A joint venture of Barnard Construction Co. Inc., Bozeman, Mont., and Judlau Contracting Inc., College Point, N.Y., edged out two other prequalified teams to win a $583-million contract to bore a pair of 16,500-ft-long, 27-ft-dia., tunnels averaging 120-ft deep for the Manhattan portion of an $8.7-billion second mass-transit tunnel linking New York's Pennsylvania Station to New Jersey. Directors of project owner, New Jersey Transit, unanimously approved the contract on Dec. 9. Proposals for a related tunnel contract under New Jersey's Palisades rock formation, estimated at $250 million, will be due Dec. 15, says a New Jersey Transit spokesman They are
A joint venture of Barnard Construction Co. Inc., Bozeman, Mont., and Judlau Contracting Inc., College Point, N.Y., edged out two other prequalified teams in winning a $583-million contract to bore a pair of 16,500-ft-long, 27-ft-dia. tunnels averaging 120-ft deep for the Manhattan portion of a second mass-transit tunnel linking New York’s Pennsylvania Station to New Jersey. It is the first of three major tunneling contracts for the $8.7-billion Mass Transit Tunnel project, overseen by New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. New Jersey Transit’s directors approved the contract on Dec. 9. Construction will begin
The government of Brazil has announced it is seeking bid proposals for a 317-mile high-speed rail line linking São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The project would be the first of its kind in South America, which currently has no high-speed rail lines. The project currently has an estimated budget of $19.44 billion and would serve a corridor that is home to 40 million people—20% of Brazil’s population. Under the current plan, 60% of the cost would be funded by Brazil’s development bank, and the remaining 40% would be provided by the winning bidder, which also would receive a concession
According to Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney, work on the eyebar will not require a full bridge closure; instead, crews will work overnight, which will require three lanes to close on the upper deck and one lane on the lower deck. The repair and related lane closures will last approximately three weeks, with an additional five weeks possibly needed at a later date. Photo: Caltrans “We would like to thank motorists in advance for their patience during the upcoming lane closures,” says Caltrans Director Randell Iwasaki. “This is the right fix and a long-term one that should keep the 73-year old
A funding delay, a cableway collapse and a death: Construction of the Hoover Dam Bypass is a challenge-filled saga that rivals the building of the historic dam itself. But the light at the end of the canyon is beckoning. North America’s longest single-arch concrete crossing, at 1,960 ft, now soars 88 ft over the Colorado River and is scheduled to open to traffic in November 2010. It will carry vehicles 1,500 ft downstream from Hoover Dam, spanning the Black Canyon at the borders of Nevada and Arizona and answering a need that dates back to the 1960s. Slide Show Photo:
New York State Dept. of Transportation officials swiftly are preparing design concepts for a new crossing to replace the Crown Point Bridge, abruptly closed in October due to unexpectedly high levels of pier deterioration. Meanwhile, contractors are racing to build temporary vehicular ferry-terminal facilities at Lake Champlain between New York and Vermont as a stopgap measure. Photo: AP/Wideworld New York-Vermont crossing was shut down abruptly on Oct. 16 after inspectors found unexpectedly severe pier deterioration, possibly due to ice pressure. + Image NYSDOT, in conjunction with the Vermont Agency of Transportation, on Oct. 16 shut down the 80-year-old, 2,184-ft-long steel
The land rolls like waves as it liquefies beneath the viaduct. As spliced timber piles underpinning the columns lose lateral support, the piles buckle and some viaduct columns drop swiftly out of sight. Utilities rupture, fires break out and roadway decks collapse with shocking speed. Related Links: Simulated Quake Rattles Populace Is it a scene from a new disaster movie? No. It’s a simulation of an engineering model-driven video showing what would happen to the Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct in the case of a serious earthquake. A political storm set off by the Washington State Dept. of Transportation’s release of
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has urged top U.S. Dept. of Transportation officials to weigh in to help end what she termed a "standoff" with the House over the length of a surface transportation bill. Photo: Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) With a current seven-week stopgap highway and transit authorization set to expire Dec. 18, Boxer and leaders of other key Senate committees have lined up behind a further six-month extension. But Boxer said House leaders support much shorter extensions. At a Nov. 18 briefing of her committee on highway funding
Construction is about to start on a 433-m-long bridge with a 117-m-long rising main span for shipping in France’s Garonne River, Bordeaux. Units of Vinci Construction, Paris, will design and build the $187-million bridge over 33 months for the city council. The 3,500-tonne central span will be able to be lifted up 80-m-tall towers. Photo: EGIS-JMI - Virlogeux -Lavigne Et Cheron Architectes - Hardesty & Hanover
Transportation industry executives and lobbyists clearly are frustrated at not being able to gain Washington’s attention to enact long-term funding legislation they claim is critical to improving the sector’s dire outlook, as reflected in new market statistics released on Nov. 13. Related Links: States’ Fiscal Crunch Could Stretch to 2012 The results were released by the Transportation Construction Coalition, a group of 28 contractor and supplier associations and unions in the transportation construction sector. They show that even with this year’s $27-billion federal stimulus infusion for transportation, 63% of 527 sector-company respondents say they have laid off permanent staff this
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