TxDOT revised its Texas’ 100 most congested roadway segments, and a new list reveals that the greater Houston area has five of the top 10 and the Dallas area has three. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" The list was compiled using traffic speed data to calculate delay instead of estimations based on traffic volume. It pinpoints the traffic hotspots in the state with the goal of assisting transportation planners in prioritizing roadway and transit projects. Texas A&M University’s Texas Transportation Institute worked with TxDOT to develop the list and improve methodology. TTI worked with INRIX of Kirkland, Wash, a
A construction worker died as a result of injuries suffered when a piece of steel plate fell on him during construction of a new water tower for the City of Pryor, Okla. Early on the morning of August 12, welder Robert Shane Hoesli, 21, of Clyde, Kan., was standing on an I-beam pallet holding three half-ton steel places, which would form the stem of the water tower, says Corp. Sue Greninger with the Prior Police Dept. She adds that the men had secured two of the 10-ft tall by 12-ft wide, curved steel plates and were attempting to get the
Dallas-based McCarthy Building Cos. won three bid packages by Dallas Independent School District for work at nine campuses. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" A $12-million bid package includes renovations at Annie Webb Blanton, Nancy Moseley, Richard Lagow and John W. Runyon elementary schools. McCarthy will construct a new 27,000-sq-ft wing at Moseley. The program manager is Richardson-based Parsons, and architect is Dallas-based Jennings, Hackler & Partners. A $13-million package includes additions and renovations at four campuses. T.G. Terry Elementary and the Learning Alternative Center for Empowering Youth at Village Fair will get interior renovations and MEP upgrades. McCarthy will
Dallas-based Corgan received the 2010 PCI Design Award from the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute for its work on the John A. Dubiski Career High School in Grand Prairie. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Dubiski Career High School is a career and technology campus focusing on equipping students with workplace skills. It features a precast concrete exterior that simulates veined, chiseled natural shell stone. The look was achieved by randomly placing on the form surface organic pigments and fossilized scallop shells made from rubber molds of real shells, then pouring a low-slump concrete mixture into the form. Precast components were supplied
Studio RED Architects, Houston, is a finalist in an international competition for master planning and concept design of Our Lady of LaVang pilgrimage site in Quang Tri, Vietnam. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Competitors were given the task to develop a master plan for the existing site to include a 5,000-seat basilica, 400-key guest house, multiple chapels and shrines, a museum gallery and other support facilities. The Studio RED proposal for the master plan concept and design focuses on main goals of cultural influence, religious inspiration and sustainability.
Dallas-based BOKA Powell designed the new Frisco Discovery Center, an adaptive re-use that converted a former warehouse into an arts, education and cultural center. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" BOKA Powell provided architecture for adapting 25,000 sq ft of empty warehouse space–part of a 150,000-sq-ft building once occupied by rocket maker Beal Aerospace –into a destination for the city of Frisco. The open space is now home for a 100-seat black-box theater, gallery and Sci-Tech Discovery Center hands-on learning center. Dallas-based Balfour Beatty Construction built the project, which was funded by the Frisco Community Development Corp.
The State Energy Conservation Office awarded Boerne ISD a $164,000 Renewable Energy Technology Grant. The project is being installed at Fair Oaks Ranch Elementary School and will feature a 42.8-kW solar roof-mounted array consisting of 177 photovoltaic panels that will be oriented to the southeast for enhanced solar-energy generation. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" The system is designed to generate 59,101 kWh per year, saving the school more than $5,700 a year in energy expenses, or about 8 % of its electricity bill. By producing renewable energy, the school should prevent 38 tons of CO2 from entering the air
Dallas-based Atrium Cos. plans to open a new Texas vinyl extrusion facility. Atrium leased a 120,000-sq-ft manufacturing facility in Greenville, 50 mi east of Dallas. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Operations should begin in December and will initially employ 20 with future expansion likely as demands increase according to market growth expectations.
The city of Houston will receive a $423,069 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant to advance greenhouse gas reduction activities as part of the agency’s Climate Showcase Communities initiative. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" The city’s funding aims to reduce transportation-related emissions through development of electric vehicle and bicycle infrastructure. The proposal calls for the city to develop an electric vehicle charging infrastructure to be used by both city and commercial or residential vehicles, implement a bike-share program and improve the existing bike infrastructure by using solar-powered LED lighting on bike paths. The project has the potential to reduce greenhouse
Houston-based Fretz Construction Co. and architect David Morris broke ground on a new 3,000-sq-ft multipurpose space and extensive renovations at Holy Ghost Church in Houston, originally built in 1964. Unique program requirements regarding the design of the addition included using similarly laminated wood arches, matching textured brick and stucco. Photo: Lourdes Cuellar Holy Ghost groundbreaking. L to R: Win Haggard; Ronald Clary of Fretz; David Morris, architect; Greg May, pastor; Daniel Perez, Cindy Schultz, Marcial Orellana and Rodolfo Ramirez. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras"
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