Pacific Builder and Engineer articles from July 2005

Pacific Builder and Engineer archives from July 2005

Contract Awards Summary.(in United States)
July 4, 2005... Staff How To Use the Contract Awards Summary: All numbers and charts are in real dollars. The chart immediately below tracks cumulative awards for all categories of construction in PB&E' s five-state area. The last two years are shown...

Anchorage Evolution.(Road Extension and Interchange Complete Link In C Street Project )
July 4, 2005... Story by Gene Storm Road Extension and Interchange Complete Link In C Street Project The C Street corridor bisects Anchorage east from west, and is a major transportation link from the downtown central business district, through the...

Cat Chopper Roars.(NC Machinery Co. Television Show)
July 4, 2005... Staff Star of Hit TV Show Draws Crowds at NC Machinery Branches Its color was the familiar Caterpillar yellow, and it clearly owed some of its styling cues to the heavy equipment parked nearby, but when the Cat Chopper came visiting at...

Oregon ABC Projects Honored.(Construction Industries)(Annual Excellence In Construction and Safety Awards banquet)
July 4, 2005... Staff PortlandThe Pacific Northwest Chapter, Associated Builders and Contractors, honored nine member companies May 20 at its 11th Annual Excellence In Construction & Safety Awards banquet. The EIC Awards are given annually to...

Briefs.(Appointments)(The Northwest Wall and Ceiling Bureau )
July 4, 2005... Staff Boise - Elaine Martin , president of Marcon Inc., has been elected to the executive committee of Associated General Contractors of America. Martin is the first Idaho AGC member to serve on the national executive committee since...

New Products.(Pape Machinery Inc)
July 4, 2005... Staff Eugene, Ore. - The Gradall Co. recently appointed Pape Machinery Inc., to be its exclusive territory dealer in Oregon and Washington. One of five brands manufactured by JLG Industries Inc., the Gradall product line includes...

Another Delay for Highway Bill.
July 4, 2005... Staff Congress punted again. In order to keep federal highway and transit money flowing, the Senate and House of Representatives approved a 30-day extension of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century on May 26. This is the...

ABC Honors Speaker of the House.(Associated Builders and Contractors)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff Associated Builders and Contractors has named U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Speaker of the House, as the association's Free Enterprise Legislator of the Year. Each year, ABC honors a member of Congress during its Legislative...

EPA Revisits Blending Policy.(Environmental Protection Agency)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff Based on review of all public comments and congressional hearings, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided not to finalize the sewage blending policy as proposed in November 2003. "Blending is not a long-term...

OSHRC Withdraws Costly Proposal.(Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has withdrawn a proposal that would have cost small contractors time and money by limiting practice before the OSHRC to only attorneys, in-house expertise or affected employees....

Bid Management.(eBid Systems introduces software for construction industry)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff Seattle- eBid Systems has released eBid eXchange, highlighting two new editions of the service designed specifically for the construction industry. eBid eXchange is an online procurement software system providing capabilities...

Truck Ticketing Software.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff Seattle- Dexter + Chaney recently integrated BMG Seltec's Site Automation truck ticketing software into its Forefront Construction Management Software, giving aggregate and asphalt suppliers and construction companies a seamless...

Walkie-Talkie Group Conversations.(Group Connect Service)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff Reston, Va.- Nextel Communications Inc. has launched Group Connect service, which enables instant group walkie-talkie conversations nationwide. Group Connect allows groups to be created directly on the handset within seconds....

GPS System.(Global Positioning System)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff Livermore, Calif.- Topcon has announced the HiPer XT, an all-new GPS system for land surveying and construction layout applications. This system features fully integrated receiver/antenna units with a Topcon Positioning Systems...

Owner Puts Refinery Conversion On Hold.(Project)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff Fairbanks, Alaska- A large expansion project scheduled to begin this summer at the Flint Hills refinery at North Pole, east of Fairbanks, has been delayed. The project, estimated to cost $250 million, was designed to allow the...

