Rendering courtesy of HKS Group Construction of stadium, scheduled to open for the 2016 football season, is just getting under way. Related Links: Minnesota Stadium Amenities Likely Getting Trimmed to Meet $975M Budget Estimate The Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed a motion by former Minneapolis mayoral candidate Doug Mann and several co-petitioners that delayed a crucial $468-million bond sale meant to pay for design and construction work—already performed—on the $1-billion Minnesota Vikings Stadium just getting under way. In a five-page order, the court says it does not have jurisdiction over the case.State budget officials are moving quickly to start the bond
Photo by Nicholas Zeman/ENR Work continues on new crossing in Long Beach, Calif., as heads roll. Related Links: http://enr.construction.com/infrastructure/transportation/2012/1231-long-beachs-long-term-view.asp http://enr.construction.com/infrastructure/transportation/2012/1231-long-beachs-long-term-view.asp A major port improvement program in Long Beach, Calif., is struggling in stormy waters amid personnel upheavals and the recent repeal of a cargo fee meant to help fund more than $4 billion in road, rail, environmental and dredging construction projects.Scores of contractors are in the midst of billions of dollars' worth of work, including the new Gerald Desmond Bridge on which site-prep complications added $136 million to its $1-billion price tag. Also, the $1.2-billion Middle Harbor project estimate recently
photo Courtesy of Poet-DSM The EPA is expected to cut biofuel requirements for 2014, putting plantssuch as this one in Emmetsburg, Iowaat risk. Related Links: Kansas Ethanol Plant Prepares To Fire Up Anaerobic Digester China Backs Cellulosic Ethanol Producer That DOE Rejected A trio of cellulosic ethanol plants in the final stages of construction in Iowa and Kansas are being threatened by an Environmental Protection Agency proposal aiming to cut federal renewable-fuel mandates.Officials at Poet-DSM, Dupont Chemical and Abengoa Bioenergy say the plants—each worth $200 million to $250 million—have taken more than a decade to develop and build. According to
Image Courtesy of Nalcor Energy The $7.8-billion Muskrat Falls project would ensure a reliable power supply to the province, backers say. Opponents see it as a dubious scheme with little benefit. Related Links: Risks Pile Up At Canada's Muskrat Falls Hydro Provincial Fact Sheet: Muskrat Falls Rolling blackouts and power outages throughout Canada's Newfoundland and Labrador province in January have prompted the Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities (PUB) to launch a probe into Nalcor Energy and its management of power generation and transmission infrastructure.PUB's announcement of the investigation comes after a number of public complaints claimed that utility corporations
Rendering Courtesy of Millennium Partners The California Geological Survey's map of the Hollywood fault and its connected splays and traces show proposed Millennium Hollywood (above) and the underway BLVD 6200 (below) projects atops splays of the active fault. Photo by Nicholas Zeman for ENR Related Links: Suit Against Los Angeles Triggers Debate Over Building on Hollywood Fault California Geological Survey Millennium Hollywood BLVD 6200 The California Geological Survey's recently released map of active splays around the 10-mile Hollywood fault in Los Angeles shows two projects—one proposed and one under construction—in violation of state law because they are sited atop splays
Related Links: Shale Plays Pump Up Pipeline Sector Bakken Shale Field Pushing East Coast Rail Terminal Projects Some are calling for the progress of pipeline projects in the aftermath of the Dec. 30 derailment and explosion of a Burlington Northern Sante Fe freight train carrying crude oil from the Bakken shale formation through Casselton, N.D. It was the fourth such incident in North America in 2013.In October, the Fraser Institute, a public-policy think tank in Calgary, Alberta, released a report titled "Intermodal Transport in the Safety of Oil," written by Kenneth Green. "Truck and rail have a higher rate of
Courtesy of CHS Inc. Minnesotas CHS Inc., the nations largest agricultural cooperative, has a plant under construction in Shelby, Mont., above, and another under development near Spiritwood, N.D. Related Links: Texas town sues fertilizer supplier after blast Over the past 18 months, an abundance of natural gas and record-breaking commodities prices brightened prospects for engineers and contractors involved in the business of building new fertilizer manufacturing capacity. NPK Fertilizer Advisory Service, St. Louis, recalls dozens of announcements for new plants and capacity expansion during this time, but the market has cooled a bit and industry newcomers could find margins very
Rosatom The Russian Federation hopes its nuclear-building efforts, such as its Baltic NPP reactor near the Lithuanian border, will help support a new era of infrastructure. Related Links: Russian Rail Link to North Korea Rebuilt Worldwide Workflow Is Growing As An Industry Project Norm Global Best Projects Winner, Power Industrial: CCPP Yajva State District Powerplant, Perm, Russia Twin Spans Set a New Pace in Russia's Far East Relentless scrutiny of troubled projects for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and efforts to grow Russia's energy exports have resulted in the country forming, on Nov. 5, a national Construction, Housing and Utilities
Photo courtesy of Partnerships BC Replacement for the 65-year-old John Hart Generating Station will be partially underground to protect fish habitat, boost seismic safety and improve power reliability. Despite recent criticism of exorbitant rate increases tied to its building program, Canadian provincial utility company BC Hydro awarded a $900-million contract to the design-build team of Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin and Argentina-based IMPSA to replace the 65-year-old John Hart Generating Station on Vancouver Island.The project involves the construction of a replacement water intake at the John Hart Spillway Dam, replacement of the three penstocks with an approximately 1.2-mile-long tunnel, construction of a new
Related Links: 'Process' Rules for University of Houston CM Students Map: Progress of Announced Gulf Coast Megaprojects Could Depend on Staffing Panelists at First ENR Energy Conference on Nov. 15 Note Market's Promise and Challenges If they plan to build it, will the workforce come?That is the question for many as the construction industry—along with owners, educators and economic boosters—scramble to meet current and projected staffing needs for skilled craft, technical, engineering and project-management employees in the wake of what could be an unprecedented petrochemical and energy project boom in North America, particularly along the U.S. Gulf Coast.The surge, driven
