Fresh breath   Roads & Bridges April 2008   By Bill Wilson
Talk of new commission gives industry a needed cleaning
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One and done?   Roads & Bridges March 2008   By Bill Wilson
NTSB report refuses to blame beyond the designer of tragic I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis
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Private black eye   Roads & Bridges February 2008   By Bill Wilson
Will the investors of the future bully innocent motorists?
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Thin on air   Roads & Bridges January 2008   By Bill Wilson
D.C. plan would suffocate city traffic

Dish it out   Roads & Bridges December 2007   By Bill Wilson
We need heavier servings of recycled material

Clear your plate   Roads & Bridges November 2007   By Bill Wilson
If states, cities and counties want full funding, perhaps they should be held accountable for their actions

Fed deathbed   Roads & Bridges October 2007   By Bill Wilson
Despite I-35W tragedy, White House still threatens

Total collapse   Roads & Bridges September 2007   By Bill Wilson
Many are to blame for the I-35W tragedy

Gone are the days at the beach   Roads & Bridges December 2005

They’re running toward the light   Roads & Bridges November 2005   Bill Wilson Editor in Chief bwilson@sgcmail.com
I’m all for the highway industry giving something back, but hopefully there is a guarantee that all of the money will return to the rightful owner before the $284.5 billion SAFETEA-LU highway bill is over and done with.

Saving a place   Roads & Bridges October 2005   Bill Wilson
Despite all the problems with the levee system, it was hard to believe a major metropolitan area did not have the transportation capacity to evacuate everybody.

Now taking donations   Roads & Bridges September 2005   Bill Wilson, Editor in Chief
I have heard of politicians earmarking federal funds for projects, but I’m not sure how many of them are able to hand pick the contractors.

A questionable move   Roads & Bridges August 2005   Bill Wilson Editor in Chief bwilson@sgcmail.com
Budget shortfalls are trashing just about every state capital building. Can we honestly say the $286 billion in federal funds over the next six years will help put an end to the hammer-to-piggy bank strategy at the local level?

Watch what they pick   Roads & Bridges May 2005   Bill Wilson
If I had known it would take Congress two years to approve the next six years of funding, I would have preferred a quick decision on the dollar level, then an 18-month comb- over of all the details.

There isn’t here   Roads & Bridges April 2005
If an agency predicts a 10% increase in traffic over the life of a project and the real figure turns out to be 25% it’s hard to blame a contractor if the pavment or bridge shows early signs of aging.

The tollway bandits   Roads & Bridges March 2005   By Bill Wilson, Editor in Chief
As more tolls pop up and more are increased, will the Macks, Freightliners and Internationals of the world seek escape hatches?

I hear to tell you   Roads & Bridges February 2005   Bill Wilson, Editor in Chief
Transportation noise is usually not something which can put you to sleep, and pavement noise is one area that continues to receive spiked attention.

Agreement is a reach   Roads & Bridges December 2004
President Bush may be pushed out of the way by, believe it or not, his own people.

East beats West   Roads & Bridges November 2004   Editorial
As an actor, the governor has played both a terminator and a bodyguard. I think he’s still confused at deciphering right from wrong.

Personal shoppers   Roads & Bridges October 2004   Bill Wilson
OSHA is trying to determine if certain types of PPE should be purchased by the ones actually flirting with injury or the ones teasing budget sheets.

Fighting weakens an industry   Roads & Bridges September 2004   Bill Wilson, Editor
bwilson@sgcmail.com
To think they were chucking dirt clods at each other is disgusting. I don’t care if the arguments were instigated by the contractor, the inspector or anyone else.

An attempt to save face   Roads & Bridges August 2004   Editorial
Executing the FHWA’s strategy will not only launch projects into additional delay, but also will throw depleted staffs into further turmoil.

Cones come marching in   Roads & Bridges June 2004   Bill Wilson
The computerized cone platoon and the other devices give the drunk, distracted and disorderly zero chance at taking a life.

Wrong picture   Roads & Bridges April 2004   Editorial
2003 Robert F. Boger Award

Never toy with numbers   Roads & Bridges March 2004   Bill Wilson, Editor: bwilson@sgcmail.com
Am I led to believe that this will be known as the case of the “Big Cheese?” If it is, you did not read it here first.

Everybody follow Vermont   Roads & Bridges January 2004   Bill Wilson
Two years ago, Richard Wobby, director of member services for the Vermont Associated General Contractors of America, helped lead a group dedicated to flipping everyone on the same page. The group, which included traffic managers, contractors and police officers, opened the lines of communication. and developed a work-zone checklist everyone could refer to.

