September 18, 2023

Veteran structural engineer Don Davies has donned an owner-developer's hat to demonstrate how to drastically reduce embodied carbon in buildings.

Companies

Fluor Agrees to $14.5M Fixed-Price Project Cost Pact with SEC

September 7, 2023

The contractor does not "admit or deny" charges on legacy project accounting violations, says federal regulator, but it cooperated with financial reporting probe—as agency reached similar pact with former McDermott executives in June.

Companies

Survey: Engineering Firms Upbeat about Business Conditions

August 31, 2023

ACEC business survey sees brightest picture for roads and bridges and water/wastewater sectors.

Workforce

Skilled Labor Shortage Adds to Contractors' Staffing Woes, AGC Survey Finds

September 6, 2023

2 Comments

An AGC survey held in July and August found 81% of contractors are using higher pay and other incentives to attract skilled workers to fill open positions that 88% of them reported they were having a hard time filling.

Resilience

Cianbro Wins $113M Contract for Nation's Capital Seawall Rehab

September 1, 2023

Rebuilding the walls, which date to the late 1800s and early 1900s, would better protect areas along the Potomac River and Tidal Basin against water-level rise and storm surge.

Rising US Project Costs Challenge Renewable Energy Commitments

September 13, 2023

Cost bumps in U.S. offshore wind power construction are causing new impacts to projects and developers, but recent actions by some traditional energy sector firms indicate continuing commitment to a transition to renewables.

Renewables Construction

Feds Share Labor Rules Detail for Big Energy Project Tax Credits

Mary B. Powers

August 30, 2023

Incentives tied to craft worker compensation and apprenticeship on clean energy projects won't require developers to have project labor agreements, says the U.S. Treasury Dept.

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Clean Energy

US Energy Dept. Aims $15.5B for EV, Battery Plant Retooling

Mary B. Powers

September 2, 2023

Federal grants and loans under new infrastructure funding laws will favor applicants with strategies to retain and attract skilled workers for “high-quality jobs," a move observers say is timed with escalating auto industry labor battles.

Southwest Pulse for Sept. 4, 2023

September 1, 2023

Project news from Dodge Data and Analytics for the Southwest region.

Federal Programs

FEMA Awards $2.4B in Infrastructure Resilience Grants

August 29, 2023

The agency picked 273 projects to share in the grants, which are not generally greater than $50 million.

Construction Accidents

Miami Crane Collapse Kills One, Injures Four

Stephanie Loder

August 30, 2023

Mario Bladimir Andino Renteria, 32, died when a crane arm failed and dropped its load of mechanical equipment on him during work to replace air handling equipment at HCA Florida Mercy Hospital.

Construction Materials

Canada to Challenge Latest US Tariff on Softwood Lumber

September 1, 2023

The trade dispute has gone on for many years, with the latest move spurred by the U.S. revising the duty on Canadian softwood lumber in July.

Las Vegas Sphere Lawsuits Roll On in Nevada Courtrooms

Richard Korman

September 8, 2023

Whether Madison Square Garden Corp. CEO James Dolan will testify has been a major issue in one of the cases.

Natural Disasters

Maui Wildfire Cleanup Could Cost $1B and Take One Year

September 11, 2023

Questions remain about the rebuilding of the Hawaiian Island after the cleanup.

Environmental Protection

Weaker WOTUS Rule From EPA Opens Protected Wetlands to Development

Lawsuits claim the new WOTUS regulation is vague and threatens to slow infrastructure approvals

Pam McFarland

August 30, 2023

Construction groups and environmental advocates both criticize the final "waters of the United States" rule that will open to development thousands of wetland acres formerly protected.

Transportation

New Team Nears Milestone in Delayed German Bridge Project

Peter Reina

August 31, 2023

Structural completion of Germany’s 2,257-ft-long Leverkusen bridge will be celebrated on Sept. 5 as construction of its adjacent cable-stayed twin is about to start.

Airport Infrastructure

Biden Picks Former FAA No. 2 Official as Nominee for Agency's Top Job

September 7, 2023

Michael Whitaker's wide background also includes stints at United Airlines and TWA.

