1. INFRASTRUCTURE MONTHLY ISSUE 1
OCTOBER 2009
I nfrastructure M o n t h l y
Published by: The Right Hire
Matt Plotkin, President
310-844-7481
Mattp@therighthireinc.com
www.therighthireinc.com
PAGE 1 $139 MILLION TARGETED TO projected to be awarded by
TRANSPORTATION FUNDS UPGRADE TRANSPORTATION November.
INCREASED AND ENHANCE ECONOMIC
State and Federal Governments GROWTH Among the 44 projects that received
allocate an additional $139 million funding allocations today were:
for projects throughout California
Caltrans Press Release 9/10/09
Riverside County - $11.2 million to
PAGE 2 repair and resurface
NEWSLETTER Allocations include $2 million from nine miles of heavily used State
INTRODUCTION federal stimulus funds Route 91 between McKinley Street in
The Right Hire is proud to introduce Sacramento - Corona and the Orange/Riverside
Infrastructure Monthly, dedicated to
County line. This project will improve
the Construction and Civil Today, the California Transportation ride quality and safety for more than
Engineering industries. Commission (CTC) allocated 200,000 motorists who commute
$139 million to improve the state's daily on this section of highway.
PAGE 2 transportation system and provide
PIPELINES BURSTING further support for the state's
Throughout California there have Bay Area - $10 million to the Novato
economy. The allocations include $2 Narrows Project, which is widening
been an uptick in the numbers of million in funding from the American
pipes breaking causing floods. eight miles of Highway 101 to six
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of lanes between Novato in Marin
2009 (Recovery Act). The remaining County and Petaluma in Sonoma
PAGE 3 $137 million in allocations came from
CONCRETES CARBON County.
assorted transportation accounts
FOOTPRINT
Is concrete adding to or helping solve funded by state and federal dollars. Los Angeles - $4.4 million to
global warming? construct and install devices to
"From one end of the state to the remove metal pollutants and trash
other, transportation projects are from storm water runoff on eight
PAGE 3
ROADWAY COST providing good paying jobs and miles of State Route 60 from
ESTIMATOR improving mobility for people and Monterey Park to the City of Industry.
Calculator that gives estimated costs businesses in California," said In addition, $61 million was allocated
for concrete and asphalt. Caltrans Director Randy Iwasaki. to Caltrans to cover operating costs
"Our focus has been and continues to for its three intercity passenger rail
PAGE 4 be ensuring that California gets the lines. The Pacific Surfliner, the
TAX CREDITS FOR ENERGY maximum benefit from the stimulus Capitol Corridor and the San Joaquin
EFFICIENT HOMES funding."
Ways your home can provide tax are the second, fourth, and sixth
credits busiest intercity passenger rail
More than 140 stimulus services in the nation. Collectively,
transportation projects worth $1.1 more than five million persons rode
billion have been awarded contracts these trains in fiscal year 2008-09.
to begin work, and many more
projects are in the pipeline - $724
million in federal stimulus funds are

2. INFRASTRUCTURE MONTHLY ISSUE 1
OCTOBER 2009
THE RIGHT HIRE PRESENTS:
INFRASTRUCTURE MONTHLY
By: Matt Plotkin
Welcome to the first issue of
Infrastructure Monthly, provided and
created by The Right Hire. Each month,
you can expect a mix of Civil Engineering
and Construction articles, along with
business tips and ideas, industry trends,
and the latest alternative energy news. In
every issue, this newsletter will aim to
inform and educate its readers on the
latest infrastructure news.
The Right Hire is a recruiting firm
focused in the infrastructure fields of
Construction and Civil Engineering. We
have worked with companies of all sizes
to find the top talent on the market today.
Contact us today to find out how we can
help streamline your recruiting process.
Breaking Pipelines couple of years. The very same homes and businesses without
Create Problems pipeline burst in September water for almost an entire day.
Throughout California 1993, almost 16 years to the
day of the current flooding. As The bottom line here is that our
the cleanup crew worked hard pipelines in California are
By: Matt Plotkin and long to fix the pipeline and getting old and need to be
drain all the water, a bigger replaced. This should be one of
issue should be confronted. the priorities of the government,
It's 10:30 on a Saturday night in at times taking precedent over
September and the street of Whenever there is talk of fixing our roads. While a series
Coldwater Canyon in Studio infrastructure projects, we hear of potholes may cause a
City is covered in several feet of about the roads and bridges commuter to change their route,
water. The cause was not from that are crumbling. We hear talk a bursting pipeline creates a
El Nino, a severe rain storm or a of high speed rails and fixing problem for the entire
hurricane, but rather a 64 foot our freeway system to alleviate community, whether it's through
pipeline that had burst open, traffic. What hasn't been flooding, causing local
causing massive flooding in the mentioned is the need to fix and
streets. Local homes, cars and residents to go without
replace our old pipelines that water, or damaging our
businesses were damaged. run under our streets, which are
Large pieces of concrete were roads at the same time.
100 years old in some cases, in After all, pipes are a major
ripped from the ground and the badly need of repair and have
water damaged roads. And part of our infrastructure
recently been reeking havoc
many people were forced to throughout California. and should no longer be
relocate, either to a shelter or a overlooked.
hotel, until local officials were In the month of September in
able to clean up the water and Los Angeles alone, there have
restore order to the been more than 35 pipelines
neighborhood in Studio City. that have burst. In 2006, there
were 13. A major 100 foot
The question then turns to how pipeline in Folsom broke last
this happened and how it could February, causing a 16 hour
have been prevented. The outage, and San Diego had a
evidence points to the 100 year pipeline burst recently, that left
old pipeline that was scheduled an entire neighborhood of
to be replaced in the next

