It’s been a turbulent ride, but developers and builders of the nation’s first major greenfield airport to be built since Denver’s in 1995 are gearing up for a final landing in Panama Bay County, Fla. Lawsuits and an ongoing contractor dispute notwithstanding, officials with the Panama City-Bay County Airport Authority still plan on a May completion of the $330-million airport, envisioned as a crucial spur for future economic growth in Florida’s panhandle. Photo: Panama City-Bay County Airport Authority New airport in Panama Bay County was conceived as a project to expand business opportunities in the Florida panhandle. The 4,000-acre airport

Seeking to “ensure transparency and accountability” in the $8.7-billion effort to build a new commuter rail link under the Hudson River between New Jersey and Manhattan, Gov. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) has issued an executive order mandating more state oversight of spending and contracting. Slide Show Photo: New Jersey Transit Expanding rail-line terminus is one part of project to run more trains between New York and New Jersey. As the country’s largest transit public-works project, the rail link includes construction of two commuter tracks and requires 8.78 miles of tunneling. The project officially broke ground in June and is to be

Construction engineers finishing up the country’s longest cathedral-arch bridge in a tough, rocky patch of northern Nevada say they have found a new way to capitalize on the slow-and-steady power that strand jacks provide. Photo: Enerpac Rocky, rural terrain surrounds the Galena Creek Bridge, requiring special hoisting equipment. Photo: Enerpac Protecting the jacks are steel enclosures that bridge contractor C.C. Myers designed and fabricated. The boxes house a 15-hp, electrohydraulic supply and cable coiler, all powered by an on-site generator. C.C. Myers Inc., Rancho Cordova, Calif., is using a dozen of the 85-ton jacks fabricated by Milwaukee, Wis.-based Enerpac to

Seattle’s South Spokane Street Viaduct is one step closer to reality with the recent selection of PCL Construction Services Inc., Bellevue, Wash., for the final $60.3-million phase of a four-year widening program. The 60-year-old elevated roadway is the main east-west connector between Interstate 5 and West Seattle. Plans call for widening the two-lane, 3,000-ft-long structure to 86 ft—nearly double its current width—and adding new ramps and collector lanes. South Spokane Street, which runs beneath the viaduct, will be reconstructed to include new curbs, sidewalks and improved pedestrian and bicycle access. The entire project is scheduled to be substantially complete in

Engineers and contracting crews are breathing easier now that the most complex part has ended in building the $82-million Interstate 64 Kanawha River bridge project near Charleston, W.Va. With more than a year left to meet the project completion deadline, the bridge team already has secured a place in U.S. construction record books with a 760-ft main span of cast-in-place post-tensioned segmental box girders. That span is the longest of its type in the country, surpassing Houston’s Ship Channel Bridge by 10 ft. Photo: Brayman Construction Balanced cantilever construction has resulted in the country’s longest cast-in-place segmental box-girder main span,

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

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.