Prior to California Transportation Commission allocation meetings this week, Caltrans sent a �White Paper� to Dale Bonner, secretary of the state Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, which oversees the department, outlining drastic measures the department will have to make if the state budget is not passed � and passed quickly. Cindy McKim, Caltrans director, says that if the current budget impasse continues through the end of August, �transportation fund cash balances may be depleted resulting in potential suspension of ongoing construction projects.� McKim says that if the impasse carries on into September, the department would have to stop or delay
The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded LEED-NC gold certification to Paramount Child Development Center in Avenal, designed by Architects McDonald, Soutar & Paz. The general contractor for the project was Clarion Construction, Inc. Paramount Child Development Center is a center built for the children of Paramount Farms employees. The $7-million, 12,000-sq-ft learning and development center is built on 5.3 acres of land and can accommodate up to 80 children. The building itself houses a multitude of innovative green technologies, including overhead chilled beam systems and hydronic heating in the floor, which provide noise-free gentle temperature control. A roof mounted
The tallest bridge in California � the Foresthill Bridge in Placer County � is about to embark on a $71-million renewal and seismic upgrade project. The county, which owns, operates and maintains the bridge, will oversee the project, which started bid advertising June 29 with bid opening scheduled for Sept. 7 and the award announced in November. Construction is scheduled to begin in December with completion in late 2013 or 2014. A number of high-profile firms are bidding on the project, including American Bridge/Fluor, California Engineering, Golden Gate Bridge Inc., Skanska, Teichert Readymix and William P. Young Construction. The Foresthill
A design/build team led by San Carlos-based Gonsalves & Stronck Construction recently completed a historical rehabilitation to one of Woodside�s oldest and most significant equestrian properties. Photography by Steve Whittaker Photography by Steve Whittaker The Folger Estate Stable, together with the other buildings that formed the grand country estate of the coffee magnate James A. Folger II, was designed in 1905 by Arthur Brown Jr., famous for later work including San Francisco City Hall, Coit Tower, and other California landmarks. Even in this youthful work, Brown�s Beaux-Arts training and personal genius is clearly evident in a design that draws upon
Construction on the $102-million Orange Freeway (State Route 57) Northbound Widening Project will begin this fall as officials, construction workers and business leaders gathered recently to celebrate the kickoff of the Orangethorpe to Lambert segment. The Orange County Transportation Authority, in partnership with Caltrans, is sponsoring improvements to the SR-57, which will add a northbound lane from north of the SR-91 near Orangethorpe Avenue in Placentia to Lambert Road in Brea. The project will also add traffic and merging lanes at various locations, reconfigure entrance and exit ramps, construct retaining walls and sound walls and standardize existing general purpose lanes
An October completion is planned for the $100-million Valley Performing Arts Center at the southwest corner of California State University, Northridge. C.W. Driver is the general contractor and HGA Architects and Engineers is the designer on the project, a five-story, 166,000-sq-ft performance hall that includes a 1,700-seat concert hall designed to support orchestra, opera, Broadway, film and dance; 175-seat black box theater; backstage support; classrooms; 230-seat lecture room; rehearsal and events space; and a new broadcast facility for KCSN public radio. It is being built to LEED silver certification standards. C.W. Driver�s construction team is using 34,000 sq ft of
The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners last week unanimously approved the Environmental Impact Report for the project to replace the aging Gerald Desmond Bridge at the Port of Long Beach with a new, nearly $1 billion span that will accommodate future traffic needs and dramatically improve safety for vessels and vehicles alike. The Port of Long Beach, in partnership with Caltrans, will oversee the project to design and build a higher, wider bridge parallel to and just north of the existing Gerald Desmond Bridge. Once the new bridge is completed and open, the old structure will be taken down.
Swinerton Builders and Sausal Corp. broke ground on two San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge toll plaza projects this month that will result in a new 22,600-sq-ft toll administration building in the parking lot directly east of the existing toll administration facility and a new 10,600-sq-ft structure to house Caltrans’ Bay Bridge tow services operations. Swinerton, Sausal break ground on Bay Bridge Toll Plaza projects div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Swinerton’s bid to construct the new toll administration building was $13.7 million, with completion slated for late 2012. HNTB is the project designer. Because the new building is a toll-related facility,
As David Kalb, our Wednesday question-and-answer columnist for the Daily Pacific Builder delves into contractor licensing issues, we always find satisfaction knowing there is someone in Sacramento who knows what to do no matter what the problem. But recently, Kalb, who is president of Capitol Services Inc., found a subject that is definitely sensitive to all California contractor firms and has an overall solution that is going to be extremely difficult to get to. Here’s part of his column: Who is and who isn’t a “real” American citizen is one of the top issues of our day. As a nation
The Mineta San Jose International Airport recently unveiled its renovation/expansion of Terminal A, a new Terminal B and a 3,000-space consolidated rental car facility, designed by Fentress Architects and constructed by Hensel Phelps Construction Co. Project principals include Hensel Phelps and Fentress Architects SJC now operates 28 gates for its 13 airlines, with an annual capacity of 14.4 million passengers. The $660-million design-build project components include system modernizations and aesthetic upgrades to Terminal A, a new Terminal B to replace Terminal C, and airport roadway and parking improvements, including a new consolidated rental car facility known as ConRAC. The seven-deck,