California Asphalt Pavement Association
Vol. 15, Issue 41 || Oct. 10, 2022
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Greetings!
This weekly report contains news and information of interest to the asphalt pavement industry, customers and agency partners in California. Please feel free to distribute this newsletter to others who may be interested in asphalt pavements. To provide feedback or story ideas click HERE. Having difficulty viewing this newsletter? View as Webpage
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State Route 99 steps out of the shadows of I-5 |
Interstate 5 has long been regarded as the workhorse of commerce for California, and is the only interstate that touches both the U.S-Mexico and U.S.-Canada border. The California stretch alone is 796 miles long.
But another important route that also runs up a large segment of the spine of California is State Route 99, which meanders through more populated areas of the fertile Central Valley, including Bakersfield, Fresno, Merced, Modesto, Stockton, Sacramento, Yuba City and Chico, a total of 424 miles.
In the San Joaquin Valley, in particular, the route is an important corridor of commerce, but in places it narrows, creating white-knuckle adventures for autos and trucks traversing the area. Fortunately, an organized effort to address the inadequacies of 99 is starting to take shape, and is endorsed by CalAPA.
The Tulare County Association of Governments, the Merced County Association of Governments and the Madera County Transportation Commission are seeing support for a 16-year funding and plan to, as they say, "finish State Route 99." As this coalition notes, 99 supports 1.3 million daily truck trips, and 90% of freight that moves through the San Joaquin Valley moves via truck. About 44% of all employment in the San Joaquin Valley is associated with goods-movement dependent industries, more than all other regions of California. It is estimated that the state's geographic and agricultural production center, which generates more than $45 billion in agricultural products a year, provides about 25% of the nation's food supply.
Of the 274-mile corridor running through the three counties, the coalition estimates about eight segments totaling 35 miles remain without funds dedicated for improvements, including at least a dozen bottlenecks deemed safety hazards.
CalAPA joined a 2021 coalition letter supporting funding for these vital improvements, and recently lent its support for a Tulare County Association of Governments Trade Corridor Enhancement Program application to widen SR99 to six lanes at the Paige Avenue Interchange. Its the kind of transportation improvement that California knows how to do well and is desperately needed in the Central Valley.
It's no small irony that the troubled High Speed Rail project is also under construction within sight of 99, with one HSR bridge adorned with a flapping banner that touts the 500 construction jobs created by the project. The New York Times weighed in on that project with a major Sunday piece that carried the headline, "How California's bullet train went off the rails." The sub-head was even more harsh: "America's first experiment with high-speed rail has become a multi-billion-dollar nightmare. Political compromises created a project so expensive that almost no one knows how it can be built as originally envisioned."
State Route 99, meanwhile, is a Valley transportation stalwart that is long overdue for attention and can be finished soon and deliver tangible benefits that will be apparent to everyone. CalAPA is proud to support the effort.
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Advanced Clean Fleets: How to get from here to there |
The California Air Resources Board is seeking public comments on its proposed Advanced Clean Fleets regulations, which are part of a broader effort by state regulators to reduce emissions from the transportation sector.
Written comments are due to CARB by Oct. 17. The official on-line comment form is HERE. The agency will be holding a public hearing on the topic on Oct. 27 in Sacramento and via a remote-meeting platform. The official notice of that public hearing is HERE.
Industry representatives have noted that while CARB is seeking to have vehicle fleets start phasing in Zero Emission Vehicles in 2024, no funding options have been put forward to help industry partners obtain supplemental funding to reach compliance with ACF mandates. There are additional concerns that the availability of ZEVs in various classifications of vehicles, as well as the quantity needed, is unclear.
Some of these concerns emerged during the CalAPA webinar, "The Future of Powering Our Fleets," which was broadcast in June and later featured in the CalAPA magazine, California Asphalt, which can be viewed on-line HERE.
CalAPA's Environmental Committee continues to work with various like-minded stakeholders to identify issues with these and other clean-air mandates and how they will impact the asphalt industry, and invites members to share their feedback.
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Commentary: Piling on to 'Big Oil' |
Bug-eyed comedian Rodney Dangerfield made a career out of the catch phrase, "I get not respect." The oil industry in California is probably feeling a bit like that these days, and that has implications for the asphalt industry as well.
Of course, everyone is aware of the high prices Californians are currently paying at the pump, about $6 per gallon or more, which is about 70% higher than the national average, according to the American Automobile Association. The price of asphalt, a byproduct of the refining process, is also tracking higher. The Caltrans Statewide Crude Oil Price Index, which is used to smooth out wild fluctuations in the price of asphalt between contract award and the time it is purchased, was sitting this month at $497, which is lower than the $646 in July but higher than the prices in the low $200s experienced during late 2020 and early 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic turned consumption upside down. This much is clear: the price and availability of liquid asphalt is linked to the fortunes of the asphalt pavement industry in California.
The reasons for today's higher prices are complex, and owed partly to the regulatory environment in California, the steep decline in oil production and refining in the state over the years, and special blends of fuel required to be sold in California to reduce air pollution. The safe and efficient operation of refineries requires that they are properly maintained, but those maintenance schedules may disrupt overall output. Oil is also a global commodity, and events far away, like a Russian invasion of Ukraine, can roil oil markets.
