Project managers are struggling with how to remove �Rainier,� a tunnel-boring machine that is stuck 330 ft underground since last year. Until the rig is moved, the area�s $1.8-billion Brightwater treatment plant can�t be finished. Image: ENR/King County The tunnel�s original contractor and owner have parted ways after TBM bogged down and are currently negotiating a claim while a replacement team drills ahead. Photo: John J. Kosowatz / ENR One of the Brightwater tunnel boring machines is seen here fitted with cutter head.  “As of May 1, we have no way to remove it and are still working on a

Vancouver, B.C.�s planned $458-million renovation of BC Place, the province�s largest stadium, already has paid dividends. Las Vegas-based Paragon Gaming announced in March it would lease the property adjacent to build a $450-million entertainment complex, complete with a 24-hour casino, five restaurants and two hotels. Operations are set to start in 2013. Photo: Paragon Gaming An entertainment complex will abut BC Place by 2013, according to Paragon Gaming�s plan. The 76,000-sq-meter fabric cover at BC Place—the largest air-supported roof in the world—will soon become the world’s largest cable-supported retractable roof. Work starts this month with a winterization program. The 27-year-old

Washington Dept. of Transportation officials hope to finalize designs this summer for a 2.3-mi section of the $4.65-billion, 12.8-mi state Route 520 corridor improvement project, in Seattle, which includes the world�s longest floating pontoon bridge. Photo: WSDOT Project floating along On-site work is under way for new pontoon construction, which is part of the expanded Washington state corridor connecting Seattle to points east. WsDOT is working with the City of Seattle, the University of Washington, King County Metro and Sound Transit on design decisions regarding the westside section of the corridor. That section includes the planned expansion of an interchange

On April 15, opposing sides in a debate over the fate of a deteriorating, nine-year-old Seattle apartment tower presented their positions regarding the building�s future safety to Seattle�s Dept. of Planning and Development (DPD). McCarthy Building Cos. maintains the 26-story McGuire Apartments, with its corroding post-tensioned slab system, can be economically fixed. The owner disagrees. Photo: Kennedy Associates The contractor and owner for Seattle�s McGuire Apartments are at odds about �sick� tower�s cure. Image: Post-Tensioning Institute Post-tensioned slab The steps to post-tensioning are as follows: Place the tendons and nail anchors to the formwork, cast the concrete slab, remove the

The contractor for an occupied, 26-story apartment building in Seattle that has corroding post-tensioning cables disagrees with the owner�s assertion that the nine-year-old high-rise will become unsafe. McCarthy Building Cos. also disputes the cause and scope of the damage to McGuire Apartments, built for $33 million, stated by the local owner, Carpenter�s Tower LLC. Photo: Ken Lambert, The Seattle Times Problems of Seattle high-rise are too costly to fix, says owner. The contractor disagrees. On April 10, the owner announced plans to vacate the building over several months “due to extensive construction defects, which are financially impractical” to repair. A

Crews have filled in about 80% of nine voids leftover from a 2-mile tunneling job through Seattle�s Beacon Hill. Japan�s Obayashi Corp. did not discover the voids while boring the parallel, 1-mile tunnels as part of its $280-million contract, which has since increased to $312 million. Owner Sound Transit contends the contractor is at fault. Photo: Sound Transit Crews pump low-density concrete into tunnel voids found by drilling. The new, $2.6-billion, 16-mile Link Light Rail from downtown Seattle south to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport required tunnels and a station 180 ft deep beneath Beacon Hill. Obayashi in 2004 won the contract

James (Jim) Elmer , founder and president of James W. Elmer Construction Co., Spokane, Wash., was sworn in as Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) national chairman at ABC’s 2010 National Convention in San Diego on February 3. Elmer’s 38 years of construction experience includes working on several heavy industrial construction projects involving fossil fuel and nuclear power plants. Elmer began his involvement with ABC in 1986, and served as chairman of several committees, including the Government Affairs Coordinating Committee. He has also served as a member of ABC’s board of directors and the Legislative Committee. In 1998, ABC presented him

The Skanska Oregon office broke ground on the TriMet Merlo Bus Maintenance Facility to support many of TriMet’s Westside bus lines. The $13.5 million construction project is TriMet’s largest single project funded through the ARRA. Comprised of two buildings totalling 25,000 sq ft, construction includes a new fuel/wash building with lift equipment to raise buses for mechanical maintenance, a bus washing system and specialized fueling system. The second building houses a new LIFT operations building for the program providing door-to-door service for elderly and people with disabilities. TriMet breaks ground on the Merlo Bus Maintenance Facility in Portland, Ore. Related

WSDOT awarded the last of four Recovery Act projects to pave I-5 in Cowlitz County. Lakeside Industries Inc. of Longview was awarded the $4.57-million construction contract to pave approximately 17 mi of I-5 between Todd Road and the Kelso Weigh Station between mile posts 26.5 to 43.8 this summer. WSDOT is delivering this second tier stimulus project following lower-than-expected bids on initial Recovery Act funded highway projects in Washington State. Related Links: TriMet’s Largest Stimulus Project Begins CH2M HILL Completes Ice Road for Savant Alaska Site Work Completed for Olympia Building Ash Grove Cement Mercury Control System Installation Continues Crews

CH2M HILL completed a 27.5-mi tundra ice road on the North Slope of Alaska, 11 days ahead of schedule and on budget. CH2M HILL completes a 27.5-mi ice road along the tundra of the North Slope, Alaska. Related Links: WSDOT Starts Two ARRA Projects TriMet’s Largest Stimulus Project Begins Site Work Completed for Olympia Building Ash Grove Cement Mercury Control System Installation Continues Savant Alaska, LLC hired CH2M HILL to be the lead contractor for the Badami Unit Redevelopment Project, 2009-2010 Tundra Winter road. The road was needed to transport equipment from the North Slope of Alaska to the Badami