Just as repeat visitors to Central Florida's theme parks typically find new rides and attractions alongside old favorites, the region's contractors and subcontractors are finding the current uptick in activity similar, yet different from post-downturn periods of the past. Related Links: Southeast Specialty Firms Still Seeking Market Stability Southeast Top Specialty Contractors Ranking To be sure, the market's typically strong segments—multifamily apartments and condominiums, hospitality and health care—are once again leading the way, along with some government and sports initiatives.But it's how these projects are being executed that is defining this current construction environment. Most notably, say regional players, the
Photo Courtesy of J.D. Eckman Crews jacked the deck a quarter inch off its piers prior to realigning the structure. Related Links: DelDOT Making Fast-Track Repairs to Closed I-495 Christina River Bridge ENR Video Interview with DelDOT Chief Engineer Robert McCleary After 11 weeks of fast-track repairs, the Delaware Dept. of Transportation's emergency design and construction team reopened northbound lanes of the I-495 bridge in Wilmington on Aug. 23. The work allowed both sides of the 4,800-ft-long structure to be fully operational in time for the expected crush of Labor Day weekend traffic.The 40-year-old concrete-deck-on-steel-beam bridge, which typically carries about
Related Links: ENR MidAtlantic The term "express" has a dual meaning on the 95 Express project in northern Virginia. For the more than 200,000 vehicles that travel the 29-mile stretch of Interstate 95 south of the Capital Beltway every day, the project, to be completed in early 2015, aims to relieve congestion and speed traffic flow. For engineers and construction crews, the goal is to expedite delivery of the $1-billion project built right in the middle of a heavily traveled artery.The project will convert 20 miles of the highway's existing 40-year-old, dedicated high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes south of the Beltway
Photo courtesy of Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission Thimble Shoals Channel off Virginia coast would be site of anticipated new Chesapeake Bay tunnel crossing. Related Links: Virginia Will Build Tunnel as Design-Build After Rejecting Unsolicited Public-Private Proposal ENR Blog: Va. Bridge-Tunnel Passes on P3 Tunnel Project Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission Parallel Thimble Shoal Channel Tunnel Project Link The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Commission (CBBT) selected a team led by Jacobs Engineering Group, Pasadena, Calif., to serve as design manager for a new design-build tunnel. The project will parallel one of two existing subsurface structures along the 23-mile toll
Related Links: Proposed Tolls On Existing Road Ignite Lawsuit In Virginia Virginia Takes Steps To Propel Two Transportation Projects A controversial plan to construct a tolled bypass to U.S. Route 460 in southeast Virginia could be in for additional hurdles as the state's transportation agency and inspector general investigate potential procurement violations for the $1.4-billion project.At issue is whether a proposed 55-mile limited-access toll highway between Suffolk and Petersburg was developed, contracted and invoiced in accordance with the Virginia Dept. of Transportation's procurement rules, as well as those of the state's Public-Private Transportation Act.The highway, intended to provide direct access
Blue Plains Eyes Plan to Further Green its CSO Program The first major section of a 13.2-mile network of tunnels designed to help manage Washington, D.C.’s combined sewer overflows (CSOs) is taking shape
Photo courtesy of Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission Thimble Shoals Channel off Virginia coast would be site of anticipated new Chesapeake Bay tunnel crossing. Related Links: ENR Blog: Va. Bridge-Tunnel Passes on P3 Tunnel Project Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel CommissionParallel Thimble Shoal Channel Tunnel Project Link Virginia's Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission is developing a design-build procurement for a new tunnel to parallel one of two existing subsurface structures along the 23-mile toll crossing between Virginia Beach and the Delmarva Peninsula. The move follows the agency's late-April decision not to pursue an unsolicited public-private proposal from industry
Designing the 60,000-sq-ft Center for Emerging Technologies and a 1,200-space AutoPark Structure for the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) near Greenville, S.C., proved no easy drive through the park. Related Links: As Design Activity Picks Up, Industry Sentiment Follows ENR Southeast's Top Lists CU-ICAR, reflecting the changing nature of the Southeast design market, required exacting specifications within a limited budget. The center's design had to support academic research on a variety of advanced automotive technologies—which in turn support and influence powerhouses like BMW, whose nearby plant will soon produce nearly 500,000 vehicles a year."Our campus is unlike
Related Links: More news from the ENRMidAtlantic 4/14/2014 issue In an industry whose services often are out of public view, the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, known as DC Water, is making a big splash. DC Water, an independent public authority, serves more than 2.2 million people in a 725-sq-mile area around the nation's capital.The agency also operates what it says is the world's largest advanced wastewater treatment plant. Now partway through a 10-year, $4-billion capital program, DC Water is experiencing the largest expansion in its history. To meet that challenge, the authority is embracing innovative technology and
Related Links: EPA Federal Register Notice on New Stormwater Rule March 6, 2014 EPA Will Revise Flawed Effluent Rule for Construction Sites (ENR 2/4/2013) Contractors will have greater flexibility in controlling stormwater discharges from construction sites under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new revisions to its effluent guidelines.The final rule, to take effect on May 5, addresses concerns industry groups have had with the rule since it was implemented in 2009, especially its numeric discharge limit of 280 nephelometric turbidity units for construction sites in which 20 or more acres are disturbed at one time.A 2012 settlement in a lawsuit
