Photo Courtesy of Illinois Tollway A $12-billion, 15-year construction program aims to ramp up economic development in the regions around O'Hare airport. Related Links: Illinois Highway Builders Keep Massive Job On Track Success of Illinois Extension Overcomes Difficult Past In a video shot by the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association, a construction worker named Robert Hall gives a testimonial for IRTBA: "It gives us a lot of work, especially when our economy was bad," the Geneva Construction Co. employee says. "IRTBA allowed us to go get more work … gave us an opportunity to keep on rolling when the
Related Links: N.J. Bill Would Replace 3 PANYNJ Officials With 'Public Interest' Members Public-Private Partnerships Will Be Key in Bridge, Airport Projects: Port Authority Chief Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Chairman David Samson has resigned in the wake of a report that partly blames the agency's handling of the George Washington Bridge traffic scandal that has come to be known as "Bridgegate."New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) announced the resignation at a March 28 press briefing that focused on the results of a $1-million, governor-sponsored report on the scandal. The nearly 350-page report exonerates the governor of
Photo Courtesy of City of Philadelphia Controller's Office Puddles on Taxiway S at Philadelphia International Airport show signs of rutted asphalt. Related Links: Boston First To Use Warm-Mix Asphalt on U.S. Runway Branson, Mo., Runway Collapse Triggers Lawsuit The Philadelphia city controller is at odds with a local contractor and the city's Division of Aviation over a 2009 taxiway repaving project at the Philadelphia International Airport.During an October 2011 closeout walk-through at the airport, the controller's office determined Taxiway S, which had been repaved two years earlier, was rutting. The controller claims the contractor, A.P. Construction, Philadelphia, did not use
Photo courtesy Wikipedia Commons Ethiopian Cargo, a subsidiary of Ethiopian Airlines, will manage the new cargo terminal being built at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Ethiopia. Related Links: Around the World With Caterpillar Chief Doug Oberhelman Ethiopia Aims to Host Africa's Tallest Building Despite recent declines in air cargo activity throughout Africa and forecasts predicting only minimal increases, major airports across the region are launching terminal projects in anticipation of rebounding global economic activity. Developments in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda, Angola and Ghana are among those now moving into construction.In January, Ethiopian Airlines announced it had signed a $148-million turnkey
Halton Borough Council A private consortium signs on to build new Silver Jubilee Bridge. Halton Borough Council Related Links: UK Takes Hard Look At Private Finance Initiative S&P: Private Investors Could Hlep Narrow Infrastructure Gap Construction on the U.K.’s roughly $800-million, privately-financed cable-stayed Silver Jubilee bridge over the River Mersey, 20 kilometers east of Liverpool, is set to start next month following the March 29 signing of all key contracts.Procured under a 30-year design-build-finance-operate contract, the 1.5-km-long crossing between Widnes and Runcorn is due to open in late 2017.“We’ve already started our work to engage with the local supply chain
Map by Jeffrey Cox/ENR Rail Baltica will extend European standard gauge through the Baltic states. Related Links: For Panamax Port Expansions, The Freight Wait is Almost Over Saudi Arabia Upgrading Rail Passenger and Freight Service Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are aiming to take their railway destinies more firmly in hand through Rail Baltica, a multinational effort to improve freight rail connectivity between Central and Northern Europe. Running from the port of Tallinn, Estonia, south through Latvia and Lithuania, the high-speed, standard-gauge line will connect with Warsaw, Poland, and ultimately, Berlin.Construction of Baltica 1, the first 115-kilometer segment between the Polish-Lithuania
HS2 HS2 Chairman Higgins is calling for an acceleration of phase two of the high-speed rail program from London to the north of England. HS2 Proposed route would open development in England's north, backers say. Related Links: Legislation for UK's $80-Billion HS2 Rail Program Will Move, Government Official Tells Engineers U.K. Launches $52-Billion Rail Plan The U.K. Transportation Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has accepted new recommendations to accelerate construction of the country’s second high speed railroad. Among other changes to the estimated $83-billion, two-phase HS2 project to win government support is an entirely new grand terminus at Euston, in London.McLoughlin’s decision
Photo courtesy Vinci Group Stalled highway projects were a visible sign of the economic crisis in Greece. Related Links: Research Automates Tunnel Inspection Robot Eurozone Debt Crisis Takes Its Toll on Construction Despite its huge debts, Greece is in recovery mode. Forecasters expect the stricken European state to start climbing out of its deep recession, and renewed construction of four large, internationally backed highway projects is seen as a sign of new life.The four stalled projects, which have a combined value exceeding $10 billion, were "visible casualties of the crisis in Greece," according to Johannes Hahn, the European Union's commissioner
Related Links: Airports Emphasize Flexibility In New Designs DOTs Are Gaining "Complete Streets" Smarts P3 Experts Point to the Canadian Experience Infrastructure Investors Are Willing To Pound The Pavement Viewpoint by John D. Porcari: Project Environmental Reviews, Undo the Do-Over Loop Harvey Hammond, chairman of HNTB Corp., was talking about the firm's future as it marks its 100th anniversary this year—as well as the future of funding improvements to the nation's bridges, railways, ports, tunnels and major highways. "The infrastructure needs and demands will always be there," he says. "The question is: How do we respond to [them]?"For U.S. states
Image Courtesy of SFO SFO's planned airport improvements will be informed by a recently revised set of life-cycle recommendations. Image Courtesy of SFO Related Links: Transportation's Next Chapter: Maintenance, Mobility, Money DOTs Are Gaining "Complete Streets" Smarts Dont Leave It at LEED, Say Aviation Project Leaders Airports Push The Green Envelope Airport Improvements Squeeze Into San Diego Surface transportation designers and builders are adopting a more system-based, holistic approach to infrastructure that emphasizes sustainability and place-making, not merely mobility. And so are airports.For years now, airport leaders have agreed that meeting LEED standards is a start but not enough for
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