Plans to build the $3.4-billion headquarters campus for the Dept. of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C., got a jump start thanks to ARRA funding. The U.S. General Services Administration implemented the plan in August when it awarded a $435-million design-build contract to provide a new headquarters building for the U.S. Coast Guard on the site of the former St. Elizabeths Hospital. In additional to federal appropriations, the project secured $162 million of combined ARRA funds from GSA and DHS, which GSA spokesman Michael McGill says accelerated portions of phase one. Washington, D.C. Photo: USCG Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C.,
Tamarack place, an 83-unit, low-income housing complex with 10,000 sq ft of retail space in Seattle, got an infusion of cash through a $7-million award from the $13.5 million in stimulus funds the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development gave to the Seattle Housing Authority. An additional $6.5 million will fund infrastructure on the northern portion of the site. Seattle, Wash. Photo: Seattle Housing Authority Development includes low-income housing, infrastructure and retail space. Related Links: Stimulus: A Snapshot of Top Shovel-, Wrench- and Pencil-Ready Projects American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding “allows us to make up for the loss of
After lying dormant for five years, a project that will dramatically improve a Birmingham federal building’s energy efficiency was re-energized by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. The Robert Vance Federal Building, built in 1921, will receive new mechanical and electrical systems, as well as other enhancements, when construction is completed in 2012. Birmingham, Ala. Photo: Hoar Construction LLC Birmingham Federal office building in Birmingham, Ala., finally receives energy-efficiency upgrades. Related Links: Stimulus: A Snapshot of Top Shovel-, Wrench- and Pencil-Ready Projects The General Services Administration project was a long time coming. A design contract awarded in 2004 to Quinn
Competition among bidders for stimulus funded projects such as Interstate 10 from Sarival Avenue to Verrado Way means that nearly one third of the $350 million in stimulus funds provided to the Arizona Dept. of Transportation has been reallocated in a second round of projects. Phoenix, Ariz. Photo: Southwest Asphalt Paving Interstate 10, Arizona DOT’s second-largest ARA project, will be widened west of Phoenix from two lanes to three. Related Links: Stimulus: A Snapshot of Top Shovel-, Wrench- and Pencil-Ready Projects “The current economic conditions have created a trend toward lower-than-estimated bidding and a higher number of bids,” says ADOT
If time is money, then Brutoco Engineering & Construction Inc. has saved cash-strapped California officials both. The Fontana, Calif.-based company won an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-funded contract in September to widen the congested 91 Freeway in Orange County. Its bid came in at about $20 million below and more than 400 working days under what California Dept. of Transportation (Caltrans) officials estimated. Brutoco believes it can do the job in about 300 working days, says Tracey Lavelle, a Caltrans spokeswoman. “This is a very aggressive timeline by the contractor,” she says. Orange County, Calif. Related Links: Stimulus: A Snapshot
Tom Commings needed a job. Over the past summer, the 35-year old resident of Dearborn Homes, a wornout, public-housing complex on Chicago’s South Side, was laid off from a factory job. Relief came this September in the form of a $28.2-million infusion of federal stimulus funds aimed at upgrading three of Dearborn’s 16 brick apartment buildings. Commings now is working as a laborers’ union Local 4 apprentice steps away from his front door. “It’s hard work, but it’s good work,” says Commings. “It’s a great opportunity.” Chicago, Ill. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton/ENR Workers pour a concrete driveway for Chicago’s $28.2-million
In July, the Colorado Dept. of Transportation started one of its largest stimulus-funded transportation projects with the multimodal rehabilitation of nine miles of the C-470 highway between Interstate 25 and Santa Fe Drive, south of Denver, and an adjacent bike path. Denver, Colo. Photo: CDOT ARRA funds are used to repave nine miles of Denver-area highway and 26 miles of bike paths with concrete and asphalt. Photo: CDOT Related Links: Stimulus: A Snapshot of Top Shovel-, Wrench- and Pencil-Ready Projects The $22.3-million project, entirely funded with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars, will repair or replace highway concrete base slabs
Glenville elementary school in Greenwich, Conn., had been living for almost 30 years with a noisy open-plan design and a lack of natural light and fresh air, problems that put it high on the school board’s list for renovation. Greenwich, Conn. Photo: Turner Construction Elementary school solar plan was brought back to life with energy retrofit funds from ARA. Photo: Courtesy of Solyndra Cylindrical shape of solar array allows light from any direction to be captured and converted. Related Links: Stimulus: A Snapshot of Top Shovel-, Wrench- and Pencil-Ready Projects Planners also hoped to demonstrate energy conservation and efficiency by
The recession has cut U.K. civil engineers’ salaries for the first time in seven years, according to a new survey by the Institution of Civil Engineers, London. Last year’s basic average income fell 0.3%, to $75,000. Lower salaries did the worst, with the bottom 10% falling 6%, while the top 10% rose 1.2%. Top executive basic pay fell 1.7%, to $131,000 on average. Compared with the U.K., average basic salaries were higher by 18% in Hong Kong and by 31% in the Emirates.
Remediation work on lead-contaminated properties in Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Basin has increased by nearly 50% this year because of $20 million in stimulus funds awarded to the Idaho Dept. of Environmental Quality, says Dan Meyer, IDEQ remediation program manager. Kellogg, Idaho Photo: North Wind Inc. North Wind crews grout concrete pile caps at the repository site in Idaho. Related Links: Stimulus: A Snapshot of Top Shovel-, Wrench- and Pencil-Ready Projects The money, which is being spread over a three-year period, has allowed the agency since August to accelerate yard remediation and materials handling for thousands of residential and commercial properties
RSS
