Construction Industry News, November 8, 2019

California approves $3.2B bond for Virgin’s $4.8B bullet train to Las Vegas

The California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) has authorized a $3.2 billion tax-exempt, fixed-rate revenue bond issuance to help DesertXpress Enterprises LLC, an affiliate of Virgin Trains USA, build a high-speed train from Victorville, California, to Las Vegas. The new XpressWest service, at speeds of up to 180 miles per hour, will take about 90 minutes one way.  

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Energy, megaprojects dominate 2019 US construction industry

For the first eight months of 2019, the dollar value of U.S. construction starts was almost level with that of 2018, but, according to Alex Carrick, chief economist for ConstructConnect, there has been a shift in the type of projects that are moving forward.

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Pipeline Route Disputes Are Poised for US Supreme Court Decision

The battle over use of federal eminent domain power by natural-gas pipeline developers to claim state land for project routes reached two U.S. appellate courts, as builders and opponents square off over seizure rights.

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NTSB: Errors by FIGG Led to Fatal Bridge Collapse

Multiple design errors by FIGG Bridge Engineers and its engineer-of-record were the primary probable cause of last year’s Florida International University pedestrian bridge collapse, the National Transportation Safety Board announced Oct. 22.

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Granite Construction Takes Another Quarter Hit Linked to Project Issues

Granite Construction Inc. reported 2019 third-quarter net income of $20.5 million for the period ended Sept. 30, down 60% from its year-ago figure of $55.7 million, due to a $69.3 million loss in its heavy civil operating group that the Watsonville, Calif., contractor attributes to disputed projects.

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Cutting deaths and serious injury in highways construction with waste by-products

Highways construction naturally comes with risks, owing to the sheer scale of physical labour and materials required to build them. But we now have the technology to mitigate those dangers to a huge extent. Let’s take two of the biggest issues facing the industry – occupational lung disease and musculoskeletal disorders.

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