A construction worker was killed at the Gilcrease Expressway expansion site in Tulsa, Okla., on August 16 when a piece of heavy equipment rolled down a steep hill and crushed him. Noe Mendoza, 45, an employee of Plains Bridge Contracting of Yukon, Okla., was found by emergency responders. Mendoza was hit by a 120,000-lb road spreader, with a big diesel-driven scraper to pick up pavement, and declared dead at the scene, says Bill French, spokesman for the Tulsa Fire Dept. Tulsa Police Dept. public information officer Leland Ashley said the machine that killed Medoza was a Caterpillar 621G wheel tractor-scraper.
Even as U.K.-based oil giant BP remains in the U.S. government’s crosshairs for environmental damage resulting from the Deepwater Horizon drill-rig explosion that killed 11 workers April 20, it now faces record fines and new scrutiny over another fatal accident five years ago at a land-based company facility in Texas. Photo: Courtesy of U.S. Occupational Safety And Health Administration Explosion in 2005 killed 15 contractor employees and injured 170 others at Texas City site. OSHA’s fine is the highest single penalty ever to be issued for a single event. Photo: Courtesy of U.S. Occupational Safety And Health Administration In addition
A construction worker died on August 16 while working on the Gilcrease Expressway expansion in Tulsa, Okla. Tulsa Police and Fire Departments responded at about 9:30 a.m. to find Noe Mendoza, 45, an employee of Plains Bridge Contracting of Yukon, Okla., struck and killed by a piece of heavy equipment. Bill French, spokesman for Tulsa Fire, says Mendoza was hit by a 120,000-lb road spreader, with a big diesel-driven scraper to pick up pavement, and was “graphically” dead at the scene. Tulsa Police handled the scene, as they would for a fatal traffic accident, he said. Tulsa Police Dept. public
Further reducing the scope of a land-purchase agreement originally proposed by Gov. Charlie Crist (I), the South Florida Water Management District agreed on Aug. 12 to purchase approximately 26,800 acres in the Everglades from the U.S. Sugar Corp. for $197 million. + Image Map: Courtesy South Florida Water Management District The district will acquire the land in the Everglades Agricultural Area and C-139 basin for water-quality and environmental restoration projects. The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) plans to close on the property in Hendry and Palm Beach counties in October. The deal includes options for up to 10 years
Even as U.K.-based oil giant BP remains in the U.S. government’s crosshairs for environmental damage resulting from the Deepwater Horizon drill-rig explosion that killed 11 workers April 20, it now faces record fines and new scrutiny over another fatal accident five years ago at a land-based company facility in Texas. Photo: Courtesy of U.S. Occupational Safety And Health Administration. Explosion in 2005 killed 15 contractor employees and injured 170 others at Texas City site. OSHA’s fine is the highest single penalty ever to be issued for a single event. Photo: Courtesy of U.S. Occupational Safety And Health Administration In addition
Schools all over Texas have inspected stadium lighting poles manufactured by Whitco Co. LLP of Fort Worth after 11 confirmed incidents occurred involving the 70-ft or taller defective steel poles. Photo: Hays ISD Photo: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC has announced a recall to repair Whitco stadium light poles. CPSC has confirmed eleven incidents in which Whitco Co. LP poles fell. In one incident last year, a pole fell through the roof of a school gymnasium in Central Texas, causing significant property damage. More than 50 people were inside the facility at the time. Local media reporting on the
Construction management educators listen to industry feedback, so they can better prepare students to assume positions of responsibility, and many firms offer guidance through internships and participation on advisory boards. Photo Courtesy Of Central Connecticut State University Central Connecticut State University students tour a job site. “Construction management programs are doing a good job,” says Rodney Pope, vice president and employment manager for Turner Construction Co. in New York. “The colleges in the area that offer these programs are trying to focus on what skills the students need to enter the construction industry.” Eric Brown, senior vice president of operations
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Wetlands Reserve Program has agreed to pay approximately $89 million to acquire permanent easements on nearly 26,000 contiguous acres in Florida’s Northern Everglades Watershed. Photo: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture has acquired permanent easements for 26,000 acres in the Northern Everglades Watershed. “The Northern Everglades is one of the last frontiers for large-scale land conservation in Florida, so we are excited about this,” says Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. “The $89 million the federal government is investing in this project this year will do wondrous things.” In
What a difference a year can make. Image: Courtesy RdlR Architects. SpawMaxwell will build Houston’s new Joy School, shown here in conceptual design. Designed by RdlR Architects of Houston, the approximately 26,000 sq-ft school on a tight urban site will aim for LEED-silver certification. A rendering of the new 1.14-million-sq-ft Dallas Convention Center Hotel, which Balfour Beatty is building to meet LEED-silver certification. In 2009, SpawMaxwell was tapped as Texas Construction’s 2009 Contractor of the Year and praised for its entrepreneurial spirit and flat ownership structure. Now, 2010 finds the Houston-based interior and general contractor a member of the Balfour
Central Texas remains one of the brighter regions for construction in the nation, with many public projects moving forward as well as a few private jobs. “We have a positive outlook on Central Texas, whereas a lot of areas of the country still have a dark cloud from the economic meltdown,” says Chuck Lipscomb, business development manager for JE Dunn Construction in Austin. “We think this will be one of the first areas to rebound from the recession.” Forbes magazine, in an article published last summer, placed Austin-Round Rock at the top of a list of cities where the recession