The Federal Highway Administration has pledged $2 million in immediate aid that can be used to continue investigating the cause of a landslide on a stretch of U.S. 89 last month near Page, Ariz. Photo courtesy ADOT The landslide on Feb. 20 caused 500 ft of damage to U.S. 89 near Page, Ariz. Photo courtesy Coconino County The slide caused the roadway to drop by up to 6 ft in places. Related Links: View ADOT Video of the US 89 Landslide Geotechnical Assessment The Arizona Dept. of Transportation requested the quick release of emergency relief funds from the FHWA after
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined in January, rebounded in February. The index now stands at 69.6 (1985=100), up from 58.4 in January. The Present Situation Index increased to 63.3 from 56.2. The Expectations Index improved to 73.8 from 59.9 last month. Consumers’ assessment of present day conditions improved in February. Those claiming business conditions are “good” rose to 18.1% from 16.1%, while those stating business conditions are “bad” decreased to 27.8% from 28.4%. Consumers’ appraisal of the labor market was mixed. Those saying jobs are “plentiful” increased to 10.5% from 8.5%, while those claiming jobs
Denver's Mortenson Construction began construction in mid-February on the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs parking structure located on Stanton Street on the UCCS campus. Rendering courtesy of Mortenson Construction The project will be built into the side of an existing hill that leads to an arroyo, which will be protected and preserved. Pedestrians will enter the field on the high side of the structure from Stanton Street. The project, valued at $21 million, is a 1,230-stall, cast-in-place structure that includes an athletic field on the top level. Mortenson is leading a design-build team that includes architects Davis Partnership, engineers
The Regional Transportation District says it has received a confidential, unsolicited proposal for the North Metro Rail Project, part of RTD’s FasTracks program. The proposal was submitted February 22 from a team led by Graham Contracting Ltd. RTD staff will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the proposal consistent with the agency’s Unsolicited Proposals Policy to see if the proposal has merit. If so, RTD will then pursue a competitive procurement process and release a request for proposals (RFP) for competing proposals, consistent with RTD’s policy and previous announcement to release an RFP later this year.In January, RTD announced it would
Caution! Webster defines conundrum as “a confusing and difficult problem or question.”That is what construction contractors, design professionals, subcontractors and suppliers may face if or when they do work, supply materials or provide designs for businesses engaged in the cultivation, distribution and/or sale of marijuana in Colorado.Although Colorado now has laws legalizing marijuana under defined conditions, marijuana is a “controlled substance” under federal law and therefore its manufacture, distribution and possession is illegal.So what does that have to do with the Colorado construction industry? There’s no easy answer.Recently, a federal bankruptcy court judge in Denver ruled that a landlord who
Prices for construction materials moved higher in January, propelled by large jumps in items used in new housing and nonresidential building renovations, according to an analysis of new federal figures recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that contractors were paying more for materials even as the pending federal spending “sequestration” threatens to cancel an estimated $4 billion worth of construction activity this year. “Contractors had to contend with huge leaps in prices for gypsum, wallboard and lumber, as well as significant increases in the cost of insulation and architectural coatings such as paint,” said
The value of new construction starts dropped 12% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $469.1 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of McGraw-Hill Financial. The decline followed a sharp 23% increase for total construction in December and brought the level of contracting back to the average pace reported during 2012. Much of January’s downturn was due to decreased activity for nonresidential building and housing, while the nonbuilding construction sector (public works and electric utilities) held close to its December volume. On an unadjusted basis, total construction starts in January were reported at $33.1 billion, up 11%
As the prognosis for the design and construction industry continues to improve, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) is reflecting its strongest growth since November 2007. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects reported the January ABI score was 54.2, up sharply from a mark of 51.2 in December. This score reflects a strong increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 63.2, much higher than
University of Arizona’s $100-million cancer center formally broke ground in downtown Phoenix on Feb. 21, though actual construction is likely still several months away. Image courtesy ZGF Architects LLP ZGF Architects designed the five-story building, which will feature 85 examination rooms and two linear accelerators. Photo courtesy University of Arizona College of Medicing - Phoenix Hundreds of people attended the long-anticipated groundbreaking this week in downtown Phoenix. Related Links: Slideshow: Newest Biomedical Campus Building Opens in Downtown Phoenix Innovative Bioscience High School Breaks the Mold in Phoenix Located on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus at the northwest corner of Fillmore and
The city of Henderson, Nev., southeast of Las Vegas, claims it got duped into a sweetheart public land deal by Austin, Texas-based developer Christopher F. Milam, who proposed building a multi-arena sports complex, according to a Jan. 28 lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court. The city contends that Milam "conspired" to falsely buy 485 acres of federal land southeast of Interstate 15 and St. Rose Parkway "below what a true competitive bidding process would yield" and "sell it piecemeal to residential and commercial developers at a substantial profit," court papers say. Image courtesy IDM The lawsuit centers around purchase
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