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The Top 500 Design Firms
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
In 2009, design firms looked for a turnaround this year, but so far there has been little relief. Industry companies now await a bounce back in 2011. -
Volcano Disrupts Bauma Exhibition
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
As invisible as the global recession, dust from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano cast a cloud over the April 19 opening of Bauma in Munich. -
New Orleans-Area Levee Bolstered by Deep-Soil Mixing
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
A massive, 1.7-million-cu-yd, deep-soil-mixing project is powering up in eastern New Orleans, and veterans of the technique say it’s probably the largest such project ever undertaken. -
Feds Study Fuel-Economy Standards for Work Trucks
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
A recent report from the National Research Council will help guide the federal government as it develops fuel-economy and carbon regulations for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. -
Solar Project To Harness More of Sun’s Power in Hawaii
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
Solar developer Albiasa Corp., the San Francisco unit of a Spanish firm, has teamed with Hawaii-based developer Pacific Light and Power to build a small but more reliable utility-scale project on Kauai. -
Trades Vow To Keep Political Status Quo
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
Between the Obama administration and Democratic majorities in Congress, construction unions have had the political wind at their backs for more than a year. -
Four Construction Groups Sue New York DOT Over Pay Freeze
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
Four New York State trade associations representing heavy-construction contractors are suing the state over Gov. David Paterson’s announcement in March that the New York Dept. of Transportation would halt payments on all capital construction projects not funded by federal stimulus dollars. -
Firms’ Finances Raise Questions
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
Some alternative-energy developers that could gain millions in federal energy loan guarantees under the stimulus program may have shaky finances, according to financial filings and outside reviews. -
‘Link’ Beam With Steel Fibers Needs No Diagonal Rebar
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
A recent successful load test on a steel-fiber-reinforced-concrete beam, free of congestion-causing diagonal reinforcing steel, promises to positively impact constructibility of tall, moment-resisting frames in seismic zones -
Final Design Decisions On Horizon for Seattle Corridor
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
Washington state Dept. of Transportation (WsDOT) officials hope to finalize designs this summer for a 2.3-mile section of the $4.65-billion, 12.8-mile state Route 520 corridor improvement project, in Seattle, which includes the world’s longest floating pontoon bridge. -
Contractor Plans To Offer Fix For Troubled Seattle Tower
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
On April 15, opposing sides in a debate over the fate of a deteriorating, nine-year-old Seattle apartment tower presented their positions regarding the building’s future safety to Seattle’s Dept. of Planning and Development (DPD). -
New Jersey Firm Seeking Power From Oregon’s Waves
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
It may not be the biggest job nor the most important, but workers at Clackamas, Ore.-based Oregon Iron Works are clamoring to work on one of the company’s most unusual projects: Ocean Power Technologies’ PowerBuoy 150, a device designed to capture 150 kW of wave energy off Oregon’s coast. -
Wind, Water Power For New York State
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York Public Service Commission awarded $204 million in contracts on April 9 that will support the development of 318 MW of renewable electricity at eight sites. -
Yucca Mountain Shutdown Halts After Washington State Lawsuit
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
The legal battle over the U.S. Energy Dept.’s nuclear-waste storage program took a turn on April 14, when the agency halted closure of Nevada’s Yucca Mountain repository following a legal challenge by Washington state. -
Big Southern Contractors Merge
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
Anderson Cos., a Gulfport, Miss.-based general contractor, announced on April 16 it has acquired Brice Building Co., Birmingham, Ala. Anderson, the parent of Roy Anderson Corp. and Harrell Contracting Group. -
Growth Down for Design Firms, 100 CFOs Say in Annual Survey
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
Results for 2009 among 102 engineering firms monitored by an industry financial advisory firm showed a revenue decline for the first time in 20 years of annual tracking, says the survey’s sponsor, the Environmental Financial Consulting Group. -
British Columbia Pushes Ahead On $6.6-billion Hydro Project
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
