Like an aging Hollywood diva attempting to attract new roles, Los Angeles International Airport is getting a $1.5-billion makeover in order to better appeal to airlines and customers. A gleaming 1.3-million-sq-ft addition to the Tom Bradley International Terminal, dubbed Bradley West, headlines the city's largest public-works project. Photo courtesy LAWA SOARING HOPES Airport officials pin the reputation of a revamped LAX on a new, modern terminal building. Related Links: Los Angeles Revamps Terminal to Save International Business “This is an effort not to grow the existing airport but to grow the quality of service,” says Michael Doucette, chief planner with
As mass transit officials, struggling to keep aging systems in usable condition, explored the possibility of private-public partnerships, Republicans unveiled on June 15 a plan to take the Northeast Corridor away from Amtrak and privatize it. Photo by AP Wideworld AMTRAK FACES ATTACK Republican-led proposal would strip Amtrak of Northeast Corridor ownership. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) fleshed out a plan to draw private-sector money to upgrade passenger rail service from Washington, D.C., to Boston to high-speed levels.The plan would remove from Amtrak's control its 363 route miles of the 457-mile-long Northeast Corridor (NEC). The proposal
Recent bid openings for subway projects in New York City and San Francisco revealed a range of prices and teaming partners. In New York City, the Metropolitan Transportation Agency opened bids on June 7 for a contract to furnish and install systems and finishes on the No. 7 subway line extension. A joint venture of Skanska Civil and Railworks was the low bidder at $513.7 million, followed by the joint venture SPP, at $539.8 million; Tutor Perini, at $542.2 million; a team of Judlau and Citnalta, at $563 million; CCA, at $598.5 million; and CHRE Construction LLC, at $758.5 million,
Humanitarian groups, led by Amnesty International, are protesting Ghana’s planned eviction of hundreds of thousands of slum dwellers occupying land along a 24-kilometer section of a planned, nearly $7-billion, 1,224-km railway line. Illustration by ENR The nearly $7-billion Ghana railway project, funded as part of a $10.4-billion, 20-year concessionary loan from China's Export/Import Bank, will include construction from the nation's capital in Accra to the northernmost terminal in Paga. The protests are further delaying the China-backed initiative, initially slated to commence this past April.“We urge the Government of Ghana to suspend the eviction of people from their homes until the
Related Links: The Ten Most Noteworthy Rail Projects: Overview and Related Stories After decades of delays, Brazil’s ambitious railroad project to revitalize the infrastructure of its booming northeast region is on track. The 1,728-kilometer Transnordestina rail line, linking city of Eliseu Martins in the region’s interior to the ports of Pecém and Suape, is slated to begin operations late next year.The $3.21 billion route is being built by Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional, which holds a 30-year concession that gives it a 75% stake in the line. CSN has financed through regional development agency Fundo de Investimentos do Nordeste and
A joint venture of two Spanish contractors, Obrascon Huarte Lain S.A. (OHL) and Dimetronic S.A., emerged May 17 as the low bidder for the Marmaray suburban rail upgrade project in Istanbul with a $1.5-billion bid. Related Links: Byzantine Port, Botched Buildings Put A Brake On Bosporus Link Japanese Team Goes Deep To Link Istanbul's Two Parts The project to upgrade the city’s 140-year-old suburban train lines will create an uninterrupted high-capacity commuter rail system of 76.3 kilometers between the suburbs of Gebze on the Asian side and Halkalı on the European side. It will include a line running through an
Through three wars, plans for an underground metro in Iraq’s capital city languished in a “pending” file. Now Baghdad municipally has signed a contract with a French firm and is dusting off decades-old designs for a 40-kilometer system. Map by Walter Konefal Planned Baghdad Metro The government also aspires to develop a separate plan for a 25-km elevated transit project as well.French design firm Systra S.A., Paris, now is mobilizing for 18 months’ work to develop the two-line metro project sufficiently for the city to solicit an engineer-procure-and-construct contract. Under Systra’s agreement, signed May 27, Systra also will advise on
The Panama Canal Authority awarded the contract to design a bridge on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal near the Gatun Locks to a Chinese-U.S. joint venture. The China Communications Construction Co. and the Louis Berger Group offered a $4.66-million proposal, the lowest bid offered. The structure will be 75 meters above sea level and 5 km long, including the approaches. The other firms proffering bids included TYPSA Principia, URS Holdings, Puente de Colón JV, ARUP and T.Y. Lin International.The bridge is required to maintain a road passage across the isthmus with the construction of the new larger locks
A controversial new cable show is thrusting America’s crumbling infrastructure into the spotlight. The debate stems not from the show’s content but from the engineering qualifications of its host, who criticizes others’ engineering and maintenance decisions in the name of public advocacy. Photo: By Tudor Van Hampton For ENR The history Channel’s “Inspector America” cites the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis as one example of the country’s infrastructure crisis. Some say the show and its host are sensationalizing the truth. “Inspector America” debuted on Sunday, April 17 on the History Channel. The cable program examines roadways, dams, tunnels, levees, bridges
Officials with the Florida Dept. of Transportation and the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority on May 25 announced an agreement to move forward with construction of the Wekiva Parkway, a 27-mile-long toll road estimated to cost $1.8 billion. The parkway would provide the last component of a beltway around the Orlando metro. The long-planned project has languished due to a lack of available funds. OOCEA and Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise, a division of FDOT, are still determining their respective commitments to the project but announced September 2011 as a goal for starting design work. Construction could start by late 2012 and is
RSS
