Builders rally against gas tax for carbon research

Hoffman offers an alternative for Minn. road project (UPDATE)

Published: April 27, 2011
Tags: Highway 23, Hoffman Construction, Humbert, Jim Hoffman, KGM Contractors, Minnesota Department of Transportation, MnDOT, State Transportation Improvement Program, Traas, Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association, WTBA

By Jack Zemlicka It took less than 15 minutes for Hoffman Construction Co. to go from disappointed loser to astonished winner. Jim Hoffman, owner of Black River Falls-based Hoffman, said he was crushed when the bids were announced Friday for the expansion of Highway 23 in the St. Cloud area of Minnesota. Hoffman had lost [...]

Budget battle stalls prevailing wage change

Published: February 21, 2011
Tags: ABC, AGC, Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin, Associated General Contractors, Boullion, collective bargaining, Greer, Mielke, Miron Construction, Nation Consulting, prevailing wage, Scott Walker, Traas, unions, Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association, WTBA

By James Briggs As large-scale protesting runs into a second week, the state Capitol remains consumed with Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill. That means other issues — some of them time-sensitive — are stuck on the back burner. “There’s no doubt this has consumed all the oxygen in the room,” said John Mielke, vice [...]

Federal rule change threatens to put Wisconsin road projects on ice

Published: January 7, 2011
Tags: David Dreier, Highway Trust Fund, Niel Wright, Reason Foundation, Robert Poole, Tom Petri, Traas, Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association, WisDOT, WTBA

By Joe Lanane National transportation analysts predict project downsizing and postponements now that federal transportation payment amounts no longer are guaranteed. Wisconsin’s slate of highway projects could face the same instability as those scheduled in other states, though it’s far too soon to panic, said Kevin Traas, executive director of transportation policy and finance for [...]

Will Republicans’ victories be a win for the construction industry?

Published: November 3, 2010
Tags: 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, ABC, Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin Inc., Hiniker, Mielke, Reihl, Scott Walker, Traas, Wisconsin State Council of Carpenters, Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association, WTBA

By James Briggs In the wake of Tuesday’s midterm election, the 2011 state legislative agenda has become a little clearer — and in many cases, more promising than the past two years — for construction lobbyists. Republicans gained majorities in both chambers of the state Legislature and took control of the governor’s mansion. Pending recounts, [...]

Focus on Southwest Wisconsin: I-39/90 project backers turn up the heat

Published: September 7, 2010
Tags: Federal Highway Administration, Focus on Southwest Wisconsin, Forward Janesville I-39/90 Coalition, Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund, Interstate 39/90, Traas, Transportation Projects Commission, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Wisconsin Supreme Court, Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association

By Susan Lampert Smith Special to The Daily Reporter On bad days, Interstate 39/90 from the Illinois border north to Madison can resemble a snake that swallowed a watermelon. To the south, in Illinois, the highway is a smooth-flowing six lanes wide. Then, from the state line north to Madison, I-39/90 narrows to four lanes [...]

Skepticism mixes with enthusiasm over 120-year concrete recipe

Published: June 14, 2010
Tags: concrete, Konstantin Sobolev, life span, Sobolev, Tom Walker, Traas, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, UW-Milwaukee, Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association, WTBA
Comments: 2

By Sean Ryan Road builders question the practicality of concrete that could last 120 years and significantly cut the industry‘s workload. Materials researchers have found ways to extend pavement life to more than a century. Konstantin Sobolev, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee associate professor, is trying to build on that success and to further improve concrete’s [...]

Lawmaker pushes for I-39/90 project money (UPDATE)

Published: June 2, 2010
Tags: Busalacchi, Dan Cunningham, Doyle, Federal Highway Administration, Forward Janesville, I-39/90, Interstate 39, Interstate 39/90, Interstate 90, Sheridan, Traas, Transportation Planning Commission, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association, WisDOT, WTBA

By Darryl Enriquez State Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan, D-Janesville, said he wants money for the planned $1.02 billion expansion of Interstate 39/90 from the Illinois border to Madison approved before Gov. Jim Doyle leaves office this fall. If the money isn’t approved, Sheridan said he would introduce a bill in the Legislature during its next [...]

Road builders fight to protect state’s highway spending

Published: May 17, 2010
Tags: Alicia Silva, Craig Thompson, Kilkenny, Traas
Comments: 5

By Darryl Enriquez Control of the purse strings is at the heart of a growing debate over a road building association’s push for a state constitutional amendment that would prevent raids on the transportation budget. In the past seven years, Gov. Jim Doyle’s administration has shifted about $1.3 billion from the transportation budget to stabilize [...]

Tolls return as road building solution

By Paul Snyder A coalition of state organizations wants tolls to pay for road construction. But recommendations and reports are not enough to drum up legislative support. “I’d want to see the plans for where they would go and how they would be used,” said state Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, a member of the Assembly [...]