November 8, 2018 | Articles
Lane Construction Corporation Chief Bob Alger Elected ARTBA Chairman
(WASHINGTON)—Robert (Bob) E. Alger, P.E., president and chief executive officer of Cheshire, Connecticut-based The Lane Construction Corporation, has been elected 2018-2019 American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) chairman. The association made the announcement Oct. 1 at its national convention in New York City.
Alger’s entire 40-year career in the transportation construction industry has been spent with Lane, where he started as a job engineer in Pennsylvania and rose through the ranks as a project manager, district manager and executive. He was named president and CEO in 2001.
Under his leadership, the company has grown from a regional Northeast contractor to become a national transportation and heavy civil construction powerhouse. Revenues have grown from $350 million in 2001 to $1.7 billion in sales volume. Massive Lane-built highway, bridge, tunneling, rail, transit, airport, dam and lock projects are helping connect and improve communities in multiple states across America.
His roster of ARTBA volunteer leadership positions includes: senior vice chairman, first vice chairman, Contractors Division president, Contractors Division first vice president, ARTBA Foundation trustee, and Trans2020: “MAP-21 Policy Promotion, Implementation & Funding Enhancement Task Force” co-chair.
Alger’s leadership roles extend to other industry groups. He’s a founding member of the Construction Industry Ethics and Compliance Initiative (CIECI) and Construction Industry Safety Initiative (CISI) group, which promotes Safety Week annually across the country. He’s a past president of The Moles, The Beavers, and American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Construction Institute. He’s also a past chairman of the Construction Industry Roundtable.
Among his noteworthy awards: the ASCE “Outstanding Project & Leadership Award” (2013), The Moles Award for Outstanding Achievement in Construction (2011) Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award from Penn State’s College of Engineering (2006).
Alger outlined his chairman’s agenda during a presentation at the ARTBA convention.
He said ARTBA would remain laser-focused on its core mission of transportation market development by working to achieve three main goals: a permanent revenue solution for the Highway Trust Fund; passage of a new infrastructure investment package that includes significant investments in the National Highway Freight Network; and laying the groundwork for the scheduled 2020 reauthorization of the FAST Act highway and transit investment law.
The association will also “continue to collaborate with federal agencies to build a regulatory environment conducive to more efficient and safe project delivery,” he added.
Special focus will be given to expanding the number of firms and organizations supporting ARTBA’s Transportation Makes America Work lobbying and advocacy communications program to help ensure the industry has the necessary financial resources to achieve its legislative and regulatory goals, Alger said.
In the safety arena, the continued growth of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-accredited Safety Certification for Transportation Project Professionals™ (SCTPP) program, is another priority. The SCTPP was launched by industry executives and safety leaders in fall 2016.
“Safety training and education have always been core ARTBA competencies,” Alger said. “We will continue to build greater awareness and participation in safety certification program by contractors and public agencies.”
Finally, Alger highlighted his plans to engage ARTBA officers and directors, the Industry Leader Development Council, and Women Leaders Council to increase “peer-to-peer” membership development outreach.
Bob and his wife, Joan, have two adult children, Bob, Jr., and Lauren.
Watch a video about Alger on ARTBA’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiwpTAwI0Ek&feature=youtu.be.
Established in 1902, Washington, D.C.-based ARTBA is the “consensus voice” of the U.S. transportation design and construction industry before Congress, federal agencies, the White House, news media and the general public.
###
November 8, 2018 | Articles
By T. Peter Ruane
I have been fortunate to have had some very serious experiences early in my career. They prepared me for the unique challenges of serving as president and chief executive officer of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association for the past 30 years.
ARTBA has a noble mission. It was one of the things that really attracted me to the job. And our singular mission hasn’t changed since the association was founded 116 years ago—growing and protecting the U.S. transportation infrastructure market to meet the public and business demand for safe and efficient mobility.
When it comes to serving a higher purpose, that’s right up there in my book. The U.S. economy literally rides on the work you, the men and women who comprise ARTBA, do. Your work product facilitates the American freedom of mobility and quality of life that are the envy of the world.
