Packed House for Construction Industry Forum
By Kari Hebrank
It was standing room only as close to one hundred underground utility contractors and
suppliers gathered at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club for NUCA of Florida’s
(NUCA FL) Construction Industry Forum as part of NUCA FL’s Annual Conference. The forum kicked off with a Transportation Infrastructure Panel compr ised of Assistant Secretary
Brian Blanchard, Flor ida Depar tment of Tr anspor tation (FDOT); Gene Strickland, President, Florida Transportation Builders Association; and, Representative Chris Latvala who was
a last-minute replacement for his father, Senator Jack Latvala whose plane was delayed.
Peppered with questions by moderator NUCA FL President Tom Woodward, Nelson
Construction, the panel discussed a var iety of tr anspor tation topics, including the Feder al gas tax distribution, mass transit, improving a strategic intermodal system, automated vehicles, corridor improvements, mobility fees and how to attract entry-level workers to help build
our future infrastructure.
Secretary Blanchard indicated Florida has a $3 billion road and bridge budget for FY
2015-1016 and the agency explores the return on investment for other modes of transportation
such as light rail, working with private industry, and mentioned there is an economic competitiveness for ensuring mobility. Key corridors underway include Tampa to Central Florida;
Tampa to Jacksonville; and extending the Turnpike westward to Highway 19.
Next the forum turned to Safe Digging 101: Critical Business Practices for Damage Prevention presented by Wayne Jensen, Chair, Tampa Bay Excavation Task Force. Introduced by moderator Mike Woodall, John Woody, Inc., Wayne reviewed “positive response”
codes and “locate tickets” along with best practices in order to verify the status of whether it is
safe to dig. Wayne stressed the importance of ensuring field crew understand locate ticket and
document locate marks in the field.
To complement Wayne’s presentation, Michael Barker, USIC gave a demonstration on a
new application that may be utilized in the field on a cell phone or iPad entitled “DigCheck.”
The application is free to utility contractors and excavators currently and allows users to view
locate tickets for up to 30 days. Interestingly, photos, notes and street views are available with
DigCheck.
Attendees were treated to a scrumptious buffet lunch with a keynote speaker--former
two-time Olympian Cliff Meidl, who impressed the audience with his remarkable story of recovery and overcoming adversity after he himself experienced a tragic digging accident. NUCA FL thanks the Florida Energy Pipeline Association and its members who sponsored Cliff’s
presentation and Sunshine 811 for coordinating his attendance and travel.
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