A frantic effort to secure a stable source of funding for California roads fell victim to partisan squabbling at the Capitol last week, and the regular Legislative session came to a close with no agreement in sight.

Gov. Jerry Brown and key lawmakers announced that a special bipartisan committee attached to the special session of the Legislature would continue to work on the issue past last week's regular-session legislative deadline, giving the pro-road lobby faint hope that something could be salvaged before the end of the year.

For additional detail and analysis, CalAPA members should consult a special "Member Alert" that was sent out Sept. 9. The alert includes a recap of the status of key bills the association, and our foot-sore lobbyists, have been tracking. CalAPA and many others have united under a "Fix Our Roads" coalition to keep the pressure on. The coalition's website is HERE.

The news was even more grim on the federal level, even though it was wrapped in a silver lining. The silver lining was an announcement by the federal Department of Transportation that the looming insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund has been put off until next year sometime. That was followed by reports that Congress would not take up a long-term transportation funding bill this year, opting instead for yet another short-term patch so that transportation spending authority can continue past the current expiration date of Oct. 29.

By now you should not only know your elected representatives in Sacramento and Washington, but also all their kids' names, ages and hobbies. When they get tired of hearing from us, they will take action. For more information, backgrounders and more, click HERE to visit the CalAPA Legislative Action Page.

 

The 2015 Quality issue of California Asphalt magazine, an official publication of the California Asphalt Pavement Association, is now on-line. Paper copies should be arriving in mailboxes in the coming days. Click HERE to view it in a special 3-D format.

 

The issue features an innovative intersection built by CalAPA member Teichert Construction in Davis that improves safety for  bicyclists and pedestrians. A project by CalAPA member Papich Construction also is featured, as well as in-depth reports on the new Caltrans Pavement Management System, and an exclusive interview with Caltrans Deputy Director for Maintenance & Operations, Steve Takigawa. The interview serves as a preview for his remarks at CalAPA's upcoming Fall Conference Oct. 28-29 in Sacramento (details HERE).

An archive of past issues of the magazine can be found HERE. For advertising inquiries or to suggest story ideas, contact Kerry Hoover of Construction Marketing Services at (909) 772-3121.

 

It's been well-established that when auto manufacturers want to film this year's sexy new model they set up the cameras along a scenic stretch of asphalt pavement, usually along the California coastline. In the gaming world, "Asphalt," now on its eighth edition, lets you take to the wheel of exotic race cars and zoom down the shimmering blacktop in exotic locales.

The glamour shots in movies that have prominently featured asphalt pavements are too numerous to mention, but we'll take this

One version of the Mad Max "Pursuit Special" and its co-star, miles of luxurious asphalt pavements.

opportunity to highlight just one: "Mad Max" -- not the current version that is in theaters, but the one that started it all back in 1979 and made Mel Gibson a star.

The original "Road Warrior" movie, set in Australia, featured a highly modified "V-8 Interceptor," also known as the "Pursuit Special," piloted by Max "Mad Max" Rockatansky (Gibson). It is based on a 1973 Ford Falcon V-8 GT Coup (351 cubic-inch engine!), and car buffs have marveled ever since at its faux supercharger and barely legal exhaust pipes, plus many other modifications. "A piece from here, a piece from there," as a mechanic in the movie explains at one point.

But the other star of the movie was the long, luxurious miles of asphalt pavements stretching out across the Australian outback. It's hard to imagine that souped-up Ford chasing down the bad guys at high speed unless it was on a smooth asphalt driving surface. Perhaps that's why all of California's major race tracks are covered with asphalt.

In the current iteration of the "Mad Max" franchise, in keeping with the fad of post-apocalyptic doom on TV and the big screen, nary a paved road surface is seen. If our elected officials keep on their current path of inaction, perhaps that's what the future of our transportation system will look like.