Construction could begin sometime next year on the building of a bridge in Gila County, Arizona that will span the rural Tonto Basin. Residents attempting to cross the basin, which sometimes floods, have long petitioned state officials to have a bridge built, particularly after the drowning death of three children late last year. Those children died when the vehicle they were in was swept away by the Tonto Creek’s powerful floodwaters. Two adults and several other children were able to get out of the vehicle in time. Those deaths were added to another five people in the last two decades who had drowned trying to make it over what is called the Bar X Crossing, some 75 miles northeast of Phoenix. Earlier this year, Arizona Department of Transportation officials said that while they wanted to see the structure built, there was not enough state funding for the project. This spring, after Gila County officially submitted an application for funding, Arizona Senator Krysten Sinema wrote to the federal Department of Transportation, noting, “Heavy rainfall and snow melt frequently cause severe flooding on the Tonto Creek, limiting access to schools, jobs, and health care facilities.” Now Arizona has secured up to $21 million in funding, money that is coming through the federal Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development grants program. Gila County officials are hoping that construction of the new bridge can be completed by 2023. By Garry Boulard
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The county of Los Alamos has issued a Request for Proposals for the replacement of a transformer at the El Vado Hydroelectric Plant. That plant is located in the town of El Vado, just below the famous El Vado Dam, which was built in 1935 and impounds the large Rio Chama. While the dam is owned by the Bureau of Reclamation, the 8-megawatt plant is owned by Los Alamos County, which built the facility in 1988. Work on the plant transformer project will include removing the existing transformer, installing a new transformer with a required fast depressurization system, making all the necessary conductor connections, the removal and replacement of existing fencing and guard rails, and concrete removal and repair. Earlier this year the Bureau of Reclamation awarded a nearly $17 million contract to the Roanoke, Virginia-based Carpi USA for a project designed to reduce seepage and erosion at the dam itself. The RFP submission deadline for the hydroelectric plant transformer project is September 29. By Garry Boulard Despite several failed attempts to pass a new stimulus bill, members of Congress are saying that compromise legislation may still be in the offing before election day. The most recent move to pass a bill failed due to a more than $1 trillion difference between Democrat and Republican stimulus proposals. Although Democrats have continued to push for a bill with a roughly $2.2 trillion price tag, which would include just over $900 billion in relief for state and local governments, President Trump has now told reporters that he is willing to go as high as $1.5 trillion, adding: “Some Republicans disagree, but I think I can convince them to go along with that.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in a CNBC interview, said she is holding out for a larger proposal, explaining: “It’s stimulus. We are a consumer economy and the more we have, whether it’s food stamps or unemployment insurance, that is stimulus to the economy.” Both Democrat and Republican leaders say they want to act soon on replacing the $600 weekly enhanced federal unemployment insurance payments that expired at the end of July. New Mexico Senator Tom Udall, in a press conference, said he counts himself as among those who are pushing for a reinstatement of the $600, calling it a “financial lifeline” for millions of Americans. Udall also noted that a larger stimulus bill will “send relief to state, local, and tribal governments.” In a speech on the Senate floor, Colorado Senator Cory Gardner, remarked: “There is no one single package of legislation that we can walk away from, spike the ball, and say that our job is done here.” Gardner went on to note that Congress may end up passing several different versions of relief legislation, each targeting various areas separately, rather than one large bill. The House is scheduled to take an election break beginning on October 2, with the Senate following on October 9. According to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, new relief checks could be in the mail by the first week of November should Congress pass a bill before the scheduled breaks. By Garry Boulard Work could begin by the spring of next year on the building of a sprawling sports complex in Mesa, Arizona that will include two dozen soccer fields, 20 sand volley courts, 8 baseball fields, and an 8,000-seat outdoor stadium. The Legacy Sports Park has long been in the planning stage, with designs for the project expected to be submitted to the City of Mesa in the next few weeks. Developed by the Chandler-based Legacy Sports USA, the project is intended to respond to an always-increasing passion for recreational space in growing southern Arizona, and will go up on a 320-acre site near S. Ellsworth and W. Pecos roads, on the far southeastern side of the city. Other