Debate over the use of E-Verify—a federal database used for confirming employment eligibility in the United States—turned confrontational at a jobsite in Tullytown, Pa., on Oct. 13. State Rep. John Galloway (D-Bucks County) walked onto a site at the Levittown Town Center and began shooting video while asking the project superintendent about the employment status of bricklayers working that day. “Are there illegals working on this site?” Galloways asks on the video, which was posted by the Bucks County Courier Times. “Do they have papers?” The superintendent, who works for the project’s construction manager, ECS Construction Management, Bethlehem, Pa., told
Iceland’s erupting volcano and the breadth of global disruption it caused last spring is a clear indication of “just how connected the world is,” says Lester Gerhardt, an electrical and computer engineering professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y. He would know. Gerhardt leads global study programs at the school and is a co-founder and chairman of the New York City-based Global Engineering Education Exchange. The group of nearly 80 U.S. and overseas engineering schools has fostered global study since the mid-1990s. However, today, more engineering and construction education programs are expanding offerings and connections in international study. “More employers
Federal agency procurement officers are breathing a bit easier after a mad dash to obligate their remaining American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars by Sept. 30, the deadline for committing many stimulus-act construction dollars. Agencies have seen bids on ARRA-funded projects come in well below initial estimates, opening opportunities to redirect those savings to thousands of additional projects. A White House report, released on Oct. 1, says eight agencies were able to fund more than 3,000 additional projects beyond their original projections. Those agencies include the Depts. of Defense, Interior, Labor, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency and the
In an area where many people bank on their political capital, Washington, D.C.-area developers are aiming these days to build sustainability capital. Photo Courtesy KlingStubbins KlingStubbins, in association with RTKL of Baltimore, designed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Central Shared Use Facility in White Oak, Md. The design incorporated an early local example of a large vegetative roof. Photo Courtesy SmithGroup SmithGroup designed Goodpaster Hall at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, which achieved a LEED Silver rating. The building’s brick exterior blends in with the campus’ traditional 17th century style. Related Links: Top Design Top Design Ranking In light
Image Courtesy Eisenhower Memorial Commission A model of the planned Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, as designed by Frank Gehry. Gilbane Building Co. of Laurel, Md., is overseeing design and construction management of the memorial. Related Links: Washington, D.C., Report The ongoing effort to memorialize significant figures in U.S. history and honor the country’s diverse cultural traditions along the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is ushering in several large design and construction projects in the coming years. Next year, crews expect to complete the new Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial on a 4-acre plot along the Tidal Basin. The scope
No metro area has benefitted more from the uptick in federal spending on construction than did Washington, D.C., but the area hasn’t been immune from the woes of private-sector development. Contractors continue to see limited opportunities in commercial and multiunit residential work, making competition for federal work even more intense. One hope now is that once government projects start to slow down, the private sector can find its footing and begin to build again. Stephen Fuller, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., says he still sees a lot of hesitation in the
The new United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., will greet visitors to the nation’s capital with a sweeping white glass roof that evokes the image of a white dove of peace in flight. The 154,000-sq-ft, five-story office building, located in the northwestern corner of the National Mall near the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge, respects the context of its historic surroundings while offering a striking modern addition to the National Mall. Moshe Safdie Associates of New York designed the project as three buildings connected with glass-enclosed atria. The base buildings are clad in precast panels that blend with their
Poor management of available resources at the Virginia Dept. of Transportation resulted in $877 million in transportation funds left unspent during the last two fiscal years, says an independent audit commissioned by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R).
Poor management of available resources at the Virginia Dept. of Transportation resulted in $877 million in transportation funds left unspent during the last two fiscal years, says an independent audit commissioned by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R). Photo: Virginia Governor’s office Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell wants recently uncovered transportation funds contracted by Dec. 1. Some of that funding carried over from previous fiscal years will be used to help VDOT award $800 to $900 million in contracts by Dec. 1. “This audit demonstrates that available funding has not been effectively used in the past few years,” McDonnell said Sept. 23.
For construction labor, the pain brought on by the recession is being felt in the paycheck. While unemployment remains historically high and contractor backlogs evaporate, most workers see limited increases in wages and fringes, and many are seeing wages frozen or even cut. Photo: Tudor Van Hamptom for ENR Dwindling profits leave little room for firms to reward workers. Related Links: Economics: With Margins Cut to the Bone and No Demand, Costs Are Left With Nowhere To Go Market: More Bad Economic News Dims Industrys Confidence Cement: New EPA Regs Pose Cost Problems Insurance: Recession and Politics Impact Workers Comp
