Drought, population growth and aging water infrastructure are driving states and municipalities to either begin or build upon ambitious capital campaigns to improve their wastewater and drinking water supply systems, and the outlook for continued growth in the water market looks strong. McGraw-Hill Analytics reports that in 2006 contracting for sewers, wastewater and hazardous waste projects grew 9%, to $14.5 billion, and the outlook for 2007 and 2008 looks bright. Much of the work in sewer lines stems from more stringent federal and state standards for combined sewer overflows (CSO). A number of municipalities have signed consent decrees with the
One difference between construction economists and their Wall Street cousins is that construction economists tend to be risk adverse, especially in their forecasts.
After four years of near double-digit growth, the Canadian construction industry is expected to take a step back in 2008 as the value of new building permits falls 7%, to $66 billion Canadian dollars, according to a forecast by McGraw-Hill Construction Research and Analytics, Bedford, Mass. However, unlike the U.S. markets, the slowdown in Canadian construction will be led by a 16% decline in commercial work and a 7% decline in industrial construction. Residential permits are expected to only slip 4% in 2008, after increasing 5% this year. Rising mortgage rates will put the brakes on nine years of growth
Tube Lines Procuring contracts to finance, maintain, operate and upgrade infrastructure of London’s vast subway system was a $900-million process even before a spade of concrete was mixed. Lawyers, engineers and managers honed the multi-billion dollar public-private partnerships with meticulous care. Yet, with the 30-year project still ramping up, one consortium is bankrupt while the other reports profits ahead of projections. By hiring external contractors, the Tube Lines consortium nimbly cleared numerous hurdles arising from modernizing a third of one of the world’s oldest and biggest metros the London Underground. On the rest of the system, alleged grey areas in
Architect of the Capitol U.S. Capitol Visitors Center “It’s not enough to be great,” says Susan S. Klawans, Gilbane Building Co.’s director of client satisfaction. “You need to be able to satisfy clients and build long-term relationships. Repeat work driven by long-term relationships is the cornerstone of our business, and we’ve been doing it 134 years.” It works. About 70% of Gilbane’s clients are repeat business and 30% is new market growth, says Klawans. “We’re relying on satisfied clients and architects to be our champions with the new clients,” she says. In addition to Klawans’ oversight, Gilbane has a number
Tudor Hampton/ENR Clients keep spending shots, but Salcedo ran out of wall space. Speciality contractors in the Midwest may know of Walter Salcedo, who claims to sell 700 Dodge Sprinter vans a year while most dealers average 270. Those who don’t know him will probably see his work eventually, as the Europe-inspired cargo van gains more edge in the U.S. Salcedo works for Sherman Dodge in Skokie, Ill., where we tested the BLUETEC Ram. He is a fast talker, but not for lack of a good product. A testament to the throngs of contractors using Sprinter vans is Salcedo’s office
Tudor Van Hampton / ENR Chrysler LLC Chevy has a classic, wide stance.Dodge sports a throaty, 6.7L Cummins. The old diesel workhorse of 3/4-tons and up is riding into a new frontier. Its popularity among weekend warriors is Detroit’s motivator to add features as foreign car makers look to grow profits here. For now, there are changes to ponder in the new heavies, and all are still Detroit-brand trucks. ENR drove them this summer to assess ability at the work site. General Motors and Ford Motor Co. dropped off units in Chicago with a full tank. ENR tooled around for
AP/Wideworld AP/Wideworld Lake Lanier’s exposed shoreline is worrisome for Atlanta utilities. After a drought of nearly two years, metropolitan Atlanta is facing possible water rationing, and some forecasters say that the supply in its principal reservoir will last only about 90 days more. But one county in the metropolitan area is floating on a river of reused water, and utilities from as far away as Australia have come to see the results. “In Clayton County it’s raining every day because we’re putting 10 million gallons per day back into our supply,” says Mike Thomas, general manager of Clayton County Water
Iowa State University Jahren conducts grad-level distance learning. At a time when industry practitioners already seem to work 25 hours a day, who has time to earn a graduate degree on the side? Four construction schools are using technology to ease that challenge and start developing a supply of well-qualified future educators. Many universities and vocational schools now require instructors to have advanced degrees to teach, and groups such as the Associated General Contractors are concerned there is a dwindling supply of professionals with both field experience and education credentials, says Roger Liska, chairman of the Construction Science and Management
Students at University of Minnesota generate BIM models. As industry acceptance of BIM grows, colleges and universities are trying to work it into their long-established architecture and engineering curricula, with mixed success. While BIM evangelists see great potential in teaching it to the next generation of engineers, architects and construction managers, many academics and professionals are not yet fully convinced of the still-evolving technology's value in a slim-margin construction world. "BIM is really a cultural revolution for the construction industry," notes Willem Kymmell, a professor of construction management at California State University, Chico, and the author of a forthcoming book
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