TEXAS STATE EDITION
A Supplement to:
®
June 26 2016 Vol. I • No. 13
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Texas Connection • Dale Agnew, Carrollton, TX • 1-877-877-4997
Construction Under Way on $330M Construction Up, State Highway 360 South Project Demolition Down in Houston Area
By Chuck Harvey
CEG CORRESPONDENT
Construction is under way on a $330 million Texas State Highway 360 South project that will add lanes to the highway stretching 9.7 mi. (15.6 km) from 2 mi. (3.2 km) south of I-20 in Arlington, south to U.S. 287 in Ellis County. The project is overseen by a publicprivate partnership between the Texas Department of Transportation, the North Texas Tollway Authority and the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Initial work on the project will feature construction of two toll lanes in each direction starting near East Sublett Road and West Camp Wisdom Road and stretching south to U.S. 287. A little more than half of the highway has two existing frontage road lanes in each direction. The remainder is one frontage road lane in each direction. Most of the highway is in Tarrant County. By late 2017, SH 360 will have two frontage road lanes and two toll lanes in each direction for the entire project length. The ultimate (second-phase) plan is to have three to four toll lanes in each direction. No funding plan is in place for the ultimate construction phase, but the estimated cost for this phase is $604 million. In addition to added lanes, initial plans call for intersection and frontage road improvements. The project will add bridges on U.S. 287 northbound and southbound over SH 360. Currently U.S. 287 and SH 360 intersect and traffic is controlled by signals at the intersection. After completion of the bridges, the traffic signals
By Amy McCaig SPECIAL TO CEG
Initial work on the project will feature construction of two toll lanes in each direction starting near East Sublett Road and West Camp Wisdom Road and stretching south to U.S. 287.
will be removed. Planners estimate 2.5 million cu. yds. (1.9 million cu m) of earth will be moved to prepare for the SH 360 road improvements and 200,000 cu. yds. (152,910 cu m) of dirt will need to be brought in. Crews will apply 235,000 cu. yds. (179,670 cu m) of concrete to pave the roads. TxDOT is financing and overseeing construction of the project before turning the roadway over to the North Texas Tollway Authority. Toll revenues would then be used to reimburse TxDOT and for NTTA to maintain and operate the toll highway. The North Central Texas Council of Governments’ Regional Transportation Commission provided financial assistance for the project. Substantial completion of the initial work is expected by late 2017. The project is expected to provide needed safety improvements, congestion relief
and economic development benefits. “This project has been on the books for some time and interest in the property surrounding the project has continued to build,” said Keith Bilbrey, 360 South Project public information coordinator. “We have heard reports for all the municipal agencies involved that economic growth is expected to blossom as the project continues and reaches completion.” Current work includes excavation and placement of embankments for the roadway, along with installation of drill shafts, extensions for bridges, drainage systems, temporary detours and bent cap. A bent cap is two or more piles driven in a row transverse to the long dimension of the structure and fastened together by capping. Equipment at the construction site includes excavators, bulldozers, loaders, mixers, off-road dump trucks and see HIGHWAY page 20
Construction in Harris County has far outpaced demolition over the last 10 years, according to a new report from Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research. “Houston in Flux: Understanding a Decade of Bayou City Development” analyzes how new construction and demolition varied, intersected and diverged in Harris County between 2005 and 2015. The report spotlights the effects of economic booms and busts, draws attention to the spaces where development pressures are most extreme or nonexistent and highlights instances of communities rising or being remade within a decade. Redevelopment, preservation and gentrification can be visualized on the interactive online component accompanying the report. During the research process, report authors Kelsey Walker, a postbaccalaureate fellow at the Kinder Institute, and Kyle Shelton, program manager for the Kinder Institute’s Urban Development, Transportation and Placemaking program, used data from the Harris County Appraisal District (including building and permit records). The researchers sorted each census tract into one of four groups (high-turnover, demolitionintensive, construction-intensive and low-turnover) and then analyzed tracts in each of these categories. The report’s key finding revealed that at the county level, new construction far outpaces demolition. At the end of 2015, 15 percent of properties in Harris County contained buildings constructed since 2005, while only 1.7 percent of properties had a demolition permit during that time period. The researchers also found that the area between State Highway 6-Farm-to-Market Road (FM) 1960 and the Grand Parkway has the highest percentage of construction sites in Harris County — 37.4 percent — followed by the area between Beltway 8 and State see HOUSTON page 22
Page 2 • June 26, 2016 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
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Job Creator…
ASCE Endorses Texas High-Speed Rail Project
The Texas Department of Transportation joined officials from Blanco County as they celebrated the completion of the RM 165 bridge replacement project over the Blanco River with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
TxDOT, Blanco County Celebrate RM 165 Bridge Project Completion The Texas Department of Transportation joined officials from Blanco County as they celebrated the completion of the RM 165 bridge replacement project over the Blanco River with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The $1.3 million project replaced the RM 165 bridge, which was destroyed in the 2015 Memorial Day floods. The new bridge is 42-ft. (12.8 m) wide, with two 12-ft. (3.6 m) travel lanes, one in each direction, and 8-ft. (2.4 m) shoulders. The project began in December 2015 and was completed in May 2016. The new bridge design includes an enhanced substructure, so it is stronger and safer than the previous bridge. The contractor for the project was Capital Excavation Company. Blanco County Judge Brett Bray said, “RM 165 is a vital artery for Blanco County and the citizens who drive this area every day. I am thankful to the area’s first responders for their work to keep citizens safe after the RM 165 bridge washed out and I appreciate the work of TxDOT and Capital Excavation for their quick work to get this route reopened.” Blanco County Precinct 4 Commissioner Paul Granberg said, “My first job as a newly-elected county commissioner was to get the rightof-way for this project to build the original RM 165 bridge in 1991. Nobody ever thought we’d have an issue with
The $1.3 million project replaced the RM 165 bridge, which was destroyed in the 2015 Memorial Day floods.
