The garage is part of the airport’s $1.3-billion SMForward capital program that will improve and upgrade convenience, comfort and accessibility at SMF.

When complete in May 2026, the garage will provide more than 5,500 parking spaces across six levels. Construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2024.

Calif. Agency Begins Safety Inspector Recruitment Drive

As part of an effort to enlist more inspectors and investigators who can help enforce labor laws for safer workplaces, the California Dept. of Industrial Relations (DIR) has launched a statewide recruitment drive. The goal is to hire additional enforcement staff for Cal/OSHA and the Labor Commissioner’s Office.

As part of this initiative, DIR launched a revamped website (dircareers.com) and public awareness campaign to showcase the opportunities available and offer career guidance.

 

STV to Help Support WSDOT Improvement Projects

As part of the Washington State Dept. of Transportation’s (WSDOT) statewide Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) program plan, STV has signed a contract with the agency to provide comprehensive engineering and advisory services.

WSDOT’s TSMO plan will enhance safety, reliability, equity and sustainability of the department’s existing and future transportation systems. STV’s agreement spans five years and may be extended at the state’s discretion.

The contract encompasses possible work assignments across all facets of TSMO’s five pillar elements, from policy development to transportation operations, intelligent transportation systems, transportation demand management as well as smart and emerging technologies.

 

Flatiron Secures $200M in SoCal Infrastructure Work

To deliver a series of infrastructure projects across Southern California, Flatiron is collaborating with several construction partners and clients.

A joint venture of Flatiron, Skanska and Stacy Witbeck was awarded the North Coast Corridor (NCC) Segment 4C collaborative delivery project. This $72.5-million job is one of the California Dept. of Transportation’s first CM/GC collaborative delivery projects. The NCC includes a combination of transportation improvement, environmental protection and coastal access projects.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) awarded Flatiron a $99.6-million contract for the Eastbound State Route 91 (EB SR-91) Atlantic to Cherry Improvements project.

Scope of work includes an eastbound auxiliary lane between the I-710 freeway and the Atlantic Avenue on-ramp and the Cherry Avenue off-ramp. The EB SR-91 project marks the fourth recent collaboration between LA Metro and Flatiron in the Los Angeles area.

Flatiron will also lead the Fenton Parkway Bridge project in San Diego. The $28-million CMAR project will see an approximately 450-ft bridge extend from Fenton Parkway over the San Diego River to Camino Del Rio North, introducing a north-south roadway not subject to flooding that is at grade with the trolley crossing. The bridge will have up to four spans and feature combined bicycle and pedestrian pathways to meet the community’s diverse transportation needs. Construction of Fenton Parkway Bridge is scheduled to begin in October 2024.

 

California, China Strengthen Global Climate Action

In early April, California Secretary for Environmental Protection Yana Garcia and California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin traveled to China to advance critical subnational partnerships on climate and identify additional opportunities for collaboration and shared learning.

The trip, which took officials to Shanghai and Hong Kong as well as the provinces of Guangdong and Hainan, builds upon Gov. Gavin Newsom’s visit in October 2023, when California signed five memorandums of understanding (MOUs) that strengthened California’s work with China on climate action.

During the visit, the secretaries also finalized the 2024 implementation workplans for two of California’s MOUs with Chinese provinces and municipalities. The first was the Shanghai MOU, from October 2023, which declares California and Shanghai’s plan to build on the green shipping corridors between Shanghai and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The two will also explore joint action on air quality, greenhouse gas emission reductions, clean energy, climate adaptation and resilience, and nature-based climate solutions.

The second was the Hainan MOU, from August 2023. It outlines five areas of cooperation between California and Hainan: cutting air pollution, developing and implementing climate adaptation and carbon neutrality plans, advancing clean energy, accelerating zero-emission vehicles and driving nature-based solutions.

 

Granite Wins Final Contract For Bridge to Cross Denali Park Landslide in Alaska

A Granite drill rig stands at the ready, with the snowcapped Denali in the distance.
Photo courtesy of Granite Construction

On Feb. 1, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded Granite with the last construction contract on the Polychrome Area Improvements project in Denali National Park, Alaska. The $112-million contract completes the scope of work the National Park Service (NPS) has planned for the project, bringing the combined value of all awarded options to $207.79 million.

The project is located at the Pretty Rocks Landslide, which intersects Denali Park Road near its midpoint at mile 45.4. Scope of work includes construction of an approximately 475-ft-long single-span steel truss bridge to cross the active landslide. Additional work includes ground improvements, support systems and thermosyphons, which are part of a passive heat exchange system designed to prevent permafrost from thawing and creating instability.

Construction began in 2023 with mobilization, worker camp development, pioneering access across a landslide, blasting and mass earthwork. Work planned for the 2024 season includes completion of mass earthwork, construction of the bridge abutments, installation of a temporary launching system and partial erection of the structural steel bridge.

FHWA expects bridge erection to continue through 2025, when the structure to span the landslide will also be moved into place. Scope of work in 2026 will include setting precast bridge approaches, building a retaining wall, installing thermosyphon condensers, coating the bridge deck and demobilization.