Las Vegas is delaying a planned $890-million convention-center upgrade amid falling visitor numbers and reduced gaming receipts. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority expects a 21.8% drop in room tax revenue for fiscal 2009, prompting construction plans to be shelved until mid-2010. LVCVA will pay up to $5 million annually to service the project’s existing debt. About $140 million has been committed toward construction thus far, of which 68.5% is being financed. The project was scheduled to finish in 2011. In February 2006, MWH Global Inc., Broomfield, Colo., with HNTB, Kansas City, Mo., was awarded a four-year, $45-million contract
President Obama has signed a $410-billion spending measure that will carry many federal agencies through the end of fiscal year 2009. The legislation, which Obama signed March 11, funds most of the major federal construction programs, increasing spending for some accounts from 2008 levels, but trimming funding for others. The appropriations bill moved quickly through the House, but had a bumpy path in the Senate, as critics complained about the overall size of the measure and its estimated $7.7 billion billion in "earmarks," specifying funds for individual projects or activities. With such criticism in the air, Obama and House Democratic
President Obama has signed a stopgap funding bill that will keep federal agencies running through March 11. The continuing resolution, which Obama signed on March 6, was necessary because most of the agencies were operating under an earlier "CR" that expired on that date. The House on Feb. 25 had passed a $410-billion appropriations package that would fund those agencies through Sept. 30, the end of the 2009 fiscal year, but things bogged down in the Senate. The developments affect most of the federal departments and agencies, including many that oversee important construction programs, such as the Transportation, Energy and
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has released $27.5 billion in highway aid contained in the recently enacted economic stimulus package. President Obama announced DOT’s action on March 3, one day after the Federal Highway Administration formally apportioned $26.66 billion of the highway stimulus funds among the states. FHWA’s apportionment came eight days earlier than the deadline set by the stimulus measure, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The first contract—$2.1 million—was awarded to American Infrastructure, Worcester, Pa., to grind, patch and resurface a 1.1-mile section of Route 650 in Silver Spring, Md. State highway departments say they have identified more
President Obama’s ambitious $3.55-trillion budget outline for fiscal year 2010 is the latest salvo in his administration’s efforts to revive and reshape the nation’s economy. The proposed budget blueprint, unveiled Feb. 26, aims to cut the federal deficit in half by 2013 but doesn’t slash construction accounts to reach that g oal. Instead, it would boost funding for water infrastructure and create a National Infrastructure Bank. Photo: AP/Wideworld OMB’s Orszag (left) delivers plan to Rep. John Spratt (center) and Sen. Kent Conrad Meanwhile, Congress still needs to approve final spending numbers for fiscal 2009. Lawmakers approved a stopgap measure this
Two large government-owned utilities have announced that they will use some of the funding in the president’s $787-billion stimulus package to move forward with "smart grid" transmission projects. Portland, Ore.-based Bonneville Power Administration announced Feb. 19 that it would move forward with a $246-million, 500-kV transmission line that will provide more than 870 Mw of energy, including 700 Mw of wind capacity. Work on the project begins this spring and is expected at its peak to create 700 jobs. Lakewood, Colo.-based Western Area Power Administration also plans to build "smart" transmission lines, although it has not yet identified any specific
Beating its congressionally imposed deadline, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation has released the $27.5 billion provided for highway projects in the recently enacted economic-stimulus package. The release of the funds, announced March 3 by President Obama, followed the Federal Highway Administration's formal apportionment the day before of $26.7 billion of that total among the states. Photo: Courtesy of the White House President Obama, flanked by Vice President Biden (l) and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, at U.S. DOT headquarters Mar. 3. Related Links: Obama Hails Beginning of New Construction In making the announcement at DOT's headquarters, Obama said, "I can say
Adjust to the new realities, give employees a cause to fight for and focus on opportunities. That�s how leaders of three design and construction companies described methods of fending off despair and rallying staffs during the financial crisis that has engulfed global economies and the construction industry. They joined other market sector leaders from industry, government and Wall Street to analyze current realities and optimize solutions at �Managing Construction�s Financial Crisis,� an ENR/McGraw-Hill Construction-sponsored conference in New York City Feb. 24-25. Photo: Richard Korman/ENR Siegel: When time are tough, great companies capture market share. Ira Levy, president of AECOM’s DMJM
The White House on Feb. 26 unveiled a $3.55-trillion budget outline for fiscal year 2010 that would boost funding for water infrastructure and transportation programs while aiming to cut the federal deficit in half by 2013. White House officials say the outline provides a broad framework for fiscal policy over the next 10 years. A more detailed budget proposal will be released in April. But the proposal is only the first step in a long legislative process. Months of hearings by appropriations and tax-writing committees will take place, followed by committee and floor votes. Final numbers for 2010 spending won�t
Declining construction and economic woes have knocked down residual values for used equipment, fueling an intense buyer’s market that culminated last month at the world’s largest machinery auction. More than 7,600 people from 75 countries jumped online or traveled to Florida as Ritchie Bros. held an unprecedented six-day sale of 8,300 lots, a 34% increase from last year. Despite the surge in machinery spread out over the 200-acre yard, the auction grossed only $184 million, a 3% decline over 2008, dragging down price averages 28% overall to $22,169. A higher number of smaller lots and a more diverse mix of