On The Scene

April 18, 2011

On The Scene April 18, 2011

Perot Museum of Nature & Science Onlookers cheer as the ceremonial beam is placed at a topping-out event held on March 10 for the Perot Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas. The gathering took place on the 17th floor of Park Seventeen, which overlooks the construction site. Ross and Margot Perot and family members along with Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne were among those who signed the steel beam topping the structure, which was hoisted into place by a crane operator for contractor Balfour Beatty. Plans call for the beams to be placed in a permanent spot within glass walls of the building elevators. The structure is being built on a 4.7-acre site in Victory Park adjacent to downtown. It will be 12 to 14 stories, and is scheduled for completion in early 2013.

Speed Fab-Crete At the State of the City function held Feb. 23 by Fort Worth Mayor Michael J. Moncrief, Speed Fab-Crete, a 60-year-old Texas design-build general contractor, was named the 2011 Small Business of the Year by city�s Chamber of Commerce. Criteria for the award includes business growth and performance; sound business strategies and practices; customer service; innovative business approaches; community involvement and contribution; and employee relations. The firm�s president and partner, David Bloxom, accepted the award on behalf of the firm.

Nucor Corp., Nucor Corp., Charlotte, N.C., broke ground on March 7 on a $750-million facility in St. James Parish, La. Nucor�s chairman and CEO, Dan DiMicco (second from right), spoke at the event, along with Gov. Bobby Jindal (at podium) and Stephen Moret (second from left), economic development secretary for Louisiana. The facility will produce direct reduced iron, which is used by Nucor�s steel mills, along with recycled scrap, to produce steel products such as sheet and special bar quality steel. Nucor says it will build one plant initially, but has permits to build and operate two plants with a combined annual production of 5.5 million tons. The facility is the first stage of a multi-phase plan that may include a coke plant, blast furnace, pellet plant and steel mill.

The Louisiana Dept. of Transportation and Development The Louisiana Dept. of Transportation and Development broke ground on a $25.7-million project to widen Interstate-12 from four to six lanes at a ceremony in Slidell, La., on March 2. James Construction LLC, Baton Rouge, began preconstruction in January, and is set to finish in summer 2012. Gov. Bobby Jindal called the project �critical� and added that it is �funded entirely with surplus money from 2008�and builds on our total $220-million investment in I-12.� In St. Tammany Parish alone, the Jindal administration has invested $122.2 million in transportation projects. Statewide, he has announced $3.6 billion in state and federal funds for transportation and road projects.