With the immediate emergency repairs finished following Superstorm Sandy and temporary fixes in place, city and state agencies in New York and New Jersey are now focused on planning, funding and building long-term resiliency projects. The agencies include the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the U.S. National Park Service, whose infrastructure was severely damaged when the hurricane hit the tristate area nearly two years ago. Related Links: More ENR New York Projects Some Tristate Projects Suffer Sandy's Blow Recovery Work Takes Center Stage Tristate Power Companies Surge Ahead With Upgrades "The last six months have meant substantial cleanup and repair,
Landscaped trenches that keep rain from overpowering rivers. Underwater beds of eelgrass to reduce erosion. Waterside sitting areas that would give a front-row seat to the rise in sea levels. These are some of the inventive ways New York City and nearby coastlines might be better protected against severe storms like Sandy as a result of the six winning proposals of the federal government's Rebuild by Design competition. While each proposal tackles a different shoreline region, environmental sensitivity plays a big role in each. Related Links: ENR New York ENR New York Featured Projects The region "is a special geography
NEW JERSEY Gov. Chris Christie has authorized $1.28 billion in state financing for improvements to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure across the state. This includes $355 million aimed at protecting and enabling resiliency upgrades to infrastructure directly impacted by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Related Links: Homepage News "There can be no compromise in protecting the vitality, integrity and resiliency of the state's water supply and wastewater systems, especially in areas that are vulnerable to floods," Christie said on Aug. 8. "This infrastructure must be rigorously maintained to ensure protection of public health and the environment."The signed legislation will provide no-cost
When the project team for Winthrop University Hospital's new research building approached J&A Concrete about foundation work, the subcontractor was happy to provide a quote—along with an alternative proposal for a much different foundation package that shaved $2 million off the cost. Related Links: More Project Stories Sandy-Hit Beaches Made Whole Again When Winthrop's team chose that route, the five-story, 95,000-sq-ft project became Nassau County's first to use an innovative foundation based on an underground stormwater storage system.The experience validated Winthrop's decision to implement design assist, up-front payments to subcontractors for contributions during the planning stage of the $80-million project
As public sector work continues its downward spiral, regional contractors are filling revenue gaps with a much more diverse mixture of project types than in recent years. While several large-scale energy and transportation projects broke ground in and around New York City in 2013, most of industry's new construction was sharply focused in the private sector, executives say. The broader array of offerings, they add, is fueling industry growth and providing work for more firms that struggled through the downturn. Related Links: More Industry Forecasts Building Up Industry One Tower, One Bridge at a Time "The market today is unquestionably
The overall decline in the public sector took a toll on many of the New York region's design firms last year, some of which were still trying to dig their way out of the recession. The greatest demand for design services in the sector has been and is expected to continue to be fueled by numerous multi-year transportation projects and Superstorm Sandy-related work, executives say. On the private side, signs of life have returned, especially in the residential, commercial and higher education markets, they add. Related Links: 2014 Top Design Firms Ranking 2012 Top Design Firms: Moving Forward With Caution
Some call it an indication of an all-out recovery while others describe it as just a gradual upswing, but most agree that the dramatic increase in the number of construction cranes in and around metro New York last year is, indeed, a good sign. While many of the megaprojects, especially in transportation, have been a long time in the making, they started up along with numerous high-end residential and mixed-use towers—helping to bolster the region's construction activity and make industry executives more optimistic than they have been in the last few years. Related Links: 2013 Top Starts Ranking Top Starts
It took several months after Superstorm Sandy's devastating blow for the hardest-hit New York and New Jersey shorelines to become usable by the public again as tons of debris were removed and emergency repairs were made. The October 2012 storm robbed significant amounts of sand from beaches, destroyed or severely compromised berms and dunes and increased flood risks to local communities. But a new phase of post-Sandy work to make the shores more resilient to storms will begin as early as this fall and focus on roughly $2.77 billion worth of projects in the region that were federally authorized before
Superstorm Sandy's effect on many of the beaches of the East Coast was like a knife on burnt toast—scraping and scraping away, until, in some places, not much was left but rocks. But in a widespread and intensive effort that began last summer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its contractors began replenishing beaches and undoing years of erosion, work that is expected to continue through most of this year. The aim is to restore beaches to their original construction state. Related Links: Engineering News Record Architectural Record "People who go to the beach will notice a big difference
It could be argued that 2013 was the year that Superstorm Sandy made state and local governments along the Eastern Seaboard take a closer look at alternative energy systems. Thousands of tristate households lost power due to the storm, a situation that some of those same households faced in major prior-year storms. Even as Congress continues deliberations over long-term tax reform, which may include certain alternative energy subsidies, analysts say that Sandy has given a significant boost to programs aimed at finding ways to make sure the lights stay on when adverse weather hits. Photo Courtesy of AWEA Related Links:
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