AP Photo/Seth Wenig Construction workers disassemble a temporary building on the beach that was set up for an upcoming surfing competition in Long Beach, N.Y., anticipating Hurricane Irene hitting the East Coast. Related Links: U.S.G.S. Hurricane Irene Tracking Map, Surge Data You could call it the Great Button Up. Or the Big Batten Down.Either way, contractors, owners and government agencies all along the Northeast U.S. coast secured jobsites in anticipation of Hurricane Irene making landfall over the Aug. 27-28 weekend. As of Friday afternoon, Irene was classified as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph. For some, the
Related Links: Highway Administrator's Frozen Soil and Ground Settlement Update to Board of Directors, Aug. 10, 2011 Big Dig's Technical Maual Section on on Jacked-box Tunneling and Ground Freezing Boston’s Big Dig tunnel has one more problem. Thawing from ground-freezing technology used to excavate the I-90 connector system 11 years ago has apparently caused a large swath of soil to settle. Engineers fear that a deep water-filled void may be lurking beneath.The area of concern beneath the I-90 tunnel base slab measures 190 ft long by 60 ft wide, says Frank DePaola, appointed Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation’s new highway administrator
Courtesy FERC FERC Order 1000 requires providers in neighboring transmission planning regions to coordinate on finding cost-effective solutions to mutual transmission needs. Related Links: Power Producers Validate One Bright Spot in Midyear Outlook FERC Floats Rule Changes To Promote Transmission A July 21 ruling by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that reforms electric-transmission planning and allocation requirements is expected to support new solar- and wind-power development, according to two construction industry sources.“FERC Order 1000 is a huge development that will open up the transmission cost allocation process and spur development of transmission projects,” says Gerald Schulz, vice president of electrical
PHOTO COURTESY OF Associated General Contractors CEO Stephen Sandherr, Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood, who was active in the negotations, and FAA Administrator Randy Babbit (from left) held a media event at LaGuardia Airport. PHOTO Courtesy OF Swinerton Builders A control-tower project at Palm Springs, Calif., International Airport, idled by a congressional stalemate, is set to resume. Passage of a stopgap Federal Aviation Administration extension bill through Sept. 16 has ended a congressional stalemate—at least temporarily—that had forced the agency to issue stop-work orders on more than 200 airport modernization contracts, including construction and engineering projects, estimated at more than $10.5
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced on Aug. 2 that it plans to delay construction of the $1-billion Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford until fall 2018 or as late as summer 2020.It plans to purchase the required land and obtain permits before putting out a bid for design and construction to avoid loss of time and money—which happened to a commuter-rail project completed south of Boston in 2007. A day after the announcement, the city of Somerville circulated a petition stating that a four-year delay was unacceptable and demanded an accurate timeline for the project. It noted, “The
Mass. Department of Transportation crews have completed installation of high-strength support straps on approximately 25,000 tunnel light fixtures in the Boston Big Dig Central Artery tunnels as a safety measure.The system was developed as a temporary three-to-five-year solution to the tunnel light corrosion issues while engineers evaluate options for a long-term solution, the agency noted in a July 25 press release..Paul Norton, principal at TranSystems in Boston, which served as transportation consultant for Mass DOT, says the high-strength polymer support strapping wraps around the entire lighting fixture and engages the steel Unistrut structure. “We studied 10 alternatives based on cost,
When Turner Construction Co. introduced business information modeling (BIM) for building the new University Medical Center of Princeton, it immediately inspired a medical metaphor for the owner: brain imaging technology used by neurosurgeons. Barry Rabner, president and CEO of Princeton Healthcare System, the owner of the Plainsboro, N.J.-based medical center, compared BIM to how neurosurgeons inject blood vessels with dye and rotate images of the brain on an axis. “As the owner we wanted to keep costs as low as possible while maximizing usable space,” he says. “BIM helped reconcile those needs.”That was only the beginning of the collaboration process
Workers on the Humpback Bridge replacement, located on the George Washington Memorial Parkway just north of Interstate 395 and immediately south of the Columbia Island Marina, are closing in on the final round of safety improvements. In the process, they are preserving the grace of the bridge's original stone arch structure, says Chris Scott, a general manager for Cianbro, Pittsfield, Maine, the construction firm working on the job. Courtesy of Cianbro OLD BRIDGE, NEW IMPROVEMENTS Workers are slated to complete the bridge improvements by the end of this month. Workers on the Humpback Bridge replacement, located on the George Washington
Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey Mullan is planning to step down from his post, according to the governor's office. Although the exact date of his transition is not yet clear, the news of his departure comes amid a string of executive exits from the agency over its handling of safety and structural problems in Boston's $14- billion “Big Dig” central artery project.The Boston Globe, citing anonymous sources, reported that Mullan's departure was decided before the most recent controversy over MassDOT's handling of a 110-lb light fixture that fell in a Big Dig tunnel in February.Mullan was not available to comment
Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey Mullan says reports about his resignation this fall are premature, according to an email from a Mass. DOT spokesman today. Related Links: MassDOT Study Blames Salt For Big Dig's Fallen Light Fixture MassDOT Administrator Out After Latest Big Dig Mishap “In May, I discussed with the Governor my intention to transition from the administration within the year for personal reasons,” Mullan states in the email. “However, we made no final decisions regarding my future at that time. While I still intend to transition out this year, I have made no final plans. I am fully
