Durr receives AQC status

The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) national headquarters recently announced it has awarded Durr Heavy Construction, LLC of Harahan, La., Accredited Quality Contractor (AQC) status.

The AQC program recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to excellence in four key areas of corporate responsibility: safety, employee benefits, training and community relations.

A company that meets the criteria set forth in the program and has earned Safety Training Evaluation Process (STEP) Gold or Platinum status at least once in the past two years is formally designated an “Accredited Quality Contractor.”

Sizeler Thompson Brown Architects selected for projects

Sizeler Thompson Brown Architect (STBA) has been selected as architect for the $30 million St. Bernard Parish Hospital in Chalmette.

St. Bernard Parish Hospital, the first hospital to serve St. Bernard Parish since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, will contain 40 beds – 32 in-patient beds and eight intensive care beds; a surgery suite with seven operating and procedural rooms; an imaging suite with nine rooms; an emergency services suite of eight rooms; and a pharmacy, laboratory, dietary room and sterilization room. The hospital will be designed so that additional rooms and services can be added as the parish population grows.

STBA will partner on the project with Gresham Smith & Partners and Duplantier & Meric Architects.

The hospital will be located on 10 acres of land across from the Chalmette Battlefield on St. Bernard Highway. Total cost of the project is $58 million in combined state and federal funds, of which $35 million will come from disaster recovery block grants and $17 million from state capital outlay funds.

Fort Polk project awarded to Walton Construction Co.

Walton Construction Co. LLC was recently awarded the contract to design and build the $182 million Fort Polk Barracks Renovation project in Louisiana.

The project will include the design and renovation of 13 barracks and four central energy plants. In addition, LEED Silver certification will be sought.

In order the meet the USGBC standards, Walton will incorporate environmentally friendly design, low emitting materials and various energy efficient methods throughout the duration of the design-build project.

Design and construction began on the Louisiana project in March and is scheduled to be complete by October 2012.

The project team includes owner, Department of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fort Worth District; general contractor, Walton Construction; and architect, VOA Associates Inc.

AADE Sporting Clays Tournament attracts 600 shooters

Hundreds gathered for the 16th annual American Association of Drilling Engineers (AADE) Scholarship Sporting Clays Tournament to tackle the course and help fund petroleum industry scholarships and improvements at state universities.

Countless volunteers, 148 sponsors and 600 shooters helped make this year’s event held March 26-28 at Cajun Elite Shooting Complex in Jennings a success.

According to AADE Lafayette Chapter organizers, proceeds topped previous years and will benefit students and engineering departments at the University of Louisiana (UL), Louisiana State University (LSU) and Nicholls State University (NSU).

The AADE, a nonprofit volunteer organization made up of independent chapters, offers a forum for the exchange of information, specifically on drilling-related topics. To find out more about the AADE Lafayette Chapter, visit www.aade.org/lafayette.

HMS Architects designs new Marriott Residence Inn

HMS Architects, a New Orleans-based firm, has designed the new Residence Inn by Marriott at Northpark Business Park in Covington, La.

Residence Inn by Marriott offers a residential environment for lengths of stays of five or more nights.

All 125 suite guestrooms feature full kitchens, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and other high end finishes throughout.

HMS has taken the newest prototypical design for Residence Inn and manipulated the spaces to fit on a challenging site in an existing wooded business park.

Care was taken to preserve the natural landscape and blend the building in with its surroundings by adding a large assortment of native plants to the site.

Business technology has been integrated throughout the hotel and meeting space provided with more than 1400 sq ft of custom space with a high tech tele-video conferencing system, wireless internet and multiple data ports for meetings.

A spacious lobby was designed with a multitude of natural light, library niches for small semi-private gatherings, a large communal breakfast table with data ports and an on-site business center.

DOTD’s Aviation Section presented with award of excellence

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development’s (DOTD) Aviation Section recently received the Louisiana Airport Managers and Associates’ (LAMA) “President’s Award of Excellence.”

The award, which was given to DOTDat LAMA’s State Conference in New Orleans, is presented annually by the organization’s president based on dedicated and loyal service to aviation in Louisiana, according to LAMA Secretary Jo Ann Cobb.

DOTD’s Aviation Section inspects and certifies all the airports, heliports and private air strips in the state, which totals more than 700, including 69 publicly owned and operated airports.

The section also provides matching funds to federal aviation grants for capital improvement projects.

DOTD finishes I-10 widening job ahead of schedule in Calcasieu Parish

Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary William D. Ankner announced recently that the agency has finished construction on a 10-mi project to widen Interstate 10 in Calcasieu Parish four months ahead of schedule.

The $69 million project widened I-10 from four to six lanes from U.S. 165 to just west of I-210 in Lake Charles, adding a 12-ft travel lane in each direction.

Gilchrist Construction Co., which won a competitive bid on the project, began work in March 2007 and had until late summer 2009 to finish construction.

Ankner noted that the wider interstate also will better accommodate hurricane evacuations for Southwest Louisiana, especially now that U.S. 171 and U.S. 165 have been four-laned well into North Louisiana.