Photo Courtesy of American Road & Transportation Builders Association CFO Bertram says DOT aims to streamline its reviews of TIFIA applications. Related Links: States Gear Up to Seek Expanded TIFIA Loan Aid MAP-21 Transportation Measure Goes on the Books Advocates of public-private partnerships to help finance transportation projects are hailing the new Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, or MAP-21, and hustling to take advantage of a key part of the statute: a more than five-fold hike in a Dept. of Transportation loan program.As states await word from DOT on preliminary requests for 2013 aid under its

Five teams of major construction firms have been selected to compete to design and build the second phase of the planned Metrorail transit extension to northern Virginia’s Dulles International Airport, and beyond.

An infusion of funds through a federally negotiated settlement with Greenville, S.C.-based AVX Corp., if approved by a federal court, will slash the cleanup schedule for the New Bedford Harbor Superfund site in Massachusetts, officials say.

Related Links: Transcripts of Supreme Court Oral Arguments High Court to Hear Water, 'Takings' Cases In one of the first cases it heard in its new term, the U.S. Supreme Court plunged into the murky task of determining whether damage caused by federally directed flooding is a "taking" of private property.The court heard oral arguments on Oct. 3 in Arkansas Game & Fish Commission v. U.S. The commission contends that water releases from an Army Corps of Engineers dam in six consecutive years destroyed valuable timber. The commission says the flooding is a property "taking," which under the Fifth Amendment

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Digital Visual Library Parts of the Corps' waterway network, including Lock and Dam No. 25 on the Mississippi, are more than 50 years old. Related Links: National Research Council Report ENR Blog: Signs of Life for a New WRDA Bill A new National Research Council study says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is losing ground in maintaining and upgrading the agency's huge, aging water-resources infrastructure.The Corps-sponsored report, released on Oct. 4, comes as there are stirrings in the Senate about a new, multiyear water-resources bill that would authorize Corps river locks and dams, harbor

In a settlement with federal agencies, AVX Corp. has agreed to pay more than $366 million, an infusion that officials say will dramatically speed up the long-running cleanup of the PCB-contaminated New Bedford, Mass., harbor.

Related Links: BLS employment report for September (release and tables) Associated General Contractors analysis Associated Builders and Contractors analysis Construction’s jobless rate rose in September, to 11.9% from August’s 11.3%, although the industry added 5,000 jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The upturn in the construction rate was the first since March.The latest BLS monthly unemployment statistics, released on Oct. 5, also showed that the construction jobless rate last month was down from the September 2011 level of 13.3%—the 24th-straight month of year-over-year improvement.Construction officials focused on what the new BLS numbers indicated about the industry’s longer-term

Related Links: New Corps of Engineers Commander Bostick Taking Stock ASCE Report Sees Big Maritime Infrastructure Funding Gap ENR Blog: Signs of Life for a New WRDA Bill The Army Corps of Engineers is facing an “unsustainable situation” in maintaining its huge and aging water infrastructure, as current funding isn't keeping up with the needs, a new National Research Council study says.The report, released on Oct. 4, says that the Corps' sprawling network of river locks and dams and other civil works “is wearing out faster than it is being replaced or rehabilitated.” The system includes about 700 dams, 14,000

Related Links: Supreme Court docket file for Arkansas Game & Fish Commission v. U.S. Supreme Court docket file for L.A. County Flood Control District v. NRDC As the U.S. Supreme Court begins its new term, construction officials will be watching the cases that deal with water issues. Two cases on the court's docket focus on aspects of the Clean Water Act, and a third centers on whether timberland damaged by water releases from an Army Corps of Engineers dam are a federal "taking" of property.First up is the takings case, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission v. U.S., on which the

Related Links: Amid PPP Slowdown, India Turns to Cash Contracts Green Building Booms in India The American Institute of Architects and the Commerce Dept. are gearing up for a trade mission, which will begin on Oct. 14, to major cities in India. The aim is to promote the services of U.S. design and architecture firms in India and Sri Lanka.The trip, which comprises Chennai, Calcutta and Bangalore, is the first of three such missions planned over the next three years. All of the trips will be financed by a recently announced Commerce Dept. grant to AIA as well as the