flood waters on this bridge, but shortly after opening it, water almost overtopped it. To everyone's dismay, last year, the bridge was completely washed out. I’m glad the RM 165 bridge over the Blanco River has been rebuilt and is structurally safer and more secure than ever.” Blanco County Mayor M. Bruce Peele stated, “Blanco is open for business. We’ve been open for business for a while, so I’m excited to see the changeable message signs removed saying the RM 165 route is closed and to start letting drivers use this newly reopened bridge again. Hopefully, we'll never have to deal with this bridge flooding again. I appreciate the work of
TxDOT and Capital Excavation to get the new, stronger RM 165 bridge open.” Austin District Engineer Terry McCoy said, “Today is a day to celebrate as we reopen the RM 165 bridge over the Blanco River after being destroyed by flood waters in May 2015. The great partnership between Blanco County, our contractor, and TxDOT made today possible. I appreciate everyone’s hard work, dedication and patience over the past year as the new $1.3 million bridge was rebuilt.” (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
The Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has endorsed a high-speed rail project that it said will create jobs, generate development and help sustain Texas’s “quality of life and economic vitality.” The group, which represents more than 9,000 engineers in 15 regional branches, unanimously passed a resolution last month that said it “strongly supports” the North Texas-toHouston passenger line being privately developed by Texas Central. The vote from one of the ASCE’s largest and most active sections is the latest sign of the growing momentum for the project. “ASCE is the latest organization formally supporting the high-speed rail project,” said Tim Keith, CEO of Texas Central. “Texans want a choice in how they travel and ASCE’s membership is uniquely qualified to support this project that will provide widespread economic benefits and make a significant difference in reducing traffic congestion.” The project already has more than 100 engineers working on what will be the country’s first high-speed rail system. “To ensure Texas remains an economic and technological powerhouse well into the 21st Century, we need to lead the nation with transformational projects like high-speed rail. We are excited about the possibilities that high-speed rail will bring to our state and look forward to supporting this privately developed project through its 2 completion,” said Audra N. Morse, president of the ASCE Texas section. The ASCE Texas Section noted that the Texas project will not take public money for its operations. And, the resolution said, it is expected to create 10,000 full-time construction jobs each year during the anticipated four-year construction period, and 1,000 full-time jobs after the system goes into full service. Also, taxing entities along the route would receive an estimated $2.5 billion in property taxes over 25 years from Texas Central because of the new infrastructure along the 240-mi. (386 km) route. The ASCE group, which promotes civil engineering excellence, recognized Texas’s history as a leader in transportation and saluted the Texas rail’s technology, based on the Central Japan Railway Co.’s “Shinkansen” system. This technology has been refined over more than 50 years of operation into the most reliable, comfortable and safe high-speed rail system in the world. The train will allow commuters to travel between North Texas and Houston in 90 minutes. Today it can take more than four hours and with the growth in the state expected to double by 2035, that time is projected to grow to 6.5 hours. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • June 26, 2016 • Page 5
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Page 6 • June 26, 2016 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Gov. Announces New SATA Group Permit Request Construction Project in Brownsville Dropped for East Texas Reservoir Gov. Greg Abbott announced that SATA Group, a hightech components manufacturer, will be constructing a new machine plant in Brownsville, Texas. This project is expected to create 300 jobs and generate $114 million in capital investment in the Texas economy. A Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) offer of $1.8 million has been extended to SATA Group. “Texas continues to be an economic powerhouse thanks to an environment and government that encourages business growth by limiting taxes, regulations and bureaucracy,” said Abbott. “I am proud that SATA Group has chosen to expand in the Rio Grande Valley, bringing high-quality jobs to a region that is vital to the growth of our state. The best thing a government can do to create jobs and prosperity is get out of the way of employers, and as Governor, I will continue to pursue policies that do just that.” “Our level of quality and superior manufacturing productivity created a global demand for our machined products and services,” said Pietro Cinotto, vice president of SATA USA. “It grew to the point where it made sense for us to enter the North American market and that’s when Brownsville, Texas, came into our site selection process. The overwhelming support helped us make the decision to settle in Brownsville.” “In the long term, the SATA development will be the anchor for the North Brownsville Heavy Manufacturing Campus, which will become a major economic pillar for South Texas,” said Jason Hilts, president and CEO of the Brownsville Economic Development Council. “This major
development perfectly aligned with our vision of transforming Brownsville into an advanced manufacturing hub and hotbed for suppliers.”
