Rendering Courtesy of PANYNJ The Goethals (rendering, top) and Bayonne bridges will likely stretch local resources. Image Courtesy of HDR Related Links: Bridge Job Gets Big Bump From Designers, Feds Construction officials in and around New York City celebrated on April 24 the award of nearly $3 billion in new bridge construction contracts as a boost to the region's economy and job growth.The awards, by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, include significant rehabs of two key bi-state crossings and the region's first major public-private partnership (P3) financing arrangement in the $1.5-billion project to replace the antiquated
Courtesy of Mass Rapid Transit Corp. Kuala Lumpur's mass rapid-transit line, now under construction, is worth more than $10 billion. Related Links: Viewpoint: Vietnam, Indonesia Hold Opportunity for U.S. Firms Kuala Lumpur's MRT Line Economic growth in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia will remain strong at an average 6% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. The countries represent the top five economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.While China’s recovery is “foggy,” with a growth rate of 7.8% last year to a forecasted 8.2% in 2013 and 8% in 2014, “ASEAN’s economy is
Related Links: Calif. High-Speed Rail Backers Push 'System Blend' Bid Results Announced for First Leg of Calif. High-Speed Rail The California High-Speed Rail Authority's $68-billion high-speed-rail project recently announced a probable joint-venture team to construct its first phase, but that doesn't mean trains will be leaving the station soon. The embattled project still faces lawsuits and questions, even from former supporters."High-speed rail is at a crucial point," says Quentin Kopp, former chairman of the authority. Over the past 18 months, "missteps and violations" of the 2008 Proposition 1A bond measure have changed public opinion, he says.Kopp, who co-authored the bill
Image Courtesy of California High Speed Rail Authority Design and construction of the approximately 28-mi section of high-speed rail between Madera and Fresno is expected to begin this summer. Related Links: California Selects PCM for First High-Speed Rail Section Calif. High-Speed Rail Backers Push 'System Blend' The California High-Speed Rail Authority released bid results from five teams seeking to design and build the first section of the state’s high-speed rail line between Madera and Fresno. Proposals submitted in January for the approximately 28-mile segment were scored 70% on price and 30% on technical merit, with the team of Sylmar, Calif.-based
Related Links: NJ Design Firm Executives Face Pay-to-Play Charges Revised Tax Law Will Help Industry Firms, But Some Provisions Fall Short The 300 recently furloughed and unpaid employees of Birdsall Services Group, Inc., Eatontown, N.J., breathed a bit easier on April 15 as the engineering firm agreed to pay $3.6 million to settle criminal prosecution charges with the state. The action unfreezes assets of Birdsall, which still remains under indictment on corruption charges and is seeking bankruptcy protection, and allows the firm to operate and call employees back to work with pay. Birdsall, meanwhile, is in talks with a potential
Israel Ports Development Co. The Mediterranean port of Ashdod is one of two key Israeli ports set for a $2.2-billion expansion and upgrade. Related Links: Israel To Spend More For Ports and Roads Israel's planned $2.2-billion project to build new container terminals at the Haifa and Ashdod ports is attracting interest from global contenders.The Israel Ports Development Co. said earlier this month that six foreign companies from Europe, China and South Africa have submitted bids to prequalify for the terminal construction at the two Mediterranean coast ports. Two Israeli firms are among the contenders.According to Israeli business publication Globes, the
Related Links: FCC Infrastructure official website High Point Rendel official website Ingerop website One of the largest bridges ever built over the Danube River will officially open between Bulgaria and Romania early next month after decades of planning and lengthy construction delays.The 1,391-meter-long road-rail bridge project survived not only tough physical conditions but also the sometimes chaotic transition of the host countries from communism to membership in the European Union.From near Calafat, Romania, the so-called Danube Bridge 2's cable-supported deck crosses three 180-m-wide navigations channels, with 115-m-long and 124-m-long side spans.Seven 80-m-long and one 52-m-long concrete box girder spans complete
Photo Courtesy Chicago Transit Authority The bridge's upper deck carries commuter rail; the lower deck carries pedestrians and vehicles. Related Links: Hybrid Design Will Replace Century-Old Bascule Bridge Workers Torch Old Wells Street Bridge The Chicago Dept. of Transportation will have just nine days in late April to replace a large section of a double-deck drawbridge spanning the Chicago River, mirroring an early March operation to avoid a lengthy disruption of rail operations atop the two-leaf structure.Beginning April 26, CDOT will suspend rail operations to replace a cantilevered leaf, or bridge arm, on the 91-year-old Wells Street Bridge, one of
Related Links: A Gigantic Turnaround for a Giant Tunneling Machine Ports Seek Rising Tide of Public, Private Funds Bouygues Starts $1-Billion Miami Tunnel When the 2,000-ton cutterhead of a tunnel-boring machine named Harriet made a U-turn last summer in Miami, the event marked a major turning point for the Port of Miami tunnel project.After Harriet broke through the end of one 4,200-ft-long, 42.3-ft-dia tunnel under Biscayne Bay last July, crews with the design-build team, led by Bouygues Civil Works Florida, used a giant Teflon turntable to rotate the TBM's cutterhead and shield in preparation for boring a twin tunnel in
Photo Courtesy of the White House/Pete Souza President Obama visited the PortMiami tunnel project and called for increased infrastructure funding from public and private sources. Related Links: Transcript of Obama 3/29/13 remarks in Miami WRDA Bill Clears Senate Committee (ENR 4/1/13 issue) President Obama paid a March 29 visit to PortMiami—the site of a $1-billion tunnel project financed partly by private funding—and promoted ways of increasing both public and private funding for infrastructure."There are few more important things that we can do to create jobs right now and strengthen our economy over the long haul than rebuilding the infrastructure that
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