadership gives the green light to do a bonding bill next year.

“There’s over $2 billion in requests. Obviously we all know a very small portion of them will be considered, let alone passed,” said Howes, R-Walker.

Read more in Finance & Commerce.

Back to the old days? Paved county roads may go back to gravel

2011-08-31T07:59:00.000-07:00

Some lesser-traveled county roads may revert to gravel because the Becker County Highway Department just doesn’t have enough money to maintain all the existing paved county roads.

Case in point is County Road 118, a 1.8-mile paved road that goes southeast from Frazee past Fisher Lake to link up with a gravel road in Otter Tail County.

Read more in the Detroit Lakes Tribune.

State construction employment breaks even in July

2011-08-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

Construction employment increased in 26 states between July 2010 and July 2011 and during the past month, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of state employment data released by the Labor Department. The relatively even split between states adding and losing construction jobs was to be expected given the fact that overall employment in construction was relatively stagnant in July, association officials noted.

“When it comes to construction employment, for every state adding jobs there is another one shedding just as many or more,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s CEO. “The fact that this industry is breaking even when it comes to construction employment is little comfort for many unemployed construction workers.”

Read more in Pit and Quarry.

Rain gardens gone awry

2011-08-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

Seattle, one of the early adopters of rain gardens as a solution to stormwater runoff, has begun removing some of them. Green solutions only work if they're designed well in the first place.

Read more in the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

Minnesota job creation: Where it comes from, how it happens

2011-08-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

Gov. Mark Dayton kicks off what he's calling his "statewide jobs tour" today with a visit to Fergus Falls.

Polls show voters place jobs and the economy at the top of their list of concerns. That may be one reason why even as agency budgets were being cut throughout state government, this year's state budget nearly doubled the size of a relatively small and little-known program called the Minnesota Investment Fund.

Listen to or read story at Minnesota Public Radio.

Goodhue advisory panel rejects sand mining moratorium

2011-08-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

The Goodhue County Planning Advisory commission has recommended that county commissioners deny a moratorium on silica sand mining, despite resident opposition to the method.

The issue came up earlier this year when Windsor Permian, a division of Oklahoma-based Windsor Energy, bought 155 acres near Red Wing for $2.6 million.

Read this Minnesota Public Radio story.

'Jobs' are back on the front burner for governor and legislators

2011-08-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

Back in January, both the new governor and the new Legislature made "Jobs, jobs, jobs" their rallying cry, only to see divisive budget politics quickly overwhelm their top priority.  

But in reality, some little-noticed job-friendly measures did get through the legislative process.

Read more at MinnPost.

EPA Withdraws Proposal to Revise Numeric Turbidity Limit for Construction

2011-08-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

The Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have revised the numeric turbidity limit for stormwater runoff from construction sites, and plans to seek additional data, an agency spokeswoman said Aug. 16.

Read more at BNA.

The Concrete Wall Clock

2011-08-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

The weighty 4th Dimension wall clock stands out, thanks to an unusual material: concrete. . . .

"I like the concrete because it's cheap," said Sean Yu, who runs the studio with Yiting Cheng. "But through different processes, it can be very smooth and elegant."

Read more in The New York Times.

Federal grant for MnDOT project in peril

2011-08-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

According to today's Finance & Commerce, the government shutdown is making it difficult for MnDOT to get a $2 million federal grant for a St. Paul bridge replacement project.

The Maryland Avenue project qualified for the U.S. DOT's grant which is part of a $417.3 million funding package encouraging innovative bridge materials and construction methods. MnDOT planned to build the bridge's superstructure offsite and lift it into place. Due to the shutdown and because extra planning time is required, the bridge project is falling behind schedule.

County approves $150K for gravel pit

2011-08-18T15:55:00.000-07:00

After criticisms from citizens about the condition of the country road system at a meeting early in August, the Stevens County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved $150,000 to open a new gravel pit in Horton Township at their meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 18.

"As I look at [the gravel situation] and we start negotiations with the landowners to open a new pit, I thought it would be wise to bring forth to the board the idea of opening and crushing this pit this fall," said County Engineer Brian Giese.

Read more in Morris Sun Tribune.