North Brownsville Heavy Manufacturing Campus Facts • 350-acre development on newly designated Interstate 169 • Will integrate industry via private enterprise, the public sector, the university system, community college and technical training facilities within the campus • Will house a vertically-integrated machining-foundryforging operation by 2020 • Plans to include an aluminum die cast operation, large plastic injection molder, distribution center and apprenticeship training center with an emphasis on machinists • Development has potential to create 4,000 jobs in a 10year period The Texas Legislature created the TEF in 2003 and reauthorized funding in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015 to help attract new companies to Texas and expand existing businesses to create more jobs throughout the State. TEF projects must be approved by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House. The fund has since become one of the state’s most competitive economic development tools. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Garney Construction to Assume Lead Role of SAWS’ Vista Ridge Project According to parties involved, Garney Construction, a Kansas City, Mo.-based company and Abengoa have reached an agreement to allow Garney to purchase 80 percent of the Vista Ridge Project, reducing the role of Abengoa to a silent 20 percent equity partner in the project. As granted within the original contract unanimously approved by City Council in 2014, SAWS retains right of final approval of this change. Throughout this process, San Antonio Water System (SAWS) has mandated any partners to this project must abide by existing covenants in the original contract, developed as a result of the publicly held negotiations. Garney Construction is a welcome and familiar face to SAWS as they have developed a more than 30-year relationship with the San Antonio water utility, performing more than
$156 million in major projects including: SAWS Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR), the Local Carrizo Aquifer project and SAWS water recycling pipeline. They are currently building a 28-mi. (45 km) integration pipeline, which will bring water from the desalination and ASR plants throughout the south and west sides of San Antonio. Garney also is named in the original Vista Ridge contract as the project construction firm. Robert R. Puente, president/CEO of SAWS said that the new leadership is a positive step in the progression of the Vista Ridge project. “Garney Construction has a strong history with SAWS and has been involved in this project since the beginning. In stepping up to the lead position, Garney brings unparalleled continuity and skill to the table.”
“Garney’s extensive local experience and strong local relationships will help us move forward with this important project,” commented Mayor Ivy Taylor. “Failure to secure our water future is our biggest risk, and Vista Ridge is a key component of our plan to diversify and expand our water supply.” Consideration by the SAWS Board of Trustees of the proposal could come later this spring, and although this represents no material change to the contract, SAWS will continue to engage the public and City Council through presentations and public meetings to familiarize the community and answer any questions that may come up. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
JACKSONVILLE, Texas (AP) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has withdrawn a request for a federal permit to build an East Texas reservoir that’s been in the works for nearly 40 years. The Corps withdrew the permit application for the proposed $387 million Lake Columbia Regional Water Supply Reservoir Project in April. Corps officials cited relative inactivity since 2013 in the project managed by the Lufkin-based Angelina and Neches River Authority, according to The Lufkin News. Lake Columbia is proposed for the Mud Creek flood plain, a tributary of the Angelina River, with the dam about 5 mi. (8 km) southeast of Jacksonville. ANRA in 1978 began planning what was then informally called Mud Creek Reservoir.
“What’s most critical at this point is getting the Corps of Engineers to rescind its decision to withdraw the application.” Kelley Holcomb Angelina and Neches River Authority
ANRA’s general manager, Kelley Holcomb, remains optimistic about the project and says “in no way is this the end.” The ANRA will reply to the Corps within the 90-day window with requested documentation about the plans, according to Holcomb. In a letter dated April 14, Stephen Brooks, chief of the regulatory division of the Corps’ Fort Worth district, notified ANRA of the application withdrawal, citing “relative inactivity of the project for more than three years.” Brooks also stated that the data collected and developed for the project area was considered “stale.” ANRA submitted the application for the permit on Oct. 31, 2000. The agency has spent about $3.9 million to address the Corps’ permitting and National Environmental Policy Act requirements, according to an April 20 response letter to the Corps from Holcomb. “What’s most critical at this point is getting the Corps of Engineers to rescind its decision to withdraw the application,” Holcomb said. Lake Columbia is a recommended water supply strategy in the 2007 State Water Plan and the 2006 Regional Water Plan, according to ANRA. For more information, visit http://www.lufkindailynews.com. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • June 26, 2016 • Page 7
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Denton…
Kirby-Smith Assists With 2016 TxSWANA Road-E-O Event The city of Denton, Texas, hosted the 2016 TxSWANA Road-E-O at the city landfill, and KirbySmith Machinery Inc., was there to ensure that its long-time customer’s event was a successful one. Kirby-Smith sponsored the event’s opening reception and also actively participated in the event itself, with four Kirby-Smith employees from three branches volunteering to serve as judges in the landfill equipment category. TxSWANA is the Lone Star chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). TxSWANA is made up of more than 400 individual members from various areas of the Solid Waste Industry. Each year the organization hosts an equipment “road-e-o” for its members with various equipment competitions across landfill equipment, mechanic and truck categories. Winners at this year’s TxSWANA Road-E-O earn the right to compete at the International SWANA Road-E-O in Dublin, Ga. Kirby-Smith has several customers who actively participate in TxSWANA’s Road-E-O each year, including the city of Denton and the city of Dallas.
The city of Denton has purchased several pieces of Komatsu Tier IV Interim equipment from Kirby-Smith in recent years, including a D65EX-17 bulldozer, HM400-3 articulated truck, PC490LC-10 excavator and a converted Komatsu articulated truck equipped with an 8000-gal. (30,283 L) water tank. Hosting the event allowed Denton the opportunity to put its Kirby-Smith equipment on display and to allow operators from all over the state to get in the cab and
This Komatsu HM400-3 articulated truck, provided by the city of Denton, was used in the Road-E-O competition.
