As part of its effort to enhance safety on the state highway system, the Colorado Dept. of Transportation has installed a pilot system to monitor the structural behavior of its bridges. CDOT installed the equipment in early Steptember under the Williams Canyon Bridge on U.S. 24 at the west end of Manitou Springs. With the technology in place, CDOT will be able to monitor the structure’s movements from its Denver headquarters. It is the first bridge in the state to have this technology. “We’re in the testing phase at this point but it’s important to find out how well it works in
Construction employment stagnated in August, while the industry unemployment rate fell and a majority of companies reported difficulty finding workers, according to a recent analysis of new government data and an industry survey by the Associated General Contractors of America. “After a strong rebound in 2012, construction hiring and spending have been stuck in neutral through most of 2013,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “Yet the unemployment rate for former construction workers hit the lowest August level in five years, suggesting that experienced workers are leaving the industry rather than returning to it. As a result, firms are
Two upcoming hot tickets in Las Vegas both will feature the Harmon Hotel—once the planned showstopper of the huge CityCenter development, but now unfinished and unopened. Image: ENR The abandoned Harmon Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev. Related Links: Court Drama Over Harmon Hotel Defects to Continue into 2014 MGM Aims To Bulldoze Unfinished Harmon Tower in Vegas The $279-million hotel soon faces court-approved demolition and also is the subject of a construction-defect trial set for next February that pits co-owner MGM Resorts International against general contractor Tutor Perini Building Corp. Both events will be closely watched.Still unclear, however, is what
There is a new law on the books that will affect contractors and design-builders doing business in Utah. Related Links: Does Your Contract Call For Liquidated Damages or a Penalty? A Common-Sense Solution to Mitigation of Damages Rule The Utah Supreme Court recently simplified the test that determines whether a court will enforce a liquidated damages clause. The clause provides a way to calculate damages up front if there is a breach of contract or a delay in project completion.When the contract is breached, the law aims to restore both parties to where they would have been had the contract
Saturation divers, working one at a time, are nearing the end of a repair project on a pumped-storage hydroelectric system at Horse Mesa Dam on the Salt River in central Arizona. The repair will reestablish 97 megawatts of peak-load generating capacity that was lost 13 months ago, when failure of a guide vane sent about 50 tons of concrete shooting down the penstock serving the turbines. Related Links: Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge Dedicated “It is our largest hydro-generation asset on the Salt River,” says Roger Baker, principal engineer for hydro-generation at the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Salt River Project,
On Friday, August 23, Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez approved CityCenter's motion to raze the 26-story, $275 million Harmon Hotel tower following a fourth round of destructive testing. Officials will immediately start planning for the demolition, which could happen within a year, despite a pending February 2014 lawsuit filed by Tutor Perini Building Corp. over $191 million in disputed unpaid bills.Harmon Hotel was part of the $8.5-billion, 18-million-sq-ft CityCenter complex, which opened in Dec. 2009 on the Las Vegas Strip.In the past, Tutor Perini has blamed problems in the building on a faulty design. The firm has also fought
New construction starts are forecast to rise 6% this year to $506 billion, according to a Midyear Update to the “2013 Construction Outlook” from McGraw Hill Construction, a division of McGraw Hill Financial. This is the same rate of increase for total construction starts predicted last October, and follows the 8% gain that took place in 2012. “The recovery for construction continues to unfold in a selective manner, proceeding against the backdrop of the sluggish U.S. economy,” said Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw Hill ConstructionHere are the main points by sector for the 2013 construction market:•
The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) saw a jump of more than a full point in July, indicating acceleration in the growth of design activity nationally. The American Institute of Architects reported the July ABI score was 52.7, up from a mark of 51.6 in June. This score reflects an increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 66.7, up dramatically from the reading of 62.6 the previous month. “There continues to be encouraging signs that the design and construction industry continues to improve,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit
U.S. construction machinery exports dropped 21% during the first half of 2013, with $10.8 billion shipped to global markets compared to $13.7 billion at midyear 2012, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). The AEM off-road equipment manufacturing trade group consolidates U.S. Commerce Dept. data with other sources into global trend reports for members. Nearly all world regions recorded double-digit declines, except Central America, with a double-digit gain. For construction equipment exports for the first half of 2013, compared with midyear 2012:• Exports to Europe declined 20% for a total $1.4 billion, and dropped 15% to Canada for a
In August 2007, the safety of bridges on the U.S. highway system came into the spotlight following the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a result of that accident, Colorado took a closer look at its bridges and how to accelerate replacement of poor bridges across the state. Six years later, the Colorado Dept. of Transportation rates 95% of the state’s bridges in “good” or fair condition. CDOT’s rapid progress on repairing and replacing the state’s deficient bridges is due to the FASTER (Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery) legislation passed in March 2009.
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