Last month, more than 1,100 lb of strategically placed explosives brought down the 24,000-ton, 455-ft-tall cooling tower at the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Savannah River site in Aiken, S.C., the second largest such structure to be imploded, says the firm. “The implosion surpassed everyone’s expectations,” says Doug Loizeaux, vice president of Controlled Demolition Inc. (CDI), Phoenix, Md. The firm was the explosives preparation and performance subcontractor to American Demolition and Nuclear Decommissioning, Grand Island, N.Y., which received the approximately $4-million contract to implode the former nuclear-site cooling tower and remove debris. The latter task will be handled by LVI Services
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (I) wielded his veto on May 28, returning $160 million in funds to the state Transportation Trust Fund and $19 million to the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority. “It’s awesome,” says Bob Burleson, president of the Florida Transportation Builders’ Association (FTBA) in Tallahassee. “He sent a strong message to the Legislature and future legislatures to keep their hands off the trust fund.” Dick Kane, communications director for the Florida Dept. of Transportation in Tallahassee, issued a statement responding to the governor’s veto, saying, “We appreciate that the Governor recognizes the value and job opportunities the Florida Dept.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is issuing an especially dire forecast for tropical storm activity in the Atlantic and Caribbean basins this hurricane season. Photo: NOAA Hurricane Ike, in 2008. NOAA is predicting an active, to extremely active hurricane season this year. In a report released May 27, NOAA said that it is expecting “an active to extremely active” hurricane season. For the six-month season, which begins June 1, NOAA is projecting a 70% probability of 14 to 23 named storms with top winds of 39 mph or higher. It predicts the named storms will include eight to 14
After receiving tips, Bay County, Fla., Sheriff’s deputies arrested 11 undocumented workers at the Panama City Marina on May 19, 2010, for using stolen social security numbers to obtain employment cleaning up the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Bay County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ruth Corley indicates BP subcontractors hired the men, who most recently came from South Carolina, Mississippi and other parts of Florida. The men are citizens of Nicaragua, Honduras, Ecuador and Bolivia. BP contracted with Eagle-SWS of Panama City to complete the oil clean-up work. According to BP spokesperson Vani Rao, Eagle-SWS hired CCI (Containment
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has expanded the list of organizations whose crane-operator certification programs it formally recognizes, with an agreement with the National Center for Construction Education and Research, Gainesville, Fla. Related Links: Ten Minutes With OSHA Chief David Michaels OSHA chief David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, and NCCER President Don Whyte signed the voluntary agreement on May 17 at the Dept. of Labor headquarters in Washington. In March, OSHA finalized a similar agreement with The Crane Institute of America Certification Inc. OSHA's first such crane-operator program agreement came in 1999, with
Delays in developing large power projects in Florida are bad news for contractors in a state already hurt by sharp construction downturns, says the Greater Florida Chapter of Associated General Contractors president. Photo: Florida Power and Light Power plans FP&L says Riviera gas plant will proceed on schedule, but nuclear units face delays. Florida’s biggest utilities, Juno Beach-based Florida Power & Light (FP&L) and Progress Energy Florida, “stopped work on everything but the essentials” after the state Public Service Commission (PSC) in January rejected most of the big rate increases the utilities had sought, said Richard Marshall, who also is
Photo courtesy BE&K/Turner In early May, the joint-venture team of BE&K Building Group and Turner Construction Co. celebrated the setting of the first steel trusses at Boeing’s Charleston 787 Final Assembly facility project in North Charleston, S.C. Kenny Anderson, BE&K/Turner’s construction manager, said the first two trusses were set May 10 and May 13, with the western half placed first and the eastern half three days later. Each half weighs 221 tons and is 307 ft long. Fully assembled, each truss measures 614 ft long and has a 464-ft clear span. The project broke ground in November. BRPH of Melbourne,
Suffolk Construction Co. of Miami was awarded a $25-million contract to build a classroom/student union facility at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson campus. The six-story, 110,000-sq-ft facility will include classrooms, a film archival library, wellness center, student union/student life center, and a food court and general eating area. Suffolk and architect Zyscovich of Miami will work together to design-build the project. Construction is scheduled to begin in December, and is targeted for completion 12 months later, in December 2011.
Gordon Chew, a handyman in remote Tenakee Springs, Alaska, needed a 12-volt coil to get his Case 686G telehandler up and running again. He called a dealer and was told the part was not in stock. “Case couldn’t find it,” says Chew, who notes the price quoted to him was $230. Not wanting to wait for a special order, he typed the part into a search engine and found GCIron.com. Chew had never heard of the site before, but that didn’t matter. He called up the company, and the operator cross-referenced the part and quickly located it in inventory. “They
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