Articles by Louise Poirier

Sundt Construction Inc., along with partners URS Corp. and Civil Engineering Consultants (CEC), were selected as the design-build team for the City of San Antonio’s $62 million Hausman Road project. This is the city’s first-ever design-build road improvement project. Related Links: Sundt Construction Inc. URS Corp. Civil Engineering Consultants “Schedule was one of the big factors in going design build for this project. They City of San Antonio traditionally utilized design-bid-build delivery method. This would have added a year or more to the completion of the project. The city also recognizes this is a high visibility project with a lot

Some new specialty material production units under Dow Chemical Co.’s Performance Plastics franchise are coming to the Gulf Coast. Related Links: Dow Chemical Co. The company has announced that over the next five to seven years, these projects along with others included in its U.S. Gulf Coast investment plan, will support more than 35,000 jobs. Collectively, Dow expects the new Performance Plastics facilities will employ up to 3,000 workers at peak construction.“Dow is currently exploring specific locations on the U.S. Gulf Coast, with final investment locations to be determined at a later date,” says Dow spokesperson Nancy Lamb. “We have

To bring liquefied natural gas (LNG) to its marine and heavy-duty customers in North America, Shell is investing in two small-scale liquefaction units. A 0.25 million tons per year unit will be installed at the company’s Geismar Chemicals facility in Geismar, La., while the another unit of the same size will be installed at Shell’s Sarnia Manufacturing Centre in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Related Links: Shell Global “The primary plant components will be prefabricated, however some supporting elements may be constructed on site,” says Shell’s Kayla Macke. “Construction and installation contracting will be conducted through Shell’s normal contracting and procurement processes.”According

A fter years of being "repurposed by attrition," as the project team puts it, a building in Plano, Texas, that has housed the city's government operations for 47 years is finally getting a real makeover. The much-needed $8-million face-lift and expansion of the facility, which now centralizes technology, communication and data services for the city's traffic, police, fire department and administration will now become the Plano Technology Services Center, a Tier 3 data center. Related Links: Alliance Architects, Inc. Turner Construction Co. In 2011, the City of Plano saw it had a need for a consolidated data center, says Jim

Sundt Construction, Inc.’s Texas Division will construct a replacement terminal building at the Wichita Falls Municipal Airport. Photo courtesy of URS Airport Services A rendering of the replacement terminal that Sundt Construction will start building at the Wichita Falls Municipal Airport this summer. Related Links: Sundt Construction, Inc. Wichita Falls Municipal Airport For this project, Sundt has a local joint venture partner, contractor Trinity Hughes. The design architect is URS, teamed with local architect Bundy, Young, Sims & Potter.“The Wichita Falls Municipal Airport is a joint-use facility, located at Sheppard Air Force Base,” says Robert Schmidt, aviation engineering manager with URS

Construction on the University of Houston’s new football stadium is now underway. Design firms PageSoutherlandPage and DLR Group, as well as contractor Manhattan Construction and university staffers celebrated the project’s groundbreaking February 8 near downtown Houston. Photo courtesy of PageSoutherlandPage The University of Houston hosted the groundbreaking of its new stadium February 8. Shown from left to right: Jonathan Thurston, Executive Director of UH Facilities Planning & Construction; Matt Doffing, Manhattan Construction; Duane Duffy, Manhattan Construction; David Quenemoen, PageSoutherlandPage; Rob Owens, PageSoutherlandPage; Don Barnum, DLR Group; Greg Garlock, DLR Group; Tony Levine, UH Football Coach; Mack Rhoades, UH Vice President

A $53.25 million student housing project will break ground in in March 2013 at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). Hill & Wilkinson has been awarded the contract on the new student housing living/learning center, a construction management-at-risk project that was designed by HKS Architects Inc. Rendering by HKS Architects A rendering of the new University of Texas at Dallas Student Living Learning Center, which is seeking LEED silver certification. Related Links: Hill & Wilkinson University of Texas at Dallas The student housing living/learning center is the fifth campus construction project awarded to Hill & Wilkinson by UTD. The

Photo by Joe Dunn/Flatiron Related Links: Best of the Best Projects 2012 Winners Entries for ENR's First Global Best Projects Competition Are Due Feb. 28 Built Above Wildly Erratic River Levels, Cable-Stayed Giant Rises Over the Flood Considered to be the longest cable-stayed span in North America, the John James Audubon Bridge now connects U.S. 61 to Louisiana Highway 1 as well as the communities of New Roads and St. Francisville, La., on the Mississippi River. Featuring a 1,583-ft-long main span, the 3,186-ft-long bridge is also the only Mississippi River crossing along the 90-mile stretch from Natchez, Miss., to Baton

Winners were recognized in 13 categories at the Austin Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America’s annual Outstanding Construction Awards at the end of January. Photo by Jackie Jackson The Austin Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America honored projects from across Central Texas at its annual Outstanding Construction Awards. Related Links: Austin Associated General Contractors The contest honored projects completed during 2012.“This year’s winners featured the usual mix of both small and large projects, including the incredibly successful Circuit of the Americas/Formula 1 project,” says Phil Thoden, president and CEO of the Austin Chapter of AGC. “Though