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Dr. Tulio Sulbaran speaks to the crowd at the Plant Managers Forum
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Dr. Tulio Sulbaran, Director of the University of Southern Mississippi Center for Logistics, Trade, and Transportation, was the speaker at the DeSoto County Annual Plant Managers Forum and Luncheon at Whispering Woods this week. Speaker Dr. Sulbaran discussed the USM program's academic degrees, applied solutions and competitive advantage (research) and partnerships and networking with Industry Advisory Councils. USM offers value added programs that can assist our area manufacturers and distributors.
Approximately 40 business and industry leaders attended this annual event, designed to bring value added programs and technical resources to benefit our industrial community.
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Mississippi Freight Plan and MDOT Freight Webpage
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We are pleased to announce that the MS Freight Plan and the MDOT Freight Webpage are now available. The webpage will focus on MDOT Freight news and activities and contain MDOT's published freight documents and a calendar of relevant freight-related events. Without your participation and valued input, this accomplishment would not have been as meaningful had we not been able to gather the different perspectives of freight from you, the stakeholders. We hope this will serve as a resource that will be beneficial to you and your constituents.
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Bids on reworking Interstate 55 stretch are rejected
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The Mississippi Department of Transportation has rejected all design-build proposals submitted for the Interstate 55 project that is from the I- 20 interchange and Byram.
"After reviewing bids received April 17, it was determined the lowest bid had several major errors and could not be awarded," MDOT Executive Director Melinda McGrath said Friday in a news release. "The other bids greatly exceeded the state's estimate and were not viable options."
The lowest bid for the redesign and completion of the widening of the 7.5-mile stretch was $103.8 million from W.G. Yates & Sons of Philadelphia.
Others who submitted bids were Aberdeen-based Eutaw Construction Co., $165.1 million and T.L. Wallace Construction Inc. of Columbia, $169.9 million. James Construction of Baton Rouge was awarded the original $94 million construction contract, and had been free to submit another bid for the design-build approach, but chose not to.
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Owner-operator truck group urges feds to drop proposal requiring speed limiters
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The group representing about 150,000 of the nation's owner-operator truck drivers told two government agencies that a proposed rule requiring speed-limiting devices on large trucks is not supported by science and would make highways less safe.
In a letter sent yesterday to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) said that uniform highway speeds for all vehicles-cars and trucks-set by each state are the best way to keep the highways safe. Separate speed limits for cars and trucks, by contrast, increase the risk of crashes, the group said.
The group is opposed to policies that would create what it called "speed differentials" for heavy-duty trucks because of the resulting increased interactions between vehicles, which would lead to a greater likelihood of collisions. OOIDA asked the agencies to think carefully before setting a policy it warned would "create a dangerous, split-speed environment on U.S. highways."
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142 U.S. troops involved with Nepal earthquake relief
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There are 142 U.S. service members currently involved in earthquake relief efforts in Nepal, according to U.S. Pacific Command.
That breaks down to 86 Marines, 38 soldiers and 18 airmen, PACOM spokesman Army Maj. David Eastburn told Military Times on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday that as many as 500 U.S. troops could be part of relief efforts, but Eastburn could not verify that figure.
On Sunday, four Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys arrived in Nepal to deliver relief supplies being stored at the Kathmandu airport and elsewhere, Eastburn said. The Marine Corps has also sent three KC-130Js to refuel aircraft.
Marine Forces, Pacific said the Ospreys are from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 based out of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, Japan. The KC-130Js are with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 based out of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan.
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U.S. Ports See Costly Delays as Cargo Ships, Volumes Grow
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PORTSMOUTH, Va.-The Port of Virginia, one of the nation's largest, was built to handle high volumes of cargo traffic entering and exiting the U.S.
But on his way recently to pick up a load of bedding, Albert Newcomb was stalled for two hours before his rig could make it through a mile-long line to one of the port's terminals. Once inside, the 43-year-old independent truck driver hit a traffic jam 13 lanes wide and 10 trucks deep. By the time he left with his load, he had waited for a total of eight hours. "It's ridiculous," he said, as he sat in his truck idling outside the gates. "It's almost to the point where you want to quit."
A key reason for the holdup: a surge of containers from three large ships at dock was straining the port's capacity and tying up dockworkers and cranes. Such congestion is becoming increasingly common at major U.S. ports-a problem that could have profound implications for the $900 billion worth of goods transported to and from the U.S. each year by container ships.
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Dick Hall: Mississippi's economic future is tied to its highway system
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At a recent luncheon sponsored by the Madison County Business League & Foundation, Highway Commissioner Dick Hall talked about the importance of highways and transportation to the economic health and future of Mississippi.
"Obviously, if you don't have a good transportation network, then companies who might come to Mississippi will ask themselves whether they can get their goods in and out of the state," he observed. "Unfortunately, on a statewide basis, we're losing ground every day."
He pointed out that Mississippi's ranking in terms of bridge safety has slipped from 14th worst in the nation to 8th worst.
"We need $500 million dollars just to fix the structural issues in our state," he said. |
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Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right.
-Henry Ford
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Away
5/12 @ Tulane
5/14 @ Middle Tennessee State
5/15 @ Middle Tennessee State
5/16 @ Middle Tennessee State
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CONTACT US
Dr. Tulio Sulbaran, Director [email protected]601.266.6419 Fax: 601.266.5717 118 College Drive #5138 Hattiesburg, MS 39406-000 |
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We want to know how we are doing and would like your feedback! Please take a couple minutes to answer our four question survey. This helps us know what you would like to see featured in upcoming newsletters.
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