planned features of the ambitious project include construction of a 75,000 square foot eSport arena, a 50-acre space for concerts and special events, as well as a 50,000 square foot space for cheerleading, dancing, and gymnastics. Plans calls for the $250 million project, which is being billed as the largest privately-owned multi-sport facility in the country, to be built in one single phase, with an overall completion date of spring 2022. In a statement, Chad Miller, chief executive officer of Legacy Sports USA, predicted that the project will “transform the youth sports and family entertainment industry across the United States.” Miller added that the park would not be just a sports complex, but “a true family entertainment center with dining options, athletic apparel shops, as well as venues for concerts and various artistic events.” By Garry Boulard An abandoned construction site, that has admittedly become a headache to Peoria Mayor Cathy Carlat and other city officials, may soon be the home to a new mixed-use medical campus. Nearly a decade ago, plans were announced to build what was being called the Peoria Regional Medical Center, located on the southwest corner of N. Lake Pleasant Parkway and W. Jomax Road, across the street from the upscale Querencia neighborhood. Work on the site was somewhat underway, with the steel girding and cement foundation in place, before funding for the project fell through in late 2012. Ever since then then the site has remained vacant, prompting city officials to worry about the potential for vandalism and danger to young kids attracted to exploring the skeletal structure. Now, First Service Medical LLC, a development and investment group based in Peoria, has purchased the 7-acre site for $3.1 million and announced new plans for a medical campus. In a statement, Mayor Carlat, noting that the city has repeatedly pushed to demolish the remains of the initial project, said all of Peoria is anticipating “the development of a superior medical campus to serve our growing community.” Carlat also noted that First Service Medical had additionally committed itself to demolishing what she described as a “blighted structure.” Plans call for that demolition to begin next month. A timeframe for when construction on the new medical center will begin remains to be announced. By Garry Boulard For the first time in nearly a quarter of a century, the Environmental Protection Agency has announced plans to update the way it assesses required water and wastewater infrastructure projects in communities across the country. More specifically, the agency’s just-announced Financial Capability Assessment will give water utility companies serving lower income communities an opportunity to include such economic factors in their infrastructure building and updating plans. Such projects are required under the landmark Clean Water Act of 1972. A press release issued by the EPA notes that an updated Financial Capability Assessment will incorporate “additional metrics for evaluating financial capability that reflect the disproportionate impacts on low-income communities.” The EPA announcement, which brings with it a required 30-day comment period, has won the praise of water utility and infrastructure groups, saying that it will ultimately provide a more comprehensive picture of the affordability issues confronting any given community. In a statement, David LaFrance, chief executive officer of the American Water Works Association, noted that “drinking water and wastewater services are essential to protecting public health in our communities, especially during a pandemic.” LaFrance then lauded the EPA for “pursuing a more holistic approach to assessing water affordability in our communities.” In a press release issued by the EPA it was noted that ultimately the revised and updated Financial Capability Assessment will “support negotiations for implementing Clean Water Act requirements for municipalities and local authorities.” The need for new and updated water and waste water systems remains pressing, according to a report issued last month by the American Society of Civil Engineers, which noted that many of the systems are aging. The ASCE report recommended a federal government investment of around $109 billion to update those systems. By Garry Boulard The Denver Planning Board has given its approval to a proposal that will see the construction of several dozen accessory dwelling units in the city’s Chaffee Park neighborhood. Such units, colloquially referred to as “granny flats” because they are smaller houses where older family members have sometimes lived near a main family home, are increasingly being seen in the Mile High City as an affordable housing solution. Often measuring less than 500 square feet, and sometimes even built as second floor spaces above rear garages, accessory dwelling units proved particularly popular in the immediate World War II years when Denver was in need of new housing anywhere, of any size. Their popularity died away once the city embraced a mostly ranch house building explosion for the Baby Boom generation. But the need and desire for accessory dwelling units has returned in recent years, and not just as an answer to the affordable housing challenge, but also because such structures can provide a means of supplementing the property