But the recent Election Year piling on by politicians to the oil industry is unprecedented and has continued unabated this year. To cite just a couple of recent examples:
A bill introduced in the Legislature, SB1322 by Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, took aim at a "mystery surcharge" on fuel that California motorists pay after various taxes and fees are taken out of the equation. It was signed into law Sept. 16.
Gov. Gavin Newsom took it a step further, calling for a windfall tax on oil companies. His Sept. 30 press release is HERE. Last week he demanded that a special session of the Legislature be convened in December to take up the issue. Legislative leaders, caught off-guard by the announcement, nevertheless fell into line with more anti-oil industry rhetoric.
The Western States Petroleum Association called the governor's announcement a "political stunt" that masks decades of failed energy policy in California. The WSPA statement is HERE.
Energy policy experts, meanwhile, lament the disconnect between California's aspirational climate goals, which increasingly focus on moving the state away from fossil fuels, and the reality that those same fuels power the state now and for the foreseeable future. Vaclav Smil in his book, "How the World Really Works," put it this way: "We are a fossil-fueled civilization whose technical and scientific advances, quality of life, and prosperity rest on the combustion of huge quantities of fossil carbon, and we cannot simply walk away from this critical determinant of our fortunes in a few decades, never mind years. Complete decarbonization of the global economy by 2050 is now conceivable only at the cost of unthinkable global economic retreat, or as a result of extraordinarily rapid transformations relying on near-miraculous technical advances."
Meanwhile, California oil production has steadily declined since it peaked at 423 million barrels in 1985. In 2020, it produced 148 million barrels of crude, according to CalGEM, the state oil regulatory division. That downward trend is expected to continue.
Nevertheless, in an election year when voters are in a sour mood, politicians need a villain, and for the governor and others they have decided that villain is the oil industry. Yet if history is any guide, price spikes are followed by price declines as market forces take over, and evidence of nefarious collusion never seems to materialize. Earlier this year, for example, a federal judge in San Diego dismissed a lawsuit that alleged some coordinated effort to keep oil supplies low in California. Previous investigations, announced to much fanfare over the years, have similarly fizzled out.
This much is obvious: the oil industry contributed mightily over the last century to help California become the economic colossus of today. At minimum, a little respect might be in order.
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Each week we highlight a word, acronym or other term commonly used in the asphalt pavement industry in California.
BITUMEN: Any of several flammable hydrocarbon substances, which may be liquid, semisolid, or solid. For road maintenance work, bitumen commonly means any of several road oils, either asphalt or tar, covered by various specifications.
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Paving Pointer of the Week |
Each week we highlight a key point or best practice of interest to asphalt paving crews, inspectors and others working in the field. We welcome suggestions. More tips can be found in our "Asphalt Parking Lot Construction Checklist" HERE. Information on the CalAPA "Quality Paving Certificate" program is HERE.
COMPACTION/DENSITY: The plans and specifications should specify how density is tested. The inspector needs to monitor the specified compaction density with a gauge to ensure that final target densities are achieved. Regular visual inspection of the mat during compaction is also required: look for segregation, indentations, properly sealed joints, and under-compacted areas.
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Each week we highlight a term that is specific to climate-change issues related to the asphalt pavement industry. This feature is intended to raise awareness of the asphalt industry's climate-change initiatives and the specialized terminology that goes with them. More information on "The Road Forward" asphalt industry climate initiative can be found HERE.
E-TICKETING: Paperless electronic document on driver and load delivered..
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"Today's accomplishments were yesterday's impossibilities.”
– Robert H. Schuller
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CALAPA CALENDAR:
View all CalAPA events HERE.
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Registration open!
Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference
Oct. 26-28, 2022
Hilton Sacramento Arden West Hotel, 2200 Harvard Street, Sacramento.
For exhibitor and sponsor information, contact Sophie You at (916) 791-5044.
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Topgolf networking event
Wednesday, Oct. 26, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Topgolf Sports & Entertainment Complex, 1700 Freedom Way, Roseville, CA
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There's never been a better time to join the California Asphalt Pavement Association! Members receive insight and advanced notice on critical issues that impact every company's bottom line. CalAPA members also receive invitations to exclusive member-only events, in-depth "Member Alerts," our comprehensive asphalt market forecast for California, discounts and industry-specific networking opportunities not available anywhere else. CalAPA's new searchable on-line membership directory helps connect potential customers with member companies. Click HERE to download our Member Service brochure. Click HERE to view Vol. 1 of recent testimonials. Not convinced? Click HERE to view Vol. 2 of recent testimonials. With so much changing in the asphalt pavement industry, what you don't know can cost you! Click HERE to send us an e-mail inquiry, or contact Russell Snyder with CalAPA at (916) 791-5044. |
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We hope you enjoy CalAPA's Asphalt Insider newsletter. We are committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information on technical issues, regulation, news, analysis, events and trends in California that is of interest to the asphalt pavement industry and our various agency partners. Click HERE to contact us with any comments or suggestions.
Sincerely,
Russell W. Snyder, CAE
Executive Director
California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)®
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The "Asphalt Insider" is an official publication of the California Asphalt Pavement Association. For more information or to inquire about membership, call (916) 791-5044, or click HERE to contact us. Copyright © 2022 California Asphalt Pavement Association -- All Rights Reserved. The CalAPA name (No. 5,621,794) and logo (No. 5,621,795) are registered trademarks with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
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P.O. Box 981300, West Sacramento, CA 95798
1550 Harbor Blvd., Suite 211, West Sacramento, CA 95691
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