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The Second Avenue subway line currently under construction in New York City is one of the largest infrastructure projects under way in the United States.According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) information,The Second Avenue Subway will be New York City’s first major expansion of the subway system in over 50 years. When fully completed, the line will stretch 8.5 miles along the length of Manhattan's East Side, from 125th Street in Harlem to Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan. In addition, a track connection to the existing 63rd Street and Broadway Lines, will allow a second subway line to provide direct service from East Harlem and the Upper East Side to West Midtown via the Broadway express tracks.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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A key political leader in Texas is set to propose a plan to build on sweeping education reforms passed in the state two years ago. House Speaker Joe Straus this week announced he will propose additional resources for counseling of students. This comes after some lawmakers questioned whether the state is doing enough to make sure students and their parents are equipped to take full advantage of changes made under House Bill 5, which created multiple pathways to a high school diploma.Specifically, Speaker Straus will ask lawmakers to approve stipends for counselors designed to entice those educators to pursue additional training in their field. Doing so would enable them to better serve students who now have to navigate the more complicated system of multiple pathways to graduation.
January 06, 2015
Construction spending slips in November; two-thirds of metros add jobs in yearEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Construction spending in November totaled $975 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down 0.3% from the upwardly revised rate in October and up 2.4% from November 2013, the Census Bureau reported on Monday. Private residential spending rose 0.9% for the month but slipped 0.5% over the latest 12 months; private nonresidential spending dipped 0.3% month-over-month but grew 4.7% year-over- year; and public construction spending fell fell 1.7% and rose 3.2%, respectively.
January 05, 2015
Ethical operators in construction do all they can to ensure their craftsmen and women are extremely safe on their jobsites. Many companies go as far as maintaining an ongoing relationship with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, so that the industry and the government can be proactive, instead of reactive, when it comes to the safety of people on jobsites across America. While some companies are skeptical that kind of arrangement, other firms have found it is a positive way to stay ahead of potential problems that increase liability and make them less attractive employment options.
January 02, 2015
The following article was written by Tamar Jacoby, President of ImmigrationWorks, and originally published in The Wall Street Journal:Dakota Blazier had made a big decision. Friendly and fresh-faced, from a small town north of Indianapolis, he'd made up his mind: He wasn't going to college."I discovered a long time ago," he explained, "I'm not book smart. I don't like sitting still, and I learn better when the problem is practical." But he didn't feel this limited his options—to the contrary. And he was executing a plan as purposeful as that of any of his high-school peers.It started in his junior year with release time from high school to take a course in basic construction skills at a craft training center run by the Associated Builders and Contractors. The next step was an internship with a local contractor, Gaylor Electric.
December 31, 2014
To demonstrate the capabilities of their heavy equipment, Caterpillar has created some clever “Built For It Trials” in which machines such as excavators and telehandlers perform various tasks just to prove that they can. Caterpillar truly lives up to their motto “when we play blocks, we play BIG” in their trial called “Stack.” Five pieces of caterpillar construction equipment play with an oversized Jenga-style game, removing the 600 pound blocks from the middle of the stack and placing them on the top. The highly skilled equipment operators displayed their talent as they placed each block with great finesse.
December 30, 2014
A new report finds building costs are rising faster than they have in the past six years. The report from the construction consulting firm Rider Levett Bucknall said that the company’s index of construction costs in the United States increased 1.66 percent between July and October, which is the biggest three-month increase since the beginning of 2008.Perhaps more importantly, the report found that construction starts in 2015 will rise about 10 percent – almost double the estimated growth rate in 2014. "General optimism with the construction sector has continued to rise," the report said. Rider Levett Bucknall keeps track of new commercial, residential, and other types of construction as well.
December 29, 2014
We’ve talked about drones flying over and through construction sites, but what about 30 of them flying in unison to create a light show by “painting” on the night sky? Time Magazine quotes Ars Electronica, a technology and art firm based in Austria, about their LED-equipped drones which they call “Spaxels” and which are designed to create this visual show.
December 26, 2014
Warmest wishes to all of our readers!
December 25, 2014
A man who had been homeless on the streets of Sacramento, California, says he has the local NBA team to thank for his new career in construction, which has led to an already improved quality of life. Eric Martinez is one of the heavy equipment operators helping to build the new downtown arena for the Sacramento Kings.As part of the construction, the team partnered with local leaders to promote careers in the building trades.The team's Community Workforce Pipeline - a program launched earlier this year - is designed specifically to help those in need transition into construction careers. In a news release, the team said, "The Apprenticeship Program is an unprecedented collaboration of several organizations...
December 24, 2014
