While other Southwest subcontractors have struggled during these challenging economic times, Corbins Electric has prospered. The Phoenix-based company saw revenue rise 22% in 2010 to $42.8 million, one of the best performances by any regional subcontractor. The total includes $37.2 million from Arizona projects. Related Links: Corbins, which also has an office in Albuquerque, N.M., anticipates an increase of 28.5% in 2011 to $55 million, says Mark Fleming, president and CEO. In those roles since 2001 and a 25-year company veteran, Fleming estimates 2012 revenue of about $50 million.Despite the industry doldrums, the 268-employee company has thrived by effectively partnering
Routine work on a substation apparently led to a power outage that left more than 1.4 million customers – about 5 million people – without power for 12 hours Sept. 8 and 9 in Southern California, Arizona and Mexico. According to the Arizona Public Service, the outage began about 3:30 p.m. PDT Thursday when a major 500-kV line from Arizona to Southern California tripped off. The outage forced the automatic shut down of the San Onofre Generating Station, a nuclear powerplant. The powerplant and power imported from Arizona on the 500-kV line are the region’s primary sources of power. Without
MGM Resorts International intends to implode Foster + Partners’ unfinished Harmon Hotel due to “serious structural defects” and “public safety concerns,” the company announced on August 15. The news comes a month after the release of a report claiming the Las Vegas building was beyond repair. Image by Bill Hughes MGM hopes to demolish the 28-story hotel. Demolition is not a sure bet, however. County officials have to approve the demolition plans. Plus, MGM would have to get a Clark County district court to overturn an order that prohibits the company from touching the Harmon while civil litigation continues between
Las Vegas is crowded with performers, but few are as huge as Big Stan. Thought to be the world's largest truck-mounted drill, Big Stan is flexing its muscles south of the Strip on a $252.5-million, 7-mile-long widening of Interstate 15.Big Stan's tall stance originally sprang from deep roots. The 250,000-lb, 93-ft-high boring behemoth was built in 1986 by Anderson Drilling, Lakeside, Calif., now a part of London-based Keller Group PLC. The mega-machine, which cost $1.5 million to construct, is named after 6-ft, 3-in.-tall Stan Anderson, who retired as company president in 2006.It didn't take long to realize that what you
“DPR Exists to Build Great Things,” says the company's slogan. The Phoenix office of DPR Construction also builds for diverse Arizona clients, including itself. A sustainable regional headquarters project is currently under way. Related Links: Southwest Top Contractors Ranking “DPR is driven by two connected ideas: respect for the individual and a desire to change the world,” says Dave Elrod, DPR's regional manager. “We tell our employee candidates, 'We don't fit everyone.' Ours is not a prescribed, but a self-mediated environment, and all of our people are empowered to take on all the responsibility they can handle.”The 213 employees in
Waiting for this year's top general contractors list was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. It was a foregone conclusion that Southwest contractors would report precipitous revenue declines. But the damage, based on 2010 revenue, was worse than many expected. Related Links: Southwest Top Contractors Ranking This year's 90 survey participants earned $8.1 billion in total revenue in 2010 across Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico, down more than 42% from the level reported by the top 90 firms in the year-ago period and nearly 60% below the peak market in 2008.All three states were down in 2010 by
Southern Nevada's busiest thoroughfare, Interstate 15, sees more than 200,000 vehicles a day and is plagued by gridlock and accidents. Photo courtesy of Las Vegas Paving Corp. The project includes a total of 26 bridge segments to help alleviate traffic snarls and improve safety. Design-build contractor Las Vegas Paving Corp. began work in late 2009 on a solution: a $246.5-million widening of I-15 South between Silverado Ranch Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Pasadena, Calif., performed design.The project is being underwritten by the Las Vegas Convention Visitors Authority, the public-private entity charged with bringing more visitors to town
A vocal group of local residents has spurred a debate over the route of a new, seven-mile stretch of road in north Phoenix being built to access an area of Sonoran Desert preserve. Opponents claim the new thoroughfare will draw unwanted traffic to a quiet neighborhood. Photo courtesy of Haydon Building Corp. Three traffic bridges and 10 steel truss pedestrian bridges are included in the project. Bridges over normally dry washes are built to withstand flash floods. The Phoenix City Council on June 14 placed construction of the contentious west third of the project on temporary hold, pending mediation. Work
With the first phase of PHX Sky Train from the 44th Street Metro Light Rail in Phoenix to Sky Harbor Airport’s Terminal 4 on track for a 2013 opening, many wondered why the second stage to connect the airport’s other terminals to the system wasn't set to open until 2020. That changed earlier this month after the Phoenix City Council voted to move up completion of a .6-mile section to connect Terminal 4 with Terminal 3, along with a walkway for passengers to access Terminal 2, to early 2015. This portion was originally part of a second phase that would
A dramatic pedestrian bridge under construction across Tempe Town Lake will soon connect the shores of the 220-acre lake's west end near the Tempe Center for the Arts. The 912-ft-long bridge will open to foot traffic in late August. Photo by James M. Doyle Crews placed the first of four 228-ft-long steel arch sections, each weighing in at 165,000 lbs, in mid-May. Photo by James M. Doyle Workers prepare the deck steel along the arch spans already in place while another span is readied for hoisting in the background. Related Links: Click here to view a video of the first steel arch