owner’s income. Currently such units exist in around a third of Denver’s neighborhoods, with just under 60 new structures approved by the city in 2018. The West Denver Renaissance Collaborative, a group dedicated to spurring the development of more affordable housing options, has additionally announced that it wants to spearhead the construction of at least two hundred new accessory dwelling units. The proposal for the Chaffee Park accessory dwelling units must now go before the Denver City Council’s Land Use, Transportation, and Infrastructure Committee, before being voted on by the larger council later this year. By Garry Boulard The Tempe Diablo Stadium is expected to see the construction of new parking space in return for the loss of nearly 2 acres of its land that will go for the upcoming widening of Interstate 10. The Arizona Department of Transportation has announced plans to purchase a portion of the land belonging to the stadium, which is located near 48th Street and Alameda Drive, for nearly $3.3 million. That money will go to the City of Tempe, owner of the stadium. Around $1.2 million will go for the actual land purchase to the east of the stadium, with around $2.1 million to be used for building the parking space. A portion of the land has also been used for the stadium’s display panels. The long-anticipated I-10 widening project comes with a roughly $610 million price tag and is designed to provide an extra lane going in both directions for a portion of the highway that serves around 287,000 vehicles on a daily basis. That work is expected to begin next summer with a fall 2024 completion date. Opened in 1969, the Tempe Diablo Stadium serves as the spring training home for the Los Angeles Angels and is additionally the home field for the Arizona League Tempe Angels. When exactly work will begin on the new parking facilities at the stadium has not yet been announced. By Garry Boulard A new report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that job prospects for construction managers are currently plentiful and expected to only increase. The agency is predicting that in the next decade there will be nearly 35,000 job openings for construction managers, comprising an overall 8.5 percent increase from 2019. BLS also notes that the median annual wage for construction managers as of last year stood at nearly $95,300, far above the country’s annual median wage of just under $40,000. Additional reports show wage rates for construction managers as high as $124,000 a year. In an report titled “Occupations that have it all,” the BLS pegs job growth for construction managers above that of nurse practitioners, industrial engineers, and physical therapists, but significantly below software developers and medical and health services managers. Earlier this year the BLS also pegged the number of construction manager jobs nationally at 476,700, noting that those with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, construction management, and construction science, along with actual construction experience, “will have the best job prospects.” Current existing construction manager positions appear to run parallel with population patterns, with California having the most such jobs at just under 33,000, followed by Texas at 25,600, and Florida, with 22,100 jobs. By Garry Boulard An extended Bureau of Land Management public comment period regarding increased oil and gas drilling in areas surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historic Park is set to expire on September 25. The timeframe to comment on a project environmental impact statement was extended this spring after opponents of the plan said it was too difficult and dangerous to attend public meetings due to the Covid-19 outbreak. In response, the BLM has hosted several webinars pertaining to the northwest New Mexico drilling and allowing for public discussion. That approach, however, has sparked criticism due to the fact that a large number of residents of the Navajo Nation, which owns some of the land where the gas and oil exploration would take place, continue to lack internet access. In a public letter to Department of Interior Secretary David Bernhardt sent three weeks ago by several members of the New Mexico Congressional delegation, including Senators Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, a pitch was made to yet again extend the public comment time frame for the project. The letter states that no decision regarding the environmental impact statement should be made until actual meetings are held, meetings in which the public “can meaningfully engage with the documents and safely gather to comment on them.” The letter additionally suggests holding off on any onsite inspections relating to the project, also due to the pandemic. The BLM has so far not issued a decision regarding an extension of the comment period. As originally proposed, anywhere from 2,300 to 3,100 new oil and gas wells could be drilled within a 10-mile radius surrounding the Chaco Park, which includes a collection of ancient pueblos dating to the pre-Columbian period. Once completed, the environmental impact study is expected to cover some 1.3 million acres managed by the BLM as well as 675,000 acres of Navajo Trust Land. By Garry Boulard |
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