Microsoft has confirmed plans to invest $499 million in a data center to be located in Mecklenburg County, Va. Although the software giant declined to provide specifics on the facility’s size, project delivery method or construction schedule, the online industry news source Data Center Knowledge noted that four comparable data centers recently built to support the growth of Microsoft’s online business have been around 500,000 sq ft each. Microsoft reportedly had also considered prospective locations in North Carolina and Texas before selecting the 175-acre Boydton Plank Road Industrial Park, which also boasts a 40-acre graded pad. The Virginia Economic Development
Hoping to attract cargo traffic from an expanded Panama Canal in 2014, the Port of Miami is taking steps to refurbish a dormant 4.4-mile rail corridor linking the port with the Hialeah Intermodal Railyard, operated by the Florida East Coast Railroad. The Port, FECR and the Florida Dept. of Transportation are collaborating on the $46.9-million project, which is still contingent on receiving a $28-million so-called TIGER grant (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. If approved, the two-year project would restore a one-track rail link that has been out of service for several years, due
The Missouri Dept. of Transportation tentatively has set September 15 as the target date to restore access between I-470 and I-435 in southern Kansas City, following an existing fill-supported ramp collapse on July 17. Photo: Missouri Dept. Of Transportation Groundwater is one of several possible causes being evaluated by investigators into Kansas City ramp failure, which occurred on July 17. Pyramid Contractors, Olathe, Kan., was awarded the contract to build a 225-ft-long, four-lane replacement structure currently being designed by HNTB, MoDOT’s engineering consultant. Expected to cost about $4.46 million, the precast structure will be built atop two bents with drilled
Transportation officials are eager for states to take the lead in using public-private partnerships (P3), but they seek clarity and leadership from the federal government on the future of transportation in general. A recent upsurge in major P3 deals has encouraged global firms regarding U.S. opportunities, but uncertainty over federal transportation legislation overshadows the optimism. In Washington, D.C., a keynote speech by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood at the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) P3 conference on July 22-23 did little to quell doubts. He said a highway user fee and a gas tax increase are “off
After scaling back its expansion plans in the face of spiraling construction costs, Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, referred to as SJC, is putting the finishing touches on a three-year, $1.3-billion design-build construction program that demonstrates how less really can be more. Photo: SJC California airport employed design-build to scale back costs on massive expansion. The program’s centerpiece—the sleek new 127,000-sq-ft metal-and-glass-paneled Terminal B—began full operation on June 30 as well as a 1.6 million-sq-ft, seven-level precast consolidated rental car and public parking garage, which is known by the acronym ConRAC. Last fall, SJC completed the modernization of
With recession-stricken states stripping road and bridge projects from their improvement agendas and no federal surface transportation reauthorization bill on the horizon, transportation design firms are trying to make the most of a sluggish market. Photo Courtesy of AECOM High-speed rail is gaining renewed interest, thanks to an infusion of ARRA funds. Related Links: View More on Top 500 Sourcebook 2010 View Complete Top 500 Sourcebook 2010 with Data and Analysis Little of the $40 billion allocated to transportation under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has found its way to design firms, as states stayed true to the
The Virginia Dept. of Transportation has OK’d preliminary engineering on its latest public-private initiative—a proposed new tunnel linking Norfolk and Portsmouth—while again seeking proposals on another such project that failed to generate an adequate response the first time. Moving ahead is the $1.3-billion Downtown Tunnel-Midtown Tunnel-Martin Luther King Freeway Extension. It will create a tunnel under the Elizabeth River parallel to an existing 50-year-old tunnel, which will be renovated. The two-phase procurement process of Virginia’s Public-Private Transportation Act required Alexandria, Va.-based Elizabeth River Crossings LLC, a collaboration led by Skanska Infrastructure Development Inc. and the Macquarie Group, to first assess
Maintenance and compliance remain the primary drivers for environmental infrastructure projects in the U.S. However, although funding remains a challenge for many communities, sentiments about the sector’s prospects are, on the whole, upbeat. Photo: Arcadis More private firms are outsourcing site remediation oversight. Related Links: View More on Top 500 Sourcebook 2010 View Complete Top 500 Sourcebook 2010 with Data and Analysis “It looks stable and strengthening, even though there aren’t many opportunities for new facilities right now,” observes Dan Batrack, CEO of Pasadena, Calif.-based Tetra Tech, whose firm is designing a $564,000 disinfection facility at the Birmingham Wastewater Treatment
Prefabricated segmental bridge designs not only help shave time and money off construction but also may perform well in seismically active regions, according to recent tests conducted by the University of Buffalo’s Dept. of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering and its Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research. As part of a Federal Highway Administration-funded project exploring the seismic response of Accelerated Bridge Construction systems, the engineering research team in May erected a half-scale, 60-ft-long, eight-segment, post-tensioned superstructure supported by 10-ft, 5-in.-tall hollow piers on 10 x 10-ft concrete foundation blocks. The blocks were mounted on twin shake tables at the
Prefabricated segmental bridge designs that have helped speed construction and save money in many parts of the country may also have a place in seismically active regions, according to recent tests conducted by the University of Buffalo’s Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, and its Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER). As part of a Federal Highway Administration-funded project exploring seismic response of Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) systems, the research team erected a half-scale 60-ft-long, eight-segment post-tensioned superstructure supported by 10 ft, 5 in. tall hollow piers on 10 x 10 ft concrete foundation blocks. The blocks were