The federal team investigating last year’s Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 men in the Gulf of Mexico will conduct a week of hearings on April 4-8 in Metairie, La., to focus specifically on a forensic examination of the failed blowout preventer on the well. Conducted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement as well as the U.S. Coast Guard Joint Investigation Team, the hearings follow the March 20 release of a report by Norwegian risk-management specialist Det Norske Veritas on the blowout preventer. DNV tested, examined and investigated the failure of the 50-ft, 300-ton BOP in
New Orleans has a better defense should another big storm hit the city. But it’s never going to be completely safe. JoEllen Darcy (left), assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, speaking in New Orleans. At right are Gen. Robert Van Antwerp, chief of Engineers for the Corps of Engineers and Colonel Edward Fleming, commander of the Corps� New Orleans districts. “You can’t eliminate risk no matter where you are,” said Jo Ellen Darcy, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, at a March 22 press conference in New Orleans. “What we are doing here is buying down
Plus Concrete, Inc., a subsidiary of RMD Holdings, Ltd., New Haven, Mich., began work March 10 on Phase Two of the $6.7-million rehabilitation of about 3.5 miles of Magazine Street in New Orleans. The project is part of the $118-million South Louisiana Submerged Roads Program (SRP), a comprehensive program to repair and resurface roughly 56 miles of roads in the Greater New Orleans area that were damaged as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. RMD Holdings has six contracts for projects in the SRP. Photo: DOTD The city of New Orleans contributed funding to install new blue
Article toolbar Power giant Duke Energy is getting down and dirty as it spends more than $2 billion to upgrade its Cliffside Steam Station, in rural North Carolina, with advanced clean-coal technology. The builders attribute much of the job’s success to date to a collaborative team approach and a strategy that involves site preassembly of powerplant components. Photo Courtesy Duke Energy Investment Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy is investing more than $2 billion in clean-coal technology at its Cliffside Steam Station plant in Cleveland and Rutherford counties in North Carolina. “The fabrication and preassembly performed onsite are a significant element of
Article toolbar The Top Starts ranking of the Southeast’s largest projects under way is a yearly glimpse into the heart of a regional market. From owners and contractors, to sectors and geographic hot spots, Top Starts inevitably showcases the forces and players driving work for the Southeast’s construction and design firms. Image Of The Wolfson Children’s Hospital Courtesy Of Batson-cook Co. Public Sector This Veterans Administration Medical Center project in Orlando, Fla., illustrates the influences of the public sector and health care on this year’s ranking. For a few years now, major private-sector projects have been few and far between
Electric utility executives are often asked, “What kind of power plants will we need? Nuclear? Natural gas? Clean coal? Biomass? Solar?” A common answer is, “All of the above.”
Louisiana drivers are paying a congestion tax, as well as wasting time and money on sitting in traffic that is caused, in part, by Louisiana’s failure to adequately fund transportation, says Ken Perret, president of the Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association (http://www.louisianagoodroads.org/index.html). Baton Rouge has the worst traffic congestion in the nation among mid-sized cities, according to the Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI) Urban Mobility Report 2010 (http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/mobility_report_2010.pdf). The College Station, Texas-based organization is a part of Texas A&M University system and a Texas state agency. PERRET The cost to Louisiana’s capital city drivers is equivalent to 37 hours, 30
The last fully funded segment of the $622 million I-49 North extension from I-220 in Shreveport to the Arkansas state line was awarded on February 18 by the Louisiana Dept. of Transportation and Development (DOTD). James Construction Group LLC, Baton Rouge, won a $25.7-million contract to build a 3.4-mile segment of the four-lane interstate from La. Hwy 530 to La. Hwy 170. Work should begin this spring and last until spring 2013. To date, the Louisiana DOTD has awarded nine contracts valued at $460 million for construction of the I-49 North corridor. Two remaining segments of the corridor–critical to freight
Bernita Beilkmann has been promoted to associate principal at HKS Inc. , a Dallas-based architectural firm. In addition, the firm has named Jonathan Kelly, Frank Kittredge, Paul Liptak, Jason Schroer and Michael Ufer associate principals in its Dallas office. Larry LeMaster was promoted to principal. Rupert Brown, Shane Mommers and Rachel Saucier were elevated to vice principals. BEILKMANN Matt Peck has been named the newest tax partner at Dallas-based Lane Gorman Trubitt PLLC . The firm also promoted Candice King to principal and bothMark Opdahl and Donna Nuernberg to supervising seniors. C. Britton Coffman has been promoted to senior associate
As Texas and Louisiana recover from the recession, these six diverse firms with operations in the two states are gaining new work and remain optimistic about the future. Hurricane recovery work will continue as a driver in the region, while the Texas economy shows resiliency. The state reported a strong $11-billion year-end balance for fiscal 2009, which bodes well for state-funded construction programs, according to a survey last year by the National Association of State Budget Officers. Residential construction starts for the south central region are forecast to increase 29% in 2011, with total construction starts set to rise 10%,
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