The value of June’s South Carolina contracts was flat compared to a year ago, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. The overall value of new contracts signed for future construction was $733.8 million, compared to last June’s $731 million. Related Links: N.C. Contracts: 36% Drop in June Nonbuilding construction was the only positive category for the month. It soared by 75% over last June’s pace to total $232.5 million. Nonresidential was down again, though, this time by 30% to tally $194.8 million. The residential category fell 4% to total $306.5 million. For the year-to-date, South Carolina’s new contracts total roughly $3.7 billion,
Peoria, Ill.-based heavy equipment giant Caterpillar Inc. announced July 30 that it will build an 850,000-sq-ft mining equipment plant in Winston-Salem, N.C. Construction of the facility, where the company will machine, assemble, test and paint axle assemblies for its mining trucks, is set to begin in November, with production scheduled to start in early 2012. “Caterpillar has worked hard with many local partners in North Carolina, and we thank them for their assistance during the site selection process,” says Hans Haefeli, vice president for advanced components and systems. “We look forward to establishing our new lower powertrain facility in Winston-Salem,
Our annual survey of subcontractors in the Southwest shows revenue totals plummeting in 2009. Last year, we ranked 160 companies totaling $6.13 billion based on their 2008 revenue. This year, the responses fell to 113 firms with revenue totaling just $3.58 billion in 2009. Photo Courtesy Carollo Engineers Crews pour concrete for a clarifier floor during construction on the third phase of the $60-million Casa Grande Water Reclamation Facility. Related Links: Top 113 Specialty Contractors State/Worldwide Market Sectors Safest Subcontractors Even with the drop in participation, the largest firms remain fairly consistent year to year. All but five of last
Canada-based design firm Stantec announced July 20 that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire WilsonMiller Inc., a planning, design and engineering firm headquartered in Naples, Fla., with more than 265 employees and 10 offices throughout the state. “We believe that WilsonMiller will be a catalyst for future growth of Stantec in Florida, which despite the current difficult economic climate, still remains one of the largest markets in the country,” Bob Gomes, Stantec president and CEO, said in a press statement announcing the acquisition. This year, Edmondton, Alberta, Canada-based Stantec Inc. ranked No. 24 on the Engineering News-Record’s
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Wetlands Reserve Program has agreed to pay approximately $89 million to acquire permanent easements on nearly 26,000 contiguous acres in Florida’s Northern Everglades Watershed. Photo: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture has acquired permanent easements for 26,000 acres in the Northern Everglades Watershed. “The Northern Everglades is one of the last frontiers for large-scale land conservation in Florida, so we are excited about this,” says Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. “The $89 million the federal government is investing in this project this year will do wondrous things.” In
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has expanded the list of organizations whose crane-operator certification programs it formally recognizes, with an agreement with the National Center for Construction Education and Research, Gainesville, Fla. Related Links: PBS&J Wins ARTBA ‘Globe Award’ for S.R. 408 Design OSHA chief David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, and NCCER President Don Whyte signed the voluntary agreement on May 17 at the Dept. of Labor headquarters in Washington, D.C. In March, OSHA finalized an agreement with The Crane Institute of America Certification Inc. OSHA also has an agreement with the Operating
Nationally and regionally, 2009 was a pretty dismal year, economically. Construction felt the downturn especially, with an industry unemployment rate that peaked at 22.7% last December. Additionally, earlier this year, McGraw-Hill Construction, publisher of Southeast Construction, estimated that the value of new contracts in the four-state region declined by a collective 24% during 2009, compared to 2008. (And 2008 had the lowest value of new work in many years.) Unfortunately, that downward market trajectory was the main story line of 2009. But another was the seeds of future construction activity that were being planted by government spending. Looking at this
Gov. Rick Perry has reappointed Bill Thornton of San Antonio as chair to the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2012. Thornton received a bachelor’s degree from Trinity University, a doctorate of Dental Surgery from Baylor College of Dentistry, and completed his oral surgery residency at Baylor Medical Center. In addition, Gov. Perry has reappointed David Allex of Harlingen as chair to the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2012. He received a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University at Kingsville and attended the Institute of Organizational Management at
PROJECT COST: $389.5 million Image Courtesy PCL Civil Constructors Interstate 4/Crosstown Connector Related Links: Back to Top Project Starts The $389.5-million Interstate 4/Crosstown Connector in Tampa was another long-awaited Florida Dept. of Transportation project kick-started into life by roughly $100 million in stimulus funding. The remaining $289.5 million of the design-bid-build-finance project�s funding will be contractor-financed until federal funding begins in 2013 or 2014. A joint venture of PCL Civil Constructors of Tampa and Archer Western Contractors of Atlanta holds the design-bid-build-finance contract. PBS&J of Tampa is the project�s engineer. The project involves constructing multiple, elevated, one- and two-lane ramps
PROJECT COST: $360 million Photo Courtesy Odebrecht Construction MIC Earlington Heights Connector Related Links: Back to Top Project Starts A joint venture of two Miami-area firms is leading the construction of the $360-million Earlington Heights-MIC Connector, a 2.4-mi rail line that will link the Miami Intermodal Center, under construction next to Miami International Airport, with Miami�s Metrorail transit system. The joint-venture construction team is a 50/50 partnership between OHL USA of Miami and Odebrecht Construction of Coral Gables, Fla. The OHL team also includes two OHL subsidiaries, Community Asphalt and Tower-OHL Group. The line will be built between the MIC
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