COURTESY STATOIL Statoil's 2.3-MW demonstration turbine off the Norwegian coast. Related Links: Maine Offshore Wind Study Statoil Hywind Demonstration Description Statoil, developer of the world’s first full-scale floating wind turbine, is reporting good performance on its 2.3-MW test project near the North Sea. The Norwegian company is targeting the Gulf of Maine as a site for a 12-MW floating-turbine test wind farm, despite the tough U.S. environment for wind-energy development. If constructed, this would be the first floating wind turbine farm in the U.S.“We chose the coast of Maine because of good wind conditions, deep waters and proximity to electricity
PHOTO COURTESY OF J.F. White / Stephen SetteDucati The bridge replacement contracting joint venture used quick-setting concrete to speed work on 14 bridges. Related Links: List of Bridges Video of the Fast 14 weekend demolition/construction work Mass. Governor Talks About the Innovative Bridge Replacement Program In just 10 weekends last summer, a joint- venture contractor demolished and replaced 14 bridges on I-93 north of Boston. Using conventional methods, the work could have taken four years.The $98.1-million design-build project—called the "93 Fast 14"—was part of the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation's Accelerated Bridge Program. The 2010 blowout of two bridge decks, which
University of California San Diego Health System California Building The Jacobs Medical Center project will be the biggest in UCSDs history. Related Links: The Top 425 Owners Main Story ENR Top Owners Sourcebook: Overview, Rankings and Market Sector Reports Construction is picking up in the health-care market, but renovations trump new building and raising capital is becoming more difficult. Unlike the boom decade of hospital construction prior to 2008, hospitals are now more constrained in their spending habits. Nonetheless, significant projects are under way, and interest in the health-care sector is growing.The American Society of Healthcare Engineering says its latest
Rhode Island wind developer Deepwater Wind plans to develop two, $1-billion offshore underwater transmission networks for moving up to 2,000 MW of offshore wind energy to southern New England and New York.“A merchant transmission network would reduce the cost of servicing the wind farm by providing multiple points of interconnection,” says Bill Moore, CEO of Deepwater Wind, Providence, R.I. “By combining a utility-scale offshore wind farm with a regional transmission network, we can deliver firm power to address the area's electricity demand.”The submarine transmission lines are part of Deepwater's overall plan to develop four wind farms in the northeast, including
Thanks to an executive order from New York's governor, the New York State Dept. of Transportation is using design-build on emergency reconstruction of six miles of state Route 42. The Catskills-area stretch suffered flooding during Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.Restoring Route 42 for Ulster and Greene counties by February is a top priority, says NYSDOT Commissioner Joan McDonald. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) issued Executive Order 19, allowing NYSDOT to use design-build.Halmar International and McLaren Engineering Group won the best-value contract of $14.1 million, beating out four other teams. The work includes replacement of two bridges, 150 ft and 100
Photo courtesy of Vermont Agency of Transportation Hoping to restore roads before winter snow arrives, National Guard troops help fix three miles of state road in Cavendish, Vermont. Related Links: Hurricane Irene Provides a Laboratory For Testing Bridge Innovations Before winter arrives, crews are working hard in the Northeast to assess and repair infrastructure damaged from tropical storms Irene and Lee in August and September, respectively.Vermont was hit hard by Irene. The storm killed five, closed roads, bridges and rail lines, shut down the state office complex in Waterbury and left more than 50,000 people without power.Dept. of Transportation officials
Photo courtesy AWEA EVOLUTION As development in the wind industry reaches maturity, safety-standard requirements are growing. Workers are often perched 60 ft to 100 ft off the ground during installations. As the wind industry expands its reach across the nation and prepares to begin building offshore wind farms, federal agencies and contractors are focusing on improving safety for the growing industry.“Whether you are erecting a wind farm in the mountains of Colorado or the cornfields of Iowa, you can run into a totally different situation and weather can change in a second,” says Brian Sturtecky, area director at the Jacksonville,
Photo Courtesy of Caldecott/ Tutor Perini Tutor Perini bores a $214.8-million two-lane Caldecott tunnel. The weak economy has squeezed transportation budgets to the limit. Still, firms that work in the transportation market are finding ways to push forward, diversifying their businesses by sector and region and looking to alternative delivery methods, such as public-private partnerships.Richard Cavallaro, president of Skanska USA Civil, Whitestone, N.Y., says it is hard to plan ahead not knowing when a federal transportation bill will be enacted and with states being financially strapped. While the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has helped sustain active projects, he says
Photo courtesy of MassDOT 'We are looking forward to working with the industry to improve project-delivery approvals,' says Richard Davey, Secretary, Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation Richard Davey is the new Secretary of the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation. Only 38, he aims to use social media to make the agency more transparent. As general manager of the state Bay Transportation Authority for three years, he rode with T-line riders, hosted customer lunches and became a local celebrity. Davey's recent interview with ENR has been condensed and edited.ENR: What are the state's top-priority projects for the next few years? Davey: We are
photo by ap worldwide SURVEYING DAMAGE Vermont Lt. Gov. Phil Scott (center) talks with Gov. Peter Shumlin (left) and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. Vermont was grappling with cleanup work after tropical storm Irene hit the state, leaving at least 42 dead and damaging critical infrastructure, property and cultural gems such as covered bridges. For the state's lieutenant governor, the infrastructure damage has a particular resonance.Lt. Gov. Phil Scott is co-owner of Dubois Construction, Middlesex, Vt. Some of Dubois' earthmoving equipment is now repairing infrastructure in central Vermont. “I'm not only trying to keep the business going, but also trying to
