Crews have demolished the world’s first industrial plutonium processing facility at the U.S. Energy Dept.’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Demolition of 23 structures in the complex, which dates to World War II, was completed using $13.5 million in stimulus funds, says Gordon Dover, the facility’s cleanup deputy project director. As part of the project, workers installed 16 groundwater monitoring wells. Los Alamos research now supports NASA space missions and nuclear reactor fuels research. But environmentalists filed suit in federal district court Nov. 12 to stop DOE from continued design on an estimated $4-billion research complex for chemistry

Contractors are grading roads and clearing timber at the site of the Boy Scouts of America’s fourth high-adventure camp in Fayette County, W.Va. Construction began in October, a year after a $50-millon grant from the S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation kicked off plans for the largest construction project in the history of the Boy Scouts. Since that time, more than $100 million—including $25 million from the Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation—has been donated to the construction of the 10,600-acre reserve near Mount Hope. The reserve is called The Summit: Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, named for its largest contributor to date.

Following the initial surge in emergency response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP is in negotiations with several contractors to clean up paperwork and settle hundreds of million of dollars in payment disputes. Several contractors are claiming overdue invoices related to cleanup efforts following the April 20 explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig. The overdue payments, some more than 120 days old, are needed to pay employees, subcontractors and suppliers. Loupe Construction of Reserve, La., which was BP’s largest prime emergency-response contractor in St. Bernard Parish, La., claimed it was owed roughly $100 million. By early November, DRC

A new government report offers a harsh assessment of BP, its service contractors, and the U.S. Minerals Management Service in their respective roles in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Related Links: NAE Interim Report No Fault Assigned by Oil-spill Panel Uncalculated Risks ENR Coverage of Gulf Oil Spill The preliminary report from the National Academy of Engineering, released Nov. 17, suggests that BP and its service contractors “lacked a suitable approach for managing the inherent risks” at the Macondo well and learning from “near misses.” Click here to see full report. “Important decisions made to

Rendering: Courtesy Goetsch Partners China is further securing its title as the hub of supertall building with the announcement of Goettsch Partners as architect for the Tianjin R&F Guangdong Tower. At a planned 439 m, the tower ranks 39 on the “100 tallest proposed buildings” list compiled by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. On the proposed list, there are 12 others in China taller than the Tianjin tower, designed to be from 450 to 628 m. China’s current tallest is the 492-m Shanghai World Financial Center. It ranks third in the world, after the 828-m Burj Khalifa

The California Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the California Prison Health Care Services broke ground on Nov. 5 on a $906-million, 1,722-bed inmate medical facility in Stockton. The 1.2-million-sq-ft facility will include a kitchen area, a diagnostic and treatment center, warehouse and support areas. Security will include a 13-ft-high lethal electrified perimeter fence and 11 45-ft-tall guard towers. Renering: Courtesy CRCR First bid package of $906-million program includes sitework, grading and an electrified fence, with facility work to follow. Sacramento-based URS-Bovis Lend Lease was awarded the construction management consultant contract as part of its ongoing work with CPHCS. Sacramento-based

Whether the still unopened Harmon Hotel inside the CityCenter resort in Las Vegas is demolished or remains an expensive billboard is now part of yet one more legal battle stemming from the struggling megaresort’s many financial woes. Photo: Bill Hughes Rumors say unopened hotel could be imploded. + Image On Nov. 13, according to news reports, owner MGM Resorts International announced plans to raze the 27-story high-rise designed by U.K. “starchitect” Sir Norman Foster. MGM later backpedaled from that statement and claims no final decision has been made, says a spokesman. The company took a $279-million write-down in the third

The still unopened Harmon Hotel, a 27-story centerpiece of the now financially hemorrhaging CityCenter development in Las Vegas, is being targeted for demolition. MGM Resorts International, owner of the troubled 67-acre complex that includes the hotel designed by U.K. “starchitect” Sir Norman Foster, recently unveiled plans to raze it. MGM took a $279-million write-down in the third quarter on the building, which sits dormant with a sign wrapped around its gleaming glass façade for the resort’s “Viva Elvis” show. Harmon may be the world’s most expensive billboard. Photo: Tony Illia Las Vegas hotel-condo was designed by famed U.K. architect Sir

Environmental and energy efficiency advocates are praising the Environmental Protection Agency for issuing guidance to local and state permitting authorities to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions using best available control technologies (BACT). But industry groups have blasted the guidance, saying it could result in a moratorium on the construction of new powerplants and industrial facilities. The EPA released BACT guidance on Nov. 10 to help states and local air permitting authorities identify cost-effective pollution reduction options for greenhouse gasses under the Clean Air Act. The new preconstruction permit program among the states begins on Jan. 2, 2011. Gina McCarthy, assistant

Bidding for the $700-million to $900-million design and building of Washington state’s new state Route 520 six-lane floating bridge—the world’s longest—now focuses on three teams. The prequalified design-build teams are Skanska-Flatiron-Traylor Bros.; Walsh Construction Co., PCL Construction Services and Weeks Marine; and Kiewit-General-Manson. All three were selected in November; bid proposals are due in spring 2011. The winner will be chosen in mid-2011, with construction beginning in 2012 and the new pontoon bridge between Seattle and Redmond opening for traffic in 2014. “Recently, we’ve seen competition driving down costs,” says Paula Hammond, state transportation secretary.