Israeli officials have terminated a franchise agreement awarded in 2006 to an international engineering-construction consortium to build a $2-billion, 23-kilometer light-rail network in metropolitan Tel Aviv because the owner and its contractors cannot agree on financial terms. The gap between the government’s cost figure and that of the building team’s, comprising firms from Israel, China and Portugal, is said to be around $100 million. Israel also is set to seize $35 million in financial guarantees the consortium had provided. The team already has spent $65 million on the project, and the state has spent close to $250 million on related
Behind the art-decorated walls along Miami-Dade International Airport’s mile-long north terminal, construction workers are building at a feverish pace the last major piece of an overall $6.2-billion capital improvement program. After a decade that saw delays and disputes, the team hired to build the stalled $3-billion terminal expansion expects an on-time delivery next year, with no major claims. photo: Courtesy of POVJ The renovated and expanded north terminal (above) is almost complete, with almost 4 million sq ft of space. A people mover also is nearing completion (below). Photo: Courtesy Of POVJ Work on the 50-gate terminal began in 2001,
Firms working on the $670-million Mississippi River Bridge in St. Louis have shattered geotechnical records related to one of the bridge’s drilled-shaft concrete foundations while verifying a time-saving, alternate pier plan. Photo: Courtesy MTA Joint Venture Record-breaking load cell makes its final descent at St. Louis. The test, performed this past June, consisted of drilling an 11.5-ft-dia shaft 43.5 ft under the riverbed, then cutting an 11-ft-dia socket more than 23 ft into the underlying limestone bedrock. An Osterberg load cell then was lowered to the bottom of the rock socket, and reinforced concrete was poured into the hole. When
The Texas Transportation Commission has approved the first $250 million of about $2 billion in highway project contracts funded last year by Proposition 12 bond proceeds. Included in the contracts is a major corridor mobility project to widen Interstate 35 north of Waco from four to six lanes. The contract is for $165 million. Nearly 39% of the state’s population lives along the I-35 corridor. Roadway rehabilitation projects in 11 Texas counties account for 12 of the 16 approved projects, which are worth more than $84 million.
The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners last week unanimously approved the Environmental Impact Report for the project to replace the aging Gerald Desmond Bridge at the Port of Long Beach with a new, nearly $1-billion span. The Port of Long Beach, in partnership with Caltrans, will oversee the project to design and build a higher, wider bridge that would be parallel to and just north of the existing Gerald Desmond Bridge. Once the new bridge is completed and open, the old structure would be taken down. The project will generate an average of 4,000 jobs a year during the
One of the tallest bridges in the U.S. is about to receive an extensive seismic upgrade, including 2.2 million lb of structural steel. Bids open on Sept. 7 for a $71-million seismic retrofit for the 1970s-era Foresthill Bridge in Auburn, Calif. At 730 ft tall and 2,428 ft long, its retrofit will pose dizzying challenges to the selected contractor. Photo: Courtesy Of Place County Public Works California’s tallest bridge will receive a $71-million seismic upgrade. “We are garnering a lot of interest from contractors,” says Ken Grehm, director of public works for owner Placer County. Grehm has led more than
Oklahoma is on a mission to ensure it never again wins the dubious honor of having the nation’s highest percentage of substandard bridges. The Oklahoma Transportation Commission this month approved a $4.3-billion, eight-year budget to fund 1,750 vital bridge and highway projects from 2011 through 2018. The transportation budget is the state’s largest ever, says Oklahoma Dept. of Transportation spokeswoman Terri Angier. Photo: Oklahoma DOT More than wear and tear, debris accumulation can accelerate a bridge’s structural undermining. In 2002, the non-profit organization The Road Information Program (TRIP) reported that Oklahoma had the country’s highest percentage of structurally deficient or
Companies working on the $670-million Mississippi River Bridge in St. Louis have shattered geotechnical records with a 36,067-ton load test on one of the bridge's drilled-shaft, concrete foundations. Photo: MTA Joint Venture Record-breaking load cell makes its final descent. Related Links: St. Louis Link Will Be Tough, Diverse, Green Osterberg Cell Transformed Testing Award of Excellence Winner Clyde Baker The test, performed this past June, consisted of drilling an 11.5-ft-dia shaft 43.5 ft under the riverbed, then cutting an 11-ft-dia socket more than 23 ft into the underlying limestone bedrock. An Osterberg hydraulic load cell was then lowered to the
Twenty-five states have filed 77 applications totaling more than $8.5 billion for the U.S. Dept. of Transportation's next round of high-speed-rail grants. Many applicants will be disappointed: DOT only has about $2.3 billion to distribute. The department expects to announce the winners of the new round of grants "in early fall," says Rob Kulat, a spokesman with DOT's Federal Railroad Administration. FRA did not have a list of applicants available. Based on reports from some, but not all, states, among the largest requests are from California, which is seeking $1.58 billion, and Florida, which is applying for $1.1 billion. Another
Twenty-five states have filed 77 applications totaling more than $8.5 billion for the U.S. Dept. of Transportation's next round of high-speed-rail grants. Many applicants will be disappointed: DOT only has about $2.3 billion to distribute. The department expects to announce the winners of the new round of grants "in early fall," says Rob Kulat, a spokesman with DOT's Federal Railroad Administration. Odds of winning are long, but not as daunting as in FRA's initial high-speed-rail grant competition, when the agency was inundated with $57 billion in applications for $8 billion in grants. DOT officials announced the winners of that first
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