| November 4, 2009 | News for contractors and the construction industry |
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- Salt Lake mixed-use center taking shape
Construction of the City Creek Center in Salt Lake City is starting to change the shape of the city's skyline, observers say. The project, which will include 900,000 square feet of retailing along with residential and office space, is estimated to cost at least $1 billion and be completed in 2012. The project has helped ease the recession's impact on Salt Lake City and is expected to attract more visitors to the area. The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
(11/3)
      
- Officials: Alaskan pipeline project is on schedule for 2018 startup
Alaskan officials say TransCanada will be on pace to build a gas pipeline in Alaska and ship to U.S. customers by 2018 as long as energy companies take part in next year's open season for the project, state officials said. Even if producers' gas-delivery bids are dependent on fiscal concessions that do not exist, the open season would succeed as long as TransCanada gains the necessary interest to proceed with the 1,700-mile Prudhoe Bay-to-Alberta venture, officials added. Reuters
(11/3)
- New Orleans levees, Calif. rail make list of large projects
A list of seven "colossal" construction/engineering projects includes the International Space Station and upgrades to an ancient road in Greece. The list also includes the $14 billion plan to rebuild New Orleans' levees and floodwalls as well as California's plan to develop a high-speed rail network. MSNBC
(11/3)
- China approves Disney's plan for Shanghai theme park
The Chinese government has approved Walt Disney Co.'s plan to build a $3.6 billion theme park in Shanghai. The Chinese park will be the company's fourth outside the U.S. Disney is now working with its partners in China to form an operation and construction agreement. Bloomberg
(11/4)
- Calculating stimulus jobs creates confusion, state official says
Federal agencies have given Wyoming conflicting instructions on how to calculate how many jobs have been created by the stimulus program, according to Lynne Boomgaarden, director of Wyoming's Office of State Lands and Investments. Boomgaarden said state and local stimulus spending so far has created or saved the equivalent of 466 jobs. However, her office reported a figure of 515 jobs last month, but the number declined after a review by federal officials. Google/The Associated Press
(11/3)
- Many jobs created by economic stimulus don't last
Many jobs created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are temporary and don't turn into permanent positions, analysts say. "The bottom line is these are meant to be stop-gap measures," said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at ChannelCapitalResearch.com. "This is fairly typical in stimulus plans. It's the same as it was in the 1930s: To put people back to work, the government looks at all of the stuff that was on its to-do list." CNNMoney.com
(11/2)
- Report raises questions about stimulus job creation
A Wall Street Journal analysis found that the White House may have overstated the number of jobs created or saved by the stimulus plan by at least 20,000. Officials with the administration acknowledged that reports attributing 640,000 jobs to the stimulus were not "100 percent accurate." Meanwhile, the Journal report found that recipients of grants may have made errors when estimating the number of jobs created or saved. The Wall Street Journal
(11/4)
 | Benefits of BIM and Field Software Webinar
Join us November 11 1:30PM EST to learn how DPR Construction utilized an integrated combination of Tekla Structures Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Vela Systems field software in their door, frame and hardware (DFH) construction business. Learn the benefits of this method. Register today!
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| Product Innovation & Technology |  | |
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- Manufacturers roll out green construction materials
A number of startups are producing bricks, concrete and other building materials using sustainable raw materials and environmentally friendly methods. One such company is the Calif.-based CalStar Products, which has developed a way to make bricks from fly ash, a byproduct of coal burning. The process uses 85% less energy than conventional brick manufacturing. The Wall Street Journal
(11/4)
- Hawaii's World Botanical Gardens and Waterfalls adds zip line
Visitors to Hawaii's Big Island will soon have the opportunity to sail through the rain forest on a zip line in the World Botanical Gardens and Waterfalls. "Along with safe excitement, our top priority for Zip Isle is to be an environmental leader on the Big Island," said Lanny Neel, garden director at WBGW. "As a botanical garden and repository for endangered plant species, the environment is extremely important to all of us. We carefully chose a zip line construction method using utility poles to ensure preservation of the forest." TravelAge West
(11/1)
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| The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS)
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Interested in learning more about advertising in the AGC SmartBrief? Contact Jim Pataki at (202) 737-5500 x273 or jpataki@smartbrief.com.
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| News From Washington | | |
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- Task force to put price tag on carbon emissions
How much should we pay to remove a single ton of carbon from the atmosphere? A new government task force is set to provide an official estimate -- and its results could be used to determine the scope of federal carbon regulations, as well as to justify stricter industrial air-quality standards. Still, not everyone thinks the estimate is a good idea: "You can't really quantify the social costs of carbon with any degree of confidence," says climate economist Gary Yohe. "You can get just about any number you want to, depending on the assumptions you use." ClimateWire/(Subscription required)
(11/4)
| Association News | | |
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Highway worker safety program available
AGC worked with Zurich North America to create a new national highway worker safety program. The program is designed for safety and training professionals to use in providing highway safety training to highway construction workers. It covers ways to control traffic, operate heavy equipment and staff worksites in a way that reduces risk to workers. Order it here.
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Free ConsensusDOCS educational session assistance
Do you have a conference, workshop or other educational learning event for which you need complete contract document samples? ConsensusDOCS can help! Not only does ConsensusDOCS provide free educational use samples of its entire catalog of standard contract documents, but we can also help you locate speakers for your event. To acquire a free license to use ConsensusDOCS contract documents, all you have to do is fill out the Application for Copyright License.
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