You are also what attracted me to ARTBA. In the association’s membership, I saw “doers,” risktakers, men and women of action who have great pride in helping build a better nation. That’s the kind of team I wanted to be part of and help lead.
ARTBA’s consistently strong volunteer leadership and state chapter grassroots network are its strength now, and will continue to be in the future. Of that I am sure because of the type of people ARTBA attracts. It has been my privilege to work with you.
Together, we have come a long way. Federal investment in highway and transit work alone has grown from $16 billion in 1988 to $60 billion today—almost double the rate of inflation. And while ARTBA certainly cannot take sole credit for that achievement, no other organization has devoted and focused more time and resources to that objective over the period. And that is because of you.
So I thank you.
I also thank the incredible ARTBA staff I’ve had the privilege of building and leading on your behalf. You have an extremely strong core group of seasoned, mission-driven veterans who will carry on the fight, backed by a team of highly talented, ambitious younger professionals. In my opinion, dollar for dollar, there is not a better staff in the Nation’s Capital.
Finally, I would be grossly remiss if I did not thank my wife and partner of 50 years, Pat, for the fantastic support she has given me. She deserves your thanks as well.
I will miss the battle. Securing a robust and sustainable revenue solution for the Highway Trust Fund-supported programs remains Job #1. But I leave confident that with your continued strong personal and financial support of the association, you have the 9th inning pitchers and sluggers on your ARTBA Washington team to win the game.
Keep marching BOLDLY. The path to victory has been laid. Be ready to make the final push. Don’t ever quit!
(Pete Ruane retired from ARTBA on Oct. 31.)
November 8, 2018 | Articles
By Nick Goldstein
ARTBA members were busy this summer building and repairing the nation’s roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure.
Likewise, the association was also active filing regulatory comments on a wide range of issues important to its membership. The association filed 12 sets of comments on the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposals to improve the regulatory process, the Endangered Species Act (ESA), project labor agreements (PLAs), and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), among others.
Since June 1, ARTBA:
- Urged the Trump Administration to overturn an executive order mandating PLAs for federal-air construction projects;
- Supported common-sense legislative reforms to the ESA (including more predictable permitting schedules and better science for determining critical habitat);
- Supported EPA and the U.S. Army Corps’ of Engineers (Corps) efforts to withdraw the 2015 WOTUS rule through both individual and coalition comments. Additionally, ARTBA, as part of the Waters Advocacy Coalition (WAC), reminded the agencies that any new version of WOTUS must abide by limitations set by the Supreme Court in the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers case;
- Supported legislation introduced by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) aimed at improving the Clean Water Act permitting process;
- Supported an EPA proposal to increase considerations of costs and benefits during the rulemaking process and a proposal to increase transparency over the data used by agencies to make regulatory decisions;
- Supported efforts by Nebraska to assume control over the NEPA process, which help reduce delays in the project review and approval process; and
- Recommended changes to the NEPA process in response to a request from the President’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).
Such activity will not be slowing down any time soon. The Trump administration has initiated multiple new rulemakings directly related to ARTBA’s regulatory reform priorities. They include:
- Revisions to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s recordkeeping rules addressing ARTBA’s concerns about the privacy of employer’s data;
- Discussing the impact stricter corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards have on Highway Trust Fund (HTF) revenues; and
- Multiple revisions to the federal Hours of Service (HOS) rules.
ARTBA will comment on all these issues and continue to represent the industry on the regulatory, legislative and litigation fronts.
For example, ARTBA continues to litigate the repeal of the 2015 WOTUS rule in the federal courts. At the same time, we await the administration’s new version of WOTUS, which we hope will bring clarity to the issue and state definitively that federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction does not include roadside ditches.
As always, you can keep track of all of these issues online with ARTBA’s Regulatory Scorecard, which is updated monthly.
Nick Goldstein is ARTBA’s vice president of legal & regulatory issues.
