The California High-Speed Rail Authority Board of Directors met this week to consider planning options and route alternatives as well as hear engineering and environmental progress reports from the Bay Area to the Los Angeles Basin. In addition to two Antelope Valley segments near State Route 14 on the Bakersfield-Los Angeles route, the board now also wants to study a previously considered but shelved Grapevine route along Interstate 5. “We’re looking at all factors and all means to get past the Tehachapi Mountains and into the Los Angeles Basin – and if that means we need to give the Grapevine
Caltrans Director Cindy McKim recently joined construction industry professionals for the 2011 Caltrans �Excellence in Partnering� awards, which recognizes contractors who put into action what they learned from the Caltrans� Partnering Program to deliver successful highway projects throughout California. Caltrans provides free training for the construction industry, city and county transportation agencies, consultants, and small businesses who work on Caltrans projects. The training includes practical tools and tips, such as problem solving and dispute resolution. Those who effectively used tools to deliver transportation projects were recognized, according to the department. The gold award winners are: O.C. Jones and Co. and
Granite Construction Co. reports that one of its asphalt concrete and aggregate facilities in Indio is among the first in the nation to use solar energy to generate as much as 75% of its required power. The firm says the clean energy produced on-site is equivalent to providing power for up to 100 homes. The 318kW solar-powered project is designed using Amonix concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems. Each of the six systems has dual-axis tracking to maximize the sun’s rays and generate clean energy to operate Granite’s facility. Amonix CPV technology is also powering a Granite facility in Tucson,
HDR’s Folsom office has been recognized recently with two awards, one national and one local, from the American Society of Civil Engineers for its work with younger members.
The Society for College and University Planning recently honored HGA Architects and Engineers with a 2011 excellence in planning merit award for the Visual and Performing Arts Village at Cabrillo College in Aptos. The Art Village won in the district or campus component category. Visual and Performing Arts Village at Cabrillo College in Aptos Part of a campus master plan, the Visual and Performing Arts Village raises the visibility of the Cabrillo College’s growing theater, music and visual arts programs, says HGA. Located across Soquel Drive from the original campus, the eight-acre Arts Village orients five architecturally compatible buildings around
The U.S. General Services Administration last week awarded Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. the construction management contract for the renovation of the historic Federal Building at 50 United Nations Plaza in San Francisco. The Federal Building at 50 UNP, which was originally designed by prominent local architect Arthur Brown, Jr. and completed in 1936, has not had a major renovation in its 75-year lifetime, the GSA said. The $122-million renovation project, funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will convert the 350,213-sq-ft building into a high performance green building and is scheduled to be completed in 2013. The
McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. was recently honored with a California Awards for Performance Excellence (CAPE) Prospector Award by the California Council for Excellence, the only general contractor to win this year. The CAPE program, which emulates the highly esteemed Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program, recognizes organizations that demonstrate superior performance in seven key business areas, including leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, measurement, analysis and knowledge management, workforce focus, process management and results. “We are pleased to be recognized as a CAPE winner along with other prestigious recipients including premier healthcare and education institutions,” said Chad Dorgan, McCarthy vice
Not content to see themselves locked at 2.5% of the national craft union workforce for the past 30 years, more than 625 tradeswomen gathered in Oakland last weekend to learn how to boost those numbers at the first national conference for women in the trades. Photo by Vicki Hamlin, Tradeswomen Inc. Photo by Vicki Hamlin, Tradeswomen Inc. Sean McGarvey, national building trades� secretary-treasurer The meeting, co-sponsored by the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Dept., included women craft workers from across the country and Canada. It was also the 10th annual Women Building California conference, which, according to conference organizers, never
Turner Construction Co. recently contracted with Brookfield Properties to provide general contracting services for the renovation of a retail mall in downtown Los Angeles. The $23-million project, recently branded as Fig at 7th, is located at 735 South Figueroa Street. The Fig at 7th project includes the full renovation of a three-story, 330,000-sq-ft retail mall. Turner says it will demolish the existing slab flooring, guardrails, escalators, elevators, interior and exterior finishes, and signage, and install new flooring, new monumental stairs, escalators, finishes, paving, signage, demising walls, and temporary storefronts. Turner will also provide modifications to the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and
Data centers are not traditionally known for their green aspects, but one Silicon Valley firm firmly believes that customers have embraced LEED-certified energy-efficient operations that are in line with California�s sustainability demands. Vantage opened the reconstructed V3 data center at the beginning of the year. Wholesale operator Vantage Data Center recently opened its doors to the first of three buildings at its $300-million, 18-acre campus in Santa Clara off Walsh Avenue, which was formerly occupied by Intel. At a recent Earth Day showcase, featuring booths and panel discussions, Vantage also announced the Apollo Innovation Initiative, a data center development framework
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