XServ garners multiple safety awards

Basic Industries Inc. and United Scaffolding Inc., both of Baton Rouge, La., were recently honored with more than a dozen safety awards from the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) and the Houston Business Roundtable (HBR).

Basic Industries and United Scaffolding are part of the XServ family of companies, which consists of six affiliated specialty-contracting providers.

The NPRA Safety Awards Program is now in its 24th year. The NPRA Safety Banquet was held in May in Austin, Texas.

Basic Industries was nominated for 2005 NPRA Safety Awards by the following companies, and received awards for each: ExxonMobil - Baytown Chemical Plant; ExxonMobil - Baytown Refinery; The Dow Chemical - Louisiana Operations; Lyondell Chemical Company - Baytown Plant; Lyondell Chemical Company - Channelview Plant; Equistar - LaPorte Complex; Shell Chemical Company - Norco Chemical Plant; MOTIVA - Norco Refinery; Chevron Phillips Chemical Company - Port Arthur Plant; and Williams Energy Services - Geismar Olefins Plant.

United Scaffolding was nominated for 2005 NPRA Safety Awards by the following companies, and received awards for each: Chevron Phillips Chemical Company - Port Arthur Plant; and Williams Energy Services - Geismar Olefins Plant.

"Receiving such a large number of NPRA Safety Awards is both an honor and a considerable achievement," said Dean Bordelon, president, Basic Industries.

Basic Industries was honored by the Houston Business Roundtable at the 19th Annual Safety Excellence Awards Banquet held in May in Galveston, Texas. Basic Industries received the Gold and Best in Category award in the category of Specialty Contractor Soft Crafts/Environmental Large. The company was nominated by ExxonMobil and Rohm & Haas.

Architectural Record, Tulane University recognize winners of Katrina Design Competition

McGraw-Hill Construction's Architectural Record, in partnership with the Tulane University School of Architecture, recently recognized the winners of the Katrina Design Competition at the Ogden Museum of Art in New Orleans.

The 14 winning designs, plus those from additional finalists, were on display at the museum, then traveled to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) annual convention in Los Angeles in June.

The professional competition, "High Density on the High Ground," asked architects to develop a 140-unit housing community on a high-ground site by the Mississippi River. The student competition focused on a new vision for a "New Orleans House Prototype," an affordable, single-family home on a typical New Orleans lot. More than 600 architects and students worldwide entered the competition.

Professional winners included Jil Kobe with Eight Inc. and Peter Anderson with Anderson Anderson Architecture. Merit awards were presented to Duong Bui with the Office of Peter Rose; Andrew Kotchen with workshop/apd; and Maurice D. Cox with the University of Virginia School of Architecture.

Student winners included Kiduck Kim and Christian Stayner, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University; Michelle Jellison, Montana University School of Architecture; John Kucharski and Mark Stankey, Montana University School of Architecture; Heath Mac Donald, University of Texas School of Architecture; and Zui Lig Ng, University of Houston.

DOTD announces results of March bid letting

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) recently considered bids totaling more than $65 million at a recent public bid opening.

With a bid of $24,297,971.30, Barriere Construction Co. LLC of Covington was the apparent low bidder on the state's most expensive job, a project in St. Tammany Parish calling for grading, drainage structures, class II base course, pavement patching, cold planing, rubblizing Portland cement concrete pavement, superpave and related work on I-10 from the twin-span bridge to the French Branch Bridge.

Dow announces expansion at St. Charles Operations in Hahnville

Dow Chemical Co. recently announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Union Carbide Corp., will invest in new ethyleneamine capacity at the St. Charles Operations site in Hahnville, La., by expanding an existing production plant and building a new production plant.

Expected to be complete by mid 2007, the site project will create approximately 150 construction jobs on average, with as many as 250 contractors working on the project during peak times.

New TIMED construction begins in Jefferson Davis, Allen parishes

Construction on another Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development TIMED project will soon be underway in southwest Louisiana.

"Construction on a 7.6-mi. segment of U.S. 165 between Fenton and Kinder will begin in the next few weeks," said DOTD Secretary Johnny Bradberry. "Construction crews are beginning to mobilize for utility relocation and for construction of the new lanes."

Stressing the importance for continued progress along U.S. 165 as the 2006 hurricane season commences, Bradberry said it was a major evacuation route for residents of coastal Louisiana preceding Hurricane Rita.

This segment of U.S. 165 is being widened from two lanes to a four-lane divided section - four driving lanes with a median. The new lanes will parallel the existing alignment and, once complete, will serve southbound traffic. The project is being constructed by Gilchrist Construction Co. LLC, which was the lowest bidder on the project with a bid of $21.5 million.

NAWIC hosts Region 5 forum in Baton Rouge

The Baton Rouge Chapter of NAWIC recently hosted Region Five's Annual Forum May 18 - 20 in Baton Rouge.

Highlighting the three-day event was a Cajun cookout, a tour of New Orleans; and a hurricane rebuilding panel discussion.

Panel members included Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach; Kelly Commander, Command Construction of New Orleans; Warren Perkins, vice president of risk management, Boh Bros. Construction of New Orleans; Roy Anderson, Roy Anderson Corp. of Gulfport; Jerry Jones, Louisiana Office of Facility Planning of Baton Rouge; Vic Weston, Tri-State Road Boring Inc. of Baton Rouge; Russell W. Wray of Wray & Pierce LLP; and Derrell Cohoon, chief executive officer, Louisiana AGC.

Saturday's General Session was filled with information about the region, reports from chapter presidents and regional chairs for different NAWIC/NEF programs. Three reports were given showing the overwhelming response of NAWIC nationally for hurricane victims.

Keynote speaker was Tonja Myles with Free Indeed, who spoke about "Rebuilding From Disasters In Our Everyday Lives."

The finale' was Saturday night, wrapping up with a banquet and the presentation of the WIC of the Year Award to Angie Scott, executive secretary, Turner Industries Group of Baton Rouge.

Bid awarded on second phase of Huey P. Long widening project

The Louisiana Dept. of Transportation and Development (DOTD) recently announced the award of the contract for Phase II of the Huey P. Long Widening Project over the Mississippi River in Jefferson Parish.

Boh Bros. Construction Co., of New Orleans, La., was awarded the contract for the railroad modifications with a bid of $12.1 million - the lowest of five bids. The DOTD post-Katrina engineer's estimate was $17.3 million.