October 19, 2018 | Articles
ARTBA: “A Mighty Influence in the Land”
T. PETER RUANE
ARTBA President and CEO
In February 1902, a Michigan legislator, Horatio Earle, invited transportation leaders from across the U.S. to New York City’s Cadillac Hotel to start a new national association. He said it would be called “The American Road Makers (A.R.M.), which means it will never lower its arm until its purpose, ‘The Capital Connecting Government Highway,’ is attained, connecting every state capital with every other state capital, and every capital with the United States Capital—Washington.”
What we know today as the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) went to work. The association’s first major legislative victory came when President Wilson signed the 1916 Federal-Aid Road Act into law, cementing the federal government’s leadership role in national road building policy and funding. Subsequent federal laws in 1920s, 1930s and 1940s paved the way for the “mother” of all policy successes.
In June 1956, President Eisenhower signed legislation authorizing construction of the U.S. Interstate Highway System and creating a user-supported Highway Trust Fund to pay for it. The law represented the fulfillment of Earle’s vision and is among the greatest achievement ever by a national association.
The year 2017 was ARTBA’s 115th year of exclusively representing the interests of the U.S. transportation design and construction industry. ARTBA’s success over all these years can be attributed to at least two things: 1) remaining true to its core mission of building and protecting the U.S. transportation infrastructure market; and 2) ongoing contributions from outstanding volunteer leaders, industry-leading firms, and our state contractor chapters.
As examples, a look back in the archives finds ARTBA has played the industry leadership role in the passage of more than 30 major federal surface transportation investment or policy laws, in addition to the annual battles on transportation budget and appropriations bills.
Ninety-two people, representing all sectors of the industry, have been elected chairman by their peers. And eight of our 37 state chapters have been affiliates for 80 or more years. ARTBA even boasts a former U.S. president among its membership ranks—Harry Truman, a member of our public officials division early in his political career.
As roadway construction increasingly occurred among moving traffic in the 1970s and 1980s, ARTBA hosted the first National Conference on Highway Work Zone Safety in1985 in partnership with FHWA and AASHTO. This led to a second conference in 1994, and out of its proceedings, emerged the idea of a National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse to serve as a centralized information resource aimed at improving motorist and worker safety in these sites. ARTBA won the FHWA contract to create such a facility in 1997. Twenty years later, the Clearinghouse has become the world’s largest online resource on road construction safety and has materials available in seven languages. The latest example of ARTBA innovative leadership was the 2016 launch of the Safety Certification for Transportation Project Professionals™ program.
ARTBA industry leadership extends to the 1909 launch in Columbus, Ohio, of the “Road Show”—the forerunner of today’s CONEXPO-CON/AGG. ARTBA helped launch the Washington, D.C., “Road Gang” in 1942 and The Road Information Program (TRIP) in the late 1960s. The association was also a force in the international arena. We jointly held with the American Highway Association a “Pan-American Good Roads Congress” in 1916, created a European Division in 1930, and played a founding role in the International Road Federation (IRF).
Reflecting back on his career in his 1929 autobiography, Earle wrote:
“I have had a hand in the formation of county, state and national organizations for the betterment of public highways. Of all these, the most far reaching in its influence and benefits, was the founding of the American Road Makers… This organization has wielded a mighty influence in the land and, without doubt, has been the principal factor in winning the national battle for better roads. From a small membership, with comparatively little influence, it has developed into the most powerful organization of its kind in the world.”
Nine decades later, his statements still ring true!
October 19, 2018 | Articles
Inspired by the Past… Building for the Future
By MATT CUMMINGS
Executive Vice President, AECOM, and 2018 ARTBA Chairman
I’m a history buff. I’m particularly interested in the development of America’s transportation infrastructure, which shouldn’t be surprising given my 30-year career as an engineer.
From 1935 to 1943, the Works Progress Administration (WPA—later called the Work Projects Administration) employed more than 8 million people in thousands of construction projects nationwide. The federal government invested approximately $11 billion, or more than $191 billion today when adjusted for inflation.
More than $4 billion (about $70 billion today) was directed at highway, road and street projects, eventually totaling more than 650,000 miles. Maybe you’ve driven the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut; the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina; the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi or the Arroyo Seco Parkway in Los Angeles.
