Archives for November 2024

Former Wisconsin Congressman Sean Duffy set to become next Transportation Secretary

November 19, 2024 by Lane Kimble

President-elect Donald Trump aims to focus on building roads, bridges, and airports during his second administration and he believes a former Wisconsin Congressman is the man to lead that charge.

Trump announced Sean Duffy as his pick for Transportation Secretary late Monday afternoon.

Duffy served five terms as Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District representative from 2011-2019, covering most of the northern-third of the state. He previously served as Ashland County district attorney from 2002-2010.

“As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, Sean played a key role in shaping and strengthening Economic policies, and ensuring Transparency and Accountability in Government programs,” Trump said in a news release. “Sean’s leadership extended to championing the needs of families, farmers, and small businesses, especially in rural communities.”

Since resigning from Congress in 2019 to care for his family, Duffy, 53, has appeared on television in various roles, where he currently is a co-host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business channel.

Duffy responded to Trump’s nomination with a thankful tweet late Monday.

Reaction from industry experts was largely positive this week, with many noting transportation often transcends political divides.

“While in Congress, Rep. Duffy worked on a number of transportation issues important to his state and region,” ARTBA President and CEO Dave Bauer said. “In many of his public statements and actions, he reaffirmed the effectiveness of bipartisanship to ensure continued federal investments, and getting projects done.”

Duffy, if approved by the Senate, would replace President Biden’s transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg.

“As a former member of Congress, Sean Duffy understands how to navigate the political landscape in Washington to get things done, something that we will need in the next leader of the U.S. Department of Transportation as we begin the process of reauthorizing the federal surface transportation programs,” said Jim Tymon, AASHTO executive director.

Duffy has nine children and is married to Fox News contributor Rachel Campos-Duffy.

“Sean will use his experience and the relationships he has built over many years in Congress to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans,” Trump wrote.

As noted by ARTBA, some significant transportation-related moments in Duffy’s political career included:

Successfully co-sponsoring 2012 legislation with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and others to move forward on construction of the new St. Croix River Bridge between Wisconsin and Minnesota. The measure prevented the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act from being used to block federal-aid funding earmarked for the project, which was completed in 2017.
Voting for the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” (MAP-21) surface transportation reauthorization legislation in 2012, which passed the House 373-52.
Signing a February 2015 letter to House leaders, in which 285 members of both parties urged development of “a long-term sustainable revenue source for our nation’s transportation network as soon as possible,” while seeking to reauthorize MAP-21.
Although co-sponsoring legislation to reauthorize the federal highway and public transportation programs in early 2015, Duffy was one of 65 House Republicans voting against the final product, which passed that chamber 359-65 and became law in December of that year.

State’s first major Design Build project produces “spectacular” Lone Rock bridges

November 13, 2024 by Lane Kimble

LONE ROCK, Wis. — Two beautiful new bridges spanning a scenic stretch of the Wisconsin River in southwest Wisconsin are something of a dichotomy.

They’re built to last a very long time. And yet, the process to get there–from start to finish–came about relatively rapidly.

“With this method, instead of being here for a groundbreaking, we’re here for a ribbon cutting,” Federal Highway Administration Division Administrator Glenn Fulkerson told a crowd gathered to celebrate the grand opening. “That’s quite a success.”

The “Design Build” method is a new tool WisDOT is experimenting with. It links engineers with contractors essentially from the get-go, allowing construction to begin even before designs are fully complete and improving communication.

The result in Lone Rock–nestled into the southeast corner of Richland County–was a project completed earlier, more efficiently, and with key safety and traffic flow features.

“We’re excited to continue to innovate through Design-Build, like we did here in Lone Rock, so that we can save time and be more efficient with our construction projects,” WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman said during Monday’s ribbon cutting.

The design process may have been fast, but it wasn’t without forethought.

Surrounded by towering brown rock walls, trees mainly shed of their leaves, and sweeping sandbars, the tawny brown bridges blend right in.

Exactly how they were designed.

“When viewed from the river in your motorboat, canoe or kayak, the visual impact is dramatic,” Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Executive Director Mark Cuppsaid of the new bridges.

The Highway 130 project involved shifting the new alignment a little to the west from the decades-old steel truss structures and replacing them with two 1,000-foot girder bridges.

“It has been an honor to help guide the department in its first true design-build project,” Kraemer North America Project Manager Brent Freeman said. “And while we couldn’t control the rise and fall of the river, we all definitely rose to the challenge of adaptability to navigate any troubling waters and stay on course.”

Even with Kraemer serving as prime, many WTBA members proudly contributed as subcontractors and consultants on the work including (but not limited to) design lead SRF Consulting Group, Hoffman Construction Company, AECOM, Arbor Green, County Materials, DL Gasser, EXP, HNTB, Interstate Tree, Kapur & Associates, KL Engineering, Lycon, and Mega Rentals.

In the coming months, the surrounding landscape will inevitably shift from autumnal brown to winter white and, next year, the green of spring. But these stunning, tawny brown bridges should stand the test of time.

“Long after our words have echoed off the bluffs today and our footprints have washed from the sandbars, the new bridges at Lone Rock that span this scenic river of history–this river of a thousand isles–these spectacular bridges will be admired and appreciated for generations,” Cupp said.

WTBA’s Grove offers municipalities sage advice on crafting attractive bids, successful projects

November 12, 2024 by Lane Kimble

WTBA provides its members in the field–contractors, laborers, and engineers–with a lot of guidance, advice, and expertise every year. Sometimes, it pays to help guide project owners, too.

Matt Grove, Director of Engineering and Construction Policy, stepped up this month, offering municipalities and county governments some straightforward and important advice.

His two-page article in the League of Wisconsin Municipalities November magazine covered schedule flexibility, liquidated damages, detours, staging, and more.

“Contractors truly want to deliver a product you’re happy with for years to come, whether it’s a road, bridge, or other structure. Their reputation is on the line. However, so is yours,” Grove wrote. “Municipalities and counties that build a reputation of being fair and flexible reap the benefits of greater competition and better prices on their projects.”

The LWM produces a monthly magazine called “The Municipality,” often filled with guest articles and editorials. November’s edition focused on utilities and departments of public works.

You can read Matt’s entire article by clicking HERE (it’s on the magazine’s pages 20-21).

FHWA updates work zone safety rules for first time in two decades

November 8, 2024 by Lane Kimble

For the first time in 20 years, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is changing certain rules to try to prevent work zone crashes, injuries and deaths.

FHWA updated its Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule on Tuesday. The changes include requiring “positive protection devices,” such as temporary concrete barriers during construction, utility, and maintenance work along federally funded highway projects.

It also encourages using “work zone programmatic reviews” to look at construction safety. These reviews are more data-driven and comprehensive, according to FHWA.

The proposed rules were published in mid-September and FHWA took feedback from state DOTs, industry workers, engineers, and more before they went final.