When July hits and the temperature starts heading into the triple digits it seems the only publicity the Southwest ever receives is for record high temperatures. But the construction industry does not stop in Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada just because it is hot. Engineers and industry professionals are literally building through the harsh desert summers.

ENR Southwest is happy to introduce this new weekly feature. We intend to include a smattering of new items from throghout the region every week.

Some highlights from the week that was:

Last week, the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Loop 303 expansion project between Peoria and Glendale was awarded an “America’s Transportation Award” from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The project was honored for coming $8.5 million dollars under its budget of $80 million.

The project, which was part of a series of five major projects that began in 2011 and intended to renovate 12 miles of the Loop 303 North of interstate 10, was given the award at the AASHTO’s Western Region conference in Albuquerque, N.M. The project complete removed a portion of the I-10 and turned the two-lane highway into a fully modern six lane highway while also transforming the Loop 303 from a rural highway into a metropolitan divided freeway.

Read an article I did on this project last year by clicking here.

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McCarthy Building Cos., announced it has secured a preconstruction services contract from the Litchfield Elementary School District for an estimated $12 million educational facility. The school, which will be named Verrado Heritage Elementary school, is slated to see construction begin in August for a completion date in July 2015.

The project will be located west of Verrado Way and north of Thomas Road in Buckeye, Ariz. The 80,500-square-foot school will be used by students from kindergarten to 8th grade. There will be two classroom buildings connected by a bridge to a combo cafeteria, gymnasium, media center and administration building. The 8-acre site will also include sports fields, and will use sustainable materials and systems throughout the construction.

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In Henderson, Nev., Kitchell topped off a $160-million, five-story tower they are building as part of the Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican, Siena Campus, outside Las Vegas.

The tower is 220,000 square feet and will bring the number of private rooms at the hospital up to 326 when it opens in 2016. This most recent build was part of Kitchell’s on going expansion at the campus, which has also included an expansion of the NICU and a 500 space parking garage, among many other upgrades.

The architect on the design build project is Orcutt | Winslow Partnership <http://www.owp.com>.