May 12, 2006

NACA Members Respond to Gulf Coast Hurricanes

   REBUILDING AND RECOVERY

Alabama Receives $17.6 Million For Hurricane Katrina Road Damages

Alabama is receiving $17.6 million to pay the state's cost for repairing the Cochrane Bridge, interstate ramps, traffic signals and other highway damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. Read the full release.

Florida Receives $480 Million For Traffic Signals And Highways

Florida is receiving $480 million to pay the state's cost for replacing traffic signals, clearing highway debris and repairing roads in 21 counties devastated by Hurricanes Rita and Wilma. Read the full release.

   EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING

One hundred and eighty builders, architects, engineers, contractors, and building officials attended the seminar Storm Resistant Concrete Homes and Buildings during three workshops last month in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. The 1-day workshops began with a session on Fortified Homes, a program of the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) followed by sessions on building code requirements, concrete masonry, precast concrete, tilt-up concrete, removable forms, and insulating concrete forms. The workshops were sponsored by Mississippi Concrete Industries Association, Concrete and Aggregate Association of Louisiana, and Alabama Concrete Industries Association, Concrete Homes magazine, and Concrete Monthly magazine. The program was organized by the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association and presented by IBHS, Portland Cement Association, National Concrete Masonry Association, Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, Tilt-up Concrete Association, Concrete Foundations Association, and Insulating Concrete Form Association. NACA members are currently planning additional seminars in other regions of the country. For details on future seminars visit www.nrmca.org/seminars. Contact Lionel Lemay.

   CODES AND RESEARCH

Mississippi law will tighten coastal building codes
Under legislation signed into law by Governor Haley Barbour (R) last month, five of Mississippi's coastal counties and all municipalities within those counties will have to enforce requirements of the International Building Code and the International Residential Code. The counties impacted by the measure are Jackson, Harrison, Hancock, Stone, and Pearl River. The five counties have 60 days to opt out of the new building requirements but none are expected to do so. Local authorities in other counties are not required to implement the codes but may voluntarily do so. Contact Robert Sullivan.

Study shows concrete buildings fared well against Katrina
A team of civil engineering and research faculty from Mississippi State University recently evaluated building systems and material performance in Mississippi cities struck by Hurricane Katrina. The evaluation was part of a study of the impact of coastal storm surge and winds generated by the storm and an assessment of the building codes and their applications in the area. The structural damage survey included the cities of Waveland, Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport, and Biloxi. Three general types of construction were reviewed including residential and commercial buildings and selected infrastructure such as bridges. In general, reinforced concrete and steel commercial structural frames performed well. Light-frame wood structures on the coastline were almost entirely destroyed by the surge. The group reported that connections were the weak links in all types of buildings and stressed that “good engineering needs to be part of rebuilding [the] Gulf Coast.” Contact Jim Niehoff

   GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

Senate panel urges dismantling of FEMA
According to a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee report, Hurricane Katrina exposed flaws in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) "too substantial to mend." The report urges that FEMA be dismantled and rebuilt inside the Department of Homeland Security. The 750-plus page report, "Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared," makes 88 recommendations and would replace FEMA with a new National Preparedness and Response Authority whose head would report to the Secretary of the Homeland Security Department. Under this scenario, this person would serve as the President's top adviser for national emergency management. The report, which faults the Administration for a bungled storm response, also found serious design flaws in New Orleans' levees and failures by city and state leaders. Contact Robert Sullivan or John Sullivan.