A 98-year-old, accident-prone southeast Texas bridge is being upgraded following a long and bumpy bidding process. The U.S. Coast Guard declared the rolling-lift single-leaf bascule causeway bridge connecting Galveston Island with Texas a navigational hazard in 2001. Old bascule bridge was subjected to repeated barge collisions. The 108-ft-wide bridge often is struck by barges, costing more than $2 million in repairs each year, says Raymond Butler, Gulf Coast Intracoastal Canal Association’s former executive director. A new structure—designed by Galveston County with Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based Modjeski and Masters—triples the clearance width. Bids came in higher than expected in October, resulting in value-engineering
Texas’ capital city is living up to its reputation as the U.S. city most poised to quickly recover from the economic downturn. Forbes magazine, for one, made this prediction last summer when it said the Austin-Round Rock area tops the list of “best cities for recession recovery.” Then June 9, as if on script, Samsung Electronics, Seoul, South Korea, announced it will invest $3.6 billion to expand the capacity of its existing semiconductor plant in Austin. Courtesy Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC An aerial shows Samsung�s Austin campus, the company�s only semiconductor fabrication site outside South Korea. A $3.6-billion plant upgrade
As Louisiana prepares to build sand berms along its barrier islands, a $ 360-million project that BP will pay for, the state of Texas’ General Land Office has dismissed reports of oily critters on the Texas Gulf Coast as “media hype.” But concerns remain about the toxicity of dispersants and effects of a hurricane. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard Texas officials say no oily birds have been found on the state�s shores, such as this Brown Pelican being rescued on June 4 by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from Barataria Bay in Grand Isle, La. Oiled birds and sea turtles did
Texas is preparing for the worst and hoping for the best, if the state’s shores suffer a “tarball” event. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard A Mobile offshore drilling unit holds position directly over the damaged Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer as crews work to plug the wellhead using a technique known as top kill on May 26, in the Gulf of Mexico. The failed procedure was intended to stem the flow of oil and gas and kill the well by injecting heavy drilling fluids through the blowout preventer on the seabed into the well. The good news from the Texas General Land
Dallas-based HKS Architects has offset 100% of annual electricity consumed at its 110,000-sq-ft corporate headquarters with the purchase of 4.3 million KW hours of renewable energy credits generated by wind farms across the U.S. through the Boulder, Colo.-based provider Renewable Choice Energy. Related Links: Texas Stadium Implosion Site Will Serve as TxDOT Staging Area Energy Issues Likely Part of 82nd Legislature Discussions DFW Airport Awards $900M Project to Balfour Beatty Construction JV KBR Acquires Energo Engineering The EPA estimates that the purchase helps avoid a similar amount of CO2 emissions as produced by driving more than 4.8 million mi in
W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co., with Texas offices in San Antonio and Fort Worth, and The Mundy Cos. of Houston each recently earned Safety Excellence Awards from the National Associated Builders and Contractors. Related Links: Skanska Texas Office Makes Diversity a Priority Houston Loses More Construction Jobs Than Any Other Metro New Board Member Joins Mobility Authority Houston AIA Chapter Selects 2010 Design Awards Linbeck Wins Aon Award for Dallas Opera House ROMCO Equipment Co. Wins Customer Satisfaction Award Hoffman Fixtures Acquires Phoenix Fabrication LLC in Oklahoma City Terex Roadbuilding Modifies Operations, Sales and Operations STG Design Relocates Offices
Prairie Link Constructors, a Fluor-led joint venture with Balfour Beatty of Dallas, received final notice to proceed from the North Texas Tollway Authority for the SH 161 Tollway project in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth region. The contract value is $416 million. Related Links: Williamson County Toll Road 5-Mi Extension Starts Bay Area Highway Projects Move Forward; More in the Works Southwest Parkway Work Crosses Tarrant County in Multiple Areas U.S. 67 Expansion Project Starts NTTA selected the Irving-based Fluor team in August. “The continuation of this project is a milestone for us, our partners and the North Texas region,” NTTA
STG Design, and architectural and interior design firm, relocated its Austin office to an addition behind GSD&M’s main office. The three-story studio is in downtown Austin. The firm occupies the third floor. Related Links: Skanska Texas Office Makes Diversity a Priority Houston Loses More Construction Jobs Than Any Other Metro New Board Member Joins Mobility Authority Houston AIA Chapter Selects 2010 Design Awards Linbeck Wins Aon Award for Dallas Opera House ROMCO Equipment Co. Wins Customer Satisfaction Award Hoffman Fixtures Acquires Phoenix Fabrication LLC in Oklahoma City Terex Roadbuilding Modifies Operations, Sales and Operations Yates Construction, Mundy Cos. Earn ABC
Construction of the Base Realignment and Closure project to expand Brooke Army Medical Center progressed as the structural steel frame of the hospital’s seven-story addition was completed with a topping out. Photo: USACE Work is under way at the Brooke Army Medical Center, where a seven-story addition recently topped out. Related Links: McCarthy Building Completes $240M Houston Hospital Expansion Armed Forces Reserve Center Under Construction in Lewisville Contract Awarded for Lackland’s First Airmen Training Complex Historic Fort Sam Houston Theater Gets $17M Renovation, Expansion Yates Construction Builds Army Reserve Center, Fort Worth School Houston’s Three Eldridge Place Achieves LEED Gold
Fort Worth’s $22-million, 8.7-mi Southwest Parkway limited-access toll road will be under way through spring. It was combined with a 6-mi section of SWP being developed by TxDOT and the 13-mi Chisholm Trail (or CT), also developed by TxDOT. The combined project is 28-mi long and extends south from IH-30 in Fort Worth to U.S. 67 in Johnson County. Related Links: SH 161 Project Will Expand Artery on Major Interstates in DFW Region Williamson County Toll Road 5-Mi Extension Starts Bay Area Highway Projects Move Forward; More in the Works U.S. 67 Expansion Project Starts It will be funded through