Voters across the Northwest will decide several important bond initiatives on November 2nd. These include Washington�s $505-million bond for energy-efficient school retrofits, Oregon�s general obligation bonds and Alaska�s $400-million school bond. Washington Washington voters will decide on Referendum Bill 52, which authorizes $505 million in bonds to finance construction and repair projects increasing energy efficiency in public schools and higher education buildings. To earn the money, competitive grants are weighted heavily on the project’s energy savings. If approved, the state would expand the collection of sales tax on bottled water to help pay for a portion of the bonds and

As accelerated bridge construction (ABC) catches on quickly in the United States—particularly in Utah—a former Federal Highway Administration engineer now at the Oregon Dept. of Transportation wants to create national standards for the practice. Rapid bridge replacement method may get standards. Benjamin Tang, ODOT’s bridge preservation managing engineer, says readily available criteria adaptable nationwide can help bridge owners establish when ABC construction makes sense. “We are trying to create something that addresses some of the criteria used by the owners to make choices that will result in the best selection,” he says. “Putting quantifiable data, when available, into the model

Construction of a 700-ft-long footbridge�cantilevered out on 20 steel beams and clinging to the side of a canyon in North Vancouver, British Columbia�has been an adrenaline-pumping building project that, when finished, will leave tourists breathless. Visitors to the Capilano Suspension Bridge & Park will be able to view the surrounding Canadian rainforest from a galvanized steel walkway with a 20-in.-wide timber deck, which is suspended 300 ft above the canyon floor and attached to a granite cliff face up to 20 ft away. Photo: Capilano The timber bridge is anchored into the rock face with steel plates. Photo: Capilano The

Large dam upgrades in North America are squeezing every megawatt out of the grid as efficiently as possible by converting century-old powerhouses and replacing decades-old turbines. Construction is under way at several sites, from Pennsylvania to British Columbia. Earlier this month, PPL Montana began upgrading its Rainbow Dam, a 36-megawatt dam on the Missouri River, six miles northeast of Great Falls, Mont., where 200 workers are under the direction of Chicago’s Walsh Construction. Photo: Courtesy BC Hydro British Columbian utility will boost generating capacity at W.A.C. Bennett Dam by phasing in five replacement turbine units by 2017. PPL Montana says

Three of Portland’s four most noticeable construction projects include some type of housing—either affordable, homeless or retirement—while the fourth project creates an intimate home for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer, the city’s newest big-league sports franchise. Lew Bowers, central city division manager for the Portland Development Council, says that in the short term, his agency wants to see smaller, sustainable rehabilitation projects. “Long term, we don’t see a return to large, single-developer projects,” Bowers says. “Instead, we’re focusing on master planning with opportunities for a variety of developers to participate on specific parcels so projects are ready as

Construction of a 700-ft-long footbridge—cantilevered out on 20 steel beams and clinging to the side of a canyon in North Vancouver, British Columbia—has been an adrenaline-pumping building project that, when finished, will leave tourists breathless. Visitors to the Capilano Suspension Bridge & Park will be able to view the surrounding Canadian rainforest from a galvanized steel walkway with a 20-in.-wide timber deck, which is suspended 300 ft above the canyon floor and attached to a granite cliff face up to 20 ft away. It was difficult to even find a starting point for the design of the unique cliff-hanging attraction,

Coast Crane Co. of Seattle filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept. 21, but the company has a plan to sell to New York’s Clearlake Capital Group within 90 days. The agreement will give the private investment firm substantially all of Coast Crane’s assets, subject to an auction and Bankruptcy Court approval. Photo Courtesy Coast Crane Coast Crane filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 21. The crane, forklift and equipment company serves the construction industry on the West Coast and in Alaska, Hawaii and Guam. Products are rented and sold through from its network of 14 locations, serving approximately 3,000 customer

Work is under way on a $571-million upgrade to a mountainous, five-mile stretch of Interstate 90 - Washington’s busiest east-west connector. Located miles from Seattle, the scenic highway, which is part of Snoqualmie Pass, weaves through the Cascade Range. The Washington State Dept. of Transportation’s comprehensive plan calls for widening the road from four lanes to six, repaving it with freeze- and thaw-resistant concrete, straightening curves, stabilizing rock slopes, and adding a chain-up area and 1,200-ft.-long snowshed. Moreover, WSDOT will add or replace four bridges and build four new ones bridges and culverts in an effort to improve fish and

During the dismantling of Gold Ray Dam, a 106-year-old timber cofferdam and 70-year-old concrete dam near Medford, Ore., the Rogue River blew through a sand spit, changing course and freeing the river�s run for the first time in over a century. Photo: River Design Group Oregon�s Gold Ray Dam is razed two weeks ahead of schedule after an unexpected breach. Photo: River Design Group Oregon�s Gold Ray Dam is razed two weeks ahead of schedule after an unexpected breach. Scott Wright, project manager for the Corvallis, Ore., office of design-build contractor River Design Group, says that the entire process actually

During the dismantling of Gold Ray Dam, a 106-year-old timber cofferdam and 70-year-old concrete dam near Medford, Ore., the Rogue River blew through a sand spit, changed course and ran freely for the first time in more than a century. Photo: River Design Group Oregon’s Gold Ray Dam is razed two weeks ahead of schedule after an unexpected breach. Scott Wright, project manager for the Corvallis, Ore., office of design-build contractor River Design Group, says the entire process actually sped up the crew’s work by almost two weeks. Crews built two temporary sand-and-gravel cofferdams—one in the river and one in