General Contractor Selected to Build New Norwalk High School

The Town of Norwalk has selected Gilbane Building Company to provide construction management at-risk services for the new, 328,407-square-foot Norwalk High School, located in Connecticut. Designed by Kaestle Boos Associates, the new facility will be built in multiple phases over a 46-month schedule to accommodate operations of the existing school, which is adjacent to the project site and will remain occupied during construction until its eventual demolition. The new high school will accommodate new and improved educational spaces and technologies for approximately 2,000 students, including new classroom/lab spaces, gymnasium, kitchen/cafeteria, auditorium, natatorium and parking. The existing science wing will remain … Read more

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Ground Broken on Graphite Solar Project in Utah

Representatives from Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company announced that rPlus Energies recently broke ground on Graphite Solar I, a 104 MWdc /80 MWac utility-scale solar project in Carbon County, Utah. The project will contribute renewable power to Facebook’s new data center in Eagle Mountain. The rPlus Energies team was joined for the groundbreaking by project owner Greenbacker and by Sundt Construction, which will serve as the engineering, procurement and construction lead for the project. The project supports Facebook’s goal of 100% renewable energy for its operations and is expected to reach commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2021. Graphite is … Read more

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Nonresidential Construction Spending Continues Decline Amid Supply Chain, Labor Challenges

Overall construction spending declined in May compared to the prior month, driven by continued drops in nonresidential construction activity as firms struggle with supply chain disruptions, rising materials prices and labor shortages, according to an analysis of new federal construction spending data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Officials with the association called on the Biden administration to remove tariffs on key construction materials, allow unemployment supplements that are keeping people out of the workforce to expire and take steps to address supply chain backups.   “Many construction firms would likely be even busier if only they could find … Read more

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Pullback in Commercial, Institutional Planning Ends 6-Month Consecutive Gains

Following six months of consecutive gains, the Dodge Momentum Index fell to 165.8 (2000=100) in June, down 5% from the revised May reading of 175.1. The momentum index, issued by Dodge Data & Analytics, is a monthly measure of the first (or initial) report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year. The decline in June was the result of losses in both institutional planning, which fell 7%, and commercial planning, which lost 4%. . Uncertain demand for some building types (such as retail and hotels), higher material … Read more

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University of Florida Wins 34th ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition

University of Florida won the 34th annual National Concrete Canoe Competition hosted by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. The Gators also won the competition in 2019 and, because the 2020 competition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, now stand as back-to-back winners. Twenty-two universities participated in the event, which was held virtually for the first time. The University of Florida canoe – the Polligator – placed Top 3 in all three categories in the event: second in the technical proposal category, second for technical presentation and third for enhanced focus areas. “The Concrete … Read more

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