Arkel begins work at service center

Arkel Constructors of Baton Rouge, La., held a groundbreaking in May for a new National Service Center of Direct General. The 125,000-sq.-ft. complex will be located off Florida Boulevard in Baton Rouge.

Attending the ceremony was guest of honor Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon.

Commissioner Donelon welcomed William and Jackie Adair to their new site and congratulated them on the new project. Direct Corp. is a NASDAQ listed company. The $10 million project cost will take 12 months to build.

James Construction Group awarded Lake Providence ethanol project

James Construction Group LLC of Baton Rouge, La., has received a $3.6 million contract from Bionol LLC to perform port improvements to the Port of Lake Providence. The project requires preliminary pile driving for the construction of a 60-million-gallon-per-year grassroots ethanol plant.

The use of ethanol has been promoted at the federal and state levels as a way to reduce the nation's dependence on petroleum-based fuel.

JCG began construction in May, with a scheduled completion date of Dec. 1. Work activities include excavating 7,000 cu. yds. of soil and driving 284,000 lin. ft. of treated timber piles. The project will be performed by crews from JCG's Ruston, La., under the direction of company Vice President Charles Poole.

"James Construction Group has performed several successful projects at the Port of Lake Providence and has always enjoyed working with the city's Port Commission," Poole said.

The ethanol facility is a joint venture of Bionol and the Lake Providence Port Commission, which together are undertaking development and operation of the plant. When completed, the ethanol facility will be a state-of-the-art dry mill plant that produces fuel-grade ethanol and specialty chemicals.

Lake Providence was the favored site for the plant, based on factors such as state and national demand for ethanol, the area corn supply as a feedstock and the cost for national and export shipping of the facility's products.

James Construction Group also received a $2.8 million port expansion project from the Greater Ouachita Port Commission in West Monroe, La. The work is made possible by state funding and local financing from Ruston-based Community Trust Bank.

As general contractor, JCG will build a dock facility to handle a 250-ton crane that will offload container cargo from barges and transfer them to rail or truck. Construction is scheduled to be complete by early next year.

Cycle opens new Kenner headquarters

Cycle Construction Co. LLC recently announced the opening of its new headquarters at 6 East Third Street, Kenner, La. The move allows Cycle to consolidate all of its operations, office, maintenance facility and storage yard, at one location.

The firm, originally located in Metairie, will continue to serve the southern Louisiana area in the heavy construction, site preparation, demolition, underground utilities and construction management markets.

Delta Testing joins forces with Southern Earth Sciences

Delta Testing and Inspection Inc., a provider of construction materials testing and inspection services in Louisiana and Mississippi since 1962, recently merged with Southern Earth Sciences, a geotechnical, environmental and construction materials testing firm.

Southern Earth Sciences has been serving clients in Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and Alabama for 30 years.

Following Hurricane Katrina, the owners of Delta Testing began negotiations with Southern Earth Sciences in order to expand Delta Testing's operations and customer services while strengthening job security for their employees.

The resulting merger established one company with expanded capabilities for construction and environmental clients in a four-state region along the Gulf Coast: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.