3. INFRASTRUCTURE MONTHLY ISSUE 1
OCTOBER 2009
Roadway cost estimator
The American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA)
introduced an online calculator that helps agencies,
planning organizations, road builders, and contractors
calculate estimated fuel and cost savings associated
with building with concrete pavement versus asphalt.
The ACPA Green Streets Calculator
(www.pavements4life.com/greenstreets) illustrates that
concrete roads deflect less under loading, allowing
trucks to get better fuel mileage; and concrete uses
less fuel to construct than asphalt roads.
The online calculator accounts for highway/roadway
design including road length, total road width, concrete
thickness, comparable asphalt thickness, traffic, and
fuel costs. Then the utility determines the minimum,
average, and maximum impact of using concrete
versus asphalt in relation to fuel usage and
environmental impact. Visit www.pavements4life.com/
greenstreets to try out the online calculator.
How Solid Is Concrete's Carbon Footprint? longer if the concrete is recycled into new
construction--and because concrete is somewhat
Many scientists currently think at least 5 percent of permeable, the effect extends beyond exposed
humanity's carbon footprint comes from the surfaces.
concrete industry, both from energy use and the While such changes can be a structural concern for
carbon dioxide (CO2) byproduct from the concrete containing rebar, where the change in
production of cement, one of concrete's principal acidity can damage the metal over many decades,
components. the CaCO3 is actually denser than some of the
materials it replaces and can add strength.
Haselbach's careful analysis of concrete samples
Yet several studies have shown that small
appears to show that other compounds, in addition
quantities of CO2 later reabsorb into concrete, even
to calcite, may be forming. Although the
decades after it is emplaced, when elements of the
compounds remain unidentified, she is optimistic
material combine with CO2 to form calcite.
about their potential.
A study appearing in the June 2009 Journal of
"Understanding the complex chemistry of carbon
Environmental Engineering suggests that the re-
dioxide absorption in concrete may help us develop
absorption may extend to products beyond calcite,
processes to accelerate the process in such
increasing the total CO2 removed from the
materials as recycled concrete or pavement.
atmosphere and lowering concrete's overall carbon
Perhaps this could help us achieve a nearly net-
footprint.
zero carbon footprint, for the chemical reactions at
least, over the lifecycle of such products."
While preliminary, the research by civil and
That is the thrust of Haselbach's current NSF-
environmental engineering professor Liv
funded work, where she is now looking at
Haselbach of Washington State University re-
evaluating the lifecycle carbon footprint of many
emphasizes findings first observed nearly half a
century ago--that carbon-based chemical traditional and novel concrete applications, and
compounds may form in concrete in addition to the looking for ways to improve them.
mineral calcite-now in the light of current efforts to "This work is part of the portfolio of studies
stem global warming. that NSF is funding in this vital area," added
"Even though these chemical species may equate Bruce Hamilton, director of NSF's
to only five percent of the CO2 byproduct from
environmental sustainability program and a
cement production, when summed globally they
become significant," said Haselbach. "Concrete is supporter of Haselbach's work. "Research
the most-used building material in the world." relating to climate change is a priority."
Researchers have known for decades that
concrete absorbs CO2 to form calcite (calcium
carbonate, CaCO3) during its lifetime, and even

4. INFRASTRUCTURE MONTHLY ISSUE 1
OCTOBER 2009
Tax Credits for Energy Efficient
Home Improvements
In February, President Obama signed a stimulus bill
(The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009) that made some significant changes to the energy
efficiency tax credits.
* The tax credits that were previously effective for 2009,
have been extended to 2010 as well.
* The tax credit has been raised from 10% to 30%.
* The tax credits that were for a specific dollar amount
(ex $300 for a CAC), have been converted to 30% of the
cost.
* The maximum credit has been raised from $500 to
$1500 for the two years (2009–2010). However, some
improvements such as geothermal heat pumps, solar
water heaters, and solar panels are not subject to the
$1,500 maximum.
* The $200 cap on windows has been removed
Tax credits are available at 30% of the cost, up to
$1,500, in 2009 & 2010 (for existing homes only) for:
* Windows and Doors
* Insulation
* Roofs (Metal and Asphalt)
* HVAC
* Water Heaters (non-solar)
* Biomass Stoves