The Utah Transit Authority Was recently honored as the 2014 Outstanding Public Transportation System by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the international organization representing the transit industry in the United States and Canada. Photo courtesy of UTA The Airport and Draper TRAX light rail lines were among four new lines that UTA opened in the 12-month period ending in Dec. 2013. The award is considered the most prestigious of all honors to be handed out at APTA’s national convention in October. It is bestowed on public transportation systems that have demonstrated “achievement in efficiency and effectiveness.” There are three

In early June, AGC Colorado honored member companies for their safety programs at the AGC/C Safety Awards Luncheon, which featured speaker Karen Curran from Pinnacol Assurance. Photo courtesy of AGC of Colorado Andy LeMay, AGC Colorado director of safety and stormwater, presents a first-place CSEA award to Daniel Milinazzo and Allan Bliesmer of Hensel Phelps Construction. The AGC Construction Safety and Excellence Awards (CSEA) is one of the industry’s elite safety excellence awards program, recognizing companies for excellence safety and loss prevention programs achieved through management commitment, employee involvement, and program innovation.Two AGC/C firms received awards for winning in each

Honnen Equipment, one of the largest construction equipment dealerships in the western United States, dedicated on June 9 its new state-of-the-art facility in Salt Lake City. Located at 1380 S. Distribution Drive, the building spans 14 acres near the corner of Bangerter Highway and California Avenue. The concrete structure is more than 60,000 sq ft and required 480 loads, or 19 million lbs, of concrete to build. Photo courtesy of Honnen Equipment Celebrating the ribbon-cutting for the new Honnen Equipment building in Salt Lake City were, from left (in hard hats): Travis Davis, project executive, Hughes General Contractors Inc.; Patrick

LVI Services Inc. and NCM Group Holdings LLC, the two leading providers of demolition and remediation services in the country, have agreed to merge, forming NorthStar Group Holdings LLC. With combined annual gross revenues approaching $600 million and nearly 50 offices nationwide, NorthStar will become the country’s largest provider of services for environmental remediation, deconstruction and demolition, nuclear decommissioning, emergency response and asset recovery management.Leading the newly formed company will be CEO Scott E. State, currently president/CEO of LVI, and president Subhas “Sage” Khara, currently president/CEO of NCM. Khara and LVI COO John Leonard will manage the day-to-day operations at

Salt Lake City has begun several projects aimed at improving "livability and sustainability," according to two-term Mayor Ralph Becker. The new projects are in addition to the city's recently completed public safety building and the $1.8-billion replacement of terminals at its international airport, already under way. Related Links: SLC Public Safety Building Designed for Net-Zero-Energy Use City Creek Retail Revives Central Business District Dust from building the City Creek mixed-use development had barely settled when across Main Street work on Salt Lake's new Broadway-style performing arts theater began. Farther west, near the Jordan River, the city has started construction of

Regional designers report that many market sectors have improved, and most firms saw their revenue grow in 2013. But they also have post-recession concerns about staffing and owner finances. Design leaders cite regional strength in the energy, multifamily, commercial and hospitality sectors. They say public-sector work remains generally sluggish. Rendering by Davis Partnership, Courtesy of Adolfson and Peterson The 11-story CoBank Center in Greenwood Village, Colo., is being developed by Shea Properties, designed by Davis and RNL and being built by Adolfson & Peterson. Related Links: ACEC/CO Engineering Excellence Awards New Risk Index Identifies Top Industry Concerns "The surge in

The Denver office of AECOM Technology Corp. has carved out a major niche in the region's transit boom. The multidisciplinary consulting giant recently completed work, along with Kiewit Infrastructure and SOM, on the $500-million transformation of Denver's Union Station (DUS) into a regional transit hub. DUS celebrated its grand opening in May. Related Links: Denver Union Station Becomes Transit Hub CDOT Says No Flood-Damaged Bridges Need to Be Replaced AECOM is continuing design work on the $350-million I-225 Light Rail line in Aurora, Colo., that is also being constructed by Kiewit as part of the Regional Transportation District (RTD)'s FasTracks

Superintendent Carol Hilty likes to say that the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind (CSDB), although unique, is simply a school serving the children of Colorado. “Our students just happen to be deaf and blind,” she says. Photo courtesy of RTA Architects Since its humble beginning in 1874 with just seven students who were deaf, the school has grown to serve an average of 235 students on campus and 500 students statewide annually, from birth to age 21. The campus occupies 17 buildings and sits on 37 acres in Colorado Springs.In 2010 the school won a BEST Grant

Alta Alameda Station, a 338-unit, LEED-Gold-certified community on more than five acres in Denver’s Baker neighborhood will be complete in June. The for-rent community is already 60% leased, says project developer Wood Partners LLC. 
Alta Alameda Station offers studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom units, each with a patio or deck and vinyl plank flooring in entryways, kitchens and bathrooms. Photo courtesy of Wood Partners LLC Alta Alameda Station is a new LEED-Gold apartment community being built directly across from the Alameda light rail station in Denver. The apartments, located at 275 Cherokee Street west of South Broadway, are directly

The Rocky Mountain Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors honored a number of its member companies for their safety successes on construction sites during the association’s Safety and Education Awards banquet on May 15. More than 165 ABC members and guests were in attendance at the Marriott City Center in downtown Denver. Photo courtesy of ABC Rocky Mountain The winners were:Most Improved Safety Program• LEI Cos. Inc., DenverOutstanding Safety Program for General Contractors• Less than 150,000 man-hours: White Construction Group, Castle Rock• 150,000 – 349,000 man-hours: Milender White Construction Co., Arvada• 350,000 – 749,000 man-hours: San Juan Construction, Montrose• 750,000