A new power-transmission project on the Texas-New Mexico border will facilitate movement of power throughout the U.S. from booming alternative-energy developments in the Southwest. One of those developments, a 600-MW Texas wind farm, will be built with funds and equipment from China. The announcements last month of the two projects strengthens the region’s position as a leader in renewable energy and highlights China’s growing U.S. investment. + Image Source: American Superconductor Corp. Tres Amigas Superstation The Tres Amigas SuperStation in Clovis, N.M., will link the Texas Interconnection to the nation’s other two electrical grids, the Eastern and Western interconnections. With

A San Francisco civic group is seeking support for an ambitious, 50-year plan, called the Resilient City Initiative, that could help minimize loss and speed recovery after the “Big One.” The initiative can serve as a model for disaster preparedness and recovery for all earthquake-prone communities, say sources. Photo: USGS A pre-quake retrofit might have limited damage and allowed a repair rather than a razing. While developed for San Francisco, the resilient-city concept of the nonprofit San Francisco Planning and Urban Research (SPUR) Association has “application anywhere a city is trying to deal with natural hazards,” said Chris Poland, chairman

As the Army addresses the lifestyle needs and concerns of its soldiers and their families—as defined by a 1983 survey and laid out for resolution in an “Army Family Action Plan”—many residential facilities the Corps of Engineers is designing and building resemble towns and villages rather than military bases. Photo: Marc Barnes, USACE Trend is toward designing bases as communities with more of a hometown feel. Photo: Ronnie Craige, USACE Prefab Purcell Construction Corp., Watertown, N.Y., has two contracts to build six five-story barracks buildings at Fort Lee, Va., using prefabricated structural steel panels. Purcell owns its own fabricating plant

Stakes are high for gaming giant MGM Mirage Inc.’s $8.5-billion CityCenter development on the Las Vegas Strip. The project’s turbulent history includes the death of six construction workers, a lawsuit between development partners over rising costs and funding woes brought on by the global credit crisis. Yet the 18-million-sq-ft complex of hotels, condos, casinos and entertainment space still is scheduled to open in phases, starting on Dec. 1. Photo: MGM MIRAGE CityCenter could be a big gamble for its owners and for Las Vegas city officials. Complex and its CEO, Bobby Brown, at its debut in 2007. The debut of

California Dept. of Transportation delayed opening of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge until federal inspectors sign off on the second bridge repair since Labor Day. The transportation corridor, which carries an estimated 280,000 cars per day, closed Tuesday evening after a steel bar cracked during a windy afternoon commute, dropping a 5,000-lb crossbeam and steel connectors into traffic. The incident caused a non-injury accident and an enormous traffic jam. Caltrans officials said they were doing all they could to open before the Monday morning commute, but were putting safety first. Photo: Caltrans Related Links: Update: Fix Of Bay Bridge May

As California transportation officials vow to increase frequency of inspections on the troubled San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, they had no firm estimate of when federal inspectors would okay its reopening to traffic. For the second time in two months, crews have worked non-stop to install an emergency eyebar repair on the critical crossing, which usually carries 280,000 daily vehicles. The original fix made over Labor Day weekend consisted of a steel saddle brace wrapping around a broken beam of the steel truss. That brace snapped during the windy Oct. 27 evening commute, dropping a 5,000-lb crossbeam and steel connectors into

Federal highway and transit programs will have their authorizations extended through Dec. 18, thanks to a stopgap spending package that Congress has approved. Final congressional action came on Oct. 29 when the Senate cleared the package by a 72-28 vote. That followed House passage earlier in the day, by a 247-178 tally. The measure also provides full fiscal year 2010 appropriations for Interior Dept. and Environmental Protection Agency programs and extends funding through Dec. 18 for many other accounts for which Congress has yet to pass 2010 spending bills. The new continuing resolution was necessary because Congress has passed only

For the second time in two months, crews are scrambling to install an emergency eyebar repair on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The original fix made over Labor Day weekend consisted of a steel saddle brace wrapping around a broken beam of the steel truss. That brace snapped during the windy Oct. 27 evening commute, dropping a 5,000-lb crossbeam and steel connectors into traffic and closing the bridge down indefinitely. Photo: Caltrans Photo: Caltrans Related Links: Unexpected Bay Bridge Crack Slightly Delays Reopening As of Oct. 28, crews with North Highlands, Calif.-based MCM Construction Inc. were dealing with high wind

Osceola County, Fla., has overhauled its troubled roadbuilding program by hiring firms that typically do vertical construction management. Staffing is the problem. Roadwork in the county had increased sevenfold while public-works department staff went from 240 to 190. Twenty months ago, the department was more than $386 million behind in putting projects out for bid and faced the prospect of returning impact fees to developers. Several projects were over budget or stuck at 30% design for years. “We have one of the most aggressive programs in the country, and we are passionate about construction management,” says new public-works administrator Ken

Now that high-speed rail is considered “sexy” and politically supported in the U.S., engineers and suppliers are eager to seize upon potential project opportunities. But they must choose carefully from a variety of technologies, methods and financial models found in the rest of the world. “We are in the fourth generation of high-speed trains globally,” said Anthony Perl, professor of urban studies at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, at a high-speed rail conference held Oct. 22-23 in Washington, D.C. “The biggest obstacle in the U.S. is where to put high-speed rail and where to build it. We have to