British Columbia will move forward with the development of a new, 900-MW, $6.6-billion hydroelectric project on the Peace River in the province’s eastern section, Premier Gordon Campbell announced on April 19. -
Skanska Submits Low Bid On Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
Whitestone, N.Y.-based Skanska USA Civil was the apparent low bidder to replace the southernmost 1-mile leg of Seattle’s state Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct—the first portion of a larger project. -
French Firm Wins Two Large Peruvian Powerplant Contracts
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
French energy company GDF Suez has won two long-term energy-supply contracts worth $600 million for Peruvian powerplants. -
Equipment Prices Rise, But Values Still Remain Depressed
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
Used construction-equipment values are creeping up after bottoming out last summer, a sign that credit is looser and fewer firms are ditching their fleets. -
New Water-Resources Bill Slowly Takes Shape
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
Early work has begun in the House on a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which would authorize new Corps of Engineers civil-works projects and mandate changes in Corps policies. -
Democrats Seek Funding Source For High-Speed Lines
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
More than 100 House Democrats have asked President Obama to help find a “dedicated revenue source” for the high-speed-rail program. -
Judge to EPA: Step Up Everglades Enforcement
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
A federal judge has slammed the Environmental Protection Agency, threatening to hold the agency in contempt of court for failing to curb nutrient pollution in the Florida Everglades. -
Procurement: White House Mulling Changes to Policy
Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:59pm EDT
Some construction industry groups are concerned about a potential proposal from the White House they say would allow federal procurement officers to “blacklist” contractors based on an new pre-screening scoring system. -
Next Round of Federal Regulations Has Suppliers Retooling Clean Diesel
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:53pm EDT
The next phase of U.S. regulations aimed at cleaning up airborne emissions from off-road diesel engines will start taking effect in just nine months. -
Built Above Wildly Erratic River Levels, Cable-Stayed Giant Rises Over the Flood
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:53pm EDT
By the end of April, a joint venture called Audubon Bridge Constructors plans to begin pulling cable on the John James Audubon Bridge at St. Francisville, La., the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America. -
Paying To Replace Chinese Drywall
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:53pm EDT
Federal Judge Eldon Fallon in New Orleans ordered Taishan Gypsum Co. Ltd. to pay seven Virginia families a total of $2.6 million to remediate defective Chinese-made drywall in their homes. -
Steel Fibers Show Promise As 'Rebar Decongestants'
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:53pm EDT
A structural engineer is poised to be the first to use steel fibers as structural reinforcing in the lateral-force-resisting system of a concrete-framed high-rise in a seismic zone. -
Contractor Disputes Owner's Decision To Raze Ailing Tower
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:53pm EDT
The contractor for an occupied, 26-story apartment building in Seattle that has corroding post-tensioning cables disagrees with the owner's assertion that the nine-year-old high-rise will become unsafe. -
'Hot Cells' at DOE Hanford Site Set for Demo and Cold Burial
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:53pm EDT
Demolition of one 102,000-sq-ft facility amid many others on the 586-sq-mile Hanford nuclear waste site may seem minuscule, but not when the facility contains some of the world's highest radiation levels. -
Ontario Approves Nearly $9 Billion in Renewables Projects
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:53pm EDT
The Ontario government on April 8 approved renewable energy projects - worth nearly $9 billion to U.S. and Canadian firms - to produce 2,500 MW. -
San Diego Utility Closing In on Sunrise Powerlink Approval
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:53pm EDT
Construction on the Sunrise Powerlink - a $1.88-billion, 118-mile, 1,000-MW-capacity power line that would connect urban San Diego with alternative energy sources in the Imperial Valley - could begin in June if the U.S. Forest Service grants final approval. -
After 2008 Failure, TVA Boosts Coal-Ash Sites at Powerplants
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:53pm EDT
The Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, Tenn., has awarded San Francisco-based URS Corp. a five-year, $20- million contract to provide engineering and construction management services for conversion of wet coal-ash storage facilities at five coal plants to dry storage systems. -
Global Work Beckons Firms, But Borders Have Bumps
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:52pm EDT
