Airports will require an estimated $80.1 billion in capital projects over the next five years to upgrade and expand runways, terminals and other infrastructure, the Airports Council International-North America says in a new survey. Related Links: 2010-2011 Capital Needs Survey Report The total is substantial, but represents a 15% decline from the amount projected in ACI-NA's 2009 report, reflecting projects deferred or cancelled. In releasing the report on Feb. 23, ACI-NA President Greg Principato said that for airport officials and airport users, "These projects are considered essential...to meet forecasted passenger and cargo growth." But in a conference call with reporters,
Florida state lawmakers and Congress members are racing to retain $2.4 billion in federal stimulus dollars committed to build high-speed rail, while other states await the opportunity to gain those dollars that Gov. Rick Scott (R) rejected this month. + Image The funds represent 90% of what the Florida Dept. of Transportation says is needed to build a line from Orlando to Tampa. The governor cited concerns about potential capital cost overruns, optimistic ridership and revenue projections, and the fear that taxpayers would be burdened with repaying the money if the construction or operations were halted. Bob Burleson, president of
The construction start of a $100-million bridge to link three countries in southern Africa to a major road and rail transport corridor connecting with northern Africa, a project that was set to commence in January, now is rescheduled for the end of 2011 after one sponsoring country pulled out of the plan. + Image Map: Walter Konefal Site for planned bridge between Zambia and Botswana is near the disputed border with Zimbabwe. The bridge would link regions in the north to a north-south transportation corridor that connects to the port of Durban, South Africa. The Kazungula Bridge was planned by
The complex fabrication of a $24.5-million tubular, webbed helix of red steel has set back the completion date for the Santiago Calatrava-designed footbridge in Calgary from fall 2010 to mid-June 2011. Billed as Calgary’s longest single-span structure at 126 meters—twice as long as the next longest—the Peace Bridge’s helical design keeps supports out of the water, using buried abutments on either side of the riverbank. The 6.2-m-wide bridge, double the width of other pedestrian bridges in the area, will serve 5,000 residents daily by connecting two growing neighborhoods to the city center and light rail. The city of Calgary wanted
Kuwait’s public-works ministry in February signed an $870-million design-bid-build contract with a European-led consortium to upgrade more than 15 kilometers of Jamal Abdul Nasser Street. Photo: Courtesy of Louis Berger and PACE Upgraded Kuwaiti road will bypass local streets with viaducts. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Nasser Street links to a $950-million Jahra Road project that started last September. The two highways will relieve a congested corridor linking Kuwait City with its western suburbs and provide access to major government facilities and other centers, says an official with Louis Berger Group Inc., Morristown, N.J., which is handling design and
Since its inception in 2006, the most visible aspect of the Panama Canal’s $5.2-billion Third Lane Expansion project has been the excavation of the 6.7-kilometer-long Pacific Access Channel. With the completion of a $42.3-million, 1.8-km-long cofferdam this spring, that excavation is continuing as planned. The backfilled cellular cofferdam will hold back Miraflores Lake, the man-made body of water between the Miraflores locks and Pedro Miguel locks. Once the cofferdam is finished, excavation of 26 million cubic meters of material in the access-channel route can proceed as well as the construction of a permanent, $70-million, clay-core, basalt-rock-filled dam. The Pacific Access
A 1.24-mile-long aerial cable-car system could be operational in time for the 2012 London Olympic Games if Mayor Boris Johnson signs off on the plan. The $65-million project would be the U.K.’s first urban cable car and would cross the River Thames. Last month, councils for the two boroughs affected—Greenwich and Newham—approved the plan that links Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks. + Image Image: TFL A map shows the cable-car system that has been approved by London’s Greenwich and Newham boroughs. The system would cross the River Thames. Photo: TFL Cables Will Run Between 295-ft-tall Towers. The system, designed
The Obama administration is proposing an additional $53 billion over the next six years to continue developing high-speed passenger rail. The plan, which Vice President Joe Biden announced on Feb. 8, would supplement $10.5 billion already appropriated for the rail program over the past two years. Congress will decide whether to provide the new funds. Biden said President Obama will seek $8 billion in his fiscal 2012 budget request. But House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) criticized the way the Dept. of Transportation has parceled out the $10.5 billion and said that adding $53 billion “is like
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