Steel fabricator and erector SteelFab Inc. was certainly not immune to the construction industry's dark days of late 2008. At that time, the specialty contractor found itself in much the same panic mode that gripped many others as its project backlog suddenly, and literally, shrank to nothing. Related Links: For Southeast Specialty Firms, Recovery is Proving Hit or Miss 2012 Southeast Top Specialty Contractors Ranking The Charlotte, N.C.-based steel designer, fabricator and erector saw 26 projects mothballed or canceled as the local economy spiraled down in the wake of the nation's banking crisis. Project owners were left with no choice
Alabama voters turned down a proposed constitutional amendment on Tuesday to spend $1 billion over a decade to pay for road construction projects. About 57% voted against Amendment Three in the Nov. 2 election. If voters had approved the amendment, which was sponsored by Democratic Sen. Lowell Barron, up to $100 million a year would have been transferred from the Alabama Trust Fund and earmarked specifically for road construction. The transfers would have taken place annually through fiscal 2020. In the days leading up to the vote, Dr. Keith Malone, an economist at the University of North Alabama, released a
The Tennessee Valley Authority announced on Oct. 4 that it hired France’s AREVA to begin preliminary steps to complete the 1,200-megawatt Unit 1 at the mothballed Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station in Hollywood, Ala. Photo: Courtesy Of Tennessee Valley Authority French contractor will restart TVA’s idle powerplant project. Jarret Adams, a spokesman in the design firm’s Bethesda, Md., office, says AREVA’s contract includes the plant’s nuclear island, digital instrumentation, control system and control room. “This contract is for the preliminary engineering only,” Adams says. “It’s … preliminary and only covers fiscal year 2011. Our contract is a portion of the $248
Following nine hours of negotiations on July 19, Chicago contractors and unions reached a tentative three-year agreement on wages and health-care benefits to end a three-week strike. The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 and Chicago-area Laborers’ District Council reached a settlement with owners’ representative Mid-America Regional Bargaining Association (MARBA) that includes a 3.25% annual wage increase and health-care benefits for three years. The unions originally sought annual increases of 5.3% for three years. A Local 150 press release said the pact means pickets would be “taken down immediately.” “It was a difficult negotiation with good results,” Lissa Christman,
A meeting between unions and construction owners in the Chicago area inched forward but failed to produce a resolution as talks were rescheduled for July 19. Meanwhile, an estimated 15,000 Chicago-area construction workers aren’t working and 300 Illinois Department of Transportation projects have been delayed as unions and construction owners work to resolve the strike that began July 1. Workers with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 and Laborers’ District Council of Chicago and Vicinity are petitioning for a total wage increase of 15 percent over three years to offset the rising cost of health care, says Ed
Duke Energy�s $2.88 billion coal degasification power plant under construction on 100 acres in Edwardsport, Ind., is a colossal endeavor with an endless number of firsts. Numerous changes during the detail design phase led to significant increases in material quantities. As many as 460 Bechtel engineers were involved during the peak of design. Spotlight on PowerDuke�s Advanced Coal Plant Reaches $2.88 Billion. Related Links: FutureGen Awaits OK Perfect Power System Proves Worth The unprecedented nature of the project has forced Duke to increase its original cost estimate by 48 percent for the 618-MW Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant. The
(Video of the groundbreaking will soon be posted on www.midwest.construction.com) A host of dignitaries, including U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, were on hand at St. Louis� Eades Street Bridge April 19 for the symbolic groundbreaking of the new $667 million Mississippi River Bridge. Photo: Sam Barnes U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood addresses a large gathering at the groundbreaking for the new Mississippi River Bridge in St. Louis. Also pictured is Missouri Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn, far left. Construction of the bridge, about 1 mi north of the groundbreaking site, is currently suspended due to high water
The warning shot came in a federal court in Louisiana, and it may signal the beginning of the end of one more costly aspect of the homebuilding boom of 2004-2007. Federal Judge Eldon Fallon in New Orleans ordered Taishan Gypsum Co. Ltd. to pay seven Virginia families a total of $2.6 million to remediate defective Chinese-made drywall in their homes. The case is the first of several class-action lawsuits filed against manufacturers of material that has proven to be a veritable nightmare—and source of odors—for thousands of home-owners. + Image Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Photo: AP/Wideworld Consumer Product
A bill that paves the way for a public-private partnership to design, build and operate the $1.1 billion Illiana Expressway through Indiana and Illinois unanimously passed the Indiana Senate 42-0 on March 2. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected to sign the bill in the next two weeks. The 25-mi expressway � about 10 mi in Indiana � would provide an east-west bypass for truck traffic and commuters south of Chicago by linking I-65 in Indiana with either I-57 or I-55 in Illinois. The bill authorizes the Indiana Finance Authority to search for a private investor to finance the design
