Related Links: Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial website The decades-long dream to create the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C., will become a reality on Aug. 28. Fifteen years in the making, the memorial faced challenges—ranging from an extensive approval process to a site on the National Mall made of fill from the Potomac River—before construction could start in late 2009. Two years later, the design-build team, the first use of the delivery system for a memorial on the Mall, will deliver the $120-million vision within walking distance of the spot where Dr. King delivered his
Related Links: Drilling for Treasure Hydrofracking and Water: No Place for Secrecy A Dept. of Energy advisory panel says that it accepts the “prevailing” view that hydraulic fracturing for shale gas is unlikely to contaminate drinking water sources, but called for the government and industry to take steps to ensure that the gas is retrieved in a way that minimizes negative environmental impacts. In draft recommendations released on August 11, the Shale Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board called for industry leadership in improving environmental performance, underpinned by strong regulations and rigorous enforcement of those regulations.The subcommittee was
Rendering courtesy of Enviromission The temperature differential between greenhouse-heated air at ground level and the air atop the tower creates a tremendous updraft that drives turbines to generate 200 MW of electricity. Rendering courtesy of Enviromission The solar tower's design does not require any water during the power production cycle, an attractive quality in the desert Southwest. A solar tower planned to rise just 100 ft shy of the world's tallest building took a major step forward with the selection of Phoenix-based contractor Hensel Phelps Construction Co. as construction services provider under a guaranteed maximum price.EnviroMission USA, a subsidiary of
The redevelopment of the World Trade Center site is only the latest chapter in a construction story that began more than half century ago. This slide show timeline covers the full scope of the World Trade Center's history, from the earliest planning to the current reconstruction efforts.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced on Aug. 2 that it plans to delay construction of the $1-billion Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford until fall 2018 or as late as summer 2020.It plans to purchase the required land and obtain permits before putting out a bid for design and construction to avoid loss of time and money—which happened to a commuter-rail project completed south of Boston in 2007. A day after the announcement, the city of Somerville circulated a petition stating that a four-year delay was unacceptable and demanded an accurate timeline for the project. It noted, “The
The Dept. of Energy on August 5 finalized a $967-million loan guarantee to Agua Caliente Solar LLC for a 290-MW solar facility being built in Yuma, Ariz., by NRG Solar, Princeton, N.J.The Agua Caliente solar project will deploy fault ride-through and dynamic voltage regulation, technologies that are new to photovoltaic solar powerplants and which are expected to improve the reliability and predictability of the electricity supplied to the electricity grid.
Image courtesy of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture Kingdom Tower, under design by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, with structural engineer Thornton Tomasetti, would enclose 530,000 sq m. The skyscraper is expected to cost $1.2 billion. If a Middle East prince has his way, Saudi Arabia will someday be home to the world's tallest building. Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz recently unveiled a scheme for a 5.3-sq-kilometer city north of Jeddah that would include a mixed-use supertower designed to reach more 1 km above the desert floor.Kingdom Tower, under design by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, with
Photo by Angelle Bergeron for ENR Disputed project would replace temporary system of canal gate closures and pumps. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not comply with statutory and regulatory requirements in its award last April of a $675-million design-build contract for flood control upgrades in New Orleans, the U.S. Government Accountability Office ruled Aug. 4 in a bid protest decision.The Corps did not comment on the decision or provide details on how it will respond.GAO upheld protests by two losing bidders:PCCP Constructors, a Fort Worth-based joint venture of Kiewit Corp., Traylor Bros. Inc, and M.R. Pittman Group; and
The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District has agreed to spend $4.7 billion to make extensive improvements in its sewer systems and treatment plants over the next 23 years as part of a settlement with the federal government, the State of Missouri, and the Missouri Coalition of the Environment Foundation.In the settlement announced August 5, MSD will be required to install a variety of pollution controls, including building three large storage tunnels ranging from approximately two miles to nine miles in length, and to expand capacity at two treatment plants.MSD says it has already spent $2.3 billion over the past two
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