Panda Power Funds is bringing two new natural gas-fueled, combined-cycle power plants to Texas, one in Temple and the other in Sherman. Both plants will be built by a turn-key consortium of Bechtel and Siemens Energy Inc. Photo courtesy of Panda Power Funds Artist representation of the 758-megawatt Panda Temple Power Plant. Photo courtesy of Bechtel Bechtel's team helps break ground on Panda Temple Generating Station. Related Links: Panda Power Funds Bechtel The Siemens Energy Sector On September 6, the companies broke ground on the Temple project, which will provide 758-MW of power to the local area when complete in
As the construction industry evolves, so too must the tools with which engineers and contractors do business. Plenty of companies have developed their own apps that do everything from managing project data to calculating cost-per-square-foot of concrete. Texas-based SpawGlass has joined the mix after seeing the need for an app with a broader scope. Related Links: Some Companies Hungry for Custom Business Apps Decide to Build Their Own Earlier this year, SpawGlass launched its Targeted Estimating Database iPad app, which helps with the development of a realistic budget for commercial construction projects by offering real-time, cost-per-square-foot pricing using the average
North Carolina State University's high-tech library project, intended to transform collaborative learning, is itself educating its builders on the positive power that information technology has on design and construction. The team creating the $95.2-million NCSU James B. Hunt Jr. Library project in Raleigh met challenges inside and out—from difficulties with the customized curtain wall to a mechanical system rarely used in the Southeast. Related Links: Skanska USA Reboots for a Southeast Rebound ENR Southeast: Projects Collaboration, coupled with a raft of information technology tools, has enabled the team to guide the project toward a happy ending. The 220,000-sq-ft, four-story library
This year's Top Specialty Contractors survey revealed that at least some firms working in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas are starting to experience real, and significant, business growth again. But like the overall economic recovery itself, the fortunes of Southeast specialty contractors are proving to be decidedly mixed. Photo by Ben Tanner Photography; courtesy KHS and S Contractors Improving Conditions? KHS and S handled metal panel work for Marlins Park in Miami, where market conditions are showing signs of improvement. Related Links: 2012 Southeast Top Specialty Contractors Ranking SteelFab: Southeast 'Specialty Contractor of the Year' Some firms are finally finding
Steel fabricator and erector SteelFab Inc. was certainly not immune to the construction industry's dark days of late 2008. At that time, the specialty contractor found itself in much the same panic mode that gripped many others as its project backlog suddenly, and literally, shrank to nothing. Related Links: For Southeast Specialty Firms, Recovery is Proving Hit or Miss 2012 Southeast Top Specialty Contractors Ranking The Charlotte, N.C.-based steel designer, fabricator and erector saw 26 projects mothballed or canceled as the local economy spiraled down in the wake of the nation's banking crisis. Project owners were left with no choice
An idled methanol plant currently located in Chile will soon be relocated to Geismar, La. Related Links: Methanex Corp. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. Methanex Corp., the plant owner, has hired Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. to complete EPC services for the project. The companies estimate that the construction value will total $550 million.Methanex made the final decision to relocate the plant on July 25. Relocation, compared to a new-build, will offer some capital savings and a reduced project time frame.The facility is being moved for several reasons, according to Methanex, including the North American shale gas boom, which has created a
A slurry-filled sinkhole in the Bayou Corne area of Louisiana’s Assumption Parish that first developed earlier this month now reaches 476 feet (NE to SW) by 640 feet (NW to SE), stretching 300 feet at its deepest as of August 15. Photo courtesy of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources An aerial view of the slurry-filled Bayou Corne sinkhole in Assumption Parish, Louisiana, from August 3. Related Links: Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Assumption Parish While the sinkhole continues to expand, its exact cause remains unknown, a representative from the Department of Environmental Quality tells
Frustrated and perplexed by continuing problems at a $300-million veterans hospital project in Orlando, Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) told officials with the Dept. of Veterans Affairs and contractor Brasfield & Gorrie, "I want answers," as he convened a U.S. House field hearing across the street from the troubled job site on Aug. 13. Photo by Scott Judy The general contractor and the Dept. of Veterans Affairs remain at odds over when the roughly $300 million Orlando hospital project can be completed. Related Links: Construction CEO's Testimony Offers Glimpse Into Troubled Project VA Threatens to Terminate Builder in Orlando Instead, the
A $1-billion intermodal center being developed in Atlanta via a public-private partnership received a boost from the White House recently that could help accelerate the project by as much as a year, officials say. Related Links: Georgia Transportation Tax Vote Delivers Only Small Boost for Roadbuilders Construction Groups See Bright Spots in MAP-21's Details The Georgia Dept. of Transportation is leading the MultiModal Passenger Terminal (MMPT) project as part of its P3 program, backed by MARTA, the Atlanta Regional Commission, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, Central Atlanta Progress/Atlanta Downtown Improvement District and the city of Atlanta.GDOT describes the project as
It's been nearly a half century since the Texas Dept. of Transportation has taken on a project this ambitious. The $1.9-billion widening and upgrading of 96 miles of Interstate 35 in Central Texas from Salado to Hillsboro make up the most miles of new construction the agency has tackled simultaneously since it first built the state's highway system. Related Links: Engineering News Record Architectural Record As a key north-south transportation and economic corridor in the center of state that stretches a total of 492 miles, I-35 is known as "Main Street Texas." Given the upgrade program's massive scope, the main
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