The door opened wider to India's infrastructure market on April 7 when government minister Kamal Nath called on international firms at a New York City conference to participate in his country's mushrooming road and transport construction program. -
Call the Doctor: New System Captures Structural EKGs
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:52pm EDT
Traditional evaluation of structural soundness relies on measurements, calculations, observations and assumptions, but now engineers have a new tool that brings a far greater level of precision to the processes. -
New Steel Mill Rises From Pipe Demand
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:52pm EDT
The first new steel mill in Youngstown, Ohio, in decades is being built to supply small-diameter steel pipe for robust activity in Marcellus Shale gas-and-oil exploration. -
New York Plant's Water Permit Denied by State Regulators
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:52pm EDT
The New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on April 2 denied a water-quality standards certification for Units 2 and 3 of Entergy Corp.'s Westchester County-based Indian Point nuclear powerplant. -
Chicago Corps Looks at Lock Closure To Protect Great Lakes
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:52pm EDT
As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Chicago District considers possible scenarios for closing Chicago's locks to keep predatory Asian carp from entering Lake Michigan, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide if it will hear a lawsuit that could force the locks' closure. -
Lower Cost-Sharing Plan Makes California Line More Attractive
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:52pm EDT
California's High Speed Rail Authority is reconsidering plans for a new leg, which would run from Los Angeles to San Diego, of a $42-billion, 800-mile system; instead, it now is weighing a shared-track arrangement with Amtrak. -
Iowa Laborer Rescue Photo Wins Shooter a Pulitzer Prize
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:52pm EDT
A photo of the daring rescue last June of a stranded boater in Des Moines, Iowa, by construction worker Jason Oglesbee won a Pulitzer Prize on April 12 for photographer Mary Chind of the Des Moines Register. -
New York City Takes Control of Governor Island’s Development
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:52pm EDT
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on April 12 an agreement that gives the city long-term planning and development control of Governor's Island, a 172-acre chunk of largely undeveloped real estate in New York Harbor. -
DOT Gears Up for Next Round of Rail Grants
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:52pm EDT
The $8 billion the U.S. Dept. of Transportation awarded in January for high-speed rail was a dramatic move, but it is far from a one-shot deal. -
Agencies' 'Green' Plans Due At White House in June
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:52pm EDT
Following up on a 2009 presidential executive order, federal agencies are working on sustainability plans covering a range of areas, including buildings. -
FHWA Rejects Toll Plan For I-80 in Pennsylvania
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:52pm EDT
The Federal Highway Administration again has denied Pennsylvania's proposal to put tolls on the state's 311-mile stretch of Interstate 80. -
Views Split On New Rule For Project-Labor Pacts
Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:52pm EDT
A final regulation implementing a February 2009 executive order encouraging project labor agreements on big federal construction jobs drew criticism and praise. -
Award of Excellence Winner 2010 John Hillman
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 12:04pm EDT
This year's winner, John Hillman, toiled for almost 15 years to create a structural beam that could swiftly and economically bolster thousands of aging American structures. -
Feet To The Fire Rescuing A Bridge
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 12:02pm EDT
Hillman joined Swiss post-tensioning firm VSL in 1990 to work on a 385-m-long incrementally launched bridge in Utuado, Puerto Rico. Six months later, the project manager left the job. -
Taking Root Thesis Begins Hillman’s Quest
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 12:02pm EDT
Hillman’s master’s thesis at Virginia Tech focused on lightweight floor systems for steel-framed buildings. Hillman worked with Prof. Thomas Murray in a research assistantship funded by the American Institute of Steel Construction. -
Fly Ash Looms As The ‘New Asbestos’
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 12:02pm EDT
Concrete groups are on tenterhooks, waiting for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to publish a proposed rule that aims to designate fly ash and other coal-combustion by-products as hazardous waste. -
Colorado Water Job Sees Costs Climb
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 12:02pm EDT
The anticipated cost to build a controversial water-supply project in northern Colorado has increased 15% from 2006 estimates, to $490 million, project officials say. That total is up sharply from the original $350-million estimate at the project’s 2003 inception. -
B.C. Stadium Redo Attracts New Vancouver Casino-Hotel