The city of Denton provided equipment for the Road-E-O competition, including this Komatsu D65EX-17 bulldozer.
experience Komatsu for themselves. Two equipment pieces from the city’s package of Komatsu equipment, the D65EX17 bulldozer and an HM400-3 articulated truck, were used in the Road-E-O competition. The event proved to be a triumph for TxSWANA with
Denton, Dallas, Irving, El Paso, Lubbock, Abilene, Houston, San Antonio and Plano participating in the competition. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) CEG
Tadano America Expands Sales Team With New GM Houston, Texas-based Tadano America has added Ken Butz as its general manager of sales. Butz is an industry veteran with more than 30 years of crane sales and support experience. “Throughout his career Ken has been skilled at building and developing successful channels of sales for crane products. His industry knowledge and experience are exactly what Tadano needs to grow our business in the North American market,“ stated Jay Shiffler, executive vice president of Tadano America. “We are very pleased to have him on board.“ Most recently, Butz served as regional business manager for Manitowoc Cranes. “Tadano is well positioned to grow market share with their full line of rough terrain and all terrain cranes,“ said Butz. “Throughout North America Tadano’s quality products are being recognized as an excellent investment and I look forward to
the opportunity to lead the sales organization.” said Butz. About Tadano America Corporation Established in 1993 in Houston, Texas, Tadano America Corporation is the base for sales of rough-terrain cranes and all-terrain cranes for the North American market. Tadano America has customer service office locations located in Houston, Texas and Edmonton, Alberta, providing direct-to-customer product support. Tadano’s corporate office, located in Houston has 46,000 sq. ft. (14,021 sq m) of warehouse space for parts and storage. Tadano’s products are available through a broad network of dealers, agents and partnerships. Tadano America Corporation is a subsidiary of Tadano Ltd. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Houston, Texas-based Tadano America has added Ken Butz as its general manager of sales.
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • June 26, 2016 • Page 9
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Page 10 • June 26, 2016 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Out of the Heat…
Rangers Plan New $1 Billion Retractable-Roof Stadium ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) The Texas Rangers could be playing in a new $1 billion retractable-roof stadium by 2021 and would remain in Arlington until at least 2054 under plans revealed May 17 by the team and the city. The proposed master agreement for a public-private partnership calls for a 50-50 split of the estimated cost of the stadium and related infrastructure, with the city’s portion capped at $500 million. The Arlington City Council unanimously approved the measure, and it will now be up to voters to decide in November. “The Rangers and Arlington have enjoyed a great partnership for 45 years, and we are excited about the possibility of calling this city home for many years to come,” Rangers co-chairman Ray Davis said. “A baseball park is a very special place and the Rangers are committed to providing the best possible experience for our fans. The construction of a new facility with a retractable roof and so many other amenities would allow us to enhance that experience in a manner that is not presently possible.” Arlington voters in November will be asked to support the project by continuing existing sales taxes that are used to help pay for $1.2 billion AT&T Stadium, the nextdoor home of the Dallas Cowboys that has a retractable roof. The city originally issued $298 million in bonds in 2005 to build the Cowboys’ stadium, which since opening in 2009 has hosted events such as the Super Bowl, the first College Football Playoff national championship game and the NCAA Final Four. Davis said putting a roof on Globe Life Park, which opened in 1994 as Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, would be too expensive. The city has begun taking the steps required for an election in November that asks voters to extend existing funding mechanisms that would provide the public financing for construction of a new ballpark. The Rangers’ 30-year lease on the cityowned Globe Life Park is set to end in 2024. Under the new proposed master agreement, the Rangers’ partnership with Arlington would extend until January 1, 2054. “The Texas Rangers are a part of our fabric, a part of our DNA,” Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams said. “The City Council and I
have heard the message loud and clear: our citizens want the Texas Rangers to stay in Arlington. No doubt any city would want the Rangers. We want to be proactive and continue this 45-year relationship, which has been so successful for us, for the team and the North Texas region.” In 1991, voters approved a half-cent sales tax to help construct the Rangers’ current home. That sales tax went away after the city’s $135 million debt on the ballpark was paid off in 2001, a decade earlier than scheduled.
