Highway crews at a Texas Dept. of Transportation project kicked off the industry's second annual Safety Week, held on May 3-9, by constructing six so-called barrel monsters along 35Express, a $1.4-billion, 30-mile highway construction corridor near Dallas."They are whimsical and fun, but we want people to understand that they are a nod to safety," says Kimberly Sims, project spokeswoman.The orange "beasts"—assembled from safety barrels, road signs and other construction components and resembling giant Lego figures—previously began popping up in other states as creations of roadside vandals, but highway agencies and contractors are adopting the practice to slow down drivers in
A joint venture of Hunt Construction and Clayco has been selected as construction manager for a new football stadium in St. Louis. Hunt Construction Named CM for New St. Louis Football Stadium The St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority has chosen the joint venture of Hunt Construction Group and Clayco to be the construction manager for a new football stadium in downtown St. Louis. The joint venture, known as HCKL, also includes KAI Design and Build and the Legacy Building Group. In addition, the Kwame Building Group will provide project management support services. Construction of the new stadium
The Louis Berger Group on April 1 signed a $100-million, five-year program-management contract to help Saudi Arabia build some $16 billion worth of highway and transit systems through 2025 in Madinah, the second-largest destination for Islam followers.
Sometimes the well-known drawbacks to engineering and construction careers—countless hours in front of a computer screen or moving from town to town for new projects—seem to overshadow the inspiring aspects of working in the industry.
Related Links: Moving Data and Dirt Construction Unemployment Rate Drops to 9.5%.Construction's March unemployment figures showed a mixed picture as the industry's jobless rate fell from the year-earlier and February levels, but it also lost 1,000 jobs in the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says. The latest BLS report shows construction's unemployment rate declined, year over year, to 9.5% in March from 11.3%, and it also was down from February's 10.6% rate.Construction economists point out that the industry's drop in jobs in March was the industry's first month-to-month decline since December 2013. March job losses among residential specialty-trade contractors
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., Montreal, announced on April 15 an executive suite realignment as it moves to improve results in its ailing infrastructure division.The firm has named Neil Bruce to the newly created position of chief operating officer to "further streamline operations across all our markets with a goal of further improving operational efficiency," the company said.Hisham Mahmoud, who was infrastructure division president, will leave the firm. Named to run the division is Executive Vice President Ian Edwards."The division has been the segment impacting the overall E&C performance due to numerous negative profit reforecasts over the last two years," said analyst
Dodge Momentum Index Fell in March but Is Up for the YearThe Dodge Momentum index fell 2.1% in March, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The index measures non-residential building projects entering the planning stage and is a lead indicator of construction spending activity by a full year. Despite the monthly decline, the index has been trending upward over the past 12 months and is 12% above 2014's level. There were 10 projects exceeding $100 million that entered the planning stage in March, including seven commercial and three institutional jobs. The largest was a $400-million development in Bismarck, N.D.New York
Related Links: Publicly Held Sterling Construction Eyes Transportation Boost To Reverse Results Slide VarelloSterling Construction has named as its permanent CEO, Paul J. Varello, who had been acting in the role since early February and has resigned as chairman. The firm, based in The Woodlands, said on March 9 that under Varello’s multi-year employment agreement, the one-time Fluor Corp. process sector president would receive an annual salary of $1 and 600,000 shares of restricted common stock. Varello, a Sterling board member since early 2014 and former chairman of oil-and-gas sector firm Commonwealth Engineering & Construction, replaces Peter MacKenna, who
Photo Courtesy of Fluor A drop in oil prices has slowed production, but work on Dow's Freeport ethylene cracker rolls on. Related Links: The Complete ENR 2015 Q1 Cost Report, with Data and Analysis Sasol Ethane Cracker Job Starts Despite Gas-to-Liquids Delay Oil Price Decline Prompts Industry Firms to Hope for The Best and Plan for the Worst The fallout from a decline in oil prices has driven a recent decline in upstream oil-and-gas work for engineers and contractors. Still, big industrial projects continue downstream, and some contractors in some regions are hoping to take advantage of a glut of
