The owners of 19 California coastal powerplants—including two nuclear facilities—may have to spend billions to install closed-loop cooling towers to protect marine life. The state Water Quality Control Board passed regulations on May 4 that require plants using once-through ocean-water intakes for cooling to reduce water use by more than 90%. + Image Image: Southern California Edison Intake protection system at San Onofre is part of a previous $150-million mitigation. The rule, finalized by the board after five years of study and hours of debate, cites estimated annual mortality rates of 2.6 million fish and 19 billion fish larvae from
Unveiled on April 22, the final design for the $1.5-billion Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco will feature high-level seismic and environmental elements. The five-story glass-and-steel station, billed as the Grand Central Station of the West, will consolidate 12 transit operations, including anticipated high-speed rail. Photo: Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects The proposed transit hub would be a 1,400-ft-long structural tube with moment frames. The Transbay Joint Powers Authority hub, designed by New Haven, Conn.-based Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, includes a place-marker for an iconic 1,200-ft-tall tower. Part of a $4-billion mixed-used project, the tower is still the subject of financial
Construction on the Sunrise Powerlink—a $1.88-billion, 118-mile, 1,000-MW-capacity power line that would connect urban San Diego with alternative energy sources in the Imperial Valley—could begin in June if the U.S. Forest Service grants final approval. The owner, San Diego Gas and Electric Co., says the line is a key part of California’s mandated goal of deriving a third of its power from alternative sources by 2020. SDG&E could expedite the decision by meeting two conditions based on environmental considerations: shifting right-of-way to a northern route to avoid crossing designated wilderness areas and completing some construction using helicopters to protect the
Southern California will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to repair water treatment and wastewater treatment infrastructure damaged in the April 4 Baja Earthquake, which was registered at 7.2 magnitude, state and city officials say. In the city of El Centro, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Terry Hagen estimated that local public and private interests sustained $25 million in damage, although that estimate could grow. As many as 24 condominium units were evacuated when four of six 2-inch-dia anchor bolts sheared off an empty landmark, a 1924-era water tank. The city awarded an emergency $77,000 contract to remove the tank
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
Contractors on the centerpiece of San Francisco’s $4.6-billion upgrade of the Hetch Hetchy water system, a $215.3-million tunnel under San Francisco Bay that will replace the 1920s-era pipeline structure, were told to start work on April 1. Officials say the seismically enhanced structure and others planned will better protect the city water supply in an earthquake, such as the Southern California temblor on April 4. Photo: San Francisco Pulbic Utilities Commission Image shows underwater pipeline and tunnel, which will have new seismic protections. The five-mile-long tunnel will replace old structures with a 9-ft-dia welded steel pipeline bored as deep as
Contractors on the centerpiece of San Francisco’s $4.6-billion improvement to the Hetch Hetchy Water System were given notice to proceed on April 1. The five-mile subterranean Bay Division Water Delivery Tunnel planned for under the San Francisco Bay will replace two 1920s and 1930s era pipelines with one 9-ft-dia welded steel pipeline bored as deep as 100 ft under the bay’s floor. The new tunnel will be more secure in an earthquake and a tunnel-boring machine will minimize environmental damage. A joint venture of Michels Corp., Brownsville, Wis., Jay Dee Contractors, Inc., Livonia, Mich., and Frank Coluccio Construction Co., Seattle,
Public projects – from bridges and arenas to fire stations and utilities jobs – dominate the Eugene construction landscape as contractors and architects also work with public agencies to stretch budgets and protect the environment. Photo: University of Oregon The new University of Oregon Matthew Knight Arena will act as a front door to the campus, bringing modern amenities while preserving the intimate feeling of Ducks basketball. Photo: ODOT Oregon officials broke ground on the $187-million Willamette River Bridge last summer. One of the largest, the $187-million Willamette River Bridge, kicked off last summer and is now in full swing.
By mid-April, the city of Sacramento and Thomas Enterprises Inc. plan to award $60 million in contracts for relocation of railroad tracks and construction of three bridges in the Sacramento Railyards. Photo: The Railyards The 244-acre infill project is moving ahead with help from a $20 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant. �We would not have been able to move forward on this without the stimulus,� says Elias Rashmawi, director of land redevelopment at the Railyards. �The track relocation unlocks all of the other work on the project.� �We are looking forward to breaking ground in mid-May on one
In mid-February, Glendale Water & Power awarded a $4.2-million contract to Greenville, S.C.-based Utility Partners of America Inc., as the Southern California city joined a nationwide move to so-called smart water and electric networks. The advanced metering infrastructure will act as a two-way communication network to connect the meter to the utility and to the customer. Utility Partners is the same company that won a $7.5-million contract for similar work in Sacramento, Calif., in November. It has installed an estimated 6 million meters across the country. The 33,400 new water and 84,500 electric meters UPA will install in Glendale will