Poised to begin spending the first of more than $2 billion in federal dollars for America’s first high-speed rail project on civil work, Florida Dept. of Transportation officials brought together more than 1,500 people interested in participating on the project to inform them about the contracts to be let, the bidding schedule and requirements. However, as U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said in Orlando at the first day's session on Nov. 8, “a cloud of uncertainty” hovers over the Florida High Speed Rail Industry Forum in Orlando, with Gov.-elect Rick Scott (R) promising to kill a proposed Orlando-Tampa rail line if

After reviewing the performance of a BP-funded $360-million sand-berm project designed to keep oil from BP’s April 20, 2010, spill out of Louisiana marshes, Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) has reallocated $100 million of the remaining $140 million to barrier-island restoration. With BP’s approval, the money now will be used to convert more than 10 miles of temporary berms into enduring restoration works for the islands. The other $40 million in BP funding will be used for renourishment, stabilization, environmental support and other compliance costs associated with the work, according to a Nov. 1 statement from the governor’s office. Nearly 17

The BP Oil Commission’s lead investigator, Fred Bartlit, refused to blame any firm involved in the Gulf of Mexico spill, saying that a combination of factors caused the deadly explosion at the Macondo oil well on April 20. Bartlit presented preliminary findings at the opening of the presidentially appointed commission’s Nov. 8-9 public meeting in Washington, D.C. He said BP and workers on the oil rig made conscious decisions to depart from the planned procedures in light of unexpected developments, and some of those decisions may have made sense. There is no evidence to suggest those decisions were financially based,

With dozens of cement trucks, two large batch plants and more than 1,000 workers scurrying about the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, the former nuclear-weapons production site appears to be a massive construction project. In fact, the activity now supports a massive deconstruction project, boosted by a $1.4-billion federal stimulus infusion, to accelerate decommissioning and demolition of 75% of the legacy mission of the 310-sq-mile U.S. Energy Dept. site near Aiken before 2012. D&D work had been ready and on the shelf for years, officials say. “This was a natural fit for the [American Recovery and Reinvestment Act],” says

If U.S. jurisdictions adopt new, more restrictive model energy codes and standards, new buildings may end up using 20% to 30% less energy than existing structures. Late last month, members of the International Code Council voted to accept the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code for new residential and commercial buildings. Early this month, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers as well as the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America published ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2010. The standard, called Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Buildings, provides minimum requirements for energy-efficient design. If followed, the standard could provide more than

The economy-induced disparity between needs and resources continues to plague most of the nation’s water and wastewater utility owners, leaving them little choice but to focus on maintaining the infrastructure they already have rather than investing in new and expanded facilities. “We are seeing a marketplace under extreme financial pressure,” observes Blair M. Lavoie, senior vice president and director of U.S. operations for MWH Constructors Inc., Broomfield, Colo. “Many cities have seen 30% to 40% of their revenue stream evaporate.” For example, the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), which serves Alameda and Contra Costa counties in California, is cutting

Alabama voters turned down a proposed constitutional amendment on Tuesday to spend $1 billion over a decade to pay for road construction projects. About 57% voted against Amendment Three in the Nov. 2 election. If voters had approved the amendment, which was sponsored by Democratic Sen. Lowell Barron, up to $100 million a year would have been transferred from the Alabama Trust Fund and earmarked specifically for road construction. The transfers would have taken place annually through fiscal 2020. In the days leading up to the vote, Dr. Keith Malone, an economist at the University of North Alabama, released a

State departments of transportation have been hit with a double whammy in recent years. In lieu of a long-term federal surface transportation reauthorization bill, the federal government continues to dole out money through Highway Trust Fund extensions, making it difficult for DOTs to plan for the future. At the same time, the recession has tightened the screws on state coffers, leaving some to wonder if significant capacity work is even possible in the coming years. Photo: Courtesy of Pany/NJ New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie cancelled the $8.7-billion ARC Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel project between New Jersey and Manhattan, citing a lack

While the Washington Dept. of Transportation won't open the detailed bids for downtown Seattle’s Alaska Way Viaduct replacement project until mid-December, Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) nudged the long-awaited 56-ft-dia, two-mile-long bored tunnel one step closer to reality, when she announced on Oct. 29 that both teams submitting bids that day were at or below WSDOT’s estimate of $1.09 billion. The viaduct, which runs along Elliott Bay on state Route 99 in downtown Seattle, is nearly 60 years old. The 1989 Loma Prieta and 2001 Nisqually earthquakes pointed to the road’s seismic vulnerability. WSDOT spent $14.5 million in emergency repairs but

The aviation industry has been hit by its share of turbulence in the past few years. Many airports had to defer projects or downsize capital improvement programs after revenue streams were curtailed sharply by upheaval in the airline industry, shaky credit markets, surging oil prices and decreased passenger travel. Photo: Chicago O’hare Airport The Chicago City Council recently approved $1 billion in bonds for O’Hare airport’s modernization program. The funds will be used primarily for runway projects, which will be bid by the end of 2011. Related Links: The Top Owners Sourcebook Complete Report Overview: No Quick Fix For Battered