After decades of starts and stops, dredging the 46-mi Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel to a depth of 35 ft could begin in 2011 now that $12.5 million has been appropriated in President Obama�s budget as a down payment on what could be an $80 million project. Susan Ma, project manager for the Army Corps of Engineers, says a draft EIR will be released this year with construction scheduled to begin in fall of 2011. The project will require removing 8 million cubic yards of silt and clay sludge using a cutter head suction dredge barge for upland placement where
Only 10 out of 337 metropolitan areas added construction jobs between February 2009 and 2010, the Associated General Contractors of America reports citing data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even worse, 230 metro areas experienced double digit declines in construction employment while only two cities experienced a double digit increase, association officials noted. �In virtually every area, construction workers continued to suffer the brunt of the recession,� says Ken Simonson, the association�s chief economist. �Job losses in far too many cities were simply, and sadly, staggering.� The construction economist says that Houston, Texas lost more construction jobs (25,500,
As California�s construction industry continues to feel the recession�s pinch, some of the state�s top contractors are tightening their tool belts and concentrating on their company�s individual talents to stay ahead in the game. Rendering courtesy of MVE/VMA JV T.B. Penick�s Camp Pendleton work includes two bachelor enlisted quarters buildings. SCRIBNER “The biggest challenge right now is a lot more competition on projects,” says Michael Scribner, president and CEO of San Francisco-based BCCI. “It used to be that we were competing against maybe two or three contractors on a project and now there could be between eight and 10.” Scribner,
As California’s construction industry continues to feel the recession’s pinch, some of the state’s top contractors are tightening their tool belts and concentrating on their company’s individual talents to stay ahead in the game. Slide Show Related Links: Top Contractors in California “The biggest challenge right now is a lot more competition on projects,” says Michael Scribner, president and CEO of San Francisco-based BCCI. “It used to be that we were competing against maybe two or three contractors on a project and now there could be between eight and 10.” Scribner, whose company specializes in interiors work around the Bay
The project team’s task at the South San Francisco Ferry Terminal project at Oyster Point Marina seemed reasonable enough: Design and engineer a ferry terminal off the unpredictable waters of San Francisco Bay and make sure it can withstand a catastrophic earthquake while still meeting the letter of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Oh, and make sure the ferry itself is made of concrete -- and floats. Not a problem, says Bo Jensen, vice president of Oakland-based Moffat & Nichol Engineers, one of the marine engineering firms hired by owner San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority for the
Being inside Sustainability Base, a $2- million, 50,000-sq-ft steel-frame building going up at Mountain View’s NASA Ames Research Center at Moffet Federal Airfield, may well be the closet you’ll ever come to visiting the moon. Image: William Mcdonough & Associates Swinerton Builders is nearing completion of the steel erection at NASA Ames. Construction on the two-story facility, which is designed to be the federal government’s most environmentally sustainable building, began in August. The structure will – or should – consume no more energy than it generates, use 90% less water than other standard buildings and feature smart technology that will
As many construction sectors remain stuck in the mud of hard economic times, the military industry in California is marching along with its share of new projects and renovations. “The military has definitely picked-up” says Dave Roach, senior vice president for San Diego-based Barnhart Balfour Beatty. Roach, whose company currently has 10 projects underway with the Navy, worth about $200 million, says that while Barnhart’s other work has slowed, it has focused on military work, which makes up about 50% of the firm’s current output. “That’s what is nice about being diversified,” Roach says. “While working with K-12s, universities and
Construction has begun for a new two-story, 24,000-sq-ft office and retail building in the Point Loma area of San Diego, along the San Diego Bay. Harbor Point will consist of nine office suites above three ground floor retail suites. Completion is scheduled for August. Related Links: Jamboree Housing opens The Arbor at Woodbury HOK, Summit Builders break ground on Pomona center Designed by F.L. Hope Architecture & Planning, the building is also designed to complement LEED silver for Commercial Interiors. The Peckham Family Trust is the developer of the mixed-use project, with Mike Peckham providing oversight on behalf of the
After exactly a year after ground breaking, Jamboree Housing Corp. celebrated the grand opening of The Arbor at Woodbury in Irvine. The property was completed ahead of schedule and under budget despite the economic downturn in real estate, and is now home to 90 families. Related Links: HOK, Summit Builders break ground on Pomona center Ground broken on San Diego mixed-use project The Arbor at Woodbury offers high-quality workforce housing to families who earn between 30% and 60% of the area median income. For example, a family of four earning $46,500 (50% of area median income) will pay about $1,140/month
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa was recently joined by City Councilmembers Janice Hahn and Bill Rosendahl, airport commissioners and other officials in a ceremony to break ground on a long-awaited major modernization of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport. The $1.5-billion Bradley West project includes 1.25 million sq ft of new building area, including food/beverage and retail concessions, new premium lounge space, enlarged federal inspection/customs and border protection facilities and 15 new boarding gates and enlarged passenger seating/holdroom areas sized to accommodate new-generation aircraft such as the Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet and the Boeing B787
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