A mediated settlement of a decade-long fight has opened the way for construction of a new, $800-million container terminal and port-access road in Charleston, S.C. On Aug. 6, the South Carolina State Ports Authority and the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League concluded several months of negotiations with an agreement on specific actions to monitor and reduce air emissions from port operations and mitigate gridlock through increased use of rail connections. The settlement ends a 2005 court challenge regarding permits by the League, but the battle dates back to 1999, when the League objected to an earlier plan because of emissions
China plans to award a design-build contract soon for the sunken tube tunnel and artificial islands comprising part of the 30-kilometer-long, $5.5-billion road link between Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau, in the Pearl River Delta. Bids for the bridge section will follow in a few months, says a project source. Officials plan to open the link in 2016. Road link across the Pearl River Delta will include a sunken tube tunnel and artificial islands. From Hong Kong, some 5 km of bridges will link to two 700-meter-long islands, which will be linked by the tunnel. The crossing will continue on
Officials with the Denver International Airport will decide this year whether to move ahead with a signature rail bridge design, unveiled July 29, by architect-structural engineer Santiago Calatrava. The 720-ft-long suspension bridge would likely have a $60-million-plus price tag, which is more than double preliminary cost estimates. Photo Courtesy Of Santiago Calatrava Design by Calatrava for symmetrical suspension bridge may be too costly to build. The symmetrical, tied-arch, steel-and-concrete span is planned as part of a $650-million south terminal redevelopment, which also includes a hotel and a train station. But it is also part of a commuter rail link owned
An Israeli-Russian joint venture has won the latest chunk of work on Israel’s $1-billion high-speed rail line that will connect Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Minrav Engineering and Construction Ltd., Ashdod, and underground contractor Moscow Metrostroy won the estimated $130-million contract from project owner Israel Railways. The contract, not yet officially awarded, will involve construction of two parallel 3.5-kilometer tunnels and other work. Site preparation is set to begin later this year, with tunneling to start within a year, officials say. The project involves construction of 38 km of double track from Ben Gurion International Airport east of Tel Aviv to
In late July, four 1,200-ton, 165-ft-long steel segments were erected to become a tower for the $6-billion San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge’s self-anchored suspension span. Photo Courtesy Of Caltrans Steel tower legs are lifted into place for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge’s self-anchored suspension span. Under a $1.43-billion contract, the joint venture of American Bridge, Coraopolis, Pa., and Fluor Corp., Irving, Tex., used a strand-jack gantry positioned atop the erection tower to pull the segments off a barge, lift them straight up over the tower foundation, then lower them into place. The first four tower sections, fabricated by ZPMC in Shanghai,
The historic Boston University bridge is receiving a sorely needed $20-million total body makeover while still remaining open to a steady stream of cars, cyclists and pedestrians. Crossing over the Charles River, the 80-year-old Boston-Cambridge link, which provides spectacular views of Boston’s skyline, had aged to the point where the sidewalks were crumbling, the railing had rusted, and concrete was spalling. The old drainage system was so corroded that stormwater went through the bridge and into the river. The project received a boost from 2008 Massachusetts legislation that created the $3-billion, eight-year Accelerated Bridge Program. Pihl Inc., the U.S. branch
The Bay Area Rapid Transit’s board of directors July 22 vowed to continue with the proposed $484-million Oakland Airport Connector, even though the federal government in February withdrew $70 million in stimulus funds because affirmative action goals were not met. The board approved a new funding plan by a vote of 8 to 1 that reduces project costs by $8 million and proposes to utilize BART’s reserve account, high-speed rail bonds and a loan from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act to fill the gap. The withdrawal of stimulus funds postponed awards of contracts for the 3.2-mile automated people
The Missouri Dept. of Transportation tentatively has set September 15 as the target date to restore access between I-470 and I-435 in southern Kansas City, following an existing fill-supported ramp collapse on July 17. Photo: Missouri Dept. Of Transportation Groundwater is one of several possible causes being evaluated by investigators into Kansas City ramp failure, which occurred on July 17. Pyramid Contractors, Olathe, Kan., was awarded the contract to build a 225-ft-long, four-lane replacement structure currently being designed by HNTB, MoDOT’s engineering consultant. Expected to cost about $4.46 million, the precast structure will be built atop two bents with drilled
Shovels, hammers and hardhats were nowhere in sight. Instead, participants in a public outreach workshop used hair curlers, buttons and paper clips to construct model train stations for California’s proposed high-speed-rail route. California has been awarded $2.25 billion in federal economic stimulus funds to develop a high-speed-rail line, scheduled to start construction in 2012. The project, currently in the process of finalizing track alignments, will feature trains running up to 220 mph. Transportation experts repeatedly have cited the importance of public involvement to the success of the $45-billion, multiregional project. Held in downtown Los Angeles on July 17, the “groundbreaking”
Transportation officials are eager for states to take the lead in using public-private partnerships (P3), but they seek clarity and leadership from the federal government on the future of transportation in general. A recent upsurge in major P3 deals has encouraged global firms regarding U.S. opportunities, but uncertainty over federal transportation legislation overshadows the optimism. In Washington, D.C., a keynote speech by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood at the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) P3 conference on July 22-23 did little to quell doubts. He said a highway user fee and a gas tax increase are “off
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