Companies

SNC-Lavalin Rebrands as AtkinsRéalis in ‘New Era’ as Engineer, Tech Firm

September 12, 2023

CEO Ian Edwards says new name cements market identity not tethered to past ethics scandals, legal battles and bottom line pressures of fixed-price construction, as Canada firm builds on its Atkins unit and new needs in changing energy and transportation niches.

Renewable Energy

Offshore Wind Auction in Britain Draws No Bidders

Peter Reina

September 8, 2023

UK officials blame inflation, but offshore wind sector leaders point to the government-set pricing.

Construction Workforce

Contractors Kept Hiring in August, Adding 22,000 Jobs

September 1, 2023

While the number of construction jobs increased in August, so did the industry's jobless rate compared to July and year-earlier levels.

Highway Infrastructure

FHWA Reallocates $7.9B in Uncommitted Highway Funds to States

September 5, 2023

The total is a record amount for FHWA's annual August funding redistribution.

ENR Podcasts: Exploring AI, MBEs and the Future of Transportation

Richard Korman

September 14, 2023

ENR.com’s podcast team, Senior Editor Aileen Cho and Technology Editor Jeff Yoders, landed in the middle of ENR’s recent technology conference to record what key industry tech executives were saying about the future of artificial intelligence and how it may change construction.

ENR 2023 Top 100 Green Design Firms and Contractors: A Green Market Growth Spurt

As federal incentives propel more projects, could growing industry collaboration weed out deep-rooted embodied carbon issues?

Emell D. Adolphus

Jonathan Keller

September 13, 2023

One Comment

Green building revenue jumped in 2022 with more projects seeking third-party sustainability certifications. Federal spending and new carbon-cutting standards helped advance climate-friendly design, but Top 100 Green Design and Contracting firms say greater isn’t always greener when it comes to environmental impact.

Arcadis Takes on Challenge of Solar Manufacturing in the US

Jeff Yoders

September 14, 2023

As manufacturing facilities for everything from electric vehicle components to the crystalline photovoltaic wafers in solar panels are funded by government incentive as well as private investment, design firms are being called on to redesign production processes dependent on the materials and regulations that long-favored overseas manufacturing.

Industry Leads for the Week of September 18, 2023

September 14, 2023

Information derived from Industrial Reports, a market intelligence firm specializing in industrial construction and equipment leads.

Pulse for the Week of September 18, 2023

September 14, 2023

Project news from Dodge Data & Analyitics.

Construction Economics for September 18, 2023

September 14, 2023

ENR’s 20-city average cost indexes, wages and materials prices. Historical data and details for ENR’s 20 cities can be found at ENR.com/economics

VinFast’s first U.S. electric vehicle plant

2023 Top 400 Sourcebook: Growing EV Marketplace

September 14, 2023

Vietnamese electric vehicle producer VinFast selected Clayco as the general contractor and construction management company for its first U.S. manufacturing plant near Raleigh, N.C.

2023 Top 400 Sourcebook: Work at California Water Treatment Plants

Corinne Grinapol

September 14, 2023

The East Bay Municipal Utility District in Oakland, Calif., awarded a $237-million contract to Flatiron for construction projects at two of the utility’s water treatment plants: the Upper San Leandro Water Treatment Plant, built in 1927, and the Sobrante Water Treatment Plant.

2023 Top 400 Sourcebook: Texas LNG Terminal Contracts Flow

Mary B. Powers

September 14, 2023

Construction is underway, with new contracts awarded, on the first phase of Sempra Infrastructure’s $13-billion Port Arthur LNG export terminal in Texas near the Gulf of Mexico, following the energy firm’s award to Bechtel Energy of an EPC contract to manage the two-train project.

2023 Top 400 Sourcebook: Power Line Builds Ramp Up

Jim Parsons

September 14, 2023

Construction is set to begin later this year on the $3-billion TransWest Express Transmission Project, a 732-mile high-voltage interregional transmission system designed to deliver about 20,000 GW of renewable energy per year to western states and in early September on the estimated $8-billion SunZia transmission project that will carry an initial 3 GW of clean power to southwest U.S. markets.

2023 Top 400 Sourcebook: Music City Makeover

Jim Parsons

September 14, 2023

Nashville, Tenn.’s signature downtown arterial, named Broadway, will soon boast a new gateway bridge to make travel safer and more efficient.

2023 Top 400 Sourcebook: Kansas Football Stadium Set for Upgrade

Bruce Buckley

September 14, 2023