Repurposing the 100-year-old U.S. Embassy in Helsinki for current and future diplomatic and community use challenged the project team to blend historic components with new technology and heightened security mandates.
Related Links: 2014 Global Best Projects In addition to delivering more than 1,000 modern residential units to citizens of Panama City who were living under precarious housing conditions, the Curundu urban renovation project initiated a transformation of a community beset by gang activity, social exclusion and high unemployment.The challenges for contractor Construtora Norberto Odebrecht began before the start of the $108.8-million project, which included the erection of 63 four-story apartment buildings, improvements to the nearby river channel and the construction of roads, bridges, walkways and water- and sewer-system infrastructure. First, to relocate some of the roughly 5,000 displaced citizens, contractors
Virginia Utility Will Extend Life Of Its Nuke Portfolio to 80 Years The power-generating utility Dominion, Richmond, Va., is in early discussions with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the operating life of its nuclear units to 80 years, says Thomas Wohlfarth, senior vice president. Dominion previously received 20-year extensions to the original 40-year licenses for its Surry and North Anna units. Receiving extensions would bode well for the development of a third nuclear unit at North Anna, says Wohlfarth. If reactors that were built in the 1970s could operate for 80 years, then a newer unit could be
Photo Courtesy Suffolk Construction On April 26, general contractor Suffolk Construction managed the largest continuous concrete mat placement in the city of Boston's history at the downtown Millennium Tower development.Hudson, Mass.-based subcontractor S&F Concrete marshalled 600 concrete trucks to cast 6,000 cu yd of concrete for the foundation of the $700-million building. The continuous cast lasted 36 hours, starting at 4:00 a.m. The foundation's 8-ksi-concrete mat averages 6½ ft in depth.It cost $6 million to put in place, including both the concrete and reinforcing bar. The mat will support a 625-ft-tall building with 1.4 million sq ft of space.
Related Links: More Trouble, Less Support for Energy Dept's MOX Project MOX Reactor Fuel Said to Stir New Interest The Obama administration has taken the correct approach to the U.S. Dept. of Energy's $7.7-billion Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., which is to freeze the project at its current stage. The delays are endless, the dollars are flying out the window at an alarming rate, and there's no reliable way of knowing whether the end goal can be achieved. That could be said of other federal public works, but none isas potentially costly
Photo by Nadine M. Post/ENR World Trade Center Project's Shape Is Challenging To BuildThe complex above-grade form of Santiago Calatrava's WTC Transportation Hub, designed to resemble a bird of peace, is taking shape in Lower Manhattan. The main transit hall, which is 365 ft long, will contain more than 11,000 tons of structural steel in 600 members, some with as many as three field-welded connections. Challenges include the unique geometry and the connection engineering. The entire structure was modeled to determine a carefully staged erection sequence. The hub is scheduled to open some time next year. EPA Proposes $1.7 Billion
Dodge Construction Momentum Index for March 2014 The Dodge Momentum Index retreated 0.8% in March compared to February, according to McGraw Hill Construction. The index is a monthly measure of the initial reports for non-residential building projects entering the planning stage, a lead indicator of construction spending within the next year. The March index was 113.8, down from a revised 114.8 in February and 118.3 in January. New plans for commercial buildings fell 1%, as declines in offices and hotels offset an increase in retail buildings, Dodge says.Construction Employment Still Heading in a Positive Direction Construction's unemployment numbers continue to
Related Links: Southern Co. Refuels Coal Fleet With Gas Panda Power Constructing Large Combined-Cycle Powerplants Clouds Start To Lift From the Solar Sector Prices Dropping as More Turbines Turn EPA Unveils Carbon Pollution Rule for New Powerplants Q&A: DOE Loan Officer Jump-Starts Clean Energy Technologies April 10, 2014 Analyst Sterne Agee Report: Support Behind Natural Gas Exports Increasing In January 2001, early in George W. Bush's first administration, Vice President Dick Cheney convened a blue-ribbon energy task force to formulate a U.S. energy policy. Public-interest groups excluded from the process attacked the administration's closed-door approach. When the National Energy Policy
Duke Sues Westinghouse Over Canceled EPC Nuke Contract Duke Energy Florida said in a lawsuit filed in federal court on March 28 that the utility is entitled to a $54.1-million refund from Westinghouse Electric for "milestone payments" DEF made for turbine generators and other elements of the Levy County, Fla., nuclear station, whose engineering-procurement-construction contract was later canceled. DEF also said in the complaint it filed against Westinghouse at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina that Westinghouse claims it incurred more than $482 million in direct costs related to its work on the two-unit, 2,234-MW
Photo By AP Wideworld Related Links: Caution Ahead: Overdue Investments for New York's Aging Infrastructure National Transportation Safety Board investigators confirmed March 18 that a natural-gas pipeline leak triggered a deadly explosion that leveled two five-story buildings in East Harlem March 12. The agency, which is heading up the probe, also said it detected unusual concentrations of gas in the soil around the site, according to media reports.NTSB has named New York City utility Con Edison as a party to the investigation. The utility, which referred calls on the matter to NTSB, says on its website that it last surveyed