What a move   Roads & Bridges January 2004   Editorial

Pay now, payroll later?   Roads & Bridges December 2003   Bill Wilson
I have a problem when the one in charge uses eager imagination to pull a job or two out of a hat, especially when it reflects on the reputation of public agencies—namely state DOTs.

Is there someone you can call?   Roads & Bridges November 2003   Bill Wilson
What the state of Michigan really needs is the 5-1-1 travel advisory service, where those on the go can call for current reports on those routes where road conditions, highway crashes, local events and other occurrences cause heavy traffic congestion.

A ton of bricks is a hit   Roads & Bridges October 2003   Bill Wilson
Today there are dozens of cities that prohibit paving over existing streets with other materials, and some are now going to extremes to bring the old look back.

Let's mind our own business   Roads & Bridges September 2003   Bill Wilson
I'm envious of the attention the current administration is giving to any foreign country. Is it going to take another terrorist attack in our states for our leaders to blow the dust off the domestic policy, assuming there is one?

Can they videotape your car?   Roads & Bridges August 2003   Bill Wilson
People want to know every little piece of building specification, and they deserve it.

Stick it to them   Roads & Bridges July 2003   Bill Wilson

Who's buying?   Roads & Bridges June 2003   Bill Wilson
Will we ever reach a point where some swashbuckling company forks over millions of dollars to fix or maintain some fork in the road? And will they then have the right to plaster advertising every 100 ft through the acquired zone? I have visions of countless billboards and company logos on every mile marker.

Troublemakers on Wall Street   Roads & Bridges May 2003
A few weeks ago, a prestigious East Coast periodical published an opinion piece ranting against the possibility of a bigger highway bill. The following are arguments made by the opposition, followed by my defense enhanced by information from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

Rush-to-the-hospital hour   Roads & Bridges April 2003   Bill Wilson

Rising to Pieces   Roads & Bridges February 2003   Bill Wilson
When the day comes when we are buzzing around in high-tech automobiles, speed of construction will be a far heavier weight than the one contractors are handling now. What better way to address that problem than using precast concrete slabs to create new highways and rehab old ones? The process has been used sparingly across the country, and all the cases fell in the category of concrete repair. Crews would cut out a damage section and replace with a new precast slab.

Someone needs to bag this approach   Roads & Bridges January 2003   Bill Wilson
Inflation is a given in this country. Dismissing it is inexcusable. VDOT has a rate installed now--a soft 3%--so you can expect a total cost of $1 billion, maybe more. The checkout counter will remain open.

Can they cut the mustard?   Roads & Bridges December 2002   Bill Wilson
According to a special report by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, the November elections showed a nation still divided when it comes to dropping some more coin in the construction jar.

Is executive treatment enough?   Roads & Bridges November 2002   Bill Wilson
Try slipping a harmful object past the Environmental Protection Agency. The slightest suspicion will have officials waving their wand--one that can freeze the biggest of proj-ects for years. Just ask any transportation planner.

Serious pier pressure   Roads & Bridges July 2002   Bill Wilson, Editor bwilson@sgcmail.comEditor
Every single pier should have some type of shield. This should have been a law from day one. Why? Because you never know when the worst will strike and innocent people perish.

A developing picture   Roads & Bridges June 2002   Bill Wilson
In a recent ROADS & BRIDGES readership survey over 90% rated the graphics and readability of our magazine as good or excellent. The real purpose of this questionnaire was to gather feedback on the soul of this product. We wanted to know what departments were read most frequently and the interest levels of various subject matter.

Nobody should smell trouble   Roads & Bridges May 2002   Bill Wilson
Manufacturers need to breathe just like everyone else and agree when there’s talk of purifying the atmosphere. But times are tight—there are tight time frames and tight budgets. A few of the major players simply don’t know if they’ll be able to meet EPA deadlines, and most have bulldozed a ton of money into research and development.

We need different chips   Roads & Bridges April 2002   Bill Wilson
We’ll be competing with top-ranked teams until the next TEA-21—TEA-3—is passed. The Department of Defense, the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services are all diving for this loose ball known as the president’s budget.

And now these messages   Roads & Bridges March 2002   Bill Wilson
We have the finest associations in the country fighting and working for our cause. I think it’s time to launch a dive-bombing ad campaign—because without roads, where would you go?

We’re losing it   Roads & Bridges February 2002
After a report revealed states were hurting, word is RABA funding could be on the decline