As California Department of Transportation Construction Manager Douglas Coe tells it, the key to success on a very complicated seismic retrofit of the Antioch Toll Bridge is the mastering of the three B’s – birds, bearings and bracing. Rebuilt in 1978 from the original 1926 edition, the steel-plate girder, 1.8-mi bridge spans the San Joaquin River from the East Bay city of Antioch in Contra Costa County to the Sherman Island wildlife refuge in Sacramento County along State Route 160. It has one lane in each direction with bicycle and pedestrian access and traffic numbers about 15,000 vehicles a day.Though
A division of the Sares Regis Group of Northern California was selected as owner representatives for the long-planned, $500-million Moscone Convention Center expansion project in San Francisco. The San Francisco Tourism Improvement District (TID) hired the division, SRGNC CRES LLC, to help in the selection of an architectural/engineering team to design the project.“The architectural/engineering contract has an RFQ that was distributed on April 6 and the due date for proposals was May 4,” says Lynn Farzaroli, senior manager of the TID/Foundation, San Francisco Travel Association.“Sares Regis’ division will help in the selection of the architectural team that is due for
The American Institute of Architects, San Francisco chapter, has named 25 projects as winners of its annual Design Awards competition. Related Links: Winning projects are featured online at AIASF's website. Projects were honored in Architecture, Interior Architecture, Energy & Sustainability, Historic Preservation, Unbuilt Design and Special Achievement categories. Each award was divided into three subcategories – Honor, Merit and Citation.The winners were revealed last week at a gala held at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco. Craig Dykers, senior partner and director at Snøhetta, led the evening as master of ceremonies.Award highlights in the architecture category this year include:Honor Award:
Follow-up discussions between the city of Sacramento and the owners of the National Basketball Association’s Kings franchise for the construction of a new arena complex at the Railyards redevelopment site ended April 27 with no agreement. Related Links: Sacramento Arena Construction Deal Apparently Dies at New York Meeting The Kings have one year left on its Sacramento contract and the owners, the Maloof family, indicated in local news reports that it has no intention of selling the team and has no solid plans to move it as yet, but will not be supporting the proposed entertainment and sports complex project.Joaquin
McCarthy Building Cos. is converting a 1960s-era Clarion Hotel property adjacent to the San Francisco International Airport into a “next generation” business/boutique property. Aloft, Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ newest brand that launched in 2008, now has 87 locations worldwide, including three in California: This current under-construction property in Millbrae, in Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga and, opening next year, in Cupertino.Aloft SFO, designed by Jonathan Nehmer + Associates, Rockville, Md., will have 253 rooms, a 5,102-sq-ft lobby with the brand’s signature hang-outs (the w xyz bar and re:fuel by Aloft eatery), 672 sq ft of meeting space and a detached pool. The whole
Construction is at the halfway point on the $1-billion Green Build expansion project at San Diego International Airport. Photo courtesy of San Diego International Airport Terminal-side construction is under way. The project, which is aiming for LEED silver, is on schedule and within budget, according to airport officials, and is moving toward a summer 2013 completion.Construction crews are currently working on the dual-level roadway, which will relieve curb-front congestion in front of Terminal 2 when complete, according to airport spokeswoman Katie Jones. Concrete decks have been poured, and in the coming months, two new pedestrian bridges will be installed, reaching
In the first of a series of seismic shake-table tests to gauge the effects of major earthquakes and fire on a hospital’s non-structural components and systems, a five-story specimen and its contents came through with flying colors. The excellent performance on April 17, attributed to the specimen's base-isolation system, came as no surprise to researchers at the University of California, San Diego, who are conducting the tests. Photo courtesy of UCSD The five-story specimen building sits on a base-isolation system. Photo courtesy of UCSD A Jacobs School engineer works on the base-isolation system. The tests simulated shaking from the 1994
Bechtel reports that it has been awarded a contract by enXco, an EDF Energies Nouvelles Co., San Diego, for the engineering, procurement and construction of the Catalina Solar Photovoltaic Generating Project in Kern County. Bechtel will also build the 7.2-mi transmission line to connect the facility to a nearby substation.The contract value was not disclosed.The 110 MWac facility will be built on 1,100 acres and produce enough energy to power approximately 35,000 homes.Jim Ivany, president of Bechtel’s Renewable Power business group, says construction is scheduled to begin in May pending final approval from the California Public Utilities Commission, with scheduled
Seven outstanding projects built by AGC of California contractors were chosen as winners in the 25th Annual Associated General Contractors of California’s Constructor Awards program. The winning projects, along with all of the Constructor Awards finalists named in this year’s competition, were honored as the “best of the best” in California construction during the 2012 Awards Banquet and presentation at The Palace Hotel, San Francisco, on April 14. The prestigious black tie event, the “Oscars” evening for the construction industry, was attended by more than 300 people from top construction firms throughout the state.In addition to naming the Constructor Awards
With commercial real estate in San Francisco showing new muscle thanks to the tech boom, Tishman Speyer plans to build a rare speculative office building in the Foundry Square complex at Howard and First streets, south of Market Street. Rendering courtesy of Tishman Speyer Foundry Square III The 10-story Foundry Square III was designed by Studios Architecture, which also designed Foundry Square I, II and IV, and will be built by Webcor Builders, according to Rick Matthews, spokesman for Tishman Speyer.Construction is set to begin in July with completion scheduled for the end of next year.Matthews said there was no
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