A former chief inspector of New York City's buildings department may have incriminated himself twice while testifying in a criminal case against a crane executive—who was also his former boss. That was the view of lawyers for the victims of a fatal 2008 Manhattan crane collapse, for which James Lomma is on trial. He is accused of negligent homicide and other charges in the high-rise accident that killed operator Donald Leo and sewer worker Ramadan Kurtaj.Prosecutors believe the crane supplied by Lomma had a poorly repaired turntable. In his testimony, Michael Carbone, the former regulator and onetime employee of a
No need to put the Statue of Liberty on a pedestal—it has been on one for 125 years. But there is a need to upgrade both the pedestal and the statue itself so that they are compliant with current life-safety codes, says the owner, the U.S. Dept. of the Interior's National Park Service. And when it comes to the Statue of Liberty, even something as mundane sounding as a life-safety upgrade is anything but ordinary. During the $27.3-million renovation, the mandate from the park service is to protect the historic fabric of the monument, which is located on Liberty Island
New York state's recently passed legislation to allow design-build delivery for certain infrastructure projects may be more a sign of the economically troubled times than a whole-hearted vote for this alternative project delivery system, say some industry players."We've seen quite a number of states in the last few years that have passed legislation allowing for public-private partnerships, and, if there are public-private partnership laws, design-build really has to be a part of them," says Mike Schneider, managing partner at Los Angeles-based InfraConsult LLC, which specializes in transportation consulting.Helping to drive this trend is the scarcity of federal infrastructure funding coupled
Photo Courtesy of AP Wideworld The Chamber of Turkish Engineers and Architects says 40% of Turkeys housing needs to be reinforced or rebuilt to avert disaster in seismic events such as the one that struck the province of Van. Scenes of collapsed buildings and rescuers pulling survivors from rubble once again show the acute need for seismic retrofitting and better- quality construction in Turkey.A sense of déjà vu envelops Turkey at the start of November, with 601 dead, 4,151 injured and 3,713 buildings destroyed or uninhabitable as a result of a 7.2-magnitude quake that struck the eastern province of Van
PHOTO BY ArcelorMittal Steel structural tower rises in London at Olympic Games site. The U.K.'s tallest sculpture—at 114.5 meters—reached structural completion on Oct. 28, when crews placed the top section of steel-tube diagrid. Designed as a permanent observation platform over London's emerging Olympic Park, the tower contains some 2,000 tonnes of steelwork. It was designed by local artist Anish Kapoor, along with structural engineer Cecil Balmond, former chairman of Arup Group Ltd., London. Steelcraft Erection Services Ltd., Dalton, is building the ArcelorMittal Orbit tower with tubular modules fabricated by the company's affiliate Watson Steel Structures Ltd., Bolton. The tower is
AP/Wide World Ercis, a town of 75,000 near the Iranian border, was the hardest hit. Related Links: A History of Turkish Earthquakes Turkish government agencies say the damage is widespread and severe from the 7.2 earthquake that rocked eastern Turkey on October 23.The quake destroyed 2,262 buildings, killing 366 people and injuring 1,301, according to AFAD, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management agency.Kockopru Dam, a 75-meter-high, clay core rock fill dam and hydro-electric powerplant on the Zilan River in the Lake Van Basin, withstood the earthquake with no damage. So did the other dams in the area, according to the State
Related Links: Joplin, Mo., Devastated by May 22 Tornado, Learning Lessons From Rubble Atlanta's Downtown Corridor Hammered by a Twister The EF-4 tornado that destroyed more than 3,041 homes and 400 businesses when it ripped through Tuscaloosa, Ala., in April changed the look and possibly the life of the city as it moves into recovery.The high winds also damaged more than 8,800 homes and almost 1,000 businesses and other structures.The city and county are starting to rebuild schools and public buildings after removing almost 800,000 cu yd of debris—including 2,879 stumps—replacing traffic lights and signs and restoring services.The six-mile-long, 1.5-mile-wide
“Tower Crews Get Royal Treatment” inaccurately references Atlantic Scaffolding, LaPorte, Texas, as the hoist provider on One World Trade Center.Atlantic Hoisting & Scaffolding LLC, Carlstadt, N.J., is providing scaffolding and hoist solutions for the project. Earlier this year, the firm was renamed Safway Atlantic LLC, after an acquisition by Safway Services LLC.Karla CuculiDirector of MarketingSafway Services LLC, Waukesha, Wis.
The article “Tower Crews Get Royal Treatment” by Nadine M. Post was very interesting with regard to the construction means and methods of One World Trade Center. I especially appreciated the visual aids that you provided (plans and isometric elevations) to facilitate understanding the process, though I suppose you were limited in what you could outline in your article.As you state in the piece, comprehensive and meticulous planning was crucial in establishing an efficient process that would achieve the schedule.Gino di Ciocco Hepworth, Di Ciocco & Associates Montreal, Quebec, Canada
PHOTO Courtesy of Balfour Beatty CONSTRUCTION A $534-million Army medical-center replacement at Fort Hood, Texas, broke ground in December. While many of the general building sectors remain in the doldrums, health-care projects continue to pump a steady stream of revenue for top contracting firms. Although the recession did create a pause in capital projects at many health systems, megaprojects—especially federally funded ones—are filling the pipelines of top firms. And as big-dollar projects wane, many companies hope to see a return to more traditional work in the near future.Skanska USA, New York City, is on track for one of its “better