U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle signed an agreement July 29 providing $46.5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for work to continue on the state's high-speed rail program. The funding is the latest installment from the $822 million that President Obama announced for Wisconsin high-speed rail from the Recovery Act in January. Wisconsin previously received a $5.7 million Recovery Act grant that brings their high-speed rail total to $52.2 million. Nationally, an unprecedented $8 billion down payment for the creation of a national network of interconnected high-speed rail corridors was included in the

On July 14, the U.S. Navy celebrated the end of a 12-year construction program that built 22 new buildings for its recruit-training center at Naval Station Great Lakes just north of Chicago. Photo: U.S. Navy On July 14, the U.S. Navy celebrated the end of a 12-year construction program that built 22 new buildings for its recruit-training center at Naval Station Great Lakes just north of Chicago. The 14 new barracks, three drill halls and five other administrative and training buildings serve what is the Navy’s only recruit training center. Every new seaman recruit entering the Navy spends eight weeks

A meeting between unions and construction owners in the Chicago area inched forward but failed to produce a resolution as talks were rescheduled for July 19. Meanwhile, an estimated 15,000 Chicago-area construction workers aren’t working and 300 Illinois Department of Transportation projects have been delayed as unions and construction owners work to resolve the strike that began July 1. Workers with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 and Laborers’ District Council of Chicago and Vicinity are petitioning for a total wage increase of 15 percent over three years to offset the rising cost of health care, says Ed

Deck replacement is under way on Chicago�s 54-year-old Congress Parkway Bridge. This phase of the project takes out the existing open-grid steel deck and replaces it with new closed-deck system that has a skid-resistant surface to make a smoother, safer ride for drivers. Deck removal is being handled by Omega Demolition using two 115-ton Liebherr cranes from Imperial Crane Service. General contractor for the overall rehabilitation project, which began in April and is scheduled for completion in October, is Walsh Construction Co., Chicago. The bridge, which carries 139,000 vehicles per day over the South Branch of the Chicago River in

The Friendly Confines might soon be getting new neighbors. Development plans for an eight-story hotel, retail stores and apartments across the street from Wrigley Field unanimously passed the Chicago City Council June 30. Development plans for an eight-story hotel, retail stores and apartments across the street from Wrigley Field passed the Chicago City Council June 30. The $100-million Addison Park on Clark development will overlook Wrigley from the south side of Addison Street and stretch south on Clark Street about one block. �We�re extremely happy,� says Anthony (Tony) Rossi Sr., managing partner for Chicago-based M&R Development. �It took a long

The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) hosted the Russian Minister of Transport, Igor Levitin, and an eight-member delegation at O'Hare International Airport on June 23. Levitin and the delegation met with CDA Commissioner Rosemarie S. Andolino and senior staff members during their visit. Their discussion covered numerous airport management topics, including safety and security, operations, construction, sustainability, financial and legal procedures at O'Hare and Midway International Airports. The group also toured one of O'Hare's terminals, learned about the CDA's Sustainable Airport Manual and participated in discussions about airport construction, terminal recycling, water, power and emissions management. Levitin says he traveled

(Marketwire - June 23) - The Midwest market region of the U.S., consisting of the states of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, has 59 major industrial projects valued at $2.55 billion planned to kick off this July. The data was released by Industrial Info Resources of Sugar Land, Texas. The region narrowly edges out the West Coast region, which has 58 projects valued at $2.46 billion, and the Rocky Mountain region, which has $2.44 billion of July project starts spread over 31 projects. Windfarms and alternative fuels projects feature prominently among the Midwest's top projects.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed legislation June 9 that will bring the two states together to build the Illiana Expressway, connecting I-55 from south of Joliet, Ill., to I-65 near Lowell, Ind. The Memorandum of Understanding calls for the two states to share the funding and responsibility of preliminary engineering, modeling and forecasting, and planning and permitting for the $1 billion project, which is expected to create nearly 14,000 jobs in Illinois. �The first step is having the two states move together to determine the most feasible way to connect the two states with 50

Plans for building the $1.8-billion FutureGen clean-coal power plant and underground carbon-storage site near Mattoon, Ill., remain on hold while the U.S. Dept. of Energy and the FutureGen Industrial Alliance review the agreement covering its construction, financing and operation. The FutureGen Industrial Alliance�s coal-fired, 275-MW plant would capture nearly all the carbon dioxide it creates and store it permanently more than a mile deep in the earth. Related Links: Spotlight on Power Perfect Power System Proves Worth The DOE must approve the agreement before the FutureGen Industrial Alliance can build and operate the coal-fired, 275-MW plant, which would capture nearly

The new Perfect Power smart-grid electrical system that the Illinois Institute of Technology is installing on its Chicago campus could be the blueprint for a new microgrid power-distribution system that would revitalize the aging electrical grid in the U.S. Officials from the Galvin Electricity Initiative, which developed the Perfect Power concept, say the system going in at IIT is the country�s first Perfect Power system and one of just nine �renewable and distributed systems integration� prototypes funded by the U.S. Dept. of Energy. DOE is paying $7 million of the system�s $12-million cost. IIT is paying the other $5 million.