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 12:02pm EDT
Vancouver, B.C.’s planned $458-million renovation of BC Place, the province’s largest stadium, already has paid dividends. Las Vegas-based Paragon Gaming announced in March it would lease the property adjacent to build a $450-million entertainment complex, complete with a 24-hour casino, five restaurants and two hotels. -
Perini-CityCenter Partnership Broken, Headed to Court
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:58am EDT
When the owner of CityCenter finally ended its relationship with contractor Perini Building Co., the last scene involved security staff escorting the contractor’s personnel off-site and then changing the locks. Like a bad divorce, this one could get expensive. -
Mississippi River Pilots Test Bridge Designs in Simulator
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:58am EDT
Designers planning new Mississippi River bridges consider many stakeholders, but none more significant than the river pilots who steer ships under them. -
FIATECH at 10: Measurable Management Innovation
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:58am EDT
An industry consortium founded 10 years ago in Texas had a straightforward goal: to connect capital facilities owners and builders with the most promising emerging technologies for the improved delivery of their work.FIATECH begins its second decade with a sense that its mission is succeeding. -
‘Inverted’ Drill Press Cuts Pain, Fatigue in Overhead Drilling
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:58am EDT
Researchers have developed an “inverted” drill press that cuts by nearly 90% the stress overhead drilling puts on shoulders, arms and hands. -
Contractor, Owner at Odds Over Voids in Seattle Tunnel
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:58am EDT
Crews have filled in about 80% of nine voids leftover from a 2-mile tunneling job through Seattle’s Beacon Hill. -
After Snags, Rail Moves in Austin
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:58am EDT
After contractual juggling and debates over the alleged dangers of steel rail ties, Austin’s Capital Metro opened its 32-mile MetroRail commuter line between the city of Leander, Texas, and Austin’s downtown Convention Center on March 22, a year later than originally planned. -
Coal-Ash Regulation Could Quash Plans To Build Plant
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:58am EDT
Plans to build a new, $50-million facility to recycle fly ash in southern Maryland for Atlanta-based Mirant could fall through if the Environmental Protection Agency designates the coal combustion by-product as a hazardous waste, says Mirant’s Misty Allen , the utility’s director of external affairs. -
Developers Seek FERC Permit For Plains Wind Transmission
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:58am EDT
Developers of an estimated $3-billion transmission system that will collect, store and distribute at least 3,000 MW of stranded renewable energy from wind-energy-rich western states and Canadian provinces to power-hungry regions elsewhere are seeking Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permission to move ahead. -
Seismic Tunnel Work Starts On Big San Francisco Upgrade
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:58am EDT
Contractors on the centerpiece of San Francisco’s $4.6-billion upgrade of the Hetch Hetchy water system, a $215.3-million tunnel under San Francisco Bay that will replace the 1920s-era pipeline structure, were told to start work on April 1. -
Florida Tribe Wins Ruling To Resume Everglades Construction
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:58am EDT
Stating Florida must comply with the original 1992 consent decree to address Everglades pollution, U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno granted on March 31 the Miccosukee tribe’s motion to compel completion of a key reservoir. -
Green-Infused Modular Classroom Targets ‘Grid-Neutral’ Status in School Construction
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:55am EDT
Getting energy-efficient design into school construction can be tough, but the Gen7 modular-classroom building from American Modular Systems, Manteca, Calif., fits many of the latest energy-efficiency advances into one package, bringing the cutting edge of green technologies to modular school construction. -
Build America Bonds Are Taking Off
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:54am EDT
In just one year, federally subsidized Build America Bonds for public-works projects have become a hot item. -
New Policy Could Reduce Mountaintop Mining
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:54am EDT
The Environmental Protection Agency on April 1 issued guidance that for the first time provides a numeric benchmark to measure the level of salt in water affected by mountaintop mining in Appalachia. -
Haiti: Donors Commit $5.3 Billion to First Reconstruction Phase
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:54am EDT
International donors have pledged $5.3 billion for the first stage of a plan to help earthquake-devastated Haiti rebuild. -
Agencies Call for Removing Problem Drywall
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:54am EDT
