Related Links: New MassDOT Chief Plans Outreach Bridge Work Garners $7 Million Incentive The Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation hopes to spend $5.2 billion over 10 years on roads and bridges, including $1.17 billion on an accelerated bridge program.MassDOT released its plan on Jan. 14, stating the need for $1.02 billion in average annual new revenue to operate and expand. MassDOT Secretary Richard Davey says the plan involves eliminating bad practices in operating deficits in the highway and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority operations."We paid for almost $250 million in highway operations off the state credit card—that would end [under the plan],"
Photo Courtesy of S&R/Pihl, a Joint Venture New steel arches for a new Pawtucket River Bridge were rolled and jacked into place in a scheme devised to shave time off a project delayed by difficult access conditions and other issues. Related Links: Project Information from ENR Pulse An $81-million steel arch bridge project, now in its third year and third phase, has featured both high-fives and hand-wringing in Rhode Island. Completion of a new 352-ft-long open spandrel Pawtucket River Bridge, with three structures, is now slated for August rather than June. Innovative methods helped make up for time lost to
The Boston Water and Sewer Commission received a $235,000 federal fine in August for Clean Water Act violations in discharging sewage- and stormwater-related pollutants into Boston Harbor.
Related Links: Read More People on the Move in ENR In a unanimous vote on Sept. 24, the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation board appointed Beverly A. Scott as general manager of both the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and of the DOT's rail-and-transit division. Set to start in late 2012 or early 2013, she is currently CEO and general manager of the Metropolitan Atlanta Transit Authority (MARTA); she will be the first woman to serve in her upcoming roles in Massachusetts. Scott also has been chief of the Sacramento Regional Transit District and general manager of the Rhode Island Public
As construction nears completion at the 6-MW Pioneer Grove Wind Farm in Cedar County, Iowa, Acciona Windpower has completed fabrication of the first section of a 100-meter-high concrete tower, the first of its kind for the company in North America.
Cape Wind announced on Aug. 23 that it has signed a purchase and sale agreement with the East Marine marina in Massachusetts' Falmouth Harbor to serve as the operations and maintenance facility for the 130-turbine offshore wind farm the alternative-energy purveyor plans to build on Nantucket Sound.
Wentworth Institute of Technology Quake repair will gain from Wentworth Institute's pro bono training effort. Related Links: Construction Contributions Drive Hospital's Rise in Haiti Senate Panel's Report Sees Signs Haiti Rebuilding Is 'Stalled' More than 125 Haitian architects, engineers and other local industry professionals now have new construction management skills to take back to rebuilding projects in the earthquake-ravaged nation, thanks to a pro bono training program in its third year at Boston's Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT).The institute's 80-hour "train-the-trainer" program is developing a core of Haitians to spread modern CM and project management practices to hundreds of other
Related Links: DeWalt Mobile Pro at the iTunes App Store A new mobile app launched on May 2 by the toolmaker DeWalt lets contractors and tradespeople perform hundreds of calculations in the field, with instant feedback to show how the calculation was performed.The free DeWalt Mobile Pro app for the iPhone, iPod or iPad has five basic calculations as well as the option of adding "packs" for hundreds of trade-specific calculations and reference materials at various costs.The basic app includes a construction calculator for solving complex jobsite math, such as estimating the quantity of brick-mortar ties, the sand and cement
A Sacramento Bee investigation has raised questions about the structural integrity of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge's foundation and its ability to withstand a major earthquake.