Following a blistering federal assessment of its contributions to a 2010 oil spill near Michigan's Kalamazoo River, Canadian company Enbridge Energy Partners, Calgary, Alberta, says it will begin work this month on a $1.9-billion program to replace a pipeline extending from Griffith, Ind., to Marysville, Mich., including the segment involved in the 800,000-gallon spill. In all, plans call for replacing 285 miles of pipeline, with work set to conclude on a 75-mile span through LaPorte, Ind., and Niles, Mich., by year's end. A second phase will increase the line's current daily capacity from 243,000 barrels to more than 500,000 barrels.
While metropolitan Chicago shed thousands of construction jobs in May, it was a different story in Indianapolis, where year-over-year job growth outpaced nearly every metro market in the nation, according to new data from Arlington, Va.-based Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). The Indianapolis-Carmel market added 8,000 construction jobs in May, on top of the 6,100 jobs it added in April, AGC reports. Builders also are seeing improvement across the state, which ranked eighth in construction job growth in May.“It's consistent with growth we've seen recently, not just in construction jobs but in other private sector employment,” Jane Jankowski, press
Following a decline in April, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Architecture Billings Index (ABI) fell 2.6 points, to 45.8, in May, its lowest reading since February 2010. The index rose five consecutive months before dropping in April, an occurence reminiscent of last year's strong spring building season and subsequent slide in the early summer.“For the second year in a row, we’re seeing declines in springtime design activity after a healthy first quarter,” says AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker. “Given the ongoing uncertainly in the economic outlook, particularly the weak job-growth numbers in recent months, this should be an alarm
Minnetonka, Minn-based Opus Development Corporation on Tuesday announced plans to construct the first office building in Minneapolis in nearly a decade, with Xcel Energy serving as sole tenant of the nine-story, 212,000-sq-ft project. Although the building won't rival the stature of several Minneapolis office towers completed in the early 2000s, local officials hope it will spur efforts to redevelop a blighted expanse of North Nicollet Mall, one of the city's largest commercial districts.Opus General Manager Dave Menke told reporters the project will be “instrumental in the continuing vitality of downtown Minneapolis and the redevelopment of the north end of the
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) has denied a permit request by Aurora, Ill.-based Power Holdings to construct a power plant in Jefferson County that would convert coal to synthetic gas, citing insufficient details about emissions and air-quality analysis relating to the completed facility, as well as failure to justify the project's delay. The decision marks the latest setback for the $2-billion project, which Power Holdings first proposed in 2006. Although Illinois lawmakers in 2011 approved a measure compelling state utilities to purchase synthetic natural gas produced by the plant, Power Holdings in May cited difficulties attracting investors to the
Despite a warmer than normal spring, greater metropolitan Chicago continued to shed construction jobs in April, logging year-over-year declines of 6%, or 6,500 jobs, the greatest such loss in the nation, according to a survey by the Arlington, Va.-based Associated General Contractors of America. In all, construction employment declined in 157 out of 337 metropolitan markets between April 2011 and April 2012, and increased or stayed level in 180, according to analysis of federal employment data by AGC.In addition to Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill., job losses were greatest in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (6,200 jobs); St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. (-6,000 jobs); Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.
Although Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he was “livid” over a set of super PAC ads targeting President Obama, he indicated he won't allow the matter derail discussions involving millions of dollars in renovations to Wrigley Field, despite efforts by members of the Ricketts family, owners of the Chicago Cubs, to fund the $10-million ad campaign. Emanuel, who formerly was Obama's chief of staff, told reporters “the point has been made,” about the campaign, which sought to tie Obama to Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a controversial figure from whom Obama severed ties in 2008.“We will [talk] at the appropriate time. …
A contract worker for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) was killed Tuesday morning by an automobile that veered into into a highway striping truck on Interstate 64 (I-64) near O'Fallon. Three other workers were injured in the accident, two of whom were airlifted to an area hospital in critical condition, according to the Illinois State Police. The man who died was identified Tuesday afternoon as Dennis J. Beard, 48, of Pocahontas, Ill.Eyewitnesses indicated the automobile driver was weaving through traffic at irregular speeds before steering around construction signs and striking the IDOT vehicle on the road's inside shoulder. An
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