A new study published in a National Safety Council journal says that widely differing perceptions of safety helped conceal that an aggressive schedule, congested jobsite and lax safety enforcement may have created conditions that led to eight construction worker deaths at two big Las Vegas projects, CityCenter and Cosmopolitan, between 2007 and 2008. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Perini Building Co., a unit of Sylmar, Calif.-based Tutor Perini Corp., is the general contractor for both projects. The study appeared in the most recent issue of the Journal of Safety Research. Using a survey of more than 5,000 employees, the
McCarthy Building Cos., Inc. topped out construction on the new 2.3 million-sq-ft Terminal 3 parking structure at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. Photo Courtesy McCarthy Building Cos. McCarran International Airport Terminal 3 Parking Structure, Las Vegas. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" McCarthy, who has self-performed the concrete work completed the final pour of the 126 structural post-tensioned garage deck pours. Over the course of construction, an additional 14 pours were completed for the structure’s circular concrete helix entry ramp. Construction of the $121.7 million parking structure began in December 2008 with the project team pouring one deck every
Las Vegas and North Las Vegas are similar but different, neighbors yet independent. The two cities are currently building dueling city halls, and both projects promise to make big civic statements. There are more similarities. Both are pursuing LEED silver, and they have the same general contractor: Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. of Baltimore, which declined to comment about the projects because of a company no media policy. The city of Las Vegas broke ground on its new downtown digs this year. The $146.2-million project is a public-private partnership, lease-purchase agreement between Cleveland-based developer Forest City Enterprises and the city, which enables
Despite a recent stumbling block, work is progressing on the $447-million design-build contract to build a third raw water intake tunnel at Lake Mead—the Las Vegas Valley’s water lifeline. The Southern Nevada Water Authority awarded the contract in March 2008 to Vegas Tunnel Constructors LLC, a joint-venture of S.A. Healy Co., Lombard, Ill. and Impreglio S.p.A., Sesto San Giovanni, Italy. The additional intake is needed because lake levels have dipped 110 ft since 2000. Lake Mead now operates at 1,087 ft, or about half of its capacity. One or both of the existing water inlets will be forced to shut
Construction crews hit water June 30 while tunneling 600-ft below Southern Nevada's drought-racked Lake Mead to create a third straw. The incident required a hasty evacuation, and could delay project progress by months. Water breached a 600-ft underground cavern during construction of Lake Mead's third straw, damaging equipment and potentially delaying construction. A 200-ft-long by 37-ft-high vault breach caused four days of gradual water seepage that eventually made it no longer accessible. Workers were building a 28-ft-dia, 100-ft-long horseshoe-shaped starter tunnel before using a $25 million Herrenknecht 1,500-ton tunnel boring machine when the incident occurred. Vegas Tunnel Constructors LLC �
A new study published in a National Safety Council journal says that widely differing perceptions of safety helped conceal that an aggressive schedule, congested jobsite and lax safety enforcement may have created conditions that led to eight construction worker deaths at two big Las Vegas projects, City-Center and Cosmopolitan, between 2007 and 2008. Photo Courtesy Of CityCenter Land LLC The contractors say MGM Resorts owes $492 million for CityCenter. Perini Building Co., a unit of Sylmar, Calif.-based Tutor Perini Corp., is the general contractor for both projects. The study appeared in the most recent issue of the Journal of Safety
A mid high unemployment and a credit freeze that has delayed or eliminated construction plans, a dip in cement consumption drove down prices during the first half of 2010. Cement prices have fallen in six of the last seven months, including relatively large monthly declines of 1.5% in April and 1.4% in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ producer price index. Related Links: ECONOMICS: With Stimulus Spending Running Out Recession Will Keep Grip on Costs CONFIDENCE SURVEY: Industry Firms Begin To Believe The Worst May Soon Be Over COMPENSATION: Recession Squeezes Salaries HIGHWAYS: Soaring Asphalt and Fuel Prices
Advocates for a 269-mile magnetically levitated rail line between Las Vegas and Anaheim, Calif., are pressing the Federal Railroad Administration for $45 million originally appropriated in the six-year federal transportation bill in 2005. In an April 7 letter to FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo, Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto described a scenario in which Nevada Dept. of Transportation repeatedly submitted scope of work plans since 2008, without receiving any response. “[We] steadfastly insist that the FRA comply with the Congressional mandate that the USDOT and the FRA take the steps necessary to allocate funding...for the maglev project,” she wrote. “We're
Arizona officials have enacted new "prompt pay" rules to keep cash flowing to struggling contractors, caught by banks and developers that have been withholding project payments in tough times. Gov. Janice K. Brewer (R) on May 11 signed into law a bill establishing retainage and final-payment timetables for properly completed construction work. Failure to comply results in penalties of 1.5% monthly interest charges. “Retention issues should be dealt with immediately and not be dragged out for cash-flow purposes, ” says Michael F. Markham Sr., president of Markham Contracting Co. Inc., Phoenix. “The banks have been a problem with this. They
Phoenix is building a new transit project that one day will shuttle people at Sky Harbor International Airport from terminal to terminal in air-conditioned comfort. Sky Harbor officials hope the $1-billion PHX Sky Train will also reduce traffic by nearly 20%, removing 20,000 vehicles from surrounding roadways for less gridlock and pollution. The initial $625-million, 1.92-mi-long segment will connect the city�s METRO light-rail station at 44th and Washington streets with the airport�s 4,630-space east economy parking lot and 88-gate Terminal 4, which serves 80% of Sky Harbor�s passengers. Sky Train�s initial segment is expected to attract 28,000 daily riders or