The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is seeking a contractor to replace the 85-year-old Calaveras Dam near Fremont and Sunol in the East Bay for a project estimated to cost $434 million. Photo: Courtesy of SFPUC The Calaveras Dam normally supplies nearly half the water to the Bay Area. Notice went out on Jan. 31, with a pre-bid meeting scheduled for Feb. 15 and contract award at the end of March. Construction, estimated to cost between $250 million to $300 million, is set to start in the summer. Prequalified prime contractors eligible to bid on the project include Dragados USA,

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission last week gave final approval for replacing the 85-year-old Calaveras Dam near Fremont and Sunol in the East Bay. According to SFPUC spokeswoman Maureen Barry, the new $434-million dam project started bid advertising Jan. 31 with a pre-bid scheduled for Feb. 15 and contract award at the end of March. Construction is scheduled to start in the summer. Barry says pre-qualified prime contractors eligible to bid on the project include Dragados USA of New York; Barnard Construction Co. of Bozeman, Mont.; Kiewit Infrastructure Group, Fairfield, Calif.; Sukut Construction Inc., Santa Ana, Calif.; and Impregilo

In 2007, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) set in motion strict off-road diesel emissions rules that could have had long-range impact on contractors and equipment suppliers.

In 2007, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) set in motion strict off-road diesel emissions rules that could have had long-range impact on contractors and equipment suppliers. When the recession hit the state particularly hard, the CARB rules, based data that was questioned from the outset, seemed unfair and costly. Officials estimated the equipment replacements and upgrades would cost billions of dollars. Enter Michael Kennedy, the Associated General Contractors of America’s general counsel. In a two-year journey filled with sometimes contentious board and private meetings, Kennedy took the industry’s lead in addressing the issue and negotiating a compromise, which occurred

Despite recent heavy opposition, including a court-ordered temporary restraining order, California’s Dept. of Transportation and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority have awarded a public-private partnership contract to their selected bidder for the second phase of the $1-billion Doyle Drive replacement project, known as Presidio Parkway, in San Francisco. Photo: Courtesy Caltrans As work nears completion on the first half of a new $1-billion parkway, court allows concessionaire contract to move forward. Photo: Courtesy Caltrans Caltrans announced the agreement on Jan. 3, just hours after an Alameda County Superior Court judge dissolved the restraining order the court granted on Dec.

Despite some heavy recent opposition, including a court-ordered temporary restraining order, California�s Department of Transportation and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority have awarded a public-private partnership contract to their selected bidder for the second phase of the $1-billion Doyle Drive replacement project, known as Presidio Parkway, in San Francisco. The agreement was announced hours after an Alameda County Superior Court judge dissolved the TRO, which was requested by the state engineers union, Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG), and granted Dec. 22. But Judge Wynne Carvill says he will announce a request for a preliminary injunction and a hearing

California�s Department of Transportation is scrambling to blunt two recent negative reactions to its plan to use a public-private partnership in the second phase of the $1-billion Doyle Drive replacement project, known as Presidio Parkway, in San Francisco. Caltrans Tries to Head Off Opposition to the Presidio Parkway P3 Phase Earlier this month, in a report issued by the Legislative Analyst�s Office, analyst Mac Taylor concluded that the project is not a �good fit� for a P3, while last week the Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG) was granted a temporary restraining order from an Alameda County superior court judge

While the federal government continues to tangle with Congress over a climate-change law, the California Air Resources Board on Dec. 16 endorsed its own cap-and-trade regulation. The measure sets a statewide limit on the emissions from sources responsible for 80% of California’s greenhouse-gas emissions and establishes a price signal needed to drive long-term investment in cleaner fuels and the more efficient use of energy, according to CARB. The regulation is designed to provide covered entities with the flexibility to seek out and implement the lowest-cost options to reduce emissions. The cap-and-trade program also works in concert with standards for cleaner

The National Transportation Safety Board's interim report on the Sept. 9 natural-gas pipeline rupture and explosion that killed eight people in San Bruno, Calif., focuses on defective pipe welds as a cause of the blast. Photo: Courtesy NTSB A new report says a portion of the California pipeline that exploded on Sept. 9 was seam-welded. The study rules out external corrosion and damage caused by a third party as causes of the blast. Owner Pacific Gas & Electric’s records indicate the pipeline was seamless, but NTSB's report, released on Dec. 14, says a portion near the rupture was seam-welded. The