“The Rangers and Arlington have enjoyed a great partnership for 45 years, and we are excited about the possibility of calling this city home for many years to come.” Ray Davis Texas Rangers
Before moving into their current home, the Rangers spent their first 22 seasons at old Arlington Stadium. Arlington voters in 2004 approved a halfcent sales tax, a 5 percent car rental tax and a 2 percent hotel occupancy tax to help publicly finance the Cowboys’ stadium. The city and the Rangers recently reached an agreement on another public-private partnership, with Arlington agreeing to pay $50 million toward a project that will include 100,000 sq. ft. (9,290 sq m) of restaurant, bar and retail space, 35,000 sq. ft. (3,252 sq m) of convention space and plans for a 300-bed, high-rise luxury hotel to be built directly across from Globe Life Park. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • June 26, 2016 • Page 11
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Climate Change, Over Development Worsen Houston Floods By Frank Bajak and Seth Borenstein ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON (AP) With clay soil and tabletop-flat terrain, Houston has endured flooding for generations. Its 1,700 mi. (2,736 km) of man-made channels struggle to dispatch storm runoff to the Gulf of Mexico. Now the nation’s fourth-largest city is being overwhelmed with more frequent and more destructive floods. The latest calamity occurred April 18, killing eight people and causing tens of millions of dollars in damage. The worsening floods aren’t simple acts of nature or just costly local concerns. Federal taxpayers get soaked too. Extreme downpours have doubled in frequency over the past three decades, climatologists say, in part because of global warming. The other main culprit is unrestrained development in the only major U.S. city without zoning rules. That combination means more pavement and deeper floodwaters. Critics blame cozy relations between developers and local leaders for inadequate flood-protection measures. An Associated Press analysis of government data found that if Harris County, which includes Houston, were a state it would rank in the top five or six in every category of repeat federal flood losses — defined as any property with two or more losses in a 10-year period amounting to at least $1,000 each. Since 1998, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has paid more than $3 billion in today’s dollars for flood losses in metropolitan Houston. While repeat federal flood relief payouts average about $3,000 per square mile nationally, they are nearly half a million dollars per square mile in metro Houston. Six of Texas’ eight federally declared disasters since December 2013 included floods. “Houston has always had a flood problem, and the growth in the paving has only made it worse,” Craig Fugate, FEMA director said. When the best building and land-use practices aren’t followed, “we see the costs of disasters go up.” Metro Houston, which includes smaller communities and unincorporated parts of Harris County, has
added more than a million people since 1992, while the amount of water-absorbing wetlands per capita has been halved. Paved surfaces in the county increased by well over 25 percent in that period, according to researchers. Paved land generates five times more runoff than woodlands. “There’s basically very little control of development,” said Susan Cutter, director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina. Since the 1980s, Houston’s preferred approach to flood control, besides improving drainage, has been to build thousands of detention ponds, concrete-lined pools that capture stormwater and pipe it out slowly. But developers don’t build enough floodwater retention into their projects, and “areas that never flooded before now flood in the smallest event,” said Ed Browne, chairmen of the citizens’ group Residents Against Flooding. For example, if a property previously had construction and is being redeveloped, building codes don’t require detention ponds. “That’s just not how the laws are set up,” said Mike Talbott, executive director of the Harris County Flood Control District. He said blaming new construction for worsening flooding is unwarranted. “The new growth is mitigating its own impacts,” he said. Homeowner Complaints, Campaign Contributions Across Houston, anxiety rises when heavy rain is forecast, and people dread what hydrologists call “sheet flow.” That’s especially true in places such as Frostwood, a west Houston neighborhood downhill from Memorial City, a development with big-box stores, office towers, a hospital, a hotel and condos. Memorial City’s owner, Metro National, has benefited from more than a decade of infrastructure improvements made by a quasigovernmental authority that the company’s own lawyers helped create. Flooded residents claim the authority failed to honor a 2003 pledge to build stormwater detention ponds on their side of Interstate 10, which the state Department of Transportation sub-
sequently expanded to 26 lanes including frontage. “It seems like we’ve just got a concrete jungle around us now with no place for the water to go,” said Carolyn Elliott, an 81-year-old widow whose husband was critically ill when an April 2009 deluge forced them from their home of three decades. Jim Jard, a former Metro National president who sat on the Houston Planning Commission for 25 years and is still involved with the company, said “there is no civil engineer that will tell you projects at Metro National caused additional flooding.” Developers play big in Houston politics. Nearly half of the $313,000 that Harris County’s top elected official, Judge Ed Emmett, collected in campaign contributions in the first half of 2014 came from engineers, builders, developers and real estate interests. Emmett said it’s unfair to say the donations gave them outsized influence. So why do they give? “Why does anyone give money to campaigns? You’d have to ask them,” said Emmett, a Republican re-elected in November 2014. More than a quarter of the $726,000 in contributions to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner last December came from developers, engineers, builders and real estate interests. Some of the money for Turner, a Democrat who won a Dec. 12 runoff, was collected at a Metro National fundraiser. Turner’s spokeswoman, Janice Evans, said project choices in the “Rebuild Houston” program for improving drainage are based on need and data, “not influence from any one group.” Freshman city council member Greg Travis said Metro National backed his opponent during last year’s race. After Travis won, he said, the company gave him six or seven personal checks, including one from Jard. He said he never cashed the checks and didn’t recall the amounts. “I am not opposed to Metro National,” Travis said. “I like a lot of what they do. But there are certain things I don’t like. And the fact is, I don’t need their money.” Rising Temperatures, Frequent Downpours Climate change is increasingly concentrating downpours into
