Related Links: The Clemson Highway 93 Pedestrian Bridge Clemson University in South Carolina is almost finished building a new pedestrian bridge that runs parallel to a four-lane road between the campus, where I work, and downtown, where I live. With big piles of dirt, heavy equipment and lots of rebar and concrete, it's the kind of construction site that excites us.The finished product is going to look great and be much safer than the narrow sidewalk that was there before. As if that weren't enough, the bridge connects into Clemson's soccer stadium, my main source of entertainment in the fall.
Related Links: Good Guys, Wiseguys, and Putting Up Buildings: A Life in Construction The summer of 1963—remembered mostly for the March on Washington—was marked in the construction industry by the arrival of affirmative action. I don't believe I had ever heard the term before, but its entry into our lives was truly dramatic and, a half century later, worth recalling now. In New York City, starting in mid-Juneand lasting for a full five months, work was halted on the $25-million annex being built for Harlem Hospital. Pickets, alleging discrimination against blacks and Puerto Ricans in the construction trades, introduced a
Related Links: New Orleans Raises $14.6 Billion Defensive Ring NYC Mayor Bloomberg Pushes $20-Billion Long-Term Resiliency Plan In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy's devastating blow to New York City, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (R) called for a special initiative to rebuild a stronger and more resilient city. That would be a smart investment, but the challenge, once again, will come in funding it.Research has shown that flood- protection infrastructure consistently offers at least $4 of benefit for every dollar spent. The challenge is finding the funds to plan and build defenses rapidly at times when damaged communities have less to
Related Links: Paul Fallon: Rebuilding Haiti, Out of Square The Haitian approach to construction follows the dictum that work requires banging. Haitian workers are remarkably strong, and jobsite camaraderie thrives in displays of physical prowess. The carpenter who cuts formwork with such precision that it slides into place does nothing praiseworthy. But if the plywood is too long, he can force-fit it into submission. If it's too short, he can cram shims to fill the gap. Either way, the carpenter pounds repeatedly, reverberating over the entire site of the Be Like Brit orphanage in Grand Goave, where I am supervising
At the beginning of the year, I wrote that while no one liked the recession, some contractors and sureties were going to hate the recovery, too. A new set of risks will arise as contractors price their work aggressively, I wrote, and profit margins lag and some companies take on too much and burn through their capital.That’s pretty gloomy, but I didn’t give the complete picture about what can go wrong during the unfolding recovery. Because contractors will price their work aggressively and will be hungry for the cash needed for growth, financing will be essential.Unfortunately, the response from banks
Related Links: Beware the Recovery: What History Teaches Contractors and Sureties At the beginning of the year, I wrote that while no one liked the recession, some contractors and sureties were going to hate the recovery, too. As I said then, a new set of risks will arise as contractors price their work aggressively, profit margins lag and some companies take on too much and burn through their capital.That was pretty gloomy, but I didn't give the complete picture about what can go wrong during the unfolding recovery. Because contractors will price their work aggressively and be hungry for the
Courtesy of the Vitiello Family Michael Vitiello, retired cement mason and union business agent, now shares ties to construction with a daughter who had no intention of doing anything linked to the industry. Related Links: An Uphill Battle Against LEED-Based Codes Bash All the Lawyers? Not So Fast Lawyers as Constructors are Ruining the Business "It's only when you grow up, and step back from him, or leave him for your own career and your own home—it's only then that you can measure his greatness and fully appreciate it. Pride reinforces love." — Margaret TrumanMy father, Michael Vitiello, is a
The International Green Construction Code (IgCC) recently celebrated its first anniversary, and it has already been adopted by state and/or local jurisdictions in at least nine states. I believe this year will be crucial for IgCC because while the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system is raising its minimum thresholds, the appeal to governments of a building code rather than a rating system could become clearer.The jurisdictions that have adopted the IgCC—Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington—for the most part have adopted it as a voluntary
Related Links: Sandy Recovery, An ENR Special Report Moving On After Sandy Lessons Learned From a Superstorm Could New York City have foreseen and protected itself from Superstorm Sandy's tidal surge? The question has been asked many times. Some, including my colleagues and I, believe natural barriers in the form of artificial reefs, sturdy dunes and barrier islands can help do the job. But while these can reduce the damaging effects of waves—the cold temperatures during Sandy kept the winds at a high altitude, thus producing fewer waves—if we are to protect against the storm surge itself, a broader system
Courtesy Andrew D. Ness What lawyers contribute is important, argues Ness. ENR’s recent viewpoint, “Lawyer as Constructor,” was a classic example of lawyer bashing—reliably good fun that is as old as Shakespeare. I am not going to argue that it’s never deserved but I would like to point out some of the ways that construction lawyers make a strong positive contribution to our industry. At the front end of a project, the construction lawyer frequently adds substantial value. Almost every project has at least one key challenge that is not addressed by any form contract. For a manufacturing plant, it
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