By starting work in late November on a $200-million upgrade of its central transmission system, Vancouver is making its first significant investment in the city’s power grid in 30 years. The project includes construction of an oversized three-story substation to meet future capacity needs and a tunnel beneath one of the city’s major waterways. Photo: Courtesy of BC Hydro Upgraded distribution center will take some capacity from three older stations. Marcel Reghelini, BC Hydro senior project manager, says the work is happening in Mount Pleasant, a fast-growing neighborhood no longer adequately served by three aging substations. “We’re putting in a

As the Federal Railroad Administration pursues regulations regarding inspection of concrete railroad ties, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority last month launched a $91-million project to replace 147,000 concrete ties that began failing in just 10 years. Photo: Courtesy VHB Thousands of precast concrete ties began to fail in just 10 years. In 1997, the MBTA chose concrete over timber ties because Rocla Concrete Tie Inc., a Denver-based precast-concrete manufacturer, claimed they had a 50-year life span compared to 30 years for timber ties. But in 2007, several thousand ties began cracking and crumbling, disrupting train service on the 61-mile Old

David Jones grew up watching the massive Browns Ferry nuclear units being built near his home in Athens, Ala. The son of a pipefitter who worked at the plants, Jones knew as a youngster that he wanted to build nuclear plants for the Tennessee Valley Authority. Thirty years after earning a degree in civil engineering, Jones is heading a team that is building the first nuclear plant in the United States in more than 20 years. “It’s a dream come true for me,” says Jones, vice president of Southern Co.’s two new nuclear units at Plant Vogtle, which is located

While the demand for new large nuclear reactors may have fallen in the United States in response to the recession, interest in smaller, cheaper, scalable nuclear reactors is on the rise. Image: Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Power B&W’s modular mPower unit. Six are under consideration for installation at TVA’s Clinch River site. Related Links: Nuclear Rebirth Mpower reactor Hyperion Power About a half-dozen companies have notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that they will apply for design certification and eventually licenses for smaller reactors that range in size from 25 megawatts to about 300MW. “It’s a challenging time to justify putting

Southern California Edison plans to install 250 megawatts of solar-power generating capacity in California’s southern and central valleys over the next four years. Another 250 MW could be secured through contracts with independent providers as part of the utility’s $875-million initiative. Photo: Courtesy Southern California Edison Southern California Edison plans to install 250 MW of solar-power generating capacity over the next four years. The first 50 MW is expected to be online by the end of this year. By the end of this year, SCE expects to have the first 50 MW of capacity online or in the final stage

Developers of two new nuclear reactors in Bay City, Texas, have replaced Irving, Texas-based Fluor Corp. with Baton Rouge, La.-based The Shaw Group as partners in an engineering procurement and construction consortium with Toshiba America Nuclear Energy Corp. Nuclear Innovation North America LLC, a company created by Princeton, N.J.-based NRG Energy Inc. and Toshiba Corp., made the announcement on Nov. 29. Nuclear Innovation plans to expand the South Texas Project nuclear facility with two Advanced Boiling Water Reactors that can supply 2,700 MW of power; it is the first site to use that reactor design. The project is expected to

Administration officials have put the brakes on future oil and gas leasing development in certain areas of the Outer Continental Shelf through 2017, modifying a Dept. of Interior proposal for the OCS leasing program released in March. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Dec. 1 that the updated strategy calls for agency officials to focus their efforts on planning areas that already have leases for potential future development. Consequently, the area in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico that remains under a congressional moratorium, as well as the Mid and South Atlantic planning areas, are no longer under consideration for further

Architectural firm HKS Inc., Dallas, will join Germany-based Tilke Engineers and Architects in the design and construction of a $250-million Formula One racing complex in Austin, Texas. Tilke is leading the project; HKS will serve as the architect of record. The 3.4-mile track, with its 133 feet of elevation change and 20 turns, is slated to host the U.S. Grand Prix through at least 2021. Developers say work on the 900-acre complex is expected to start in December. The project includes a visitors’ driving/riding experience, a conference building, a motor sports club, go-kart track and a multipurpose fan area. HKS,

Call it recycling on a whole new level at San Francisco International Airport: The $380-million Terminal 2 project features 99% recycling of construction materials. Airport tenants also need to meet a 10% waste recycling minimum. Rental-car drivers will get discounts for using hybrids. Even the landscaping is an exercise in sustainable approaches to harboring protected species. “We use goats,” says Sam Mehta, environmental services manager for SFO. “It is 100% sustainable. The grass is eaten and fertilized. For them, it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet, and they don’t harm the California red lake frog and San Francisco garter snake. The cut grass

Related Links: Second big lift on Huey P. Long Bridge A 2,648-ton truss was lifted 135 ft and attached to the Huey P. Long Bridge over the Mississippi River in New Orleans over 40 hours on Nov. 20-21. The lift of the 503-ft bridge segment, the second in a three-part series, is part of the $452.6-million superstructure erection portion of the $1.2-billion span widening. MTI—a joint venture of Massman Construction Co., Kansas City; Traylor Bros. Inc., Evansville, Ind.; Kansas City-based design firm HNTB and IHI Inc., a New York City-based unit of a Japanese industrial firm—completed the lift and opened