The aviation industry has been hit by its share of turbulence in the past few years. Many airports had to defer projects or downsize capital improvement programs after revenue streams were curtailed sharply by upheaval in the airline industry, shaky credit markets, surging oil prices and decreased passenger travel. Photo: Chicago O’hare Airport The Chicago City Council recently approved $1 billion in bonds for O’Hare airport’s modernization program. The funds will be used primarily for runway projects, which will be bid by the end of 2011. Related Links: The Top Owners Sourcebook Complete Report Overview: No Quick Fix For Battered
The worldwide recession predictably slowed down the global telecommunications market as wireless carriers, broadband providers and data-center owners struggled with falling profits and a lack of sufficient capital to fund expansions or upgrades. While financial markets remain unsteady, international firms say the industry is poised to rebound next year as companies resume plans to invest in networks and facilities. Photo: STRABAG SE STRABAG SE, Vienna, Austria, is working on 32 new call-center projects throughout Germany, scheduled for completion in 2011. Related Links: View more industry sectors from ENR's 2009 Global Sourcebook View complete Global Sourcebook with market data and analysis
A year after the global financial crisis and soaring bond rates rocked hospital construction programs around the country, health-care owners are continuing with expansion and renovation plans to enhance the patient experience, keep pace with future demand and boost operational efficiency. Although the economic turmoil caused several projects to be put on hold or shelved, a number of hospitals have managed to overcome economic challenges and move forward with capital investments. For example, Kaiser Permanente’s $500-million, 340,000-sq-ft hospital and 217,000-sq-ft medical office building in Vacaville, Calif., opened this fall after a six-month delay. Ohio State University Medical Center recently announced
After nearly four years of high-octane growth, the petroleum industry has abruptly reversed course as the collapse of the global financial crisis has driven down crude-oil prices and consumer demand, causing oil producers to hit the brakes on a bevy of pipeline, refinery, exploration and storage-facility projects. Photo:Fluor Fluor is executing a $2.2-billion heavy-oil upgrade and expansion project for Marathon Oil Corp. to add considerable processing capacity at its Detroit refinery. Photo: CB&I CB&I is fabricating more than 120 modules for an Illinois refinery expansion that will double the refinery’s capacity to 240,000 bpd. The modules will be shipped and
Despite the global recession, a panel of transportation experts meeting in Seattle agreed now is the time to invest in and improve transit systems as part of a comprehensive and holistic solution to pollution and congestion. “The American public had the infrastructure that was once the envy of the world....We let it crumble,” said Patrick Natale, executive director of the American Society of Civil Engineers. “But it’s a new day. We finally have the leadership to take action, and it’s very exciting.” Planning is as crucial as funding. Susan Zielinski, University of Michigan’s managing director of sustainable mobility and accessibility
Quick thinking and a unique construction solution allowed crews to repair a burned wooden trestle on the southern approach of the 72-year-old Pattullo Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia, in eight days rather than the anticipated six weeks. The compression-arch, suspended-deck bridge caught fire Jan. 18. As firefighters battled the blaze, Mark Smith, vice president for Surespan Construction, North Vancouver, B.C., hustled his family into his truck and drove to the site. After surveying the charred timbers, Smith called Buckland and Taylor Ltd., the local bridge design firm hired to design a replacement for the wooden structure, to devise a solution.
After seven years, a public vote and countless discussions, the Washington State Dept. of Transportation, City of Seattle and King County narrowed the options for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct to two: a six-lane boulevard or a reconfigured elevated highway. Photo: WSDOT At-grade boulevard would mimic Embarcadero Photo: WSDOT Elevated highway would have twin spans State and local officials are racing against the clock to meet a self-imposed 2009 deadline for selecting a plan to replace the 55-year-old highway, which was damaged in the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) says the current structure is “a literal threat
