Archives for 2024

FHWA issues nationwide DBE guidance for contractors, DOTs following lawsuit

November 22, 2024 by Lane Kimble

State DOTs and contractors should prepare to see Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goals on some projects fall to 0%, at least for now.

That’s based on new guidance the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued this week related to an ongoing federal lawsuit.

If either of the suit’s two plaintiffs formally file interest in bidding on a project with a DBE goal, FHWA expects the state to lower that specific goal to 0%.

The plaintiffs (Mid-America Milling Company and Bagshaw Trucking) currently work in 25 states, including Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota, however FHWA’s guidance says all 50 states should prepare for this possibility. While the number varies from project to project, Wisconsin has an overall DBE program goal of 12.42% between 2023 and 2026.

Mid-America and Bagshaw must file their interest in a project within five business days of its advertisement, then the USDOT will notify states within another five days if the goal needs to be removed after the Department of Justice reviews it.

Represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), the two companies say the DBE program and goals violate the Constitution by making business decisions based on race. The program dates back to the Reagan administration in the early 1980s.

In September, a federal judge in Kentucky temporarily blocked DBE goals in any state where Mid-America or Bagshaw do business.

The judge still needs to hear arguments from both sides and make a formal ruling on the case.

The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is offering further guidance and can connect contractors with specific states where the injunction has already been in effect.

Email ARTBA General Counsel Rich Juliano with questions HERE.

Operating Engineers draw hundreds for “top-notch” fall Externship Days

November 20, 2024 by Lane Kimble

COLOMA, Wis. — The alarm clocks went off well before sunrise Tuesday morning in Peshtigo.

Yawning, a group of high schoolers was out the door and on the road by 6:30 a.m.

Not a bad way to get a taste of life as a laborer.

“The bus ride was the worst thing, it was two-and-a-half hours,” teacher Dan Vanidestine said.

The 150-mile journey led Dan and his Vocational Studies students to the Operating Engineers Local 139 Training Center in Coloma for the semi-annual Externship Day.

More than 400 students, counselors, teachers, and parents from all over the state joined the boys from Peshtigo that day, the second of three “Externship Days” this week.

There was the chance to climb into a mini excavator, try out heavy equipment simulators, pick up some great insights from an industry panel, and tour the 400-acre facility.

“Really great experience… It’s hands on,” Vanidestine said. “Kids don’t know what they don’t know, so for them to come and actually get their hands on and get to try it out, it’s very beneficial.”

The Operating Engineers have hosted the program for the better part of a decade, expanding it from two days to three to give the 1,200 attendees more time and space at each station.

The OE139 hosts Externship Day events every spring and fall.

“The smiles on the simulators, the smiles on their faces when they get in the arena and get on the excavator and try it for the first time is pretty rewarding, too,” trainer Kip Gutke said.

The reward reciprocates with many of the students who attend. Gutke has seen plenty of high school “externs” return for OE139’s growing apprenticeship program and land great paying jobs working for contractors in Wisconsin.

Just this week, Gov. Tony Evers announced Wisconsin reached a new record-high for people working in apprenticeship programs with 17,089 enrolled across more than 200 programs. This year’s total surpassed previous records set in 2023 and 2022.

Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to form a registered apprenticeship program back in 1911.

“It’s exciting. They’re learning about how to become an operating engineer in a day, in a nutshell,” Gutke said. “It’s a lot, but it’s well organized, we have a great team here, great staff and we all work together.”

Together, the boys from Peshtigo trudged back to their ride Tuesday afternoon. After a long but rewarding day, Vanidestine believes their journey is just beginning.

“We got on the bus at 6:30 a.m. and we won’t be back until probably 4:30. And most of these kids are working in the afternoon, so they’re giving up work time and have to make up schoolwork and they still wanted to come,” Vanidestine said. “This is top-notch.”

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.