The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) now offers downloadable technical documents that tell how to achieve 50% energy savings in four commercial building sectors: general merchandise, grocery store, lodging, and medium office buildings. Related Links: HOK Designs Hotel for Columbus, Ohio, Convention Center Free Guide Explains How Buildings are Designed to Resist Earthquakes Free Web Tool Helps Calculate Glazing Performance Firestone Building Products Starts New Energy Solutions Division The documents describe the assumptions, methods, and analyses to save 50% more energy than ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004. They can be downloaded as PDFs: • General Merchandise • Grocery Store • Lodging

Construction is scheduled to start this year on what will be the third-longest cable-stayed bridge in the U.S., linking St. Louis and western Illinois over the Mississippi River by 2014. The scope, limited bids and challenges of the Interstate 70 project caused the winning bid to exceed engineering estimates by almost $40 million. Photo: Missouri Dept. of Transportation Visible in the foreground of this rendering, the new cable-stayed bridge connecting western Illinois and St. Louis across the Mississippi River will feature a 1,500-ft main span and two 460-ft-tall supporting towers. Construction will start later this year. Related Links: Indiana Gets

Metro, the regional public transit operator serving metropolitan St. Louis, now repaints its 87 light-rail vehicles in a new eco-friendly facility that opened six months ahead of schedule and about 10% under the $4.8-million estimated budget. One side of the 9,600-sq-ft precast panel building contains a totally enclosed paint booth. The other side is a prep shop with six separate areas and an extensive dust-collection system. Besides dust collection, the facility’s “green” features include a filtered air-exhaust system, use of low VOC paint, and energy-efficient lighting. Plochner Construction Co., Highland, Ill., was the project’s general contractor. Related Links: World’s Tallest

James McHugh Construction Co., Chicago, has completed Streeter Place, a new luxury apartment tower in Chicago. Image: McHugh The recently finished 54-story Streeter Place in Chicago holds 480 apartments 402 parking spots and 10,000 sq ft of retail space. It sits atop 59 caissons. Related Links: World’s Tallest Building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, was Designed in Chicago Major Eye Institute is Going from Vision to Reality in Indianapolis Metea Valley High School Completed in Aurora, Ill. Building in Orland Park, Ill., Earns LEED Gold Certification St. Louis Metro System’s New Paint Facility Opens Six Months Early and 10% Under Budget

The Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Chicago) has named Brian Vitale, as winner of its 2009 Dubin Family Young Architect Award. Vitale, 38, is a design director at Gensler. Related Links: William Bast Named President of National Structural Engineers Council Lean Construction Institute Forms Ohio Valley Chapter AGC of St. Louis and OSHA Form Partnership AIA Chicago Names Nagle Hartray 2009 Firm of the Year Great Lakes Design-Build Institute Elects Officers Two Midwestern Firms Earn National Honors from AIA Northeast Indiana Building Contractors Name Officers for 2010 American Society of Safety Engineers Adds Occupational Health Nurses

William D. Bast, a principal in the Chicago office of Thornton Tomasetti, Inc., has been named president of the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA). Related Links: AIA Chicago Names Vitale Young Architect of 2009 Lean Construction Institute Forms Ohio Valley Chapter AGC of St. Louis and OSHA Form Partnership AIA Chicago Names Nagle Hartray 2009 Firm of the Year Great Lakes Design-Build Institute Elects Officers Two Midwestern Firms Earn National Honors from AIA Northeast Indiana Building Contractors Name Officers for 2010 American Society of Safety Engineers Adds Occupational Health Nurses to Membership CISCO Honors Top Chicago-Area Construction Projects

Work is under way for a new wastewater treatment plant in Itasca, Ill. Designed by Baxter & Woodman, Inc., Chicago, and constructed by Williams Brothers Construction, Inc., Peoria, Ill., the two-year project will boost the local economy and create hundreds of new jobs. Related Links: St. Louis Link Will Be Tough, Diverse, Green Indiana Gets $71.4-Million in High-Speed Rail Funds Metropolitan St. Louis Lower Meramec River Wastewater Treatment Plant Completed Repair of I-80 Bridge Near Moline, Ill., Scheduled to Restart April 5 MoDOT Says 86% of State’s Major Roads are Now in Good Condition The $35-million plant will boost the

For the second consecutive year, the sluggish U.S. economy has slowed development of new shopping centers in Chicagoland, according to an annual survey by Mid-America Real Estate Corporation, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. Related Links: World’s Tallest Building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, was Designed in Chicago Streeter Place 54-Story Luxury Apartment Tower Completed in Chicago Major Eye Institute is Going from Vision to Reality in Indianapolis Metea Valley High School Completed in Aurora, Ill. Building in Orland Park, Ill., Earns LEED Gold Certification St. Louis Metro System’s New Paint Facility Opens Six Months Early and 10% Under Budget Building Now Houses HQ

R.A. Smith National, Brookfield, Wis., is providing surveying, utility and sitework engineering, stormwater management, and landscape architectural design services to Architects Group Limited (AGL), Green Bay, Wis., for a new service center for the Wisconsin Div. of Motor Vehicles. The Wisconsin Dept. of Administration’s Division of State Facilities is overseeing design and construction. Related Links: World’s Tallest Building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, was Designed in Chicago Streeter Place 54-Story Luxury Apartment Tower Completed in Chicago Major Eye Institute is Going from Vision to Reality in Indianapolis Metea Valley High School Completed in Aurora, Ill. Building in Orland Park, Ill., Earns

The St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers (SLCCC) has recognized companies and individuals who promote diversity in the construction industry. Related Links: William Bast Named President of National Structural Engineers Council AIA Chicago Names Vitale Young Architect of 2009 Lean Construction Institute Forms Ohio Valley Chapter AGC of St. Louis and OSHA Form Partnership AIA Chicago Names Nagle Hartray 2009 Firm of the Year Great Lakes Design-Build Institute Elects Officers Two Midwestern Firms Earn National Honors from AIA Northeast Indiana Building Contractors Name Officers for 2010 American Society of Safety Engineers Adds Occupational Health Nurses to Membership CISCO Honors Top