The Denver office of AECOM Technology Corp. has carved out a major niche in the region's transit boom. The multidisciplinary consulting giant recently completed work, along with Kiewit Infrastructure and SOM, on the $500-million transformation of Denver's Union Station (DUS) into a regional transit hub. DUS celebrated its grand opening in May. Related Links: Denver Union Station Becomes Transit Hub CDOT Says No Flood-Damaged Bridges Need to Be Replaced AECOM is continuing design work on the $350-million I-225 Light Rail line in Aurora, Colo., that is also being constructed by Kiewit as part of the Regional Transportation District (RTD)'s FasTracks

Related Links: 2014 ENR Global Best Projects Winners Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center Selected Best Overall Project Private Funding Finds A Way Into Other Public Spaces The $490-million Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse project in Long Beach, Calif., employed fast-track design-build, led by an international group of investors and builders. The owner—the state of California's Judicial Council, Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)—selected a finance team led by France's Meridiam Infrastructure, working with its local development company, Long Beach Judicial Partners. Capital was provided by a consortium of Canadian, European and Japanese banks.The new courthouse replaced a functionally deficient 35-year-old building

The U.S. Green Building Council recently ranked Colorado eighth in the nation in LEED projects. The 2013 ranking was down from third overall in 2012 and second in 2011. But the state certified 124 LEED projects last year, compared to only 99 in 2012, representing more than eight million sq ft of real estate, says Angie Fyfe, USGBC Colorado executive director.“We had lower LEED [certified] square footage here last year, which is how the council ranks states, but Colorado had a 25% increase in the number of LEED projects certified,” Fyfe says.The LEED approval process can often take 2.5 years

The list of the biggest projects to begin construction last year across the Mountain States bucks a national trend toward more private-sector work and a decline in public-sector starts. It also signals at least a temporary lull in new megaprojects across the five-state region. A surge of residential and commercial projects has helped to offset weaker levels of nonbuilding starts as many of the region's large highway and water projects have been recently completed. Related Links: Mortenson Toops Out Schwab Campus Denver Broncos Break Ground on New Practice Facility The 2013 starts list contains a healthy mix of infrastructure, energy,

ENR Mountain States continues its 2014 series on "Things to Watch" across the region: projects, people, firms and trends that may have ripple effects on the industry. This second installment offers more of the things we consider worth watching. Related Links: CDOT Selects U.S. 6 Design-Build Team CDOT Selects U.S. 6 Design-Build Team Colorado Ranked 8th in the U.S. in LEED400 projects awaiting approvalThe U.S. Green Building Council has ranked Colorado eighth in the nation in LEED projects in 2013, down from third overall in 2012 and second in 2011. But the state certified 124 LEED projects last year, compared

Photo Courtesy of Denver RTD The new hotel and transit station project at DIA may be well over its initial budget. Related Links: Denver Airport Sues City's Transit Agency Over Disputed Project Costs DIA Launches South Terminal Redevelopment Program Denver International Airport officials insist the project to build a hotel and transit center connected to the airport terminal remains on track at an adjusted budget of $544 million, despite recent reports the job may have ballooned as much as 34% over initial costs.The centerpiece of the project is a 500-room, 14-story Westin hotel that is going up at the terminal's

The University of Colorado is more than a year into a bold academic transition. Starting in spring 2013, the university moved its undergraduate program in architecture from the Boulder campus to CU Denver. Administrators and faculty sought a better alignment with the existing master’s degree program in architecture in Denver and stronger connections with the city’s professional design firms. Photo by Jesse Kuroiwa, courtesy of CU Denver CU Denvers undergraduate architectural program had 119 students enrolled as of the spring 2014 semester. “We expected in the first two years that most of the program’s undergrad students would be transfers from

Photo Courtesy of the HorvathGroup 2014 AGC President Alan Landes speaks at the convention. Photo Courtesy of the HorvathGroup Riders try out AGC's revamped facilities at Horses 4 Heroes in Vegas. Related Links: 2013 AGC National Convention Coverage 2012 AGC National Convention Coverage Increasing workforce shortages and declines in infrastructure spending clouded an otherwise upbeat economic picture for the nearly 2,800 attendees at the Associated General Contractors of America convention in Las Vegas earlier this month.AGC economist Ken Simonson told attendees he sees workforce shortages increasing, up to 49% below critical levels in some regions. He forecasts 4% to 8%

Photo Courtesy of CDOT U.S. 36 corridor upgrades will include new lanes, bridges and a commuter bike lane. Related Links: First Phase of U.S. 36 Expansion Hits Its Peak CDOT Selects Design-Build Team for Phase 2 of U.S. 36 The Colorado Dept. of Transportation last week finalized a controversial contract with private consortium Plenary Roads Denver to build the second phase of the U.S. 36 Managed Lanes project. The two-phase project expands and improves the main freeway between Denver and Boulder.It adds a "managed lane" in each direction for bus rapid transit, high-occupancy vehicles and drivers willing to pay a

This year's ENR Mountain States Top 20 Under 40 winners are architects, engineers, constructors, college professors, planners and project managers, but also green gurus, technology experts, attorneys and accountants.