Should more cities follow the lead of Phoenix and turn to light rail transit as an alternative to expanding the capacity of streets and expressways?
Take the PCA Poll
Phoenix Fights Heavy Traffic with Light Rail
Transportation officials in Phoenix are pinning their hopes on a light rail transit system to relieve overburdened streets and highways while improving access to entertainment and sports venues.

Now under construction at a total cost of $823.9 million, the initial 20-mile Valley Metro line stretches through the heart of Phoenix and Tempe and ends about a mile into Mesa. The route follows the Valley’s highest traveled corridor, where more transportation capacity is needed but where road widening is expensive, difficult, or impossible.

Construction began in 2004 and is scheduled for completion in mid-2008. The line will open in December 2008.

The light rail system operates on steel guideways embedded into a concrete slab. The initial 20-mile segment will consume 22,000 tons of cement, not including stations or infrastructure improvements that are part of the project.

The line will operate at street level in a lane separated from traffic.The system will be powered by electricity from overhead wires and will generate about as much noise as a new-model passenger truck.

Subsequent phases will expand the system from the initial 20-mile line to a 57-mile network, with a five-mile extension now in the planning stages. The additional 32 miles will be funded by a regional sales tax.
More at www.valleymetro.org

Regional Promotion, Local Projects
Highlight Spring Committee Meetings
Nearly 200 people attended PCA's Spring Committee Meetings last week at the Hyatt Regency, Phoenix, Ariz. Most committees and councils met. Among the highlights and special presentations:

  • PCA's chief economist Ed Sullivan presented his updated forecast of cement, concrete, and construction trends.
  • Brent Lief, Hunt Construction Group, reviewed the design and construction of the University of Phoenix/Cardinal Stadium, which the group toured at a special reception and dinner.
  • PCA's Regional Promotion Committee conducted a special Megameeting, bringing together local and national representatives for a forum. (See below.)
  • At PCA's Engineered Structures Committee, Bill Zeiss, Sundt, reviewed the construction of a 20-mile light-rail transit system now under construction in Phoenix. (See Project of the Week above.)

In other news and committee actions, the Nanotechnology Task Group of PCA's Product Standards and Technology Committee met to discuss opportunities for the use of nanotechnology in cement and concrete. Nanotechnology could be a key to future changes in the cement industry. Before selecting specific projects, the industry needs time to develop a focus on what technical advances are needed and then determine which issues can best be addressed by nano or other technology.

The R&D Work Programs Committee recommended 20 new research projects for 2008, primarily in the areas of Energy and Environment, Occupational Health and Safety, Engineered Structures, Public Works, and Product Standards and Technology.

PCA's Fall Committee Meetings are scheduled for September 10-12, 2007, at the Intercontinental Chicago.
Contact Michelle Nyquist

Megameeting Bridges National-Regional Gap
The Regional Promotion Committee sponsored an expanded meeting at the recent Joint Spring Meeting in Phoenix with 106 cement industry employees attending. Regional Promotion Committee chair Ron DeLeenheer (right), Ash Grove, led the forum.

Those invited to attend included cement company CEOs, members serving on the boards of Regional Promotion Groups (RPG), and RPG and PCA staff.

The purpose of the megameeting was to improve communications at all levels on issues related to promotion and government affairs, with special attention to communication within companies. The agenda included discussion sessions to focus on promotion planning and multi-year targets for residential, soil cement/RCC pavements, and parking lots; government affairs activity at the state level; and the planned schedule of RPG-PCA cooperative activities for 2007 and beyond.
Contact George Barney
View photos from the megameeting
Cement Intensities Projected to Climb in 2007
According to a recent report from the PCA, cement intensities are increasing and promise to cushion the adverse impact on the construction industry arising from the housing slump.

Cement intensities, the amount of cement used per real dollar of construction spending, are influenced by changes in the composition of construction activity. Anticipated shifts in 2007 should support gains in cement intensity of nearly 2.5 tons per million dollars of construction.

Construction activity is expected to continue to increase in high-intensity sectors such as nonresidential and public constructions and decline in the low-intensity residential market. Additionally, concrete’s price advantage compared to asphalt that materialized in the second quarter of 2006 will be sustained, providing further support to cement-intensity growth.
Contact economic research at PCA

Helinski Named Honorary PCA Member
In a special presentation at PCA's meeting in Phoenix last week, PCA honored Robert A. Helinski, Lafarge North America, with an honorary membership.

The PCA Board recognized Helinski for his work to improve the position of cement, concrete, and cements for masonry in standards and specifications in the US and Canada; coordination of standards activities with allied industry organizations; and ensuring the implementation of R&D programs addressing market needs.

PCA vice chair Enrique Escalante, GCC of America (right), presented the award to Helinski.

