Prototype Small Units Take Aim At NYC Housing Shortage

Monadnock Development, with the Actors Fund Housing Development Corp., is the winner of a New York City competition, called adAPT NYC, to build "micro-housing" on a city site in Manhattan. The 10-story building, designed by nArchitects, will contain 55 modular apartments, from 250 to 370 sq ft—40% of which will have under-market-rate rents. The units will meet all regulations, except for city density and minimum unit-size rules. If the prototype is successful, the city will consider changing those rules, says Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Though no contractor has been named, Capsys Corp. will assemble the modules. Occupancy is expected in late 2015.

All 2,400 Panels To Be Removed From Troubled Boston Tunnel

Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation officials said on Jan. 16 that they would remove all 2,400 wall panels from the Callahan Tunnel following an incident on Dec. 21 when a panel fell into moving traffic in the tunnel. Following the incident, which caused no injuries or vehicle damage, the agency closed the tunnel to perform load tests on all the panels and then removed 121 wall panels near where the incident occurred. While the agency originally intended to wait before doing anything further, it said test analysis indicated it would be easier and more cost-effective to remove all the panels while MassDOT designs the rehabilitation of the entire tunnel, scheduled in 2014.

Work Starts on New $2.6-billion, 2,500-ft-Long Ohio River Bridge

Building demolition and tree cutting along rights-of-way for a $2.6-billion Ohio River Bridges project will get started on Jan. 15. The Indiana Dept. of Transportation, which is supervising the 2,500-ft-long East End Crossing, has let contracts of $856,000 and $641,405, respectively, to Gohmann Construction Inc. and Dan Cristiani Excavating, both of Clarksville, Ind., for the demolition and clearance. Gohmann also has a $3.2-million contract to construct a 3,000-ft-long road and a 170-ft-long bridge that will link to the East End bridge.

Oregon's U.S. 20 Gets New Life

The Oregon Transportation Commission has given new life to the ill-fated U.S. 20 highway project, choosing to add $141.8 million to the budget and another year to the timeline while more study is done in the landslide-prone area. Construction started on the project in 2005, but the area's propensity to shift knocked bridge bents out of alignment on the 5.5-mile project. The project is now funded at $365.7 million, up from the original $150 million.

DOE's New $28-billion Plan for Storing Nuclear Waste

The Dept. of Energy on Jan. 11 released a comprehensive strategy for storing and disposing of the nation's nuclear waste that would lead to the opening of a new geologic waste repository by 2048. The findings match a plan suggested last January by President Obama's Blue Ribbon Commission on nuclear waste, including a community-consent-based approach to nuclear-waste siting as well as the creation of a new, quasi-independent U.S. nuclear-waste oversight agency. That agency would manage the $28 billion paid into the Nuclear Waste Fund by utilities for the federal government to manage nuclear waste as well as the $750 million collected each year from utilities for handling nuclear waste. Congressional approval is required. The government plans to pick a site by 2026, design and license the repository by 2042 and start operating by 2048.