Thousands of piles dot the Middle Eastern desert, spreading out in a T-shaped formation. They are the foundations of what will become a 700,000- square-meter airport terminal—and one of the foundations of Abu Dhabi’s ambitious 21st-Century infrastructure plan. The emirate’s long-term goal, to become a top destination for world trade and a cultural crossroads for the East and West—is getting an upgrade. The project now includes green-building and sustainability goals, as well as a growing number of western engineers and consultants brought in to help manage the $2.5-billion Abu Dhabi International Airport expansion and a slew of other projects. “There
With most of the world’s economies still searching for a way out of their economic woes, global transportation design and construction firms are finding solace in markets that largely have escaped the downturn’s most devastating effects. Photo: Courtesy of Aecom Hong Kong’s XRL costs $8.6 billion. Photo: Courtesy of Parsons Brinckerhoff The list of Asian projects includes the expansion and modernization of the Indira Gandhi Airport. Related Links: Overview: Finding Work in Tough Times View Complete Global Sourcebook with Rankings General Building: Firms Say World Market Is Thawing, Albeit Slowly Power: Growing Demand Fuels Worldwide Boom Environment: Global Expansions Yield
Akey reconstruction of a major route in Kansas City is wrapping up this month, featuring a dramatic cable-stayed bridge. The Missouri Dept. of Transportation credits design-build, which it rarely has used, with slashing years off the $245-million “Interstate Connections” (kcICON) project. It was originally slated to finish next July and will be within its $245-million budget. Photo: Courtesy of MODOT New cable-stayed bridge rises over the Missouri River. Construction began in April 2008 on the project to widen and reconstruct the 4.7-mile-long Paseo Corridor that carries Interstate 29/35 from North Kansas City into the northeastern corner of Kansas City’s downtown
Getting supersized prefabricated steel modules to the Kearl oil-sands project in Alberta is proving to be the toughest part of the job for Canada’s Imperial Oil and ExxonMobil Canada. The evidence is in Lewiston, Idaho. Photo: Courtesy Imperial Oil Photo: Courtesy Imperial Oil Equipment modules, right, shipped from South Korea are parked in Idaho, more than 1,300 miles from their destination in northern Alberta’s oil fields. As part of the companies’ $8-billion construction project to produce as much as 345,000 barrels per day of oil roughly 45 miles north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Imperial Oil sourced 207 prefabricated specialized bitumen
There was no shortage of takers for the $1.2 billion in federal passenger-rail funds that newly elected Republican governors in Wisconsin and Ohio said they don’t want. U.S. Dept. of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced on Dec. 9 that 14 states may divide the $1.2 billion that earlier had been awarded to Wisconsin and Ohio. California will get the largest share of the turned-back funds, $624 million. Many observers will be watching Florida to see whether the $342.3 million the Sunshine State gets in the redistribution will be enough to keep alive a proposed Tampa-Orlando rail line. Governor-elect Rick Scott
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation is redistributing to 14 states $1.2 billion in high-speed-rail funds originally awarded to Wisconsin and Ohio, whose governors-elect have pledged to kill rail projects launched by their predecessors. Related Links: Rail Plans Hit Bumps Rail Dollars Rolling U.S. DOT said on Dec. 9 that California would get up to $624 million, the largest share of the reallocated rail funds. DOT had previously awarded $3.2 billion to the Golden State for its ambitious rail plan. Florida will get as much as $342.3 million under the redistribution. The state's incoming governor Rick Scott, has said he's opposed
Japan and China have cornered the market in major cable-supported bridges in recent years. But now another East Asian rival is on the rise. South of the Russian port city of Vladivostok, the world’s longest cable-stayed span—at 1,104 meters—is due to start erection next April. Spanning the “eastern Bosphorus” waterway from the southern tip of the Nazimov Peninsula, the Russky Bridge is a key element in the work to prepare Russky Island to host the 2012 Asia-Pacific Summit, which will include U.S. and Canada government heads. To feed traffic to the new crossing, work has advanced further on a second
Planners of the $6.6-billion Femern Belt road and rail link between Denmark and Germany have rejected a bridge option in favor of a 18-kilometer-long sunken-tube tunnel. Government confirmation of the choice is expected next month. The process of prequalifying contractors is scheduled to start later in 2011. Running between Puttgarden, on Germany’s Fehmarn Island, and R�dby, on Lolland Island, Denmark, the project will provide a new route from Scandinavia to Central Europe. LUNDHUS Following extensive studies by two international design teams, officials at the project developer, Denmark’s Femern A/S, Copenhagen, say a tunnel poses fewer construction and operational risks than
After years of discussion, Israel’s Transportation Ministry finally is proceeding with plans to build an estimated $700-million high-speed railway to the southern port of Eilat, the country’s largest resort and a major port for shipments to and from the Far East. The ministry now seeks expressions of contractor interest in the project. Israel already has invested several billion dollars in recent years in national rail projects as part of a government effort to upgrade the country’s infrastructure. In November, the ministry announced a multibillion-dollar plan for additional upgrades as well as new rail lines and roads. The ministry plans a
A $410-million Lima Metro Line 1 is on pace for completion in June 2011, Peruvian officials say. The 18-month project involves the construction of 11.7 kilometers of new train line and nine stations as well as the complete refurbishment of 9.8 km of existing line and seven stations. Approximately 85% of the civil works for the 22-km-long route are expected to be completed by the end of the year. The Consorcio Tren Eléctrico, in public-private partnership with the Peruvian government, is the general contractor. Consortium members include the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht and the Peruvian company Gra�a y Montero, with
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