Los Alamos National Laboratory began demolishing a cluster of 65-year-old buildings that once housed the world’s first full-scale plutonium processing line. ARSEC Environmental LLC, of White Rock, N.M., won a $2-million task order in April to perform this work. Material Disposal Area B digging house at Los Alamos National Laboratory The buildings, known as “DP West,” housed plutonium processing for nuclear warheads from late 1945 through 1978. They are the second generation of Lab buildings, replacing those built during World War II for the Manhattan Project. DP West is located within the Lab’s historic Technical Area 21. The work is
Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino Resort broke ground on an expansion featuring a five-story, 152-room hotel tower on the existing property in Maricopa. The $20-million hotel expansion was designed by Tempe-based RSP Architects and is inspired by the art and agricultural traditions of the Ak-Chin Community. The project’s general contractor, Las Vegas-based PENTA Building Group, is using the project to re-open its Arizona office, which was temporarily closed in 2006. Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino Resort Hotel Tower Expansion. Image courtesy RSP Architects The new tower will include 152 rooms with upgraded amenities such as granite countertops and 50-inch flat screen TVs. Expected to
A new study published in a National Safety Council journal says that widely differing perceptions of safety helped conceal that an aggressive schedule, congested jobsite and lax safety enforcement may have created conditions that led to eight construction worker deaths at two big Las Vegas projects, CityCenter and Cosmopolitan, between 2007 and 2008. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Perini Building Co., a unit of Sylmar, Calif.-based Tutor Perini Corp., is the general contractor for both projects. The study appeared in the most recent issue of the Journal of Safety Research. Using a survey of more than 5,000 employees, the
Pulice Construction Inc. and Granite Construction Co. have been awarded an $85-million contract by ADOT to rehabilitate 10 mi of S.R. 202L in Maricopa County. The project includes constructing HOV lanes in each direction, widening the SB Price Road Bridge and constructing two fly-over bridges at the I-10 and S.R. 101 interchanges. Work will also include drainage improvements, retaining walls, electrical, utility relocations and landscaping. Construction is estimated to begin in September and will take approximately 14 months to complete.
McCarthy Building Cos., Inc. topped out construction on the new 2.3 million-sq-ft Terminal 3 parking structure at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. Photo Courtesy McCarthy Building Cos. McCarran International Airport Terminal 3 Parking Structure, Las Vegas. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" McCarthy, who has self-performed the concrete work completed the final pour of the 126 structural post-tensioned garage deck pours. Over the course of construction, an additional 14 pours were completed for the structure’s circular concrete helix entry ramp. Construction of the $121.7 million parking structure began in December 2008 with the project team pouring one deck every
Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center broke ground on a $71-million expansion of its Surgical Services department in Phoenix. Designed by HKS Architects and slated for completion in August 2012, the project adds six new operating rooms, twice the number of recovery areas and provides families waiting for friends and loved ones to come out of surgery with additional space. The new OR’s will feature the latest in surgical lighting and patient monitoring equipment, as well as significantly more space to allow for more productive and efficient movement around the patient during surgery.
Contractors and government agencies in Arizona and Nevada are testing the public-private partnerships with mixed results in delivering buildings and roadways. Arizona has led the way in vertical P3 development. Alternative project delivery legislation that allows certain P3 projects goes back to 2000. The $455-million Arizona Cardinals stadium in Glendale was design-built by Phoenix-based Hunt Construction Group. It is owned by the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority and was paid for in part by the Cardinals as tenant. That joint venture is considered an early role model for P3. “P3 is a practical extension of design-build,” says Gary Aller, director
Las Vegas and North Las Vegas are similar but different, neighbors yet independent. The two cities are currently building dueling city halls, and both projects promise to make big civic statements. There are more similarities. Both are pursuing LEED silver, and they have the same general contractor: Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. of Baltimore, which declined to comment about the projects because of a company no media policy. The city of Las Vegas broke ground on its new downtown digs this year. The $146.2-million project is a public-private partnership, lease-purchase agreement between Cleveland-based developer Forest City Enterprises and the city, which enables
Despite a recent stumbling block, work is progressing on the $447-million design-build contract to build a third raw water intake tunnel at Lake Mead—the Las Vegas Valley’s water lifeline. The Southern Nevada Water Authority awarded the contract in March 2008 to Vegas Tunnel Constructors LLC, a joint-venture of S.A. Healy Co., Lombard, Ill. and Impreglio S.p.A., Sesto San Giovanni, Italy. The additional intake is needed because lake levels have dipped 110 ft since 2000. Lake Mead now operates at 1,087 ft, or about half of its capacity. One or both of the existing water inlets will be forced to shut
Our annual survey of subcontractors in the Southwest shows revenue totals plummeting in 2009. Last year, we ranked 160 companies totaling $6.13 billion based on their 2008 revenue. This year, the responses fell to 113 firms with revenue totaling just $3.58 billion in 2009. Photo Courtesy Carollo Engineers Crews pour concrete for a clarifier floor during construction on the third phase of the $60-million Casa Grande Water Reclamation Facility. Related Links: Top 113 Specialty Contractors State/Worldwide Market Sectors Safest Subcontractors Even with the drop in participation, the largest firms remain fairly consistent year to year. All but five of last
RSS