WPA crews built 75,000 bridges, many of them small spans to help farmers get their goods to market. New York City’s Triborough Bridge was one of the largest. Projects also included the Boston, New York and Chicago transit systems.
The WPA also had a hand in developing 800 airports and airfields, in addition to 125,000 public buildings and 8,000 parks. Murals and other public artworks also were among the WPA legacy.
Talk about a building boom! The scale of that work remains impressive and something America should be striving for today.
Back in September, President Trump said: “For decades now, Washington has allowed our infrastructure to fall into a state of total decay and disrepair. And it’s time now to build new roads, new bridges, airports, tunnels, highways, and railways all across our great land.” Whether you are a Republican, Democrat or Independent, it’s hard to disagree with the sentiment.
While there are clearly many differences between the America of the 1930s and the nation in the second decade of the 21st century, at least three things remain the same in the transportation arena.
First, the public and private sectors of the U.S. transportation design and construction industry are as much up to the task of major infrastructure modernization as they were in the 1930s. Think of how much our industry has advanced with technology, equipment, materials processes and safety.
The accomplishments of the WPA can inspire our generation to do big things. But we shouldn’t need a Great Depression or a Great Recession as motivation. Building great projects is the right thing to benefit our economy and quality of life, and help our children and grandchildren.
Second, the best way to meet the infrastructure challenges in this century is through a significant boost in direct federal transportation investment and bolstered by a mix of additional funding and financing mechanisms. That means, as a start, President Trump and Congress must provide a permanent Highway Trust Fund revenue solution.
Third, as it has for the last 115 years, ARTBA will continue to be exclusively focused on advancing the industry’s interests before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, the courts, news media and general public.
ARTBA was on the job long before FDR created the WPA, and we will be here after current challenges are solved. Working together, let’s build for the future.
October 19, 2018 | Articles
By Nick Goldstein, vice president of regulatory & legal issues, ARTBA
ARTBA has petitioned the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to repeal a 102-year-old federal procurement rule that blocks the use of innovative products that could improve safety and quality on the nation’s major roadways.
The rule prohibits state and local governments from using patented or proprietary products on highway and bridge projects that receive federal funding, unless those products qualify for limited exceptions. It was adopted in 1916 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which then managed the nascent federal-aid highway program.
The American Road Builders Association, as ARTBA was known at the time, objected to the Woodrow Wilson administration rule.
In a 26-page filing, ARTBA points out that since many new technologies—particularly those marking a significant advance in quality, performance, or durability—incorporate intellectual property, “the rule has inevitably impeded the development and deployment of products from the market that could save lives, minimize congestion or otherwise improve the quality of our nation’s highways.” It cites examples including the use of composite materials and disc bearings for bridges, moveable traffic barriers, higher visibility signage and breakaway sign posts.
The association’s petition argues the rule was not directed by the governing statute, the 1916 Federal-Aid Road Act, nor was it ever subject to the Administrative Procedures Act’s rigorous public notice and comment requirements. It further says there does not appear to be any factual record or official federal proceedings to support an objective rationale for the rule.
ARTBA also noted other federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense, the Coast Guard and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, have set up procurement systems that allow for the appropriate use of sole source contracts for patented or proprietary products to accomplish their missions.
“This regulation is a relic of antiquated early 20th century thinking,” ARTBA President Pete Ruane said. “It is out of step with the Federal Highway Administration’s support for the development and procurement of the best products on the market. Repealing it would spur the use of new technology and materials that help save lives and upgrade the quality of our highways and bridges.”
If the USDOT accepts the petition, the agency would then formally propose to withdraw the rule, with allowances for public notice and comment. ARTBA’s goal is new federal direction that promotes, rather than stifles, the use of innovative products and techniques in the transportation infrastructure market.
ARTBA is being assisted in the petition action by the Washington, D.C., law firm, Venable, LLP. The Venable team is led by former U.S. Secretary of Transportation James Burnley.
