The Odebrecht Organization awarded its first annual Odebrecht Award for Sustainable Development in the United States in October. A team from Houston’s Rice University brought home first place for their solution for oil companies venturing further offshore – an island constructed for workers to live on while working deep sea oil fields. Photo by David A. Brown, dabfoto From left to right: Neeraj Bhatia, the teams advising professor; David Peebles, VP of Business Development, Odebrecht; winning team members Joanna Luo, Weijia Song, and Alexander Yuen. Photo courtesy of Neeraj Bhatia A rendering of the Rice University team's man-made island, or
Fixing the damaged reinforced-concrete containment building at the long-idled Crystal River-3 nuclear unit in Citrus County, Fla., will cost more than the $1.3 billion originally estimated by Progress Energy Florida and take longer than the utility's original 24- to 30-month estimate. Under a "worst-case scenario," repair costs could skyrocket to more than $3.4 billion and the schedule could balloon to eight years, a consultant to Progress Energy's corporate parent, Duke Energy, said on Sept. 30. Photo courtesy Progress Energy Florida A report by Zapata Engineering, commissioned by Duke Energy, states that the cost to repair the idled Crystal River nuclear
In theater, updating a classic can be a delicate process as one tries to retain the flavor of the original while making it relevant for a contemporary audience. The same approach applies to the design and construction of the new Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio. The project aims to retain the historic facade of the city's existing hall, known as Municipal Auditorium, while creating performance spaces that meet present-day demands. Related Links: Engineering News Record Tobin Center for the Performing Arts LMN Architects Marmon Mok Architecture Linbeck Zachry Construction The original auditorium featured a 1926 Spanish
Danny Miller has been promoted to vice president of LJA Engineering Inc., Austin, Texas. He has been with the firm's land development division for more than six years. Miller has more than 22 years of experience in land development and site development projects throughout the Central Texas area. His experience includes feasibility studies, conceptual planning, cost estimating and construction phase services. Courtesy of LJA Engineering Inc. Danny Miller has been promoted to vice president of LJA Engineering Inc., Austin, Texas. Related Links: Engineering News Record Balfour Beatty Construction has announced several promotions. Juan Rodriguez has been named vice president of
Despite the turbulence of the past few years, Dallas-based TDIndustries has managed to maintain its financial stability and keep its people working in 2012. Related Links: TDIndustries Engineering News Record In 2010 and 2011, the firm bottomed out from a revenue perspective. However, this year, things are looking promising. Revenue across the company will be up 15%, says Harold MacDowell, TDI's CEO."Our backlog really peaked at a record level in 2011, and it's been holding pretty steady because some of these very large projects are just slow to get started," MacDowell says. "So the reason revenue is beginning to surge
The impact of the economic downturn is easing for specialty contractors in Texas and Louisiana as the region experiences the beginnings of a comeback. The changing marketplace in this transition year is shifting how these companies are doing business. Related Links: Baker Triangle The Brandt Co. The Newtron Group Orion Marine Group Team Industrial "Since 2009, when the world got turned upside down and shaken out, the market has changed in the way our customers look at the end-users," says Pete Wallace, chief operating officer at Team Industrial. "They're putting a lot more emphasis on labor buildups and cost buildups
The Texas Dept. of Transportation has selected a developer for the expansion of state highway 99, Grand Parkway, a 184-mile outer loop that will give area drivers a third route to get around the Houston metropolitan area, the agency announced September 27. Zachry-Odebrecht Parkway Builders, a design-build joint venture between Zachry Corp. and Odebrecht that was formed specifically for this project, will construct three phases of SH 99. Related Links: Texas Dept. of Transportation Zachry Corp. Odebrecht “Zachry and Odebrecht will operate as a fully integrated joint venture, responsible for design and construction,” says Tara Snowden, manager of Government Relations
Cajun Constructors Inc., a subsidiary of Cajun Industries LLC announced this week that it has acquired Industrial Design & Construction, a privately held general industrial construction firm with a primary focus in mechanical construction. Related Links: ENR Texas & Louisiana Contractor of the Year: Cajun Industries Cajun Industries LLC Industrial Design & Construction While Cajun has been known primarily in the industrial civil side of the business, its industrial mechanical side has always taken more of a back seat in recent years, says William J. Clouatre, vice president of Business Development for Cajun Constructors.“We’ve had more industrial clients ask us
ith $168 million in funding from state legislators in hand, along with an additional $2 billion in funding that the Texas Department of Transportation identified in its budget earlier this year, the 38-mile US 290 corridor, one of the most congested roads in Texas, will see expansion work up to 20 years sooner than expected. Photo by Nick Escobedo US 290 north of the IH 610 W interchange is one of the areas that will be under construction next year. Photo courtesy of TxDOT A timeline showing the revised schedule and expected bid amounts of the US 290 work. Related
Oil and gas giant ExxonMobil announced last week that it will invest more than $200 million to expand its Baton Rouge chemical and lubricants plants, which will mean increased capacity for synthetic lubricant base stocks manufacturing and lubricants blending, packaging and storage. According to Exxon, the expansion will boost the company’s worldwide capacity of synthetic esters and alkylated naphthalene by more than 25%, making Exxon’s Baton Rouge chemical plant the world’s largest producer of these two products, the company claims.These plans include the construction of a “state-of-the-art” blending center for synthetic aviation oil at Exxon’s Port Allen, La., lubricant blending
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