Top 2013 Starts In The southwest Rank Project / Location ProjectCost ($ mil.) Start Date / End Date Project Team 1 Copper Mountain Solar Phase 3 Boulder City, Nev. 700 Aug. 2013 Aug. 2015 Owner Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, San Diego Design and Construction AMEC, London 2 El Cabo Wind Power Farm Torrance County, N.M. 450 Dec. 2013 2023 Owner/GC Iberdrola Renewables Inc., Portland, Ore. 3 SLS Hotel/Casino Las Vegas 415 June 2013 Oct. 2014 Owner SBE Hotel Group, Los Angeles Design Gensler, Las Vegas GC The Penta Building Group, Las Vegas 4 Marina Heights Tempe, Ariz. 300 Dec.

In the desert just outside Santa Teresa, N.M., a 12-mile-long, $400-million railroad service and intermodal facility is nearing the end of construction. The Strauss Rail Yard is the first new yard to be developed by Union Pacific Railroad in nearly a century, and it is big. Related Links: Engineering News Record Architectural Record "There really is nothing to compare it to. This has been a real renaissance," says Zoe Richmond, director of public affairs for Union Pacific's Phoenix office. "Trains have gotten a lot more efficient, but they are also a lot longer."Driven by an inability to expand its landlocked

The combined value of the 25 largest projects to break ground in the Southwest in 2013 totaled $3.72 billion—a slight uptick from $3.7 billion in 2012. The Top Starts list, compiled from information provided in part by McGraw Hill Construction, shows that the region is on a growth trend once again, thanks to Nevada and Las Vegas. Related Links: 2013 Top Starts List View the Southwest's 2012 Top Starts List On this year's list, three of the top seven projects are in Clark County, Nev.—Copper Mountain Solar in Boulder City and SLS Hotel & Casino and The Cromwell in Las

Utility and rail infrastructure for Tucson’s Sun Link is complete and light rail service will begin in July — the first such service since the Old Pueblo Trolley was suspended when Sun Link began construction in 2011. The project, also known as the Tucson Modern Streetcar, overcame  challenges including tie-overs for water lines, two large Fourth Avenue street festivals, and the presence of historic civil infrastructure, according to members of the project team.“Normally, our approach is to locate all of the obstructions along a utility route, and then dig like crazy in between them,” said Sun Link Construction Superintendent Stanton

The Sahara Hotel and Casino, backdrop for the 1960s heist movie "Ocean's Eleven," is making a comeback after shutting its doors in 2011. The iconic Las Vegas resort, originally built by Del E. Webb, is undergoing a $415-million makeover that will restore its former swagger. Related Links: Engineering News Record Architectural Record Renovation, however, is tricky due to decades of patchwork improvements and piecemeal additions done by various owners resulting in spotty construction records.Project contractor PENTA Building Group of Las Vegas began refurbishing the 4-million-sq-ft complex at 2535 South Las Vegas Blvd. in February. The construction contract is valued at

A popular northern Nevada commute between Reno and state capital Carson City recently improved thanks to the new Interstate-580 extension. However, construction of the $445-million project was no easy task. Related Links: Engineering News Record Architectural Record Previously, the old U.S. 395 south was the only option available, but the undivided, four-lane highway was susceptible to gridlock, high winds, flooding and head-on collisions. The new 8.5-mile, six-lane I-580 provides an alternate route from Mt. Rose Highway to the Bowers Mansion cutoff."The old highway 395 was the only all-weather route from South Lake Tahoe, Douglas County, Carson City and Lyon County

One year after the crystal anniversary of ENR Southwest's Best Projects competition, judges from throughout the Southwest were once again called upon to arbitrate the more than 100 construction projects chosen by the submitters as the best works of their firms.

A building that was once a boarding house during the World War II era and then a motel got a complete makeover when the project team was tasked with fulfilling the owner's vision of sustainable yet affordable housing space in Santa Fe, N.M.

Las Vegas might be known for the phrase, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," but it's what doesn't typically happen in the city—natural disasters—that made it attractive to Cobalt Data Centers.

Most construction projects are done on aggressive schedules. With an owner needing to occupy the structure in just 12 months from the start of design-build, the Northern Arizona Real Estate Holdings Office Building, located on a site near the edge of the Northern Arizona University campus in Flagstaff required an especially fast-track delivery.