The Port of Miami is steaming ahead on the Southeast's largest port project—a $1-billion tunnel aimed at enhancing the South Florida transportation hub's efficiency and interstate connectivity in time for an expected surge in oversized cargo traffic coming from an expanded Panama Canal. Inconsistent geological variations—from loose sand to limestone to porous areas in an undefined pattern—make the Port of Miami Tunnel project a “soft-ground” tunnel, creating challenges in design and construction, says the Florida Dept. of Transportation. Related Links: Bouygues of France Starts $1-Billion Miami Port Tunnel “From an engineering aspect, a tunnel [here], because of the geology, is
With an appetite for technically complex and otherwise demanding projects, and several recent, high-profile wins in both the building and civil sectors, PCL Construction Enterprises is flying high when other Southeast contractors are lying low. From the recent success of its building division delivering the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for Universal Orlando, to its civil unit's lead on the bid-build-finance of a nearly $400-million interchange project in Tampa for the Florida Dept. of Transportation, PCL has a momentum uncommon in today's economy.The latest evidence of its hot streak came in April, when the Orlando-based Southeast building unit, PCL Construction
With the June 13 recovery of the body of a trapped worker following a boiler structure collapse in St. Petersburg, Fla., company and government officials will switch their focus to finding the accident’s cause. Photo courtesy Progress Energy In an attempt to find Clark White, a missing welder lost in the June 9 collapse of a Progress Energy building in St. Petersburg, Fla., crews searched the resulting rubble for four days before finding his body. Around 5 p.m., rescue workers recovered the body of Clark White, 65, a welder employed by Frontier Industrial Corp. of Buffalo, N.Y., which was the
Investigators in Harris County, Texas, are probing a possible conflict of interest regarding a prior consulting link between a top Port of Houston Authority official and Los Angeles-based design-builder AECOM Technology Corp., which does work for the agency. Photo: Courtesy Of Port Of Houston Authority The chairman of the agency that runs Houston’s port operations had outside consulting contract with design-build firm. After local media reports aired the connection, the authority’s commission requested the probe by the local district attorney’s office, and the agency will cooperate, a port spokeswoman confirmed. A spokeswoman for the district attorney would not confirm if
Orlando, Fla., city commissioners voted to allow construction to begin on the delayed $383-million Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, or DPAC, after board members stepped forward to personally guarantee a $16-million letter of credit that will replace tourist tax dollars if projected revenues of $43 million fall short. Courtesy DPAC Construction will begin in June on the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, shown in an architect's rendering above. “For more than 20 years this region has struggled to build a new performing-arts center,” says Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer (D). “But unwilling to give up and wanting
Jonathan Rose hates waste. As an affordable housing developer who manages more than $1.5 billion in assets, Jonathan Rose Cos. executes a strategy of integrated project delivery and green building to drive costs out of projects. In doing so, the New York City-based company is raising the bar for affordable housing in the region. Slide Show Photos courtesy of Malkin Construction Caption: Growing Community Via Verde features green roofs that will include orchards and community gardens. Through integrated design, the company builds green affordable projects in public transit-accessible locations, guided by a mission to provide low-income residents with bright airy
Merlin Entertainments Group of London announced plans to bring the Orlando �Eye,� a 425-ft tall Ferris wheel, along with a Madame Tussauds wax museum, to the proposed $130-million I-Walk Orlando entertainment and restaurant center in the city�s tourist corridor. Image: Antunovich Associates, Courtesy Unicorp National Developments Unicorp National Developments of Orlando will develop I-Walk with partner and wheel owner Circle Entertainment of New York, says Chuck Whittall, owner of Unicorp. Merlin will rent the space and operate the attractions. An average of 10,000 people per day visit Merlin’s London Eye observation wheel, according to Merlin. Sally Ann Wilkinson, spokesperson for
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood decided on Feb. 25, after meeting with Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R), to grant the governor another week to review a plan that would create an interlocal entity to oversee the proposed $2.7-billion Orlando-to-Tampa high-speed rail line and eliminate all state liability for the project. Related Links: U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's Statement “I feel we owe it to the people of Florida, who have been working to bring high-speed rail to their state for the last 20 years, to go the extra mile,” LaHood said in a statement. The federal government has committed $2.4
Florida state lawmakers and Congress members are racing to retain $2.4 billion in federal stimulus dollars committed to build high-speed rail, while other states await the opportunity to gain those dollars that Gov. Rick Scott (R) rejected this month. + Image The funds represent 90% of what the Florida Dept. of Transportation says is needed to build a line from Orlando to Tampa. The governor cited concerns about potential capital cost overruns, optimistic ridership and revenue projections, and the fear that taxpayers would be burdened with repaying the money if the construction or operations were halted. Bob Burleson, president of
UPDATE: The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has given Florida officials until Feb. 25 to find a way to address Gov. Rick Scott’s stated concerns about financial risk and keep the project alive. Florida state lawmakers and members of its Congressional delegation are racing to find a way to save the state�s high-speed rail plans and the $2.4 billion in federal dollars committed to build it, after Gov. Rick Scott rejected the funds for building a Tampa-to-Orlando line. Related Links: Letter from Gov. Rick Scott to US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood “In order to complete it, it looks like we are
