A long-awaited Everglades restoration construction project began in February on the western section of the Tamiami Trail in Miami-Dade County, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced. Related Links: FPL Halts Work on Nuclear, Modernization Projects $400-Million I-4/Selmon Connector Moves Ahead With Stimulus Funds Florida Contracts: 8% December Drop = 24% ’09 Decline Legoland Florida to Rise at Former Cypress Gardens Skanska USA Selected as CM for FIU Stempel Complex Stiles to Develop, Build Nova Southeastern Educational Center Contractor to Replace Jet Fuel Tanks for NAVFAC in Jacksonville Ajax Building Starts New College of Florida Academic Center The Tamiami Trail
Florida’s transition to more efficient and clean energy production hit a speed bump in January when Juno Beach, Fla.-based FPL Group said it would immediately halt work on approved nuclear and modernization projects that collectively totaled as much as $20 billion. The sudden move came on the heels of the state Public Service Commission rejecting FPL’s requests for rate hikes totaling more than $1 billion. FPL Group Chairman and CEO Lew Hay cited the decision as evidence of a deteriorating regulatory climate in Florida that “is increasingly hostile to investment. Related Links: $400-Million I-4/Selmon Connector Moves Ahead With Stimulus Funds
Greenville, S.C.-based O’Neal was awarded a construction contract to expand FitesaFiberweb’s plant in Simpsonville, S.C. O’Neal started design for the project in September. Related Links: North Carolina Wins $545 Million in Federal Rail Grants North Carolina: 1% December Drop Adds Up to 28% ’09 Decline South Carolina: 18% December Drop = 36% ’09 Decline Carolinas AGC Presents Top Honors to Construction Leaders South Carolina Leaders Hope for I-73 Stimulus Dollars URS to Operate North Carolina’s Triangle Expressway Toll Facility The company will build two manufacturing lines that will produce items for the hygiene products industry. FitesaFiberweb Simpsonville is a joint
McGraw-Hill Construction, publisher of Southeast Construction, reported that the value of new Florida contracts signed in December for future construction fell by 8% overall, compared to the same period of a year ago. The total of all new contracts was slightly more than $1.7 billion. Related Links: FPL Halts Work on Nuclear, Modernization Projects $400-Million I-4/Selmon Connector Moves Ahead With Stimulus Funds Legoland Florida to Rise at Former Cypress Gardens Construction Starts on Everglades Restoration Project Tamiami Trail Skanska USA Selected as CM for FIU Stempel Complex Stiles to Develop, Build Nova Southeastern Educational Center Contractor to Replace Jet Fuel
Despite a healthy uptick in the residential market, the overall value of Georgia contracts signed in December for future construction fell by 11% for the month, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, publisher of Southeast Construction. Related Links: Batson-Cook, H.J. High Joint Venture for Mitsubishi Power Systems Project McCarthy Wins Project at Clayton State University BRPH/Lifecycle Team Awarded Project at Fort Stewart, Ga. The residential sector improved by 18% in December, compared to the same period of a year ago, for a monthly total of approximately $229.3 million. The other two construction categories went negative, however. Nonresidential starts fell 9% in December
Atlanta-based Hardin Construction Co. announced it has reached an agreement to acquire selected assets of Tampa-based Mathews Construction. According to the companies, Mathews Construction will continue operating under the Mathews name, as a division of Hardin. Related Links: Obama’s Budget for USACE Civil Works Totals $4.9 Billion Danis Building Construction Co. Acquires R.N. Rouse & Co. of N.C. Coral Gables, Fla.-based MasTec to Acquire Precision Pipeline “We are extremely excited to bring Mathews into the Hardin fold, as we view the merger as favorable to both firms’ growth,” said Hardin Chairman Brantley Barrow. “The merger offers Mathews the greater resources
WILLIAMS DUEKER Aguirre Roden announced Taylor Dueker, AIA, has been named vice president for its Austin office. In his role, Dueker will be responsible for professional design services, business development and project management. He holds a bachelor’s of science degree in art and design from MIT and master’s of architecture from MIT. KBR, Houston, announced the appointment of Mark S. Williams as group president overseeing KBR’s Government & Defense, Infrastructure & Minerals, and Power & Industrial Business Units. Williams has more than 25 years experience in the government and defense sector. Williams joinsed KBR from Jacobs Engineering, where he most
The body of PBSJ Corp. transportation engineer Lee Strickland has been recovered from the remains of Haiti’s Hotel Montana, which collapsed during the January 12, 2010 earthquake. “It is a strike at the heart,” says Kathe Jackson, PBSJ vice president of corporate communications. “We’re a pretty close-knit company, and Lee touched many of our lives.” Strickland, a group manager for the company’s engineering unit, traveled to Haiti to attend a two-day workshop on behalf of the company. STRICKLAND International search and rescue teams have worked at the site of the collapsed hotel since soon after the quake. Teams from the
Odebrecht Construction of Coral Gables, Fla., has completed repairs at Haiti�s Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, enabling commercial carriers to resume service to and from Haiti�s capital beginning Feb. 19. Slide Show Photo courtesy Odebrecht Construction Odebrecht Construction of Coral Gables, Fla., oversaw repairs to the Port-au-Prince airport. Representatives of Dallas-based American Airlines and Odebrecht toured the devastated city four days after the Jan. 12 earthquake. According to Odebrecht, the contractor immediately assembled a team to repair and rebuild the airport’s commercial terminal. The contractor is currently performing more than $1 billion in construction at Miami International Airport’s North
In its latest step on the acquisition trail, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Pasadena, Calif., said on Feb. 15 it had purchased Norcross, Ga.-based Jordan, Jones & Goulding Inc., a 500-person engineering firm specializing in water and wastewater markets. The purchase price was not disclosed, but JJG ranks 151st on ENR’s list of the Top 500 design firms, with nearly $82 million in 2008 revenue. About two-thirds is in environmental infrastructure-related work, with the remainder in the transportation and general building sectors. The firm has 17 offices across the southern U.S., says Jacobs. Don Allen, JJG’s CEO, becomes vice president in