The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recently honored the Texas Dept. of Transportation’s Katy Freeway Reconstruction Team with the President’s Award in the Highways category. Related Links: NTTA Links Highways with Sam Rayburn Tollway Opening CTRMA Seeking Contractor for Manor Expressway Project Alternatively-Financed Projects Approved for Funding $20-Million Southbound U.S. 75 HOV Reopened Ahead of Schedule TxDOT Begins Rehab Work On IH-10 East In Downtown With Stimulus Funds TxDOT Announces Winner of the 2009 Environmental Achievement Award Presented during its 2009 Annual Meeting, the President’s Award recognizes individuals or teams who have performed exemplary service that benefits
State transportation officials approved seven projects around the state that will be funded by TxDOTs pass-through finance program. The Texas Transportation Commission approved the $193 million list of projects. Related Links: NTTA Links Highways with Sam Rayburn Tollway Opening CTRMA Seeking Contractor for Manor Expressway Project $20-Million Southbound U.S. 75 HOV Reopened Ahead of Schedule TxDOT Begins Rehab Work On IH-10 East In Downtown With Stimulus Funds TxDOT Announces Winner of the 2009 Environmental Achievement Award TxDOT Team Wins National Award for IH 10-Katy Freeway Reconstruction Pass-through financing allows local municipalities or private entities to pay for costs to build
Austin general construction and design firm Structura Inc. and New York architectural design firm Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis. Construction on the Arthouse began recently with a “wall-fall” event. Related Links: Linbeck Puts BIM to Work on Cook Children’s Expansion Project Military Construction in San Antonio Hits $738 Million Walton Construction Wins $20 Million Tinker Air Force Contract Campus Living Villages Gets $34 Million Loan for Lubbock Property Texas Masonic Retirement Center, Hurst Conference Center Pick AUI Contractors United Supermarkets Builds Second Distribution Center in DFW Cadence McShane Completes Houston Multi-Family Project Manhattan Construction to Build John Phelps Courthouse Architecture Firm Spearheads Project to
Austin-based Structura partnered with Chicago-based AMLI Management to help fund and build a downtown Austin public safety station for emergency first-responders, in collaboration with other local businesses. Related Links: Linbeck Puts BIM to Work on Cook Children’s Expansion Project Military Construction in San Antonio Hits $738 Million Walton Construction Wins $20 Million Tinker Air Force Contract Campus Living Villages Gets $34 Million Loan for Lubbock Property Texas Masonic Retirement Center, Hurst Conference Center Pick AUI Contractors United Supermarkets Builds Second Distribution Center in DFW Cadence McShane Completes Houston Multi-Family Project Manhattan Construction to Build John Phelps Courthouse Architecture Firm Spearheads
Even as the Texas economy begins climbing out of the doldrums, construction activity in the state will likely remain slow, leading economists say. “Things will get better, but it is not going to be a sharply upward trend,” says Terry L. Clower, director of the Center for Economic Development and Research at the University of North Texas in Denton. “It will be a slow go and a bit of slogging through the mud for developers for the rest of 2010.” Wind farms, such as the E.ON Climate and Renewables’ project completed in October near Roscoe, could be a bright spot
The Texas Dept. of Transportation anticipates using money from a variety of sources to let more than $4 billion in projects in 2010, up significantly from last year. “Going from $2.7 billion in 2009 to $4.2 billion will be a big increase over what contractors saw for bidding opportunities,” says John Barton, TxDOT assistant executive director for engineering operations. Pace Services of Cypress is repairing approximately 19 mi of State Highway 73 between Port Arthur and Winnie in Jefferson County with $5.5 million in stimulus dollars. Thomas L. Johnson, executive vice president of Associated General Contractors of Texas in Austin,
Encouraging fleet managers and business owners to spend cautiously is not a tough sell right now: The construction industry in Texas ran out of fat to trim months ago. Company owners managed to save money the smart way (improved efficiency) and the tough way (personnel reductions). Where else can one save while riding out the storm? PAUL PARKER One place is in the decision to lease or finance heavy equipment. Your approach could be the difference in saving money on a deal or, in some cases, being able to acquire the equipment you need at all. Gerald Cook has seen
The beginning of a new year is a great time for contractors to re-examine their key performance indicators and conduct any necessary fine tuning. Given the environment we’re in today, perhaps the first indicator contractors should consider is their bid-hit ratio. Why? Because many contractors do not know what their ratio is. In one survey of 2,000 general contractors, subcontractors and design-build companies, only 6 percent knew what their ratio was and tracked the information. GUAJARDO This lack of knowledge can be attributed partly to the fact that contractors perform a lot of work relatively quickly without the benefit of
Construction businesses today do not have the margins to write-off cost overruns or unpaid contract balances as they could have in the past when there were more projects and higher profits. More parties are willing to fight for the last dollar. These disputes can add up, and the attorney’s fees can be disproportionately large. Without a compromise or other alternative, construction businesses must proceed with litigation and hope to manage attorney’s fees so they do not approach -- or exceed -- the amount in dispute. But there are other options. The American Arbitration Association, or AAA, and JAMS, the “Resolution
The economy is getting better and hopefully you’ve mostly survived the bloodbath that has been the last year. Most businesses have used this time to “trim the fat,” “refocus,” and “expand their expertise.” I was recently asked by a job seeker about what he could do to make himself more marketable. The reality is, at least in most firms, that there aren’t going to be a lot of jobs for a while. My firm has reduced everyone to four-day work weeks. So, even if the economy does completely rebound, we’ve got a built-in ability to expand our workforce 20% without
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