Southern California Edison (SCE) is closing down the troubled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California. The plant’s two reactor units have been shut down since 2012 after a small leak was detected in a steam generator manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Related Links: Nuclear Resurgence Dims Due to Rising Costs, Low Demand The California utility originally submitted plans to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to restart the reactors, but uncertainty about whether the plan would be accepted and the length of time involved during which SCE would need to maintain the plant in a state of readiness led to the
The final segments of Governor Brown’s proposed $24.5-billion Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) were released May 29 at a news conference in the Silicon Valley. The administrative drafts of chapters 8–12 address issues of cost, funding and general need for the controversial 50-year project which would create new water intakes and tunnels and restore habitats in the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta area, the largest estuary in the U.S. Image courtesy Delta Stewardship Council The 50-year project which would create new water intakes and tunnels and restore habitats in the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta area. Related Links: UCLA Researchers Return to
The Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee, or TBPOC, says it has a plan in place to fix broken bolts on the $6.4-billion San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge project. It was revealed in March that 32 of the 96 anchor bolt rods on the structure's eastern span broke when crews tightened them. Photo courtesy TBPOC Crews will bypass broken bolt rods (above) by installing custom-made steel saddles containing hundreds of concrete-encased post-tensioned wires that will cover the shear keys attached to the rods (rendered below). Image courtesy of TBPOC Related Links: Corrosion Plagues New Bay Bridge Span The plan calls for the
The Huntington Library in San Marino, Calif. is renowned for classic Beaux-Arts structures and lush, sprawling lawns. So when the 96-year-old museum recently decided to build a new $60-million Education and Visitor Center, a major landscaping component was naturally part of the project. Image courtesy ARG Entrances to the new buildings are shaded by transitional trellises which blend into the landscaping. Related Links: Read About Other California Projects "This is the construction of a garden, not just of buildings," says Laurie Sowd, vice president for operations at The Huntington Library. "And that dictates very different construction techniques and sequencing."The project,
Crews are rapidly placing track sections in advance of the spring 2014 opening of the Oakland Airport Connector. Conceived in the early 1970s and started in 2010, the $484-million project will connect the Bay Area Rapid Transit system to the airport. The project is about two-thirds complete, with system testing commencing later this year, a BART spokesperson says. Related Links: Video: Oakland Airport Connector Nighttime Crane Lift Flatiron/Parsons JV Awarded Contract for Oakland Airport Connector Bigge Crane and Rigging, San Leandro, Calif., is providing and operating the cranes on the 3.1-mile project. Several of the lifts have occurred during overnight
The California High-Speed Rail Authority's $68-billion high-speed-rail project recently announced a probable joint-venture team to construct its first phase, but that doesn't mean trains will be leaving the station soon. The embattled project still faces lawsuits and questions, even from former supporters. Related Links: Bid Results Announced for First Leg of Calif. High-Speed Rail Calif. High-Speed Rail Backers Push 'System Blend' "High-speed rail is at a crucial point," says Quentin Kopp, former chairman of the authority. Over the past 18 months, "missteps and violations" of the 2008 Proposition 1A bond measure have changed public opinion, he says.Kopp, who co-authored the
As Silicon Valley grows its tenant portfolio of high-tech companies, local cities, developers and architects are preparing to meet the demand for more space and sustainable buildings. A case in point is the city of Mountain View, where San Francisco-based TMG Partners is constructing a $100-million build-to-suit research and development center for Samsung Information Systems America (SISA) Inc. Photo courtesy of TMG Partners The 385,000-sq-ft project includes two, six-story research and development buildings and two, five-story parking structures. Related Links: View Other California Project Stories Last July, the city enacted a new general plan which allows for projects with a
A record 650 union tradeswomen attending the annual "Women Building California and the Nation" conference earlier this month were urged to take a cue from top Facebook executive Sheryl Sandburg and "lean in" to become leaders at jobsites, union halls and in their communities. Photo Courtesy of Women Building California and the Nation Attendees got motivation from AFL-CIO executive Liz Shuler. Photo Courtesy of Women Building California and the Nation Craft workers look to network and boost their clout at meeting in California. Related Links: Union Carpenter Connects, Fuels Support for Tradeswomen Around the World The Sacramento, Calif., conference, co-sponsored
Robin Scheswohl captured this image inside the New Irvington Tunnel in the Sunol Valley. From her vantage point inside the Vargas East Tunnel section, Scheswohl pointed her camera west toward sunlight streaming down the Vargas Shaft—the brightly lit area in the background. Photographer: Robin Scheswohl New Irvington Tunnel in the Sunol Valley Related Links: Upload Your Own Project Photos to ENR California's Project Photo Gallery! ENR California Scheswohl regularly photographs the more than 80 projects undertaken by San Francisco's Water System Improvement Program to upgrade the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System. The New Irvington Tunnel will run 3.5 miles and
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