Michigan Legislature watchers say the state’s Senate could vote within the next few weeks on a bill that would let the state enter into public-private partnerships for the first time in history. If it passes the Senate, the legislation will almost certainly be signed into law by Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), who has come out in favor of the legislation. The corresponding bill passed the Michigan House on May 26. Backers say allowing the state to enter into public-private partnerships would open the door to about $5 billion in private investment in more than a half- dozen highway, bridge and
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.
Despite a depressed U.S. construction market in 2009, Walsh Construction Co. of Chicago managed to generate $1.3 billion in regional revenue and more than $3.3 billion nationwide. For the second straight year, it repeated as the top contractor in Midwest Construction’s ranking of regional contractors and repeated as the 17th largest U.S. contractor in Engineering News-Record’s rankings. ENR and Midwest Construction are both published by McGraw-Hill. History of Growth and Family Ownership Founded in 1898 in Chicago by Matthew Myles Walsh, an Irish immigrant, Walsh Construction has grown into the Midwest’s largest general contractor. Now headed by the founder’s grandsons—CEO
President Obama has directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Dept. of Transportation to create a first-ever national policy to increase fuel economy and likewise decrease greenhouse-gas emissions for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Photo: Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental Inc. Fuel-economy regulations are coming for heavy construction trucks. This new directive, signed on May 21 and impacting model years 2014-2018, comes about a month after EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had finalized similar rules for passenger cars and light trucks that will be manufactured in 2012-2016. Large trucks consume more than 2 million barrels
A contractor’s value-engineering suggestion shaved $2 million off Idaho’s first single-point urban interchange (SPUI), now nearing completion over Interstate 84 near the Boise airport. Photo: Idaho DOT Single-point urban design and value engineering saved money Designer Stanley Consultants, Meridian, Idaho, recommended a SPUI instead of a diamond interchange because it requires less land, moves traffic more quickly and permits wider sidewalks and new bike lanes, says Bob Jacobs, Stanley’s chief transportation engineer. The smaller footprint saved $600,000 by eliminating the need to acquire two buildings. The $17.8-million cost is funded by the federal stimulus bill. Stanley faced a tight timetable
A Minnesota entrepreneur’s lightweight, aerodynamic wheel covers promise to save trucking companies millions of dollars in fuel costs every year by boosting big-truck fuel economy by 1%. Photo: Schneider National Inc., Cloth windscreen zips into a spring-loaded base inside the wheel, cutting drag. Jon Fleck’s “Deflecktor” wheel covers consist of a spring-loaded steel frame that snaps into the standard concave rear wheels of truck tractors. A circular truck-tarp-vinyl cover zips into the frame. The device cuts drag by keeping air from flowing into and out of the deep rear wheels as the truck speeds along the highway. The covers’ ability
The second season of construction for the largest transportation project in Wisconsin history is now in full swing as Chicago’s Walsh Construction Co. and its subcontractors replace pavement, bridges, interchanges, frontage roads and storm sewers on sections of Interstate 94 in the southeastern corner of the state. The $1.9-billion reconstruction project will expand Wisconsin’s Interstate 94 from six to eight lanes by adding one lane in each direction. The project is also improving safety by separating frontage roads from highway on- and off-ramps. Contractors begin base preparation for the new lanes on Interstate 94. The new pavement starts with a
To find out what trends are at work in the office-construction market, Midwest Construction talked to a leading developer, two noted architects and three major general contractors. Companies are creating positive working spaces that reflect their cultures and brands. Above, an HOK-designed project provides an example of branding, where a company builds a space that sends a certain message to its employees and visitors. A growing trend for owners is to put office space in mixed-use buildings that also house retail, hotel, condominium, parking and entertainment space, such as in the recently completed Aqua Building in Chicago. Here’s what they
After opening the initial round of bids from three prominent area contractors on Feb. 11 for reconstruction of the Wacker Drive/Congress Parkway Interchange, the City of Chicago disqualified two, then rejected the third for being too expensive. About $2.6 billion in federal stimulus money will be provided to the Upper Midwest for Second Take work. The Chicago-St. Louis line is scheduled to receive $1.1 billion, the most of any Midwest route. Related Links: High-Speed Rail In High Gear The lowest bid, at $73 million, came from a joint venture of F.H Paschen and Cabo Construction Corp. That bid was rejected