Six coastal states will receive nearly $500 million from the U.S. Interior Dept. to help them alleviate environmental impacts of oil-and-gas development, the agency said on April 20. Louisiana tops the list with $121 million, followed by Alaska at $37.5 million, Texas at $35.6 million, Mississippi at $23.8 million, Alabama at $19.7 million and California at $5 million. The agency will distribute the funds in fiscal 2009 and 2010, the final two years of the Coastal Impact Assistance Program, which Congress created in 2005 for states adjacent to oil-and-gas production on the Outer Continental Shelf. Lawmakers authorized the agency to

Calling the state of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., an “international embarrassment,” a panel of leading design experts has recommended that the National Park Service amend an improvement plan unveiled earlier this year to make it broader and more environmentally sustainable. The plan calls for a ban on new monuments and statues and a redesign of the Union Square/Capitol Reflecting Pool area. Angela Dye, president of the American Society of Landscape Architects, who facilitated the panel, says the Park Service’s current plan would improve the mall but does not go far enough. The panel recommends the Park Service hold

The Dept. of Transportation has released a blueprint aimed at developing high-speed rail in 100- to 600-mile-long corridors around the country. The plan, released April 16, does not say which projects will be funded, but it does include a map of high-speed rail corridors that could qualify for federal aid. The program could provide significant design and construction opportunities. DOT's Federal Railroad Administration will start awarding the first round of grants by late summer. Related Links: Rail Strategic Plan Map of High-Speed Rail Corridors The plan, mandated by the recently enacted economic-stimulus legislation, proposes a three-pronged approach: "Ready to go"

Anticipating billions of dollars in state and federal funds, California can now pay some 80 engineering consultants that have worked for months on its planned 800-mile, $46-billion high-speed rail line stretching between Sacramento and San Diego. The Pooled Money Investment Board approved a $29.1-million loan at its April 6 meeting after state Treasurer Bill Lockyer successfully sold $6.54 billion in bonds in March. The cash-strapped state owes $5 million for scoping and design work on the project. Engineers have worked for months for the California High-Speed Rail Authority without funding authorization. The Roseville, Calif., office of URS Corp., in a

Denmark seems to turn out another major fixed road and rail link on a regular basis. Rival design teams have just been chosen to work on bridge and sunken tube options for a 20-km crossing of the Femern Belt to northern Germany, with construction planned to start in just over two years. Two similar mega-projects had already been finished in quick succession. An early conception of the crossing that pictures cable-stayed spans. Related Links: Denmark, Germany Plan New Massive Baltic Sea Crossing In Next Decade For Contractors and Their Advisers, A Sinking Feeling Is Good in Busan The Danish government

Nevada legislators have blocked a proposal to convert existing public roads along sections of U.S. Highway 95 and Interstate 15 in southern Nevada into toll lanes operated by a private company. Kelvin Atkinson, chairman of the Assembly Transportation committee, opted not to introduce the bill to create a network of toll lanes. The project required legislative approval to move forward since state law prohibits toll lanes. + Image Source: McGraw-Hill Construction Analytics. Construction Contract Value Cumulative Year-To-Date Through February 2009.

The U.S. Dept. of Energy recently launched its Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance (CREEA), a collaboration of commercial real estate owners and operators who will work together and with DOE to reduce energy consumption by commercial buildings. The undertaking will link the real estate community with research and technology emerging from DOE national laboratories. The group will serve as a national forum in which best practices in energy efficiency are documented and publicized and in which peers can share practical experiences and insights, says the Building Owners and Managers Association International, which also is involved in the group. The alliance

While it is uncertain exactly how the U.S. will address climate change, it is clear that any regulations aimed at reducing the nation’s carbon footprint will impact construction—for better and for worse. Potential winners are those companies that build powerplants, transmission lines and install energy-efficiency measures. Firms that are leaders in sustainable building and design are also well positioned to profit from carbon regulations. Potential losers, however, will not be as clear until legislation to regulate carbon is finalized. “There are ways that it can have benefits and drawbacks,” says Calli Schmidt, spokesperson for the National Association of Home Builders.

Last week, Webcor Builders and Climate Earth announced a partnership to create the first database of greenhouse-gas emissions from the construction supply chain. The idea is to measure and catalog carbon footprints created when producing building materials, from glass and drywall to steel and concrete. Webcor says the goal is to establish a consistent means for the construction industry to measure the carbon equivalent of its products. Climate Earth will quantify greenhouse gases that are generated, including during mining, manufacturing and transporting. Data from Webcor’s construction projects and Climate Earth’s Enterprise Carbon Accounting system will quantify the emissions in units

A 10-person design-competition jury, working for the Smithsonian Institution, has picked the team of Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup to design a home for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The site for the $500-million project is on the National Mall near the Washington Monument in Washingtin, D.C. The team selected consists of the Freelon Group, Adjaye Associates, Davis Brody Bond and SmithGroup. The design phase will last up to three years. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2012 and finish in 2015. Photo: Freelon Adjaye Bond/Smithgroup