smaller areas, with big implications for urban flooding, scientists say. On April 18, one northwest section of Harris County got 4.7 in. (12 cm) in an hour. Rising average temperatures since 1985 have packed 7 percent more moisture into the atmosphere above Houston, while warmer Gulf of Mexico waters collude in the heavier rains. Since 1986, extreme downpours — the type measured in doubledigit inches — have occurred twice as often as in the previous 30 years, the AP weather analysis showed. Texas State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said to expect more frequent and bigger downpours. “The odds are twice as high as they have been in the past.” Since the late 1970s, FEMA has made more flood damage payments in Harris County than in any place outside New Orleans and two other Louisiana parishes also ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. The agency received more than 8,000 claims from April’s deluge but has yet to calculate how many are repeat victims. Entire blocks of chronically flooded Houston neighborhoods should be acquired for conversion into water-absorbing open spaces, said Roy Wright, FEMA’s associate deputy administrator. But buyouts are voluntary, and FEMA doesn’t pay for relocation. Harris County has done about 3,000 buyouts over the past three decades, underwritten mostly by federal dollars. Talbott said buyouts will remain part of the strategy, though Mark Loethen of Houston’s Public Works Department said the city prefers helping homeowners get federal grants to raise homes above flood levels. With each new flood, the maps FEMA uses to determine flood insurance eligibility and other matters become instantly obsolete. A 2013 presidential directive told the agency to start using computer modeling to update the maps, but that hasn’t happened yet. Harris County boasts of being among just seven agencies nationwide that is empowered to independently update flood maps, although FEMA must give final approval. In places such as Denver and North Carolina, that practice has worked well, said Alan Lulloff of the Association of State Flood
Plain Managers. But Houston environmental attorney Jim Blackburn said Harris County’s autonomy emerged out of the pro-developer 1980s. “In some of the more egregious cases, it appeared to us that developers had an undue influence in the shape or extent of the flood plain,” he said. Blackburn has filed three related lawsuits in the last 15 years. A Sierra Club suit prompted FEMA to raise the flood plain by some 4 ft. (1.2 m) in a northwestern suburb. Another suit failed to halt construction of a section of Houston’s third outer-ring highway. The Texas Supreme Court is rehearing a 2002 lawsuit filed by homeowners along oft-flooded White Oak Bayou so they might qualify for federal relief. One Family, Two Floods Parts of Meyerland, a leafy subdivision inaugurated on a former rice field in 1955 by then-Vice President Richard Nixon, are now a forlorn hodgepodge of flood-ravaged, one-story ranch homes, many with “for sale” signs. The neighborhood 10 mi. (16 km) southwest of downtown includes many homes that were rebuilt 5 ft. (1.5 m) above ground. Self-employed IT administrator Harry Duffey was just about to move back in with his wife and four kids when the latest flood hit. A few miles upstream, nearly 8 in. (20 cm) of rain fell in just three hours. The family bought their 5,100sq.-ft. (473.8 sq m) home, located just a block from Bray’s Bayou, three years ago for $750,000. Nothing in its records indicated it had ever flooded, Duffey said. On Memorial Day 2015, the Duffeys were wading in 2.5 ft. (.76 m) of fetid water. They had not yet moved back in when the water returned a in April. Wood floors and drywall were ripped out again. The graduate of nearby Rice University got a $250,000 flood insurance payout last time. Deeply in debt, he hopes for the same again. “From a financial standpoint, the only thing that makes sense is to move back, to remodel a third time,” he said. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • June 26, 2016 • Page 15
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New 100,000-Sq.-Ft. Facility…
Oil, Gas Regulator GM Breaks Ground on New Financial Dashes U.S. Army Servicing Center in San Antonio Corps’ Drilling Reg Gov. Greg Abbott attended and delivered remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new General Motors financial servicing center in San Antonio, Texas. The financial servicing center is projected to create more than 490 jobs and at least $20 million in capital investment in the state of Texas. “Today is the latest example of the economic diversification Texas enjoys,” said Gov. Abbott. “San Antonio is home of transformational technology and manufacturing, and now, the city is adding hundreds of new jobs in the growing financial services sector. I thank General Motors Financial for being such a great business partner and continuing to expand in Texas."
Project Facts • 100,000 sq. ft. (9,290 sq m) facility planned for construction on 13.8 acres of land. • Center will provide customer care and funding for motor vehicle loans and leases. • Total economic output over first 10 years of operations can reach $333 million. • A Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) grant of $2.5 million has been extended to GM Gov. Greg Abbott Financial. • GM Financial is headTexas quartered in Fort Worth, Texas. • GM Financial already employs 2,580 workers in the state of Texas. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
“Today is the latest example of the economic diversification Texas enjoys.”
