AGC of America this week filed an Emergency Petition with California’s Air Resources Board seeking a two-year implementation delay of its off-road “diesel retrofit” rule. AGC cited the delay is needed in order to avoid unnecessary losses and layoffs within the state’s hard hit construction industry while CARB continues to review its diesel rules. The petition cited new data that shows California's off-road diesel equipment will be well below current emissions targets for years to come. “Contractors don’t need to retrofit, repower or replace a single piece of equipment to meet the state’s emissions targets for the next two years, and possibly
A California contractor was awarded one of the largest U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contracts for a $5 million irrigation project in the National Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyoming. Photo Courtesy of Yerba Buena Engineering and Construction Inc. California Firm Tapped to Irrigate Elk Refuge Yerba Buena Engineering and Construction, Inc. a San Francisco-based minority-owned small business will install more than 5 mi of irrigation pipe in the 25,000-acre park to replace what Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Michael Mascari called “pioneer-era canals.” Yerba Buena proposed using polyethylene pipe and small sprinklers. The raw materials
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission recently approved a contract with Michels/JayDee/Coluccio Joint Venture (MJC) to construct the first tunnel under the San Francisco Bay. This tunnel will ensure delivery of drinking water from the Hetch Hetchy Valley to Bay Area customers in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties after a major seismic event or other system outages. Photo: Mountain Cascade Inc. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission recently approved a contract with Michels/JayDee/Coluccio Joint Venture to construct the first tunnel under the San Francisco Bay as part of the $4.6 billion dollar Hetch Hetchy Water System Improvement Program.
The Sacramento First Task Force, which was formed to find the ways and means to build an entertainment and sports complex downtown, reports that seven firms and individuals submitted proposals for the new complex, and recently presented their visions to the public at an open house. Photo credit: The Railyards The Railyards redevelopment site is the choice of two developers for the new entertainment and sports complex. The task force will evaluate the proposals in the coming weeks as it prepares to make recommendations to Mayor Kevin Johnson in March. Mayor Johnson formed the Sacramento First citizen’s task force in
Despite signs that the overall U.S. economy is beginning to improve, nonresidential construction spending is expected to decrease by 13.4% in 2010 with a marginal increase of 1.8% in 2011 in inflation adjusted terms, according to the latest American Institute of Architects semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast. Commercial and industrial projects will continue to see the most significant decrease in activity, the forecast says. Thanks, in part, to federal stimulus spending, institutional building categories will fare better over this period. �When economies emerge from this prolonged recession, recovery for nonresidential construction activity typically takes longer,� says AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker,
While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was emphasizing job creation in his final State of the State address this week, his appointed stimulus Inspector General Laura Chick was criticizing a two-month backlog for projects needing an okay from the Office of Historic Preservation. The governor says he wants to foster a business-friendly economy and create jobs via his proposed California Jobs Initiative, which will create or retain up to 100,000 jobs and provide training to 140,000 people to enable them to keep their current positions or compete for higher paying jobs. In his speech, he says he also wants to propose a
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Northwest Construction launched the Legacy Awards at the 2009 Best of breakfast, to recognize individuals who have made a lasting change in the local construction industry. The 2009 award went to Jack Rafn, Rafn Co., Bellevue, who sat on the original steering committee that contacted Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) National and requested chapter-in-formation status. Photo Credit: ABC Jack Rafn worked to maintain cooperative relationships with all project team members, a controversial idea when he started his company in 1978. Rafn Company lost a job they had been low bidder on, solely because of their open shop status. This discrimination
McGraw-Hill Construction is forecasting that total construction starts will climb 11% to $466.2 billion in 2010, following an estimated 25% decline in 2009. Bob Murray is vice president of economic affairs with McGraw-Hill Construction. Related Links: McGraw-Hill Construction is forecasting mixed numbers for the Southwest. After a 39% drop in construction between 2006 and 2009, an improving residential market and signs of strength in select public-sector markets such as transportation and infrastructure could spark an overall turnaround in 2010, says Bob Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. "This is not a booming market; it is just inching
McCarthy Building Cos. has been awarded the design-build contract for a $79.9 million athletic complex at West Los Angeles College in conjunction with LPA Inc. of Irvine. McCarthy Building Cos. has been awarded the design-build contract for a $79.9 million athletic complex at West Los Angeles College in conjunction with LPA Inc. of Irvine. “The Los Angeles Community College District has planned more than $6 billion in construction projects for its nine campuses, all of which will be built to LEED® certification standards,” says Rob F. Ragland, PE, project director for McCarthy. “This athletic center at West Los Angeles College not
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