For John R. Lawson II, president of W.M. Jordan Company, life got rather interesting Thursday afternoon. That’s when news broke that Lawson’s Newport News, Va.-based construction company had offered a $10/hour job to former NFL star Michael Vick, who will soon complete a 23-month sentence for orchestrating a dogfighting operation in Surry County, Va. Photo: AP/Wideworld Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, pictured leaving federal court in 2007 after pleading guilty to a dogfighting charge in Richmond, Va., is set to earn $10 an hour this summer working for a highway contractor in Virginia. Within hours, Lawson’s voicemail was overflowing
Construction industry groups say they welcome the Obama administration’s plans announced on March 16 to free up credit markets for small businesses by temporarily increasing federal guarantees on Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to 90%, eliminating fees on 7(a) and 504 loan applications and purchasing securities backed by those loans. But they say an even more beneficial change for construction firms is the less-heralded expansion of SBA’s surety bond program. As part of the administration’s Financial Stability Plan announced by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in February, the maximum amount for construction contracts that qualify for SBAguaranteed surety bonds is being
Jack Wilson admits it: He welcomes the rising price of asphalt. It’s not a concrete bias—he is a 40-year contracting veteran who worked impartially with both asphalt and concrete. But now that asphalt milling and repaving is more expensive, he believes the time has finally come for his asphalt overlay invention to gain a wide audience. Photo: Polycon Proprietary overlay creates a protective seal over existing asphalt, eliminating need for constant milling Related Links: America May Gain from Materials Designed To Stretch Your Stimulus Dollars Packing in Particles Yields 100-Year Concrete Mixes Long-Life Composite Bar Receives Second Chance Cylindrical Solar
The global market for environmental services, already strong thanks to continued infrastructure investments by both developed and developing nations, now has the added driver of addressing increasing threats of water scarcity brought on by climate change and pressure on groundwater supplies. “Urbanization and economic development have always challenged us in finding sufficient supplies of potable water,” says Paul Brown, executive vice president, global market development for Camp Dresser & McKee Inc. (CDM), Lexington, Mass. “Superimposing climate change exacerbates issues that were already quite formidable.” Photo: Black & Veatch Hong Kong is the midst of a wide-ranging upgrade of its sewer
Just when the nation’s airports thought their post-9/11 recovery challenges were behind them, upheaval in the nation’s airline industry has clouded the future of many facility and airside construction programs. Months of surging oil prices, volatile credit markets, and sagging U.S. economic fortunes culminated in a summertime string of drastic service cutbacks, steep fare hikes, and other measures aimed at staunching the flow of red ink from the airlines’ balance sheets. Clark County, Nev., Department of Aviation Scheduled for completion in 2012, the 1.87-million-sq-ft Terminal 3 will enable McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas to handle an additional five million