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (AP) Texas’ oil and gas regulator has challenged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ authority to ban hydraulic fracturing and limit injection wells near a North Texas dam. In a letter sent to the corps, Kimberly Corley, Texas Railroad Commission executive director questioned restrictions the corps announced last week that would ban fracking within 4,000 ft. (1,219 m) and limit injection wells within 5 mi. (8 km) of the Joe Pool Lake dam. The corps cited fears of induced seismicity, or earthquakes triggered by human activity. Corley objected to the corps acting to limit drilling without consulting the Railroad Commission or going through a formal rulemaking process. Although there is no drilling under way near the dam, Exxon Mobil subsidiary XTO Energy has three existing wells and state permits to drill four more. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
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Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • June 26, 2016 • Page 17
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Page 18 • June 26, 2016 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Texas Highway Project Lettings
• Dean Word Company Ltd. — $4,826,236 • Haas-Anderson Construction Ltd. — $5,168,942 • Brett Construction Company — $5,186,708 • Salinas Construction Technologies Ltd. — $5,706,415 • Bay Ltd. — $6,238,452
The Texas State Department of Transportation received bids for transportation-related improvement projects. Following is a list of some of the projects let. County: Rockwall Project ID: STP 2016(819)HES Project: Provide additional paved surface width. Location: 0.1 mi. west of FM 1141 to the Hunt County line. Estimate: $18,703,454 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Apac-Texas Inc. — $15,872,365 • Austin Bridge & Road Services LP — $20,038,115 • Zachry Construction Corporation — $20,502,613 • RK Hall LLC — $22,161,804
County: Duval Project ID: STP 2016(855) Project: ACP overlay and pavement markings. Location: Webb/Duval County Line to U.S. 59. Estimate: $4,671,020 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Angel Brothers Holdings Corporation — $4,178,905 • Anderson Columbia Company Inc. — $4,543,021 • Foremost Paving Inc. — $6,479,715
County: McLennan Project ID: NH 2016(830) Project: Mill, seal and inlay. Location: FM 3476 to SP 412. Estimate: $12,539,037 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • J.D. Abrams L.P. — $14,481,308 • SCR Construction Company Inc. — $17,348,022 • Big Creek Construction Ltd. — $22,787,514
County: Dallas Project ID: NH 2016(827) Project: Lower roadway profile. Location: West of Gross Road to east of Gross Road. Estimate: $2,790,825 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Apac-Texas Inc. — $3,008,042 • Ed Bell Construction Company — $3,536,308 • FNH Construction LLC — $3,703,035
County: Kaufman Project ID: NH 2016(835) Project: Bridge rail upgrades and median cable barrier. Location: IH 635 to Van Zandt County line. Estimate: $3,753,935 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Massana Construction Inc. — $2,582,661 • SCR Construction Company Inc. — $3,414,423 • Collins & Hermann Inc. — $3,707,370 • Vann/Elli Inc. — $4,566,529 • FNH Construction LLC — $4,963,731 County: Wise Project ID: STP 2016(833) Project: HMAC overlay. Location: Denton County line to FM 1204. Estimate: $6,925,759 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Jagoe-Public Company — $5,354,817 • The Lane Construction Corporation — $5,372,333
•Peachtree Construction Ltd. — $6,979,631 County: Travis Project ID: STP 2014(116)TE Project: Construct sidewalks. Location: 0.1 mi. north of Daffan Lane to 0.1 mi south of Loyola Lane. Estimate: $2,112,976 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • M. A. Smith Contracting Company Inc. — $2,045,353 • Dan Williams Company — $2,078,976 • Encino Landscape Inc. — $2,275,492 • FNH Construction LLC — $2,864,543 • Highway 19 Construction LLC — $2,877,729 County: Bee Project ID: STP 2016(811) Project: Widen roadway. Location: U.S. 181 to FM 2985. Estimate: $4,621,868 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • J. Carroll Weaver Inc. — $4,270,569 • Ray Faris Inc. — $4,718,729 • Hunter Industries Ltd. — $4,774,706 • Angel Brothers Holdings Corporation — $4,792,674
County: Hood Project ID: STP 2016(826) Project: BS repair, seal coat and HMAC. Location: Pirate Drive to FM 56 in Tolar. Estimate: $4,453,150 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Northeastern Pavers Inc. — $4,079,052 • Peachtree Construction Ltd. — $4,563,817 County: Shelby Project ID: STP 2016(808) Project: Reconstruct and widen pavement. Location: SH 87 to FM 139. Estimate: $5,316,549 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Drewery Construction Company Inc. — $5,757,568 • L. S. Equipment Company Inc. — $6,179,401 • Pinto Construction Company Inc. — $6,503,545 • Longview Bridge and Road Ltd. — $6,583,121 • East Texas Bridge Inc. — $8,452,252
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • June 26, 2016 • Page 19
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Page 20 • June 26, 2016 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Lanes-Abrams JV Leads 360 South Design-Build Project HIGHWAY from page 1
scrapers. State Highway 360 South is a design-build project. Design-build is a method of project delivery in which the design-build team works under a single contract with the project owner to provide design and construction services. It typically cuts construction time in half. Contractor is Lane-Abrams Joint Venture of Mansfield, Texas. Lane Construction Corporation of Cheshire, Conn., and J.D. Abrams of Austin, Texas, partnered to form the Lane-Abrams Joint Venture to design and construct the SH 360 project. The Lane-Abrams Joint Venture assembled a project team comprised of AECOM Technical Services Inc., of Los Angeles, Calif.; Blanton & Associates Inc.,
of Lakeway, Texas; CSJ Utility Coordinators LLC, of Hutto, Texas; Fugro Consultants Inc., of Ventura, Calif.; Hayden Consultants Inc., of Dallas, Texas; Infrastructure Corporation of America of Brentwood, Tenn.; K Strategies Group LLC, of Fort Worth; Michael Baker Jr. Inc., of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Pinnacle Consulting Management Group Inc., of Oklahoma City, Okla.; Rios Engineering LLC, of Austin, Texas; Rodriguez Engineering Laboratories LLC, of Austin, Texas; and SE3 LLC, of Lees Summit, Mo. Subcontractors for the project include: MICA Corp. of Fort Worth, Texas, for signage and intelligent transportation system (ITS); WW Foundation of Houston, Texas, for foundation Construction is under way on a $330 million Texas State Highway 360 South project that will add lanes to the highway stretching 9.7 mi. (15.6 km) from 2 mi. (3.2 km) south of I-20 in Arlington, south to U.S. 287 in Ellis County.
The project will use temporary detours to facilitate the construction of crossover bridges.
TxDOT is financing and overseeing construction of the project before turning the roadway over to the North Texas Tollway Authority.
