With cracks as sharp as the frozen Arctic air, a 1,357-ft steel communications tower in Port Clarence, Alaska, tumbled to the ground on April 28, the first step in the U.S. Coast Guard�s decommissioning of its network of LORAN radio navigation facilities across the country. Photo: Controlled Demolition Inc. Tower demolition is start of Coast Guard decommissioning of aging navigation signal network. The 400-ton, 45-segment triangular steel tower is the largest man-made structure to be felled by explosives, according to Controlled Demolition Inc. (CDI), Phoenix, Md., which performed the operation as a subcontractor to Jacobs Field Services North America. For
As the result of a rare closure of interstate highway, a 15-mi rehabilitation of Interstate 385 near Laurens, S.C., is on track to be completed in just eight months—and for two-thirds of its original estimated cost. Photo: Portland Cement Association, Southeast Region Recent paving activity on the I-385 project. Closure of section of South Carolina interstate highway is allowing SCDOT to complete the project in just eight months. Originally constructed as U.S. Route 276, the four-lane divided highway linking Greenville with Interstate 26 was added to the interstate system in the mid-1980s even though it hadn’t been designed to those
New faces are nothing new in the Carolinas, which have long been among the nation’s fastest-growing states. But with construction activity at a standstill in many other parts of the U.S., local contractors increasingly find themselves vying with competitors representing a cross-section of unfamiliar area codes. Image: BE&K Building Group A joint venture of BE&K Building Group and Turner Construction Co. won the contract to build Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner final-assembly plant in North Charleston, S.C. Image: Turner Construction Co. Turner Construction is managing construction of the 500,000-sq-ft, 21-story Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel Tower III in Cherokee, N.C. “The make-up of the
The Base Realignment and Closure Act of 2005 has been a lifeline for some Virginia contractors during a recession that has driven many other sectors to a near-standstill. But with less than 18 months remaining before the mandated Sept. 15, 2011, deadline for completing BRAC, contractors are coming down to crunch time. W.M. Jordan Co. is building the second phase of the Ordnance School Central Campus project at Fort Lee, Va., one of the last components in the Army’s multibillion “Home of Ordnance” initiative at Fort Lee. Related Links: Focus on Virginia To minimize operational disruptions and maintain readiness across
Image courtesy Populous A rendering of the Florida Marlins' new ballpark, which was designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport). A joint venture of Hunt Construction Group and Moss & Associates is leading the construction effort. Photo by Smith Aerial Visions/Courtesy Moss & Associates This aerial photo of the project shows the super-columns taking shape. Related Links: Miami Report: Public Projects are Metro's Saving Grace In September, Hunt-Moss JV, conducted the first vertical concrete pour for the super columns of the new Florida Marlins ballpark. The pour constituted the first estimated 16 ft of the nearly 40-ft tall rebar cage. The
The Federal Transit Administration approved last month the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority’s revised testing plan for eleven 30-year-old foundations that will be used to support piers for the new Dulles Metrorail extension in northern Virginia to Dulles International Airport. Photo: Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project Team Agency will begin tests on piers originally built in the 1970s to see if they can handle new light-rail system to Dulles Airport, after initial criticism. The concrete foundations, supported by concrete and steel caissons driven 50 to 60 ft deep, are among 13 that were installed by the Virginia Dept. of Transportation in the
From an ephiphany came an airport. Until 2004, Connecticut-based businessman and former bond trader Steve Peet knew little about Branson, Mo., the Ozark Mountain recreational hub.
A contractor last month completed relocation of a 1,800-ft-long flood-prone stretch of state Route 12 on Hatteras Island, N.C., but a longer-term plan to elevate other parts of the highway faces potential delays. RPC Contracting Inc., Kitty Hawk, N.C., began work in late November on a $439,600 lump-sum contract to shift the 1,800-ft stretch of roadway 23 ft to the west, placing it at the edge of the North Carolina Dept. of Transportation’s right-of-way through the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Construction was completed by Dec. 11, after which the contractor would have faced liquidated damages of $5,000 per day.
As more of the world’s economies show signs of transitioning from recession to recovery, the relatively unscathed global environmental sector appears poised to resume its growth. Most of the markets that were strong before the recession—East Asia, Australia, and Western Europe—have remained active, thanks in part to their projects’ inherent size and scope. “It’s been said that Asia is leading the world out of recession, and that’s probably also true for the water market,” says Dan McCarthy, president and CEO of Overland Park, Kan.-based Black & Veatch’s global water business. Photo: Black & Veatch Asia is leading the recovery with
Skanska USA Building of Atlanta is overseeing a massive undertaking to replace all of the windows in the tornado-damaged Westin Peachtree Plaza of Atlanta. All 6,350 windows in the 73-story hotel will be replaced over a period of approximately 15 months. Hotel operations will continue throughout the replacement. Related Links: Value of Georgia’s New Contracts Fell 16% in August Evergreen Starts Work on $16-Million Cherokee Co. School Damage to the hotel occurred in March 2008 when a tornado hit downtown Atlanta and struck the Westin. The storm initially disabled 320 of the hotel’s 1,068 rooms. Skanska is working with architect
