Galveston continues its clean-up efforts after Hurricane Ike hit the city in September 2008. The city, with assistance from Beck Disaster Recovery of Orlando, has removed 2 million cu yds of debris, spending about $60 million on the effort. DRC Emergency Services of Mobile, Ala., removed another 1.6 million cu yds of debris from the island. DRC has started new debris removal work in Chambers County, says spokeswoman Paula Pendarvis. In addition, the Texas General Land Office removed 100,000 cu yds of debris from the beach, and the Texas Department of Transportation picked up 400,000 cu yds of it from

While the recession has hampered new high-rise starts, several continue rising skyward, and at least one, the $180-million, 850,000-sq-ft, 35-story, mixed-use Block 21/The W Hotel in Austin, broke ground last year. Meanwhile the 54-plus-story Austonian, designed by Zielger Cooper of Houston and being built by Balfour Beatty of Dallas, nears completion and will become Austin’s tallest skyscraper. Image: Courtesy of Gensler The Hess Tower, conceptualized in the front, right, designed by Gensler and being built by Gilbane. Photo: Courtesy The Vistana Units at San Antonio's The Vistana feature high ceilings and large windows. C.F. Jordan built the 17-story brick-clad building.

In this year’s Top Design ranking, URS Corp. takes the No. 1 spot, with more than $342.3 million in Texas billings during 2008. Related Links: Top Design Firms - Main Feature Story Top Design Firms - Ranking/Chart Top Design Firms - Ranking by Industry Sector Texas Construction’s annual ranking of the state’s Top Design Firms this year includes 90 architectural and engineering firms, down from last year’s 95. Despite the slightly lower participation, however, this year’s Top Design ranking represents an upturn in collective billings. Together, the 90 firms listed here generated approximately $2.9 billion in billings from Texas projects

While parts of the region continue to recover from Hurricane Ike, one year after the storm K-12 and university work continue to be strong building sectors in South Texas. Photo: Courtesy of Skanska USA Building Skanska USA Building has constructed the Professional Zone, a classroom and library building, for the University of Texas - Brownsville/Texas Southmost College in Brownsville. Related Links: Galveston Recovery “We’re not different here than other areas of the state,” says Perry A. Vaughn, executive director of the Rio Grande Valley chapter of the AGC in Harlingen. “We’re starting to see and experience a slowdown, particularly on

Although the number of new projects has declined due to tight financial markets and the recession, several Texas Top Design Firms finished 2008 in good shape and continue working on projects. Photo: AkerZvonkovic Photography Turner Partners designed an addition to the Village High School in Houston. The three-story project consists of 21 classrooms totaling 45,000 sq ft of new facilities. Related Links: Top Design Firms - Wrapup Feature Top Design Firms - Ranking/Chart Top Design Firms - Ranking by Industry Sector Photo: John Lindy Photography Turner Partners performed the site master planning and designed a 1,100-seat sanctuary addition to the

Nationwide research is firming up the case for “intelligent” compaction, or IC, a construction method three decades in the making that could save billions of dollars a year in potholed roads, cracked bridges, broken dams and blown-out tires. But as it represents a huge cultural shift in project delivery, the industry is struggling to find a standard way to roll it out. (Photo: Courtesy of Iowa State University.) Researchers test a �smart roller.� (Photo: Iowa State University.) Three rollers face off in a field trial. Such tests across the U.S. are under way, focusing on evaluating the benefits of �intelligent�

Even though the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has required more soil testing at the site of the future Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas, construction continues on other portions of the structure, which is part of the Trinity River Corridor Project. (Photo: Courtesy of TxDOT.) Contractors working on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge over Dallas Trinity River. (Photo: Courtesy of TxDOT.) Crews pour an arch support for the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge�s cable stay. Related Links: Intelligent Compaction Is on a Roll Midcontinent Express Expands Feeling the Recession - East Texas builders welcome work “It’s coming along,” says Rebecca

While not as slow as other places in the country, Houston and East Texas contractors are seeing a decline in new private projects. Slide Show Llewelyn-Davies Sahni designed the Houston Community College Southwest College/Stafford Campus located near Beltway 8 and U.S. 59. Related Links: Soil, Steel Issues Slow Bridge Project Intelligent Compaction Is on a Roll Midcontinent Express Expands “Construction activity in East Texas is pretty much a refl ection of what’s happening in the rest of the state,” says Raleigh Roussell, president and CEO of TEXO in Dallas, which represents East Texas. “This area has been growing and had

Neither the recession nor the rain could stop work on a 507-mi natural gas pipeline from Oklahoma to Alabama that was scheduled at press time to start full service this month after a whirlwind 11-month construction sprint. (Photo: MEP.) Construction of the $1.34-billion Midcontinent Express Pipeline began last September and required about 6,000 workers. (Photo: MEP.) The 507-mi project was divided into sections or �spreads.� Each spread was managed by one contractor overseeing multiple crews to install the pipeline and then restore the disturbed areas. Related Links: Soil, Steel Issues Slow Bridge Project Intelligent Compaction Is on a Roll Feeling