TxDOT first developed and opened portions of SH 360 in 1958, and the department has regularly improved and expanded the highway ever since. Population has surged substantially since that time.
drilling; W.O.E. Construction Inc., of Grand Prairie, Texas, for flatwork and sawing; Reynolds Asphalt of Euless, Texas, for asphalt paving; and Indus Construction of Houston, Texas, for rebar installation. The project includes at least 12 different trades spanning from laborers to skilled carpenters and concrete finishers. Between 250 and 300 craft employees will be on the job each day when construction is in full swing. Approximately 125 craft employees are working
on the early stages of the project. Project manager for TxDOT is Tony Payberah, with Jason McLear as project manager for the Lane-Abrams Joint Venture. SH 360 Dates Back to the 1950s TxDOT first developed and opened portions of SH 360 in 1958, and the department has regularly improved and expanded the highway ever since. Population has surged substantially since that time. see HIGHWAY page 22
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • June 26, 2016 • Page 21
Page 22 • June 26, 2016 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Projected Meteoric Rise in Traffic Spurs SH 360 South Job HIGHWAY from page 20
local residents and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute show that delays in navigating the detours have been minimal to nonexistent.
“Growth in the area, especially the southern sector, has been experienced in recent years,” Bilbrey said. “Traffic counts show that approximately 52,000 drivers use the corridor each day. Projections show that by the year 2030 that will increase to 174,000 drivers daily.” Project on Schedule “As with any project of this size, there are unexpected delays,” Bilbrey said. “Delays with utility relocations, permitting and weather are always expected and planned for. At this time, the project is on schedule and is expected to reach substantial completion by the end of 2017.” Detours in Place The project will use temporary detours to facilitate the construction of crossover bridges. Detours are in place for bridge construction at Webb Lynn Road/Lynn Creek Parkway; Debbie Lane/Ragland Road; Broad Street; and Heritage Parkway. This summer a detour for bridge construction will be in place at Sublett Road/Camp Wisdom Road. Bilbrey said that feedback from
By late 2017, SH 360 will have two frontage road lanes and two toll lanes in each direction for the entire project length.
Public Information Team Is in Place A public information team led by K Strategies works with TxDOT and North Texas Tollway Authority to keep SH 360 users informed on project progress. The team holds outreach activities to engage the public throughout the project duration. It conducts public meetings and operates a public information office. Its tools include a project website, a mobile app, text alerts, as well as social media and project hotlines. The contractor also developed a traffic management plan to minimize traffic impacts during construction. The plan allows motorists to use existing improvements on SH 360 for most of the construction duration. Many cross streets are being constructed using a detour concept to keep traffic moving at normal levels. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) CEG
Construction Far Outpaces Demolition in Houston Area HOUSTON from page 1
Highway 6-FM 1960, which has 23.6 percent of the county’s construction sites. The area between Loop 610 and Beltway 8 and the area outside the Grand Parkway has the lowest percentage of construction sites, 19.7 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively. In contrast, the area inside Loop 610 has the highest percentage of demolition sites in Harris County — 43.4 percent — followed by the area between Loop 610 and Beltway 8, which has 42.6 percent. The area between Beltway 8 and State Highway 6-FM 1960 trails with 11.7 percent of the county’s demolition sites, and the areas between State Highway 6-FM 1960 and the Grand Parkway and outside the Grand Parkway have the lowest percentage of demolition sites, 1.8 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. Other findings from the report include: • A near majority of census tracts are classified as low-turnover areas, where few major changes to the building stock have
occurred since 2005; about 20 percent are demolition-intensive, where a large fraction of buildings have been demolished but new developments are rare; another 16 percent are construction-intensive, which have high rates of new construction but relatively low rates of demolition; and the final 5 percent are high-turnover, in which both demolitions and new development are common. • The pattern of construction and demolition suggests that the majority of construction over the past decade has taken place on previously undeveloped or vacant property. • Fifty-two percent of sites with demolitions in the past 10 years had either new construction or were tied to a building permit. The remaining 48 percent had neither construction nor building permits. The fraction of demolition sites doubling as new construction sites varies considerably across the Houston area, suggesting that these properties remain vacant. “The data and methodology we use in our report lets us understand how frequently —
and in what areas — demolition and construction take place on the same properties,” Walker said. “It turns out that only about half of the properties with demolition permits double as sites of new construction. This means that the overwhelming majority of construction in the county is taking place on empty land, rather than replacing existing structures.” “These statistics and the visualizations confirm a great deal of the anecdotal evidence of development trends in Harris County,” Shelton said. “We talk a lot about where growth and demolitions are happening, now we can see them side by side. Moreover, these tools help us see that some areas experiencing high demolitions are also home to high construction rates. Others are not. So where some demolitions signal redevelopment and new homes, others point to stagnation and vacancies in the built environment.” Walker and Shelton said the Kinder Institute intends to build additional data atop
this built-environment evolution map. Subsequent reports will incorporate sociodemographic data into the analyses and may also include additional built-environment factors such as vacancies, home sales or dangerous buildings. “We hope that the report spurs further conversation and inquiry into regional development trends,” the authors said. “In addition, we hope that the interactive map will serve as a countywide resource that empowers residents to visualize and quantify construction and demolition activity in their own communities.” For a full copy of the report, visit http://kinder.rice.edu/DTP/. The report’s interactive online map is accessible at www.houstoninflux.com. For more information, visit http://news.rice.edu/. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • June 26, 2016 • Page 23
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