ODOT Exempted From Federal Rules.(Oregon. Department of Transportation)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff Salem, Ore.- The Office of Innovative Partnerships at the Oregon Department of Transportation has received approval for waiver of certain federal regulations for experimental projects from the Federal Highway Administration. ...

Contractor Installs Shoring For Downtown Tunnel.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff Seattle- DBM Contractors Inc. recently completed installing 224 soldier piles as part of a shoring system for a segment of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT) Retrofit and Expansion along both sides of Pine Street between...

New Electrical Engineering Firm Opens For Business.(BrN Engineering Inc)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff Seattle- BrN Engineering Inc is a new firm offering experienced electrical engineering consulting services targeted to the small and mid-size architectural firms who work in both the architectural design-bid and contractor...

Firm Recognized For Supporting Employees in Military.(Otak Inc)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff Portland- With military reservists and members of the National Guard returning to a struggling economy and limited employment opportunities, the National Guard has recognized engineering firm Otak Inc. for its ongoing support of...

Work Zone Safety Nominations Due.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff Washington, D.C.- The American Road & Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation has begun accepting nominations for the 2005 "Roadway Work Zone Safety Awareness Awards." Sponsored by ARTBA-TDF and...

Energy Trust Seeks Biopower Proposals.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff Portland- One person's waste may be another person's power source. That's the key to the Biopower program launched in May by Energy Trust of Oregon Inc. Energy Trust has issued a request for proposals for projects that turn...

Cement Consumption Continues To Rise.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2005... Staff Skokie, Ill.- The Spring Forecast from the Portland Cement Association predicts that cement consumption should increase 3.0 percent in 2005 and to another record level of 123.4 million metric tons. The forecast includes an improved...

Editor's Report.(PB&E)
July 18, 2005... By Carl Molesworth I'm going to keep this somewhat general, so I won't have to change the names to protect the innocent. I was visiting a Seattle company in the material handling business recently when the fellow I was talking to made...

Stockpiling Strategies.
July 18, 2005... Story by Carl Molesworth Extendable Conveyor Makes A Difference At Asphalt Plant A key element in the production of aggregates for construction is storage of the finished products. It's not just a matter of heaping rocks into a big...

AGC Awards.(Associated General Contractors)
July 18, 2005... Staff Washington Chapter Recognizes Safety and Construction Excellence Winners Thirteen companies took home the honors when the Associated General Contractors of Washington celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Safety and...

Consulting Firm To Study Alaska's Seismic Issues.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... Staff Juneau-- In an effort to create formal guidelines for the evaluation of liquefaction hazards throughout the state, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has selected Shannon & Wilson, Inc., to research and...

Contractor Garners Two Erosion Awards.(Nutter Corp.)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... Staff Vancouver, Wash.-- Clark County and the city of Ridgefield, Wash., have honored Nutter Corp. with the 2005 Regional Erosion Prevention Awards from their jurisdictions. The award is a result of the federal Clean Water Act, which...

Company Wins Multiple Safety Awards.(Dunkin and Bush)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... Staff Redmond, Wash.-- Dunkin & Bush, a Redmond-based company specializing in abrasive blasting, industrial painting, fireproofing, and safety support services for the petro-chemical, pulp and paper and hydroelectric industries, has been...

Idaho Contractor Sold To MDU.(Norm's Utility Contractor Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... Staff Post Falls, Idaho-- MDU Resources Group Inc. has acquired Norm's Utility Contractor Inc. and merged it into Knife River Corp., the construction materials and mining subsidiary of MDU Resources. Financial details of the merger were...

Briefs.(Construction Industry Training Council)(appointments)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2005... Staff Bellevue, Wash. -- Ronald M. Johnson , former regional program manager for the U.S. Department of Labor, is joining the Construction Industry Training Council of Washington as the regional director for southwest Washington. ...