California needs an additional annual infrastructure investment of $65 billion to bring its aging systems up to date, according to conclusion of the California Infrastructure Report Card 2012 released this week by Region 9 of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). ASCE, which was supported in the effort by the American Public Works Association, University of California, Irvine Civil & Environmental Engineering Affiliates and the American Council of Engineering Cos., gave the state an overall grade of "C." This is the second report of its kind for California. The first report card was issued in 2006 and gave the

Having recently been awarded a high-profile project in Redwood City, 93-year-old venerable Southern California construction firm C.W. Driver has opened an office in the Northern California city of San Mateo on the San Francisco Peninsula. Mike Castillo, previously vice president of operations and a 25-year veteran of Rudolph and Sletten, was hired as senior vice president for the region.C.W. Driver said Castillo will oversee new projects in the areas of education, health care/biomedical, public sector, military contracting, entertainment, retail, corporate and hospitality.C.W. Driver was recently named general contractor for a project at the PDI/DreamWorks Animation Northern California facility in Redwood

Ground breaking took place this week on a $350-million mixed-use development along one of Santa Monica’s main business, tourist and local hangout streets. Rendering courtesy of Moore Ruble Yudell The Village at Santa Monica Besides mixed-use, Related California’s The Village at Santa Monica project will also be mixed-income with a mix of 318 luxury condominiums and affordable rental apartments, 20,000 sq ft of retail and restaurants, and walkable plazas and gardens.The Village is the first major residential development to be built on highly prized Ocean Avenue in two decades and will offer Pacific Ocean views stretching from Palos Verdes to

The four-story, 92,000-sq-ft Port of Los Angeles Police Headquarters building has earned a LEED gold rating, according to the project architect, MVE Institutional of Irvine. Photo by Anthony Gomez Port of Los Angeles Police Headquarters Green construction highlights for the $43.6-million headquarters include extensive natural light, rooftop photovoltaic systems, interior air quality, low-flow water fixtures, locally sourced and carefully selected construction materials, reduced heat-island effect, bio-swales and the use of drought-tolerant landscape throughout. The police facility is designed to use about 28% less energy than Title-24, MVEI said.FTR International served as the general contractor on the project and DMJM/IEM Construction

Education construction will hold steady this year in California and across the nation, but the real future potential lies in the development of charter schools, says Yehudi “Gaf” Gaffen, CEO of the construction management firm Gafcon. Photo courtesy of Gafcon Accelerated School in Los Angeles Gaffen was the moderator of a panel titled “New Developments in Education,” hosted by the Southern California Development Forum in Los Angeles. Panelists included Peter Hendrickson, associate vice chancellor/design and construction, UCLA; Ken Zeff, COO, Green Dot Public Schools; and Dan Kreinbring, senior advisor/charter school facilities, California Charter Schools Association.Post-panel, Gaffen said he’s seeing a

The National Park Service has selected Atkins, the UK-based engineering consultancy, as construction manager and AMEC Earth & Environmental, Oakland, as general contractor for a $3.6-million structural repair project on Alcatraz Island. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay This project is one of 10 projects outlined in the multiyear Alcatraz Island Historic Preservation and Safety Construction Program, developed in 2001 to seismically upgrade and restore important structures on the island.Atkins, which has eight offices in California, said the project involves numerous structures, including the infamous Building #68, the cellhouse for “difficult-to-manage prisoners” from

The federal government is reimbursing California for $182 million the state has already spent on Caltrans’ construction of the Devil’s Slide project along Route 1 between Pacifica and Montara. Altogether, the Obama Administration has released nearly $1.6 billion via the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program to reimburse 30 states, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and federal land management agencies for repairs to roads and bridges caused by “storms, flooding, hurricanes and other natural and catastrophic disasters.”The funding was approved by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2012.California is also getting a reimbursement for two other

After two previous reports that were highly critical of Pacific Gas & Electric's natural-gas pipeline operations in the fatal 2010 San Bruno blast, its pipeline network and its record-keeping, the utility received another report that may turn out to be the most critical and the most costly of all.The California Public Utility Commission's Consumer Protection and Safety Division (CPSD) released its incident investigation report on Jan. 12. It alleged PG&E violated the Public Utilities Code and federal and state pipeline safety regulations and failed to follow accepted industry standards.On Sept. 9, 2010, a 30-in.-dia PG&E natural-gas transmission pipeline ruptured and

The California Public Utility Commission’s Consumer Protection and Safety Division (CPSD) released its incident investigation report in which it alleged that Pacific Gas & Electric violated the Public Utilities Code, several federal and state pipeline safety regulations and failed to follow accepted industry standards. On Sept. 9, 2010, a 30-in diameter natural gas transmission pipeline, owned and operated by PG&E, ruptured and ignited in a San Bruno neighborhood, resulting in eight deaths, 58 injuries and the destruction of 38 homes. Since then, there have been reports by the National Transportation Safety Board and an independent review panel that take the