As the case of Tampa Bay Water v. HDR Engineering begins, a key trial expert says he still has no official opinion about the cause of the disputed cracking.

  HALLR. Randall Hall was named president of Batson-Cook Co., Atlanta, effective Jan. 1, 2012. Hall most recently served as senior vice president and general manager of the West Point, Ga.-based contractor's Atlanta division, where he was responsible for the Duke Energy Center project in Charlotte, N.C. Prior to that, Hall had served as senior vice president and general manager of the firm's West Point division. Raymond Moody, who had served as Batson-Cook's president for the past 16 years, will continue with the firm as chief executive officer. Steve Kufrovich has been hired by Choate Construction Co. in Atlanta as

The value of new Florida construction contracts increased in all three broad categories during January, resulting in a 44% overall gain and more than $1.8 billion in new work, according to the latest figures from McGraw-Hill Construction. Related Links: Georgia Contracts Stumble 7% to Start the Year In North Carolina, Residential the Only Bright Spot for January Value of South Carolina Contracts Dives in January The two building categories both experienced notable increases. The nonresidential sector recorded a 58% gain compared to last January, tallying roughly $655.3 million in new contracts. Residential totaled $697.7 million in new contracts for the

Two of Georgia’s three construction sectors experienced positive gains in new contracts during January, but a significant decline in nonresidential work pushed the state’s overall total to a 7% decline compared to a year ago. Related Links: Florida Sees 44% Overall Gain in New Contracts to Start 2012 In North Carolina, Residential the Only Bright Spot for January Value of South Carolina Contracts Dives in January According to McGraw-Hill Construction, publisher of ENR, new residential construction contracts totaled $272 million for January, a 13% gain over the same period of a year ago. The nonbuilding category, which includes infrastructure contracts,

The residential construction category was the only sector in North Carolina to record positive gains in January, compared to a year ago, according to recent data from McGraw-Hill Construction. Related Links: Florida Sees 44% Overall Gain in New Contracts to Start 2012 Georgia Contracts Stumble 7% to Start the Year Value of South Carolina Contracts Dives in January The company estimated that the state’s housing sector recorded more than $439.9 million in new construction contracts during the month, for a 12% gain over the same period of a year ago.The news wasn’t good for the other two construction sectors, however.

As was the case with its neighbor to the north, South Carolina’s contract activity was notably negative in January, with only the residential sector providing positive gains, according to the latest information from McGraw-Hill Construction. Related Links: Florida Sees 44% Overall Gain in New Contracts to Start 2012 Georgia Contracts Stumble 7% to Start the Year In North Carolina, Residential the Only Bright Spot for January On the positive side, the state’s residential construction category recorded nearly $248.6 million in new contracts during the month, for a 21% overall improvement compared to a year ago.But that wasn’t nearly enough to

After enduring Gov. Rick Scott’s suspension of contracts and consequent year-long delay to the start of construction, local, state and federal officials celebrated the survival of their prized $1.3-billion SunRail project with a project kick-off in late January. Actual construction won’t be far behind, with initial sitework set to start in early February, says April Heller, public information officer with the Florida Dept. of Transportation. Photo courtesy Florida Dept. of Transportation FDOT District 5 Secretary Noranne Downs and Congressman John Mica (R-Winter Park) celebrated the start of the $1.3-billion SunRail commuter rail project in Central Florida. Related Links: Gov. Scott

Progress Energy Florida denied a Jan. 26 Tampa Bay Times report that it plans to cancel an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Shaw Group for a proposed nuclear plant project in Levy County, Fla. Image courtesy Progress Energy Florida The cost estimate for Progress Energy's proposed new nuclear plant in Levy Co., Fla., has escalated to approximately $20 billion. Related Links: Florida and Progress Energy Reach Crystal River Fix Plan Suzanne Grant, company spokesperson, told ENR by email: “Progress Energy Florida has not stated any intention to cancel the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the Levy County nuclear

For most of the Southeast region, contractors should see an increasing set of business opportunities in 2012, according to the latest forecast projections from McGraw-Hill Construction, publisher of Engineering News-Record. The company predicts the value of new 2012 construction contracts will improve in three of the four ENR Southeast states, with North Carolina the lone negative. Photo courtesy Southern Co. Georgia should experience significant activity in the power and energy markets in 2012. Southern Co.'s $14-billion Vogtle nuclear power project will continue to move ahead. Photo courtesy BEandK/Turner/BRPH Joint Venture Boeing's new Dreamliner plant in South Carolina could continue to

Ryan Gravel, senior urban designer with Perkins+Will, Atlanta, was honored by ENR as one of its 2011 "Newsmakers." Photo by Matt Finn, Courtesy Ryan Gravel Architect Ryan Gravel was the visionary behind the Atlanta BeltLine project, a $2.8-billion infrastructure project that started out as part of his master's thesis project. Related Links: Perkins+Will Envisions New Future for Design Inspired by a brief stint living in Paris during college, Ryan Gravel wrote his master's thesis at the Georgia Institute of Technology on his idea of converting Atlanta's abandoned 22-mile-long freight-rail corridor, which encircles the city's urban core, into a "belt line"