Dept. of Buildings’ engineers have found defects in the hoisting system of the crane that collapsed at the No. 7 subway line expansion site in Manhattan April 3, said Robert LiMandri, DOB commissioner, in a statement. The accident, which occurred shortly before 7:30 p.m. at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority project located between 33rd and 34th Streets on 11th Avenue, killed 30-year-old Michael Simermeyer, a worker for crane owner and operator J&E Industries LLC, Far Rockaway, N.Y. The crane is a Manitowoc 4100 model. “The maintenance and operation of the crane in the days and weeks prior to this tragic accident

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office has begun to specify a slew of major infrastructure projects statewide that will receive funding under the newly created NY Works Task Force economic development program. The program, which the governor calls the “centerpiece” of his $132.6-billion budget that passed last week, includes an investment of $1.2-billion to accelerate road and bridge improvements. The program will accelerate state investments in improvements to hundreds of miles of roads, bridges as well as parks and historic sites. Investments announced the week of April 2 include $460 million to replace New York City’s Kosciuszko Bridge; $145 million for bridge

On the heels of passage of New York State’s $132.6-billion budget that includes $1.2 billion in funding for bridge and road improvements, a state assembly member has proposed a bond bill aimed at helping to finance the state’s future infrastructure needs. Jim Brennan (D-Brooklyn) introduced legislation on April 5 to ask voters on November 2013 to authorize the state to borrow and pay the debt service on $4.5 billion of improvements for mass transit, roads, bridges, airports and other transportation-related work. Under the bill, funds would be divided into $2.025 billion for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; $225 million for non-MTA

New York state and city officials have big plans brewing, including sprawling developments like the $2-billion planned applied science campus on Roosevelt Island, controversial proposals like a new $4-billion convention center in Queens, and billion-dollar infrastructure upgrades like those planned for the George Washington Bridge. But industry watchers say that while such complex multi-year projects bode well for the A/E/C industry, there are likely to be speed bumps along the way. Photo Courtesy of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey In suspense: Work on the planned $1B-$1.2B George Washington Bridge includes the replacement of suspension cables and

  Manhattan contractors are used to building in small spaces. But when an owner-developer joint venture team offered to custom-design a 24-story tower for Pace University housing at 180 Broadway, the idea of "small spaces" took on a new dimension. The $60-million project is in a particularly congested part of the city—and within two blocks of five other major construction jobs, including the World Trade Center redevelopment and the Fulton Street Transit Center, which is across the street.The 156,000-sq-ft structure on the 7,000-sq-ft site is also across the street from the historic Corbin Building, which is undergoing construction at 192

A state court has ordered the New York State Dept. of Transportation to cancel an interchange upgrade project already under way and rebid the job because the agency violated competitive bidding laws by requiring compliance with a project labor agreement or PLA.A state Supreme Court judge in Albany ruled on March 2 that including the labor pact was illegal in this case and "tainted" the bidding process by its inclusion. A state DOT statement says the agency is reviewing its options.At issue is a $72.4-million contract to upgrade an Orange County interchange that was awarded to joint-venture firm A. Servidone/B.

New York City has issued a request for proposals (RFPs) for construction of a waste-to-energy conversion facility. The project, part of a new waste-reduction plan under the PlaNYC initiative, aims to double the rate of waste diverted from landfills, primarily through increased reuse, recycling and composting. Proposals are due by June 5.   The city will not provide capital funding for the state-of-the-art plant but will pay a per-ton fee to the plant operator, said Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office in announcing the project on March 6. Private sector firms should submit plans for a pilot plant that would use sustainable

Columbia University is set to begin construction March 12 on an $8.9-million upgrade to its two-story, 22,500-sq-ft Core Lab facility on the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory campus in Palisades, N.Y. The project includes some demolition work to make room for lab space, says Jessica Vail, marketing manager at construction manager Sordoni Construction, Chester, N.J. Rendering Courtesy of Payette Sordoni and the design team of architectural firm Payette as well as Vanderweil Engineers, both of Boston, will provide design and construction services to renovate the majority of the existing lab building to create the new Lamont Center for Bio-Geochemistry. There is a

A state court has ordered the New York State Dept. of Transportation to cancel an interchange upgrade project already under way and rebid the job because the agency violated competitive bidding laws by requiring compliance with a project labor agreement. A state Supreme Court judge in Albany ruled that including the labor pact was illegal in this case and "tainted" the bidding process by its inclusion. The agency says in a statement that it is reviewing its options on the project "to maximize taxpayer dollars on this critically important transportation project." The agency halted all work on the project on

It will take months to determine the cause of the Feb. 16 accident at the 4 World Trade Center construction site in which a crane cable snapped, dropping its load of steel beams 40 stories, says the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. No one was injured at the site as the beams plummeted and hit the flatbed truck used to transport the load, says the agency, which is overseeing the investigation. Work has resumed at the site after part of it was shut down temporarily pending an investigation, the Port Authority says. “The crane in question is