Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/85639
by Therese Dunphy COUNTING ON A by Kerry L. Clines, Senior Editor MARCH 2012 VOL. 17, NO. 3 EDITORIAL Therese Dunphy, (Silver Lake, OH) • Editor-in-Chief Tel: 330-920-9737, E-mail: therese@aggman.com Marcia Gruver Doyle • Editorial Director E-mail: mgruver@randallreilly.com Kerry Clines, (Dallas, TX) • Senior Editor Tel: 214-324-0596, E-mail: kerry@aggman.com Tina Grady Barbaccia, (Des Plaines, IL) News and Digital Editor Tel: 630-364-2306, E-mail: tina@aggman.com DESIGN Sandy Turner, Jr. • Art Director Tel: 205-248-1122, E-mail: sturner@randallreilly.com PRODUCTION Linda Hapner, (Des Plaines, IL) • Production Manager Tel: 847-636-5067, E-mail: lhapner@randallreilly.com Mary Springer • Senior Production Director E-mail: mspringer@randallreilly.com Leah Boyd • Production Director E-mail: lboyd@randallreilly.com Diane Klischer • Production Director E-mail: dklischer@randallreilly.com PUBLISHING/ADMINISTRATIVE Mike Porcaro, Executive Publisher Joe Donald, Executive Publisher Paige Thompson Fair, Controller Stacy A. Stiglic, Circulation Director Ginger Love, Research Director Dan Tidwell, Senior VP/Construction Division ADVERTISING SALES See listings on page 55 DES PLAINES, IL OFFICE Aggregates Manager 2340 S. River Rd., Suite 202 • Des Plaines, IL 60018 Phone: 847-636-5060, Fax: 847-636-5077 For all subscription inquiries please call: 800-517-4979 Or on line: www.submag.com/sub/af POSTMASTER Please send all address corrections to: Aggregates Manager P.O. Box 2060 • Skokie, IL 60076 s this issue of Aggregates Manager was going to press, everyone inside the Beltway was talking about the need for transportation reauthorization. The question is whether talk will lead to action. Even Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is in the dark on that one. In late January, he told Transportation Research Board's annual meeting attendees that, "We'll probably have to wait until next year to get a surface transportation bill because of the huge differences (between the House and Senate bills)." A day later, he backed off that comment, saying, "We've got the president, we've got the chairman in the House, and we've got the chairman in the Senate all talking about a surface transportation bill. Hallelujah! Maybe we'll get a bill this year." Common ground between the Senate bill (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or MAP-21) and the House bill (The American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act) offers hope that a compromise can be reached. Both are predicated on existing funding levels. Both streamline the timetable from inception to completion of highway projects. Both consolidate the number of federal programs involved in the process. Both increase the percentage of gas tax dollars returned to each state. However, significant disparities remain. The Senate version is a two-year, $109 billion bill, while the House version is a five-year, $260 billion bill. The Senate version would deplete the Highway Trust Fund, while the House version would ensure its stability for the foreseeable future. A Some of these differences can be resolved through a conference committee, but the more contentious issues are likely to revolve around the differences in mass transit allocations and funding methods. The House bill calls for a 25-percent cut in Amtrak subsidies and is under attack by mass transit advocates. One of its funding mechanisms — expanded energy exploration, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — has been called a non-starter by leading Democrats. Conference Committee Now is the time to demand action. The latest SAFETEA-LU extension expires at the end of the month. Neither Democrats nor Republicans can afford to be portrayed as do- nothings as they head into the presidential election. It is our challenge, as an industry, to hold their feet to the fire and demand the passage of an adequate transportation bill. The issue is too important to too many to allow partisan politics to continue. 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E. • Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 800-633-5953 • www.rrpub.com Mike Reilly, Chairman, President / CEO David Wright, COO / Vice President Shane Elmore, CFO / Treasurer Brent Reilly, Executive Vice President Linda Longton, Senior VP/Editorial and Research Nick Reid, Vice President Interactive Media 1 2 3 3 Cab visibility and monitor placement impact equipment operator satisfaction, page 20. A feeder that is narrower than the pre-screen can maximize material flow, page 27. things I learned from this issue: Valves and valve seats are among the most commonly replaced parts on classifying tanks, page 39. AGGREGATES MANAGER March 2012 3