New guidance from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, released on April 2, recommends homeowners replace all potentially defective drywall as well as electrical components, wiring, gas-service piping, sprinkler systems and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms that may have been affected by the drywall. -
Carbon Lobby Cheers Drilling
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:54am EDT
The Obama Administration’s decision to open up offshore oil and gas development in Southern and mid-Atlantic states, new areas of the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic Ocean is drawing praise from oil and gas industry officials. -
Pipe Maker Extends Warranty In Wake of Whistle-blower Suit
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:54am EDT
JM Eagle, the world’s largest plastic-pipe manufacturer, on April 5 revised its product warranty from one year to 50 years. -
Industry Unemployment Down For First Time in Seven Months
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:54am EDT
Construction’s unemployment rate declined for the first time in seven months, as the industry gained 15,000 jobs in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said April 2. -
Ruling Upholds Willful Violation Against Sub in Building Collapse
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:54am EDT
An administrative law judge ruled on April 5 that Southern Pan Services, Lithonia, Ga., formwork subcontractor, willfully broke federal safety rules while working on a 413-car parking garage in Jacksonville, Fla., which collapsed during a concrete pour in December 2007, killing a construction worker. -
Civil Engineers Pushes DVD As Core of New Campaign
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:54am EDT
The American Society of Civil Engineers will release 3,000 free copies of “Ethicana,” a new anti-corruption DVD. -
Wild Icon for 2012 Games Resembles Deformed Helix
Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:54am EDT
A 115-m-tall looping latticework of tubular steel has been chosen to be the landmark for London’s 2012 Olympic Park. Standing 22 m taller than the Statue of Liberty, the “ArcelorMittal Orbit” will provide a high-level viewing platform between the main stadium and the Aquatics Centre. -
Treasury Says Build America Bonds Save Localities $12 Billion
Posted: April 5th, 2010, 4:18pm EDT
In public-works bond program's first year, volume exceeds $90 billion. -
ZGF Architects Wins $61M Homeland Security Contract
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:40pm EDT
The contract covers major portion of new DHS headquarters complex in Washington, D.C. -
This year’s Pritzker Award for Architecture Goes to Japan’s Sejima and Nishizawa
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:38pm EDT
Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, partners of the Tokyo-based Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates, better known as SANAA, have been awarded this year’s Pritzker Prize. -
U.K. Arrest Three Alstom Directors for Bribes
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:38pm EDT
Suspected of paying bribes to secure overseas contracts, three directors of the U.K. subsidiary of France’s power-equipment and rolling-stock maker Alstom S.A., Paris, have been arrested by the British Serious Fraud Office. -
Former NYC Crane Inspector Pleads Guilty To Falsifying Safety and Exam Records
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:38pm EDT
James Delayo, a former inspector for the New York City Dept. of Buildings, has pleaded guilty to taking cash payments in exchange for falsifying paperwork relating to crane inspections and certifying crane-operator exams. -
Perini Sues MGM Mirage Over CityCenter Hotel-Casino Project in Las Vegas
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:37pm EDT
CityCenter, the country’s largest private development, is being sued by Perini Building Co., a unit of Tutor Perini Corp., Sylmar, Calif., over work disputes on the $8.5-billion, 18 million-sq-ft Las Vegas Strip complex of hotels, homes and entertainment. -
IronPlanet Files for IPO
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:37pm EDT
Online auction company IronPlanet Inc. is going public after little more than 10 years in the e-business. -
Start-up Automaker Denied DOE Loan For Louisiana Plant
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:36pm EDT
The stunning rejection of a $321-million loan by the U.S. Dept. of Energy has start-up automaker V-Vehicle Co. weighing its next move. -
House Votes to Extend ‘Build America’ Bonds
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:36pm EDT
The House has approved an extension of the popular “Build America” Bonds program but with a cut in the federal subsidy. -
FAA Gets 12th Short-Term Extension
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:34pm EDT
Congress has approved another stopgap authorization for airport construction grants and other Federal Aviation Administration programs. -
Obama Appoints Controversial Nominee to NLRB
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:34pm EDT
President Obama’s recess appointment of nominee Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board has drawn objections from industry groups and praise from labor unions. -
