Photo courtesy of Vermont Agency of Transportation Hoping to restore roads before winter snow arrives, National Guard troops help fix three miles of state road in Cavendish, Vermont. Related Links: Hurricane Irene Provides a Laboratory For Testing Bridge Innovations Before winter arrives, crews are working hard in the Northeast to assess and repair infrastructure damaged from tropical storms Irene and Lee in August and September, respectively.Vermont was hit hard by Irene. The storm killed five, closed roads, bridges and rail lines, shut down the state office complex in Waterbury and left more than 50,000 people without power.Dept. of Transportation officials
Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard AFTER THE BLAST Federal review suggests changes, but new rules already are under way. Released on Sept. 13, a final federal report on the cause of the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil platform did not immediately result in a rush to re-engineer wells, rigs or platforms, largely because new offshore regulations have been in development since the April 2010 blowout of BP's Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico.The report ties up more than a year of research and hearings into the well blowout that took 11 lives and resulted in a months-long oil
ENCLOSURE Tennessee Valley Authoritys remediation design details the alteration of the coal-ash containment ponds terrain profile.l A record-breaking 11-mile slurry wall in itself is unusual, but the relationship between contractor, engineer and owner is what makes the construction of the wall—at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston fossil plant—even more unusual, says Brian Jasperse, president and CEO of Geo-Con, Pittsburgh.“It's been a very interesting process,” Jasperse says. “It's a really good example of the engineer, contractor and owner trying to tweak the design. It's highly unusual, and as a result we're putting together a good product.”Knoxville, Tenn.-based TVA and its remediation
Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Water Tampa's 120-MGD water-treatment plant is one of the largest U.S. drinking-water projects delivered to date via a DBO mechanism. In Florida last year, one of the largest drinking-water projects in the U.S. was completed via a design-build-operate contract and is now operational. However, despite its success, the project apparently has failed to inspire a trend toward an increased use of DBO elsewhere. Nevertheless, an industry expert believes cash-strapped small utilities may soon be forced to privatize their water-facility production and operations.Veolia Water North America served as construction manager at-risk for a 50-million-gal-per-day expansion of
PHOTO COURTESY OF MWH Ogden, Utah, wastewater treatment plant expansion is rare sector capital project. Related Links: ENR SOURCEBOOK: Top 400 Contractors So much to do, so little money with which to do it. That paraphrasing of the familiar adage sums up the mood of contractors regarding the water and wastewater infrastructure market. With expansion and upgrade projects in many parts of the country curbed by anemic economic growth and cutbacks in government spending, the market is now focused on helping clients keep their aging systems one step ahead of both time and tightening water-quality mandates.Pat McCann, CEO of Weston
The Brightwater wastewater treatment plant near Seattle is nearing completion. Although the job is a year late and carries more than $200 million in disputed claims, for the most part, Washington state's King County officials are pleased with the project.The $1.8-billion project includes 13 miles of deep-bore conveyance, ranging below the surface from 40 ft to 440 ft, as well as four portals and a pump station to a Puget Sound marine outflow station.The project started off routinely enough in 2005, but a failed tunnel-boring machine caused delays. With the mining on the tunnel finally completed this past August—nearly a
Hurricane Irene punished the northeast coast of the U.S. and surprisingly triggered much more inland flooding in New Jersey, upstate New York, Massachusetts and Vermont than anyone expected. Connecticut suffered coastal damage as well.
ENR The $632-million plant is being built at Magtaa, near Algeria's second-biggest city, Oran. Completion of the world's largest desalination plant, in Algeria, will be delayed by nearly a year as a result of a fire that destroyed crucial equipment and other supplies meant to be installed at the 500,000-cu-meter-per-day facility.Singapore's Hyflux Ltd., the contractor building the $632-million desalination plant at Magtaa, near Algeria's second- biggest city, Oran, said the July 28 blaze—the cause of which has yet to be established—destroyed a warehouse and stored equipment. As a result, the completion date for the project has been moved from August
AP Photo/Seth Wenig Construction workers disassemble a temporary building on the beach that was set up for an upcoming surfing competition in Long Beach, N.Y., anticipating Hurricane Irene hitting the East Coast. Related Links: U.S.G.S. Hurricane Irene Tracking Map, Surge Data You could call it the Great Button Up. Or the Big Batten Down.Either way, contractors, owners and government agencies all along the Northeast U.S. coast secured jobsites in anticipation of Hurricane Irene making landfall over the Aug. 27-28 weekend. As of Friday afternoon, Irene was classified as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph. For some, the
Photo Courtesy of Chesapeake Energy Critics have said the entire natural gas production cycle poses environmental risks; industry sources say they are working to improve the process. Related Links: View the Fraking/Drinking Water Infograph DOE Advisory Panel Releases Shale Gas Recommendations Industry sources say they are generally supportive of the recommendations of the Dept. of Energy’s Subcommittee on Shale Gas Production released on August 11. But environmental groups say the report lacks substance, and some are calling for a moratorium until safety and environmental concerns can be addressed.The DOE advisory panel, established at the request of President Obama this spring,