January TxDOT Highway Letting Dates

The February Texas Department of Transportation's highway letting is scheduled for the 10th and 11th. According to a Nov. 24 report, 71 projects are approved to be let with an estimated total of $259,302,421.

The report also cited that projects may be added, advanced or delayed as deemed necessary.

Aviation Bill Clears Congress Approving $14.2 Billion for Airport Grants

The U.S. Congress has passed a four-year, $60 billion aviation measure that contains $14.2 billion in federal grants for airports, permitting the Federal Aviation Administration to resume approving new Airport Improvement Program grants.

The agency had been unable to clear new AIP aid since Sept. 30, when the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century-AIR-21- expired.

The measure was hung up because of opposition to a provision that would let the FAA contract out more air traffic controller positions. But under a compromise brokered by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., the FAA agreed not to put any controller jobs up for possible privatization through this Sept. 30, when the fiscal year ends.

The bill authorizes $3.4 billion for AIP in fiscal 2004, then boosts that amount by $100 million a year until it tops out at $3.7 billion in fiscal 2007. The 2003 AIP appropriation is $3.38 billion.

In addition, the measure establishes a separate fund to finance airport security projects. That fund, authorized at $500 million a year, is supported by current security fees that airline passengers pay. It was a response to arguments that since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, airports were using a large amount of AIP aid, which allocates funding for capacity and safety projects, for security projects.

The new bill, titled "Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act," also contains provisions aimed to expedite environmental reviews of runways and other airport capacity-increasing projects. (Source: Engineering News-Record).

Port of Corpus Christi to Get Security Overhaul

Using funds from a $2.27 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Port of Corpus Christi has awarded a $1.8 million contract to Nebraska-based Adesta to provide and integrate physical security, access control and new intrusion detection systems for the nation's sixth largest port.

More than $92.3 million in grants were given to 51 ports located throughout the nation.
Congress provided funding for the grant program to the new Transportation Security Administration to be used in part for a number of security improvements. Those include surveillance cameras for the Inner Harbor waterway, fiber-optic links, high-intensity security lighting, a security control center and intrusion/motion sensors at designated strategic locations throughout the Inner Harbor.

"We were impressed with Adesta's professionalism and ability to adapt proven solutions to the challenges posed by the unique characteristics of the Port of Corpus Christi," said Luther Kim, chief of port security.

ASDSO Reports $36 Billion Needed to Repair Dams

The Association of State Dam Safety Officials has compiled state and national estimates of the cost of dam rehabilitation and plans to ask Congress to establish a national dam-financing solution program.

A nine-member task committee of the ASDSO concluded that the cost of upgrading or repairing all of the nation's nonfederal dams would exceed $36 billion. The committee's report states that almost one-third of this amount-$10.1 billion-is needed for the nation's most critical dams, those whose failure would cause loss of human life.

The states currently regulate more than 10,000 of these structures. Of the approximately 8,060 non-federally operated dams in Texas, some 851 of those were considered high-hazard potential structures, and some 400 were state-determined deficient.

The committee's two-year, peer-reviewed study considered the number of state-regulated dams, the size of each dam, the costs of deferred maintenance (any maintenance activity that does not require formal engineered plans or the approval of a professional engineer), the cost of engineering evaluation and design, the cost of rehabilitation (either repair, replacement or removal) and the cost of increasing storage capacity or structural upgrades.

Estimates do not include costs for administration of a funding mechanism, nor do they take into account the increasing number of high-hazard-potential dams.

Zachry Construction Completes Work on 151

San Antonio-based Zachry Construction recently completed work on Texas Highway 151, which spans from just south of Loop 410W to one mile south of Loop 1604S. The $25.5 million project will eventually be part of the expansion of Bexar County's Loop 1604, which circles San Antonio.

Zachry worked on 4.981 miles, including .208 mile of bridges. There are four 40-foot-wide mainlanes separated by 40 feet, tapering up to six lanes at each entrance/exit point.