In the three years leading up to the current recession, gross billings at U.S. architecture firms increased nearly $16 billion from 2005 and totaled $44.3 billion in 2008. That equates to 54% growth over three years with annual growth of about 16%. These findings come from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Business of Architecture: AIA Survey Report on Firm Characteristics, which is conducted every three years to examine issues related to the business practices of AIA member-owned architecture firms. The study also revealed sizeable gains in the number of firms doing green design projects, as well as using Building
With bids due soon for an estimated $8.7-billion tunnel project between New Jersey and Manhattan, the governor of New Jersey has announced tough new measures to control costs and potential fraud. Seeking to "ensure transparency and accountability" in the effort to build a new commuter rail link under the Hudson River, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) issued an executive order Oct. 7 that mandates more state oversight of "spending and contracting." As the country's largest transit public works endeavor, the project will involve construction of two commuter rail tracks and require 21,000 feet of tunneling. Set for completion in
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is hastening already-awarded rehabilitation contracts for the Markland Lock and Dam on the Ohio River after the lock’s downstream miter gate detached and sunk to the bottom of the lock chamber. The Corps says a “catastrophic equipment malfunction” on Sept. 27 disabled both 250-ton leaves of the miter gate, taking one off its hinges. It then crashed into the other. Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers One of the lock’s 250-ton doors came off its hinges and went to the bottom, damaging its twin. + Image Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sonar shows
President Obama signed a bill on Oct. 1 providing a one-month extension for the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for Users and one month’s appropriations for nearly all federal agencies. In a blow to state transportation agencies, the Senate failed to pass a three-month SAFETEA-LU extension, thus triggering an $8.7-billion rescission of highway contract authority. Under the continuing resolution (CR) that Obama signed, agencies have funding to carry through Oct. 31, generally at 2009 levels. SAFETEA-LU was extended through that date, too. The measure was needed because Congress had not approved any of the 12 appropriations
The 1905 shaft-driven Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway swing bridge over Bayou Boeuf near Morgan City, La., has begun a new life after an intensive four-day project that converted it into a computerized, hydraulically operated crossing with opening times cut from 17 minutes to seven. Photo: Angelle Bergeron / ENR Crane operator holds span over pivot assembly while workers install collar. Photo: Angelle Bergeron / ENR Alignment and balance were critical as crews maneuvered center span into place. Related Links: Quick Change Artists: BNSF Railway Bridge Span Replacement During a 96-hour window that ended at midnight on Sept. 24, OCCI
The Massachusetts Port Authority is wrapping up a repaving job that features the first application of warm-mix asphalt (WMA) on a U.S. runway. Currently, Federal Aviation Administration specifications do not address warm-mix asphalt. However, the mix is gaining attention because of its environmentally friendly properties. Photo: Massachusetts Port Authority Warm mix goes down easy with airport engineers and contractors at Massport’s Boston Logan International Airport, which is the country’s first to embrace the environmentally friendly material. J.F. White Contracting Co., Boston, began its approximately $12-million contract in July to repave a 7,000-ft-long, 150-ft-wide runway at Boston’s Logan International Airport, says
The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners has approved the $1.2-billion San Pedro Waterfront Project, a 400-acre waterfront revitalization that is expected to take a decade to complete. The multi-phase project includes three new harbors, a public pier, a cruise-ship terminal and a “downtown” with promenades and 300,000 sq ft of commercial space. The project is currently under conceptual design. The port will fund approximately $900 million of the cost and expects to raise the other $300 million through private investment.
On Oct. 2, Hawaii became the second state to propel alternative energy development by requiring power utilities to buy renewable power at specific prices under long-term contracts, a practice known as “feed-in tariffs.” Widely used in Europe, the rule has been effective in spurring project development, says Jamie Steve, director of government relations for San Francisco-based Pattern Energy Group, formerly Babcock and Brown’s North American energy development group. Vermont adopted similar requirements last month. Hawaii adopted the rule to help the state meet a mandate to have 40% of its power come from renewable sources by 2030. At least 33
In a much-anticipated and, in some quarters, dreaded move, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Sept. 30 announced it might use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases. The same day, Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced their version of a global-warming bill. Photo: American Electric Power Largest emitters of carbon dioxide, like powerplants, would be targeted. Related Links: Editorial: The Industry Should Get Behind Reasonable Greenhouse-Gas Bills Industry sources say they greatly prefer legislation to address global warming rather than a regulation, and the Clean Air Act
A federal report released on Oct. 6 concludes that a Dallas Cowboys football practice facility collapsed last May under wind loads that were significantly less than those required to be resisted under applicable design standards. The report was released for public comment by the U.S. Commerce Dept.’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The Irvine, Texas, facility failed during a severe thunderstorm, injuring 12. Based on national standards for determining loads and for designing structural-steel buildings, NIST found the wind load on the facility’s series of identical, rib-like steel frames, which supported a tensioned fabric covering, were greater than
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