The Chicago Circle, the nation's worst bottleneck for trucks and one of the worst for automobiles, is slated for a $384-million overhaul that could begin as soon as 2014. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is developing plans to relieve congestion at the 50-year-old, circular interchange, where traffic from three area expressways, including I-90, I-94 and I-290, converge just west of Chicago's Loop.“We're looking at a complete structural replacement and a reconfiguring of the interchange itself,” IDOT Project Manager Steve Schilke told reporters Thursday. In addition to increasing capacity, plans call for extending merge and weaving distances.A joint venture of
Construction employment declined in the majority of states in July, with most Midwest states proving no exception to the trend, according to new data compiled by Arlington, Va.-based Associated General Contractors of America. Illinois lost the most jobs of any state in the nation, some 9,800 in all, or a 5% decline over the same period last year. Missouri (-9500 jobs),Wisconsin (-6,900 jobs) and Michigan (-6,100 jobs) also logged substantial losses in July. Only Indiana registered significant year-over-year employment gains in the Midwest, adding 9,500 jobs to its ranks, the fifth largest gain in the nation as a percentage of
Average construction backlogs rebounded in the U.S. in the second quarter, with Midwest states logging a quarter-to-quarter increase of .39 months, according to newly released data from the Washington, D.C.-based Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). However, the Midwest continues to lag other regions. While Midwest states registered an average backlog of 6.73 months in the second quarter, the figure fell short of the 8.75 months logged in the South, 7.50 months logged in the West and 7.28 months logged in the Northeast. Midwest backlogs also dropped .21 months from the same period a year ago.The national picture proved brighter, with
The Midwest remained a tale of two regions in June, with Indiana, Minnesota and Ohio logging solid construction employment gains during the month and Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin logging substantial losses, according to year-over-year data compiled by the Arlington, Va.-based Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Job losses in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville metropolitan market were the worst in the nation (-5,600 jobs, -5%), followed by New York City (-5,500 jobs, -5%); New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La. (-5,100 jobs, -16%); Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (-4,800 jobs, -9%) and Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. (-4,700 jobs, -% percent).The Indianapolis-Carmel and Akron, Ohio, markets logged the region's greatest gains, with
Entries for ENR's Best Projects 2012 Competition have surpassed the 500 mark, an indication the program is gaining greater industry support in several regions of the nation. Many regions, including the Midwest, Northwest, Mid-Atlantic, California and Texas & Louisiana continue to actively solicit entries for the two-tiered program, which honors excellence in 18 categories ranging from office, health care and cultural/worship to industrial, landscaping and transportation.Projects first compete in one of nine regional contests, with expert panels of design and construction professionals evaluating projects on the basis of five criteria, including teamwork, safety and innovation. This fall, winning projects in
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has indicated it intends to investigate a July 23 construction accident that killed an Indianapolis worker in the parking lot of an apartment complex. A worker on site lowered the arms of a skid loader, unaware that Ronald Davenport was standing on the side of the machine, where he was pinned between the arm of the skid loader and the frame.Davenport was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Murray Johnson had performed this sort of heavy lifting before, but the previous feat was just a warm-up. This time, the executive engineer for North Vancouver, British Columbia-based Buckland & Taylor Ltd. is shooting for a world record. He and his colleagues believe that the Milton-Madison Bridge, now being built over the Ohio River between Kentucky and Indiana, would involve the biggest truss slide in history. Related Links: Rapid Bridge-Building Toolkit Nears Final Field Tests Milton-Madison Bridge Website "We have specialized over the years in many crazy—I mean high-end—erection schemes. From that point of view, we have confidence," says Johnson.
KleinschmidtJames E. Kleinschmidt has joined Baxter & Woodman Consulting Engineers, Madison, Wis., as senior wastewater project manager. Kleinschmidt has more than 30 years of experience in wastewater utility engineering. Related Links: www.enr.com/midwest Deborah L. Gray has joined architect-engineer Stantec, Columbus, Ohio, as national director with the firm's risk assessment and toxicology practice. Gray, who has 30 years of experience in environmental health, toxicology, human health and ecological risk assessment, is overseeing environmental and workplace risk assessment programs for a range of public- and private-sector clients. BykowskiSteve Bykowski has been named project director and John Determann director of preconstruction with
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