Wastewater utilities and contractors and designers that work in the wastewater sector must be prepared to adapt to a changing regulatory environment and a volatile economy in order to stay afloat, according to speakers and attendees at the Water Environment Federation’s annual conference, held Oct. 11-14 in Orlando. Greater regulatory enforcement, the current economy, technology advances and the need for sustainability-based measures are clearly pressing WEF members to make short- and long-term changes. Peter Silva, assistant administrator with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water, said his agency will step up its enforcement efforts. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
At the end of 2008, when the nation’s financial system seemed on the verge of a complete meltdown, the outlook for 2009 construction activity certainly was not a rosy picture. In the 2009 Outlook that Southeast Construction published in January, McGraw-Hill Construction economists Robert Murray and Jennifer Coskren used phrases like “clearly in retrenchment,” “this bodes particularly poorly” and “less than upbeat” to describe what awaited contractors in the then-coming year. Related Links: Tampa Report: No Recovery in the Private Market, but Public Sector Offers Hope BILL PINTO Even so, at the time, McGraw-Hill Construction predicted only a 6% decline,
Competition for projects in the four-state Southeast Construction region has been at an intense level throughout 2009, as an increasing number of building contractors find themselves chasing a declining number of new contracts, hoping to build a backlog during this historic downturn. Photo: Sam Barnes State transportation agencies across the four-state region report receiving bids that are often well below the initial engineering estimates, giving them more bang for their stimulus bucks. Related Links: 2009 Midyear Outlook: Worse Than Expected As the residential and commercial markets continue their declines, contractors operating in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have
The board of Tampa Bay Water has approved an estimated $125-million repair program for the agency’s four-year-old, 15.5-billion-gallon C.W. “Bill” Young Regional Reservoir. The facility, which cost roughly $140 million to construct originally, has been experiencing significant cracking since late 2006. The authority is also moving ahead with a lawsuit against the three lead members of the original project team: HDR of Omaha, Neb., the designer; Barnard Construction of Bozeman, Mont., the contractor; and construction manager Construction Dynamics Group of Columbia, Md. Related Links: Tampa Report: No Recovery in the Private Market, but Public Sector Offers Hope Tampa Bay Water
Two of three firms cited by the U.S. Dept. of Labor for a fatal bridge collapse in Atlanta last December plan to contest the sanctions, issued June 17. Hardin Construction Co. of Atlanta, Williams Erection Co. of Smyrna, Ga., and Southeast Access of Kennesaw, Ga., were fined a total of $26,250 for the Dec. 19, 2008, collapse of a pedestrian bridge that was under construction at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Crews were placing concrete on a new 600-ft-long, 40-ft-tall pedestrian bridge when portions of the structure collapsed, killing one and injuring 17. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s
Competition for projects in the four-state Southeast Construction region has been at an intense level throughout 2009, as an increasing number of building contractors find themselves chasing a declining number of new contracts, hoping to build a backlog during this historic downturn. Photo: Sam Barnes. State transportation departments throughout the Southeast are reporting that early bids for stimulus-funded projects are coming in lower than expected. As the residential and commercial markets continue their declines, contractors operating in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have been witnessing unprecedented bidding activity on some contracts. At the same time, as the billions
The board of Tampa Bay Water has approved staff recommendations for an estimated $125-million repair program for the agency’s four-year-old, 15.5-billion-gallon C.W. “Bill” Young Regional Reservoir. The facility, which cost roughly $140 million to construct originally, has been experiencing significant cracking since late 2006. At the same time, the authority is moving ahead with a lawsuit against the three lead members of the project’s design and construction team: HDR of Omaha, Neb., the designer; Barnard Construction Co. of Bozeman, Mont., the contractor; and construction manager Construction Dynamics Group of Columbia, Md. In late 2006, the agency discovered significant cracking along
The board of Tampa Bay Water has approved staff recommendations for an estimated $125-million repair program for the agency’s four-year-old, 15.5-billion-gallon C.W. “Bill” Young Regional Reservoir. The earthen structure, which cost roughly $140 million to build, has been experiencing significant cracking since late 2006. Image + Source: Tampa Bay Water Cracking problem seems to be centered in erosion-control system, officials say. The authority also is moving ahead with a lawsuit against the three lead members of the project’s design and construction team: designer HDR, Omaha; contractor Barnard Construction Co., Bozeman, Mont.; and construction manager Construction Dynamics Group, Columbia, Md. The
The often-turbulent journey of Miami International Airport’s $6.2-billion capital improvement program is currently flying smoothly, yet officials also are braced for what they say is the most challenging construction period of all. “This is the decisive year,” says Jim Eldridge, construction manager for the joint venture of Odebrecht Construction, Inc., Coral Gables, Fla., and Parsons Transportation Group, Pasadena, Calif. “It’s like playing the Super Bowl every day for six months.” Photo: Andres Romero/ Parsons Odebrecht J.V. More than 800 construction workers a day are currently working on Miami’s expanding north terminal. Photo: Andres Romero/ Parsons Odebrecht J.V. The joint venture
