Courtesy Dragados USA The Portugues Dam is the first roller compacted concrete, thick-arch dam attempted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Related Links: The 10 Largest-Capacity Hydropower Plants When the heavy rains come as they do every year, the steep mountain slopes on the southern side of Puerto Rico can become deadly. The Portugués and Bucana rivers often overflow with a rapidity that threatens the municipality of Ponce downstream.The formal completion ceremony for the $386-million Portugués Dam on Feb. 5 marks the end of a long odyssey to solve the flood-control issues that imperil the Caribbean island's second-largest urban
Photo by C.J. Schexnayder for ENR Huge gates set for insert into canal "slots" remain to be installed. Related Links: Two Sides in Panama Canal Cost Dispute Harden Their Positions Panama Canal Teams Negotiate Cost Overrun Dispute Archive of Statements Issued by Two Sides in Panama Canal Dispute The $5.2-billion expansion of the Panama Canal came to a halt on Feb. 5 after negotiations between the contractor and the project owner over cost overruns broke down late the night before.Grupo Unidos por El Canal (GUPC), a consortium led by Spanish construction firm Sacyr Vallehermoso S.A., turned away thousands of workers
Photo courtesy of ACP Installation of huge gates for the canal's new locks are among the project's disputes. Can the owner and contractor resolve cost issues, or will other firms end up managing that installation? The Jan. 20 deadline for a work stoppage on the $5.2-billion Panama Canal expansion came and went without any halt to project activity, but the crisis over an alleged $1.6 billion in cost overruns remains unsettled and has slowed progress.Contractor Grupo Unidos Por el Canal (GUPC) now proposes that it and owner Panama Canal Authority "co-finance" the disputed costs, until their responsibility is decided by
Photo by C.J. Schexnayder for ENR Contractors and owner in $5.2-billion Panama Canal locks expansion are in dispute over how to resolve cost overruns. Related Links: Panama Canal Construction Teams Negotiate Cost Overrun Dispute Archive of Statements Issued by Two Sides Since Dispute Began Less than a day after both sides pledged to work together to resolve a disagreement threatening to stop work on the $5.2-billion Panama Canal Third Lane Expansion, project owner the Panama Canal Authority and Grupo Unidos por El Canal, its joint-venture contractor, once again hardened their stances on the cost overrun dispute.In a Jan. 8 statement,
Photo for ENR by C.J. Schexnayder Concrete terms? Contractors and canal officials differ over responsibility for quality of aggregate used for the project's concrete. Related Links: Arrival of Gates Marks Milestone in Panama Canal Expansion Panama Canal Contractor Files $573-Million Claim In an effort to avoid a threatened shutdown of work on the $5.2-billion expansion of the Panama Canal, the authority that oversees the historic waterway proposed a joint financing scheme to its construction team on Jan. 7 to cover cost overruns. But it is not clear whether a short-term deal will keep building progress on track.Officials of the Panama
Related Links: Infrastructure Investors Are Willing To Pound the Pavement LBJ Work Progress To Excavation Phase The population of the Lone Star State passed the 26-million mark this year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The 3.6% year-over-year growth rate shows no sign of slowing. While new arrivals are welcomed, the problem, as Texas officials wryly note, is that they "don't bring new roads with them."(click here for slide show)The Texas A&M Texas Transportation Institute estimates the state faces a $4-billion funding gap to meet the transportation needs of the growing populace. To make ends meet, the Texas Dept. of
Work is fully underway on an ambitious $798 million project that will transform interstate traffic through downtown Dallas. When completed in 2017, the Horseshoe Project will revitalize the I-30 and I-35 corridors through the city while replacing the series of bridges that carry traffic across the Trinity River. Courtesy of the Texas Dept. of Transportation An aerial view of the $798 million Horseshoe Project in Dallas. Related Links: Project Overview: Dallas Horseshoe Texas Dept. of Transportation The project is dubbed the “Horseshoe” due to its U-shaped configuration around the city's central downtown, a section currently referred to as the “Mixmaster.”Pegasus
Upon completion earlier this year, the BBVA Compass Plaza became one of the first new high-rise structures built in Houston's uptown section near the Galleria in more than 30 years.