Setting It Straight The joint venture team of Contrack, AICI, OCI and Archirodon (CAOA JV) would like to correct and clarify the Engineering News-Record magazine article published Dec. 29, 2004, on enr.com entitled "Contracks Design/ Build Contract Terminated for Non-Performance, Government Says," and in the Jan. 3-10 print issue (ENR 1/3-10 p. 19). The joint ventures transportation contract was not terminated for lack of performance. In a letter sent to the CAOA JV dated Oct. 27, 2004, Charles M. Hess, director of the Project and Contracting Office, provided his reasons for contract termination: "As we agree, circumstances have changed such
ENR 'Inspects' San Francisco's Signature Span For the first issue of 2005, we take a look at how one of the worlds most recognizable suspension bridges is being strengthened to help it survive The Big Onean earthquake of magnitude 8.3 on the San Andreas Fault . Contractors are now finishing the second part of an intricate three-phase seismic upgrade of San Franciscos Golden Gate. click here to view the cover story >> To better understand and document the complex project for ENR, Associate Editor Joann Gonchar and Contributing Photographer Michael Goodman traveled to the Bay Area to see the work
Telling the Story of 2004 Through Photography Congratulations to the third annual ENR photo contest winners, whose images are brought to you in the pages of this issue. ENR readers submitted photos of people and projects from all over the world taken in the past year. One firm held an internal contest to select its entries and placed two among our winners. Margaret Austin, who handled the photo submissions from Webcor Builders, San Mateo, Calif., got about 30 responses from her request for submissions. "We had a lot of funny ones, and then some were great and very interesting. It
Rescues and Safety As a lifelong safety professional who has witnessed the aftermath of too many avoidable jobsite tragedies, I was one of those who initially said, "Id rather talk about prevention," when I heard ENR was doing a special report, "Minutes to Live," on accident rescues (ENR 11/22 p. 23). Now that I have read the issue, I must commend ENRs efforts. You have done the industry a great service, even if you only persuade one owner, one construction manager, or one foreman to think more deeply about ensuring the safety of his or her work force, every day
First Ranking of Chinese Firms Now On Line Visitors to Engineering News-Records Website, enr.com, can now view a ranking of the Top 60 Contractors and Top 60 Design Firms in China. The list sets a number of firsts. This is the first time that ENR has been involved in a ranking of industry firms in a country outside the United States and the first time we have partnered on a ranking with another publication. The publication is Construction Times, a well-respected construction industry newspaper based in Shanghai. The ranking appeared in Construction Times on Nov. 29 with a series of
Educators, government and media are growing more concerned about the erosion of the long-standing U.S. edge in science and engineering. Undergraduate university engineering education, in particular, is in trouble, threatening our nations wealth and prosperity. NIKIAS In 1985, more than 76,000 engineering degrees were awarded in the U.S. Since then, the number of graduating engineers in America has declined by 20%. China, Japan, India, Russia and Europe now graduate substantially more engineers than we do. China and India produce almost 320,000 engineers annually. This year, U.S. universities will graduate less than 60,000. Losing Product Many observers propose relaxing visa
More than Mentoring I was one of the fortunate dozen or so men who attended the Sept. 30 all-day conference called "Groundbreaking Women in Construction," along with 300 women, in San Francisco. Your editorial, "Both Men and Women Should Mentor Youth with Talent," builds on the topic of mentoring, which speakers and panelists discussed throughout the day (ENR 10/11 p. 48). The audience may have thought mentoring was the intended major theme of the conference. To me, the conference was a great deal more than that. At one level it was a celebration of how far women have come in
Hold Owners Accountable Construction is risky business. The law of supply and demand creates the foundation of basic economics and the construction industry is no exception. As markets tighten and work becomes scarce, marginal tactics and strategies become viable options for some stakeholders in the construction process, as outlined in your editorial, "Time for State Legislatures to Stand Up for Subs" (ENR 10/18 p. 104). In the name of backlog management, an option that would otherwise represent the "unthinkable" becomes a risk to be considered. As the unthinkable is introduced, ethics enter the equation. Although the constant ebb and flow
Feeling the Heat A recent issue of ENR contained an article, Robot Arm Points to Steel Fabrication Future, about robot arms being used for structural steel fabrication (ENR 9/27 p. 17). The senior welding engineer, Brad Shaw, said, the idea is to make [fabrication of] steel structures more competitive. I don't know where Mr. Shaw practices steel fabrication but, in the markets in which I practice as a steel detailer, if it gets any more competitive, Ill have to pay the client to work for him. JOE SLATER Detailer Urbana, Ohio Political Puzzle I never cease to be amazed at
More Bay Bridge Fallout In the article on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge California Scraps Sole Bid for Signature Span, some of the information is out of date compared with a recent Bechtel report (ENR 10/11 p. 10). The cost of the bridge has increased to $5.13 billion, more than three times the original budget. This makes it the most expensive bridge in the world. The cost for the suspension part of the bridge alone is currently estimated at $2.18 billion, including the foundations. While the replacement effort for the current bridge (built in 1936) was announced as competing with