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

The Environmental Protection Agency announced on April 8 that it would distribute $197 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to assess and clean up leaking underground storage tanks. EPA estimates that these funds will contribute to at least 1,600 cleanups around the country and create or save a significant number of jobs. “We’re providing immediate growth opportunities for communities across the nation, as well as long-term protection from dangerous pollution in the land and water,” says EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. The stimulus funds will inject badly needed dollars into EPA’s program to clean up petroleum leaks from

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has rejected a protest, from a team led by Parsons Corp., of a $3.3-billion, six-year nuclear-waste cleanup contract for the U.S. Energy Dept.’s Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., awarded in December to a team led by the Washington division of URS Corp. GAO declined to explain the rationale for its decision until its opinion is redacted. Parsons would not give a reason for the protest.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced on April 1 that the government will provide $7.2 billion for transit projects in the greater Toronto area. The bulk of the money, $5.6 billion, is earmarked for three of seven transit lines that Toronto wants to build over the next 15 years. The longest and most expensive would be the $3.7-billion, 31-kilometer-long Eglinton Crosstown, connecting with Pearson International Airport. Construction is expected to start in 2010 and be completed by 2016. Approximately 13 km would be underground. The Ontario funding is not conditional on any matching grants from the city.