Health-Care Overhaul Becomes Law
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:33pm EDT
Now that legislation revamping the nation’s health-care system has been signed into law, construction companies and unions are poring over its provisions, trying to determine the impact of its sweeping changes. -
Hydropower Project Funding Completed
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:33pm EDT
Colombia’s state-controlled power-generation company Isagen announced this week it had finalized financing for a $1.74-billion, 820-MW hydroelectric plant under construction on the Sogamoso River in the Dept. of Santander. -
Second Pipeline to Tierra del Fuego Completed
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:32pm EDT
Argentina has completed a $314-million, 37.7-km natural-gas pipeline across the Strait of Magellan. -
English Crossing Project Reaches Milestone
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:32pm EDT
With the fourth and last 10,000-tonne concrete element sunk, the U.K.’s new, 1.5-km-long River Tyne Tunnel crossed a major milestone late last month, but a missed dredging window, imposed to protect salmon migration, will cost a delay of two months. -
Deal Reached To Rebuild World Trade Center Towers
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:31pm EDT
Developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have agreed in principle on a plan that would bring an end to the bitter stalemate that has kept much of the World Trade Center rebuild on the shelf. -
Underwater Line Is Wet Kiss for U.S. Supply
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:30pm EDT
Independent transmission developers in both the northeastern and northwestern U.S. looking to bring Canada’s renewable electricity resources to power-hungry regions south of the border are installing hundreds of miles of line by using the path of least resistance—underwater. -
In South America, Trouble on the Line
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:30pm EDT
A transformer failure at a critical substation in Chile on March 14 plunged the earthquake-hit nation into darkness, leaving 80% of users without power for hours. -
British Columbia Plans for a Green Future
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:29pm EDT
Clean energy is at the top of British Columbia’s latest major-projects inventory. -
Chinese Reach Extends to African Materials Market
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:29pm EDT
Four state-owned, multinational Chinese construction companies have been short-listed for a tender to construct an $80-million major cement factory in Ethiopia, at a time when China’s dominance in Africa’s construction industry is growing. -
New Method Tested To Sharpen Work Measure
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:28pm EDT
Large contractors are putting a new standard for productivity measurement to the test in the hope of producing better project process controls. -
Growing Transit System in Lima, Peru Bringing Order to 'Chaos'
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:28pm EDT
Public transportation in Peru’s capital of Lima can be an intimidating affair. A bewildering cacophony of privately operated buses, minibuses and vans crisscross the city with men hanging out the doors, cajoling pedestrians to hop aboard. -
Wind Turbines Coming on Two More Towers
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:28pm EDT
Three, 9-meter-dia wind turbines are due to be installed this month atop London’s new, 148-m-tall Strata SE1 building in the Elephant & Castle district. -
Haiti Seeking $3.9 Billion for First Reconstruction Phase
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:27pm EDT
As potential donors gather at the United Nations to assemble a fund to help rebuild earthquake-battered Haiti, the White House is asking Congress for additional spending to contribute to the reconstruction effort. -
Chile Considers Concrete Code Changes
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:27pm EDT
The good news for Chileans is that less than 1% of the 10,000 buildings three stories or taller, constructed since Chile’s 1985 earthquake, will have to be demolished as a consequence of the magnitude-8.8 Maule earthquake that struck on Feb. 27. -
Feds Expand Probe of Nevada Bridge Crack
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:26pm EDT
The government is widening a whistle-blower probe into the safety of northern Nevada’s 8.5-mile-long Interstate 580 extension between Reno and Carson City, following the discovery of a hairline crack in one of its bridges. -
Germany-Denmark $7.3-Billion Link Planned
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:25pm EDT
Municipalities and ports in northern Germany and across Denmark have started competing to host construction sites for the planned 19-km fixed crossing across the strait, Fehmarn Belt, between the two countries. Construction lasting six years is forecast to cost up to $7.3 billion. -
Davis-Bacon Rules Hit Agencies, Says GAO
Posted: April 1st, 2010, 4:25pm EDT
Prevailing wage rules required by the federal stimulus program may drive up costs and cause some projects to miss their goals, according to a new study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.