Concessionaire I-595 Express has begun working on the largest project in the history of the Florida Dept. of Transportation, the $1.796-billion Interstate-595 Corridor Improvement Project in Broward County. Photo: FDOT From left: James Wolfe, district secretary for the Florida Dept. of Transportation, and Joe Borello, project manager with FDOT. Photo: RS&H Early work on the project. The entire project is scheduled for completion in 2014. “This is such an important corridor in Florida, because I-595 connects the port, the airport, Florida’s Turnpike, I-95, I-75 and the Sawgrass Expressway,” says Joe Borello, FDOT project manager. “It has a huge economic impact
With growing interest in sustainability, greater numbers of people are recognizing the benefits of becoming a LEED AP certification, with 132,052 individuals having achieved the rank at the end of June, up from 77,689 at the end of 2008. Image: FXFOWLE EPSTEIN An aerial view of the green roof planned for the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. “Within the design profession, if you cannot do a LEED building, you will lose out,” says Bruce Fowle, senior partner with FXFOWLE in New York. “We get requests for proposals asking about the number of LEED accredited professionals we have.
New starts are off, but many owners ready to move forward are still seeking greener structures. “Sustainable design is more important than ever, and the recession validates it is not about initial costs; it’s about operating cost,” says Rick Bell, executive director of AIA New York. Photo credit Ramapo College of New Jersey Ramapo College of New Jersey installed a geothermal system on its new Spiritual Center. Related Links: Top Green Design Firms Bill Amann, board chairman of U.S. Green Building Council New Jersey, president of M&E Engineers in Somerville, N.J., and chairman of the Somerset County Energy Council, says
Orlando, Fla.-based employees of transportation engineer eynolds, Smith & Hills Inc. (RS&H) have met with grief counselors following a random shooting by an ex-employee that killed one staffer and injured five others, including a state client official. The injured are all recovering. Photo: AP / Wideworld Jason Rodriguez (center), a degreed engineer and former employee of Reynolds, Smith & Hills, is charged with killing a company employee and injuring five others in a shooting rampage in Orlando. On Nov. 6, about 30 people were working in the Orlando office of Jacksonville-based RS&H when Jason S. Rodriguez, 40, shot and killed
Orlando, Fla.-based employees of transportation engineer Reynolds, Smith & Hills Inc. (RS&H) have met with grief counselors following a Nov. 6 random shooting by a troubled ex-engineer employee that killed one current staffer and injured five others, including a state agency client official. The injured are all recovering. Photo: AP Jason Rodriguez, an engineer, was arrested in shooting rampage at office of his former design firm employer About 30 people were working in the Orlando office of Jacksonville-based RS&H when, according to police reports, Jason S. Rodriguez, 40, allegedly walked in, drew a handgun from a holster beneath his shirt
A former employee of engineer-architect Reynolds, Smith & Hills Inc. entered the company's downtown Orlando office shortly before lunch on Friday and shot and killed one employee and wounded five other people. The alleged shooter, Jason Rodriguez, 40, then fled the building and was apprehended without resistance about four hours later by Orlando police. “Clearly, this has been a sad day for the close family at RS&H,” said Mike Bernos, spokesman at the company’s Jacksonville headquarters. “We’re saddened by the event. Our greatest concern is for our associates in the Orlando office.” Reached by cell phone, RS&H CEO Leerie Jenkins,
Raleigh-Durham Roadbuilders, a joint venture between Archer Western Contractors and Granite Construction, won the largest contract in this massive project. Image: The LPA Group Inc. This conceptual rendering shows some of the aesthetic features that will be incorporated into bridges along the project corridor. Construction has begun on the Triangle Parkway of the North Carolina’s Triangle Expressway, an 18.8-mi toll road that will create a regional loop around Raleigh. “The Triangle Expressway represents a new paradigm for financing transportation infrastructure in North Carolina,” David Joyner, executive director of the North Carolina Turnpike Authority, says in an e-mail. He adds that
Three years after breaking ground, Charlotte, N.C., office towers built by Bank of America and Wachovia, which is owned by Wells Fargo & Co., remain on time despite turmoil in the banking industry. Photo courtesy Bank of America Balfour Beatty Construction is building the new 1 Bank of America Center. Related Links: Miami Offices Grab Limelight “Charlotte is excited with both of the developments,” says Tracy Finch Dodson, director of economic development for Charlotte Center City Partners, a private nonprofit group whose mission is the economic, cultural and residential development of the urban core. “We see it as an enormous
Private construction starts have all but evaporated, but public work continues to offer hope to contractors working along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Slide Show Photo: Aero Photo Kraft Construction is building a $35-million police station for the city of Sarasota. From the Everglades to the Panhandle, construction activity along Florida’s Gulf Coast is suffering a major recession-induced headache, with little private investment available to keep contractors working. “It’s slow,” says John Cammack, Skanska USA Building area general manager for Florida in Tampa. “It’s going to be a bleak year. If you ask anybody in the business, revenues are down and are
The University at Buffalo, a flagship institution of the State University of New York system, has embarked on a $360-million capital improvement program designed to prepare the school to serve more than 38,000 students by 2020. Photo: Cannon Design Cannon Design created the South Ellicott Housing building at the University at Buffalo’s South Campus. Related Links: Market Report: Upstate New York “We just finished a university master plan, which is part of President John Simpson’s vision for UB2020, which is to expand the university by approximately 10,000 students and 2,000 faculty and staff,” says Kevin M. Thompson, director of facilities