The proposed $6-billion, DesertXpress high-speed passenger train project recently cleared its first major hurdle with the March 24 release of its final environmental impact statement. Circle Point, San Francisco, prepared the report on behalf of the Federal Railroad Administration. A record of decision is expected this spring. Photo courtesy US DOT Fares would be $50 to ride the steel-wheel trains. DesertXpress will follow the Interstate 15 alignment between Victorville, Calif. and Las Vegas, using existing right-of-way either along the median or roadside, and will build two passenger stations, a maintenance-storage-operation facility and three electrical substations. The project�s overhead catenary electric
The long saga of the construction of Tempe�s tallest residential towers, begun in 2005, may soon reach its final chapter after this week�s ribbon cutting for the project�s new leasing office. Formerly Centerpoint Condominiums, the two-tower development in the heart of Tempe�s Mill Avenue district was recently re-christened West 6th Tempe to signify a switch from condos to rentals, and construction crews have been back at work for several weeks. Photo by Scott Blair Holding the scissors, Kent Chantung (l) and Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman (r) cut a ribbon to signify the opening of West 6th Tempe�s leasing office. Photo
The first of nine potential geothermal powerplants being developed by Reno, Nev.-based Gradient Resources will be built by McLean, Va.-based Science Applications International Corp.�s design-build subsidiary, Benham Constructors LLC. Photo: put photo credit here Gradient Resources operates a flow test well at its Patua site, approximately 38 miles east of Reno near Fernley. Construction of the 60-MW powerplant at Gradient�s Patua site, near Fernley, Nev., will begin the second quarter of this year, with commercial operation expected in the third quarter of 2017. No contract value was given to the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the estimated $270-million project.
A stumbling economy has claimed another victim on the Las Vegas Strip. The two-tower, 1,720-room Sahara Hotel & Casino will close on May 16 amid funding woes that have temporarily stalled redevelopment plans. Photo: Courtesy Sahara Hotel & Casino Las Vegas hotel was a popular tourist and entertainment spot in the 1950s, but tough economics are forcing its closure. Los Angeles-based owner SBE Entertainment Group will shutter the 59-year-old resort on 17.5 acres because continued operation is �no longer economically viable,� a company statement said. The closure will likely affect the bankrupt 3.9-mile Las Vegas Monorail, which has a passenger
Work has resumed on the Steve Herrera Judicial Complex in downtown Santa Fe, N.M., after a plume of free-phase hydrocarbons, leaked from 1920s-era leaded-gasoline tanks, led to a two-year delay. In 2009, demolition of the site�s existing structures had been completed and excavation for the 103,000-sq-ft, three-story building had begun when the owner, Santa Fe County, and the New Mexico Environment Dept. dug test wells that revealed the extent of the contamination. Rendering: NCA Architects Work on a $38.5-million courthouse in Santa Fe finally progresses after extensive soil remediation. Rendering: NCA Architects Stalled Santa Fe Courthouse Work Resumes After Cleanup.
Article toolbar Solar module manufacturer First Solar Inc., Tempe, Ariz., has selected Mesa, Ariz. as the site of a new fabrication plant. The $300-million first phase is scheduled to break ground later this year, with operations beginning third quarter 2012. Photo courtesy First Solar The plant will produce 250 MW of thin-film photovoltaic modules per year, to be used in numerous solar generating facilities throughout the world. Photo courtesy First Solar First Solar�s manufacturing plant in Mesa will have a 3-MW rooftop solar array to generate power, similar to this one atop the company�s Perrysburg, Ohio plant. Photo courtesy First
WILSON David H. Wilson has been named chairman of the board and president of Gannett Fleming West Inc. Based in the firm’s Albuquerque, N.M., office, Wilson has 18 years of experience at Gannett Fleming. Wilson has also been named the regional office manager of the Albuquerque and Santa Fe offices. Wilson holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at University of New Mexico. He is a founding board member of the Intelligent Transportation Society of New Mexico. JMA Architecture Studios has hired several new employees. Patrick R. Hanson , intern architect,
Article toolbar The building teams of the largest 25 project starts in 2010 moved forward during the height of one of the worst recessions to hit the U.S. The Southwest was especially hard hit, as the total value of the largest starts makes clear. The value of projects on the list in 2008 was $14.8 billion; in 2010 it was only $2.9 billion. Photo Courtesy Of Visions In Photography Public Work Publicly funded projects dominate the Top Starts list, from the $84.7-million Santan Freeway design-build project in Chandler and Gilbert. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
Article toolbar An effort to create wetlands out of dry chaparral in the Arizona desert has begun two new phases of work to support emergent marshes completed last year. The three-phase, $230-million Tres Rios Ecosystem Restoration and Flood Control Project is designed to improve a seven-mile-long section of the Salt and Gila rivers in southwestern Phoenix. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project is being built in coordination with the City of Phoenix. The wetlands are sustained using reclaimed water from the city’s 91st Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant, near the convergence of the Salt, Agua Fria and Gila rivers. Last
Salt River Project has provided water and power to the Sonoran Desert for more than 100 years and is continuing to lay the foundation for a bright future despite formidable hurdles from the recession and increasing demands to reduce carbon emissions.
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