Panamanian firm Constructora Urbana SA (CUSA) won the first dry-excavation contract in July 2007 with a low bid of $41.1 million for the Pacific locks access channel, but was outbid for the two subsequent jobs. However, CUSA offered its services to the winning firms and netted subcontracting jobs with both. “We have the equipment out there already, and we can pretty much keep doing what we have been doing,” says CUSA Executive Vice President Carlos Fábrega. “We keep our equipment operating and our people at work.” Photo: C.J. Schexnayder/ENR Non-canal expansion construction thrives in Panama. Related Links: Panama Widens Horizons

This dry excavation, requiring removal of 47 million cu m, is needed to create the Pacific locks access channel–a 6.7-kilometer link between the existing navigation channel and the new locks to be built next to the Miraflores Locks. The Cocoli River, which empties into Miraflores Lake, is being rerouted 3.5 km. The 5 km-long Borinquen Road was also relocated. All Photos: C.J. Schexnayder/ENR Finding ordinance (top), blasting (middle) and moving rivers (bottom) are all part of Panama work. Related Links: Panama Widens Horizons Another tricky aspect has been the removal of unexploded ordinance from a former U.S. Army firing range.

When U.S. engineer John Frank Stevens arrived in Panama in July 1905 to take over the American effort to construct the Panama Canal, he was appalled. The endeavor to build the transoceanic waterway already was a year old and had consumed more than $128 million. “I found no organization…no answerable head who might delegate authority…no cooperation existing between what might charitably be called the departments,” Stevens wrote, as reported in David McCullough’s watershed book “The Path Between the Seas.” Slide Show Photo: ACP Current Panama Canal facilities are a tight fit for ships. Related Links: Panama Canal Third Lane Expansion

The U.S. Energy Dept. is soon to give Chicago-based energy services provider Exelon Corp. "reasonable assurance" of a $50-million agency loan guarantee to spur construction of what would be the nation�s largest urban solar powerplant, says an Exelon spokesman. Development of the 10-MW photovoltaic facility at a former industrial site on Chicago�s South Side, to be finished by the end of 2009, is contingent on receiving the loan guarantee for 80% of its $60-million cost, says the spokesman. Exelon and its partner, San Jose, Calif.-based SunPower, have begun clearing the 39-acre brownfield site where the plant would be built. SunPower

The New York state court appellate division ruled 4-0 to uphold the state’s right to use eminent domain to build the Frank Gehry-designed Atlantic Yards arena-centered megadevelopment in Brooklyn. The decision prompted developer Forest City Ratner Cos. (FCRC) to say it plans to break ground this year, with the intent that the arena for the New Jersey Nets basketball team would be ready for the 2011-12 season, two years later than planned. FCRC says this is the 23rd consecutive ruling in favor of the controversial $1-billion development.

This summer, Sears Tower will have a new face to match its new name. Although Chicagoans are less than thrilled about Willis Group Holdings moving in, the new view atop �Willis Tower� may render them speechless. RENDERING COURTESY OF SOM ? Skydecked. Sears Tower�s observation floor will extend visitors beyond the curtain wall. div id="articleExtrasA" RENDERING COURTESY OF SOM ? Vertigo. Innovative glass boxes will provide gut-wrenching views from Chicago�s tallest tower. div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Just outside the glassed-enclosed, 103rd-floor skydeck, construction is under way to offer visitors a view of the city at all angles, including straight down,

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers� first project funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was awarded by the Ft. Worth District May 1 to Sundt Construction, Inc., Tempe, Ariz., for construction of the $30-million first phase of a $57-million Warriors in Transition complex to be built at Ft. Bliss, Texas. Rendering: Sundt Construction Co. Warriors in transition center will accommodate 232 soldiers. Designed to assist injured soldiers in their recovery and re-integration into the Army or civilian life, WT complexes “are a new breed of facilities within the military hierarchy of structures and facilities,” says Tom Mertz, vice

Water infrastructure projects would get a boost under legislation to reauthorize the clean water and drinking water state revolving funds at $38.5 billion over five years. The proposal passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on May 14. The bill, which was approved with bipartisan support, would increase the clean water SRF to $20 billion over five years and the drinking water SRF to $14.7 billion over five years. A comparable bill passed the House on March 5, although the House bill only provides funds for the clean water SRF and does not address drinking water. Construction industry groups

Schools and defense were on the agenda on Capitol Hill this week, with the final spending levels far from settled. The House passed a bill on May 14 that would authorize $6.4 billion for green school renovation and modernization projects for fiscal 2010. The bill passed 275-155, largely along party lines. The bill stipulates that funds be used for projects that meet green building standards or equivalent state or local standards. The bill also requires that in 2015—the final year of funding—districts use 100% of the funds they receive for green projects. One of the bill’s key sponsors, Rep. George

U.K. investigators studying the April 6 earthquake that rocked Italy west of Rome, killing some 300 people, found that traditional stone masonry buildings with even basic strengthening survived the temblor. As a result of their findings, the engineers are calling for simple reinforcements of older masonry buildings throughout Europe. Slide Show Photo: Cury Price Court Engineers are calling for retrofits of older stone masonry buildings after an earthquake that rocked an area west of Rome on April 6 killed 300 people. "It was good to see, where there had been upgrades, the buildings performed better," says Tiziana Rossetto, who led