Program Set for Joint PCA-NRMCA Meeting
Scheduled for March 18-20 at the Hyatt Regency, La Jolla, Calif., PCA's Spring Meeting will feature a reception and dinner at the nearby Birch Aquarium at Scripps, which will be open for exhibit viewing throughout the event.

The Boards of PCA, CTLGroup, and the Cement Association of Canada are scheduled to meet. Speakers include demographer and author Peter Francese, business guru and author Jason Jennings, Vulcan Materials' Drew Meyer on aggregate supply, and PCA chief economist Ed Sullivan with his construction outlook.

The Spring Meeting will be held jointly with the annual convention of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association. Guest programs include a tour of the Mingi International Museum in San Diego's Balboa Park.
Contact Jan Farnsworth

New Pervious Concrete Seminars Announced
Registration is still open for the Kansas City pervious concrete seminar presented by PCA and the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association. The associations have teamed up with Land Development Today magazine to offer Pervious Concrete—A Stormwater Solution. The one-day seminar is scheduled for March 15.

Recent seminars in Phoenix and Austin included on-site pervious concrete demonstrations by Progressive Concrete and CustomCrete Construction Services, as well as seminar training with keynote speaker Bruce K. Ferguson, Franklin Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Georgia.

Additional dates for 2007 are:

  • Detroit—July 10
  • Lexington, Ky.—July 12
  • Washington, DC—July 24
  • Pittsburgh—July 26
  • Minneapolis—Aug. 7
  • Milwaukee—Aug 9

The March 13 seminar in Seattle is sold out.

Architects and engineers will earn six Professional Development Hours upon completion of this program. This seminar is registered with the American Institute of Architects Continuing Education Systems. The registration fee is $245 (lunch provided).
Register on-line
Vulcan Materials to Acquire Florida Rock
Vulcan Materials Company announced plans last week to acquire Florida Rock in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $4.6 billion. Vulcan is the nation's largest producer of construction aggregates and a major producer of other construction materials.

The acquisition, which was unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors, will greatly expand Vulcan Materials’ presence in the Southeast and Mid-Atlanta. The combined company will have aggregates reserves totaling approximately 13.9 billion tons.

The transaction is expected to close in mid-year 2007. The Baker family, which founded Florida Rock, will remain active in the company. John Baker will join Vulcan Materials’ Board of Directors and Tom Baker, vice president, cement and aggregates, of Florida Rock, will become president of Vulcan Materials’ new Florida Rock Division headquartered in Jacksonville.

World of Coal Ash Announced
The second World of Coal Ash (WOCA) will be held May 8-11, 2007, in Covington, Ky., across the Ohio River from Cincinnati.

WOCA is a joint meeting combining separate symposia previously held by the American Coal Ash Association and the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research. WOCA also incorporates 'satellite' meetings sponsored by government and private organizations as well as educational short courses.

WOCA 2007 offers a wide variety of topics addressing coal combustion products and byproducts. Presentations will encompass not only the utilization of coal ash and flue gas desulfurization materials, but will cover sustainable construction, emerging technologies, general ash management (including disposal), mercury related topics, recent research and specific case studies, international activities and regulatory topics from the local, state, and federal perspectives.
More at www.worldofcoalash.org

Results from Last Week:
Parking Lots in the Bailiwick of Architects and Engineers
Which of the following groups is most influential in the selection of concrete or asphalt for parking lots?
Responses (percentage)

  • Architect/engineer 61 (41.22%)
  • Owner 43 (29.05%)
  • Contractor/developer 40 (27.03%)
  • Property manager 4 (2.70%)

Take the current poll

PCA's education and training group will conduct the following courses at PCA's Skokie, Ill., facility. Customized and off-site courses are also available. For more information or to register, contact Julie Lisiecki.
Troubleshooting: Solutions to Concrete Field Problems
March 19-21, 2007

 Mill Grinding
March 19-21, 2007

Kiln Process
March 26-29, 2007

Cement and Concrete Overview
April 16-17, 2007

 

  



 
Hardscape North America
March 7-10, 2007
Nashville, Tenn.
More Information 		PCA Spring Meeting
March 18-20, 2007
San Diego, Calif.
More information

12th International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement
July 8-13, 2007
Montreal, Quebec
More information

IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement
Industry Technical Conference
April 29-May 3, 2007.
Charleston, S.C.
More information

 


The Executive Report is distributed free of charge to members of PCA and to individuals interested in PCA activities or the cement, concrete, and construction industries.

 View or download
back issues

5420 Old Orchard Rd.
Skokie, Illinois 60077
847.966.6200 info@cement.org

500 New Jersey Ave. N.W.
7th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20001
202.408.9494 fax 202.408.0877


©2007 Portland Cement Association
All rights reserved

The Portland Cement Association conducts market development,
research, education, and government affairs work on behalf of
its members—cement companies in the United States and Canada.