Article toolbar An effort to create wetlands out of dry chaparral in the Arizona desert has begun two new phases of work to support emergent marshes completed last year. The three-phase, $230-million Tres Rios Ecosystem Restoration and Flood Control Project is designed to improve a seven-mile-long section of the Salt and Gila rivers in southwestern Phoenix. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project is being built in coordination with the City of Phoenix. The wetlands are sustained using reclaimed water from the city’s 91st Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant, near the convergence of the Salt, Agua Fria and Gila rivers. Last

Salt River Project has provided water and power to the Sonoran Desert for more than 100 years and is continuing to lay the foundation for a bright future despite formidable hurdles from the recession and increasing demands to reduce carbon emissions.

NV Energy is making a power play by more than quadrupling the output of its 16-year-old southern Nevada powerplant, the 144-MW Harry Allen Generating Station. Once used as a facility for peak-time power use, the simple-cycle natural gas-fired plant is now undergoing a $600-million expansion that will increase capacity to 628 MW. “After California's energy crisis, we needed to become self-sufficient and not dependent upon others,” says Andrew McNeil, NV Energy's new generation corporate executive. “At the time, we had been buying about 75% of our power from the grid.”Las Vegas-based NV Energy's service area covers 44,424 sq miles and

Article toolbar On March 18, 1911, Theodore Roosevelt pressed a button, releasing the first flow of water from a dam bearing his name, deep within the Arizona Territory. �If there could be any monument which would appeal to any man, surely this is it,� Roosevelt told the crowd of 1,000 who had assembled in the remote Superstitions Wilderness, 76 miles northeast of Phoenix. The former president had ardently campaigned for and signed the 1902 National Reclamation Act, making the dam, today�s Bureau of Reclamation and an irrigated West possible. �Great things will take place in the Salt River Valley due

Article toolbar Developer Chris Milam is proposing to build a $1.57-billion three-arena sports complex, on 70 acres, in downtown Las Vegas. The project, designed by Kansas City, Mo.-based ThreeSixty Architecture, calls for a 17,500-seat basketball/hockey arena, plus a 9,000-seat ballpark and 50,000-seat football stadium, both partially covered with tensile roof structures. Romani Group Inc., Greenwood Village, Colo., is program manager, with Turner Construction Co., New York, as general contractor. The Las Vegas National Sports Center would be located on city owned land within the Symphony Park master-plan, northeast of the World Market Center near the Interstate 15/ U.S. 95 interchange.

Article toolbar Longtime Las Vegas Architect Joel Bergman recalls when the leaded glass ceiling debuted inside the Tropicana over 30 years ago. “Nothing like that had been done before inside a casino. It changed the texture of design in Las Vegas,” he says. Photo courtesy Tropicana Las Vegas 1,658 rooms Every guest room and suite was redone, with new decor, furniture and color schemes. Bergman would know. He spent 16 years as Steve Wynn’s in-house architect, helping create The Mirage, Treasure Island and Golden Nugget, before founding Bergman Walls & Associates in 1994. The Tropicana’s $1 million, 4,000-sq-ft Art Nouveau-style

Submitted by Sundt Construction, Inc. This 52,000-sq-ft expansion includes a two-story fitness and weight room, multipurpose gymnasium and outdoor recreation center. An internal courtyard features sand volleyball and a climbing structure with tiered viewing and gathering spaces. The building includes a glass and perforated metal fa�ade that provides solar control yet maximizes visibility. This transparency “displays” the active students as a means of encouraging fitness throughout the campus. Photo:Liam Fredrick Photography The project greatly exceeded its original LEED silver goal and is anticipating platinum certification. Water conservation was addressed through water harvesting and stormwater management techniques including bioswales, the use

Submitted by PK Electrical, Inc. An estimated 80% of the student body will use this innovative LEED silver structure, the first new natural science building to go up at this Reno campus in 40 years. Student and instructor needs are met with dozens of modern laboratories and classrooms plus a 500-seat auditorium. Because of these specialized rooms, the facility has 60% more mechanical components than a typical building. With the physical plant on the 5th floor, large customized air handlers had to be air-lifted by helicopter. Photo: Theresa Danna-Dougals/UNR Wireless internet access is provided throughout, and most rooms feature views

Submitted by Clark Construction Group, LLC Featuring 120 beds for veterans requiring physical rehabilitation, acute care or specialized services, this 110,000-sq-ft facility is a crucial addition to the massive new VA Medical Center in North Las Vegas. Photo: Vanessa Moises/Clark Construction Group The project’s interior spaces are organized around a central courtyard, maximizing daylight within the main circulation areas of the hospital while providing secure and private access to the exterior space. With six wings divided into special care units, the center includes patient rooms featuring oversized windows that provide abundant natural daylight. Additionally, each wing features lounges and activity

Submitted by Kiewit Western Co. Using trenchless technology, this rehab of an existing water main added a steel-can slip lining to give more than 50 years of additional life to the deteriorating pipe, with minimal impact to surrounding communities. The pipeline is approximately 14 mi long and supplies 220 million gallons a day of potable water to Phoenix and Mesa. To date, 31,000 ft has been successfully re-lined. The team was able to avoid existing utilities by using slide rail shoring to keep the necessary excavation sizes to a minimum and allow flexibility to shift a portal location when necessary.