Hammurabi announces topping off of Plaquemines Parish fire station

Hammurabi recently announced the topping off of the Boothville-Venice Fire Station in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.

The two-story structure will contain nearly 14,000 sq ft of space, including four garage bays. Completion is expected during the third quarter 2009.

Only a few miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River and one of the southernmost points in Louisiana, Boothville-Venice has encountered extremely high winds and tidal surges that often accompany a hurricane.

Designed to withstand these conditions, Hammurabi incorporated the Structural Concrete Insulated Panel (SCIP) system and included ground-floor breakaway panels to combat tidal surges.

The SCIP system uses Styrofoam panels that fit together in large sections like a puzzle, allowing for rapid assembly.

Once the panels are placed, concrete is then poured throughout the interior and exterior of the panels. Wood accounts for only 2 percent of the entire structure alleviating issues related to fire, mildew and mold.

The Boothville-Venice Fire will be the most recent example of the stability and flexibility offered by SCIP construction. Once completed, the Boothville-Venice Fire Station should be durable enough withstand a Category 4 hurricane.

“This milestone event signals that the project is nearing completion, but also serves as a further example of the resurgence of this community that suffered substantial devastation during the storms of 2008,” said Alan Macken, principal of Hammurabi.

Sizeler Thompson Brown Architects of New Orleans designed the Boothville-Venice Fire Station and DonahueFavret Contractors of Mandeville, La., is the general contractor.

Contractor earns highest national Excellence in Construction award

EXCEL Contractors of Prairieville, La., was awarded the Excellence in Construction 2008 EAGLE Award and the Merit Award for Excellence in Safety from Associated Builders and Contractors.

EXCEL Contractors of Prairieville, La., was awarded the Excellence in Construction 2008 EAGLE Award and the Merit Award for Excellence in Safety from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).

The Eagle Award for Excellence in Construction represents ABC’s highest construction honor. Accepting EXCEL’s excellenceaward were Joey Myers, president, and Jeff Pruitt, vice president of construction.

Danny Oubre, vice president of safety, accompanied Myers’ acceptance of the Merit Award for Excellence in Safety.

The awards were presented at the 19th annual Excellence in Construction Awards celebration at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. on June 24.

Cardno TBE moves into larger offices

Cardno TBE of Baton Rouge, a full-service civil/environmental engineering and consulting firm, relocated its office Aug. 1 into expanded facilities at 12030 Lakeland Blvd, Suite 105, in Baton Rouge. Cardno TBE also announced that John W. “Billy” Moore has joined the firm as senior project engineer and manager.

Jim Allen, director for Cardno TBE and branch manager, said, “The larger office will allow us to continue to serve the expanding subsurface utilities engineering and utility coordination needs of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, parish governments, cities, engineering consultants and projects owners located throughout the area.” The original office opened in 2004.

Moore will be responsible for the planning, implementation and management of all subsurface utility engineering and utility coordination projects throughout Louisiana and Arkansas.

Prior to joining Cardno TBE, Moore was the manager of utility relocation for the joint venture firm responsible for the $100 million of utility relocations as part of the $4 billion La. DOTD Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development (TIMED) program.

Moore is a registered professional engineer in the state of Louisiana and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La.

He is also past president of the Louisiana Engineering Society, the Louisiana Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Council of Engineering Companies-Louisiana, and the Louisiana Water Environment Association.

Cardno TBE, a member of the Cardno family of companies, offers consulting, design, engineering and construction services, including civil, environmental, transportation planning and design, right-of-way acquisition/relocation, subsurface utility engineering, surveying and mapping, 3-D underground imaging and utility coordination.

DOTD celebrates completion of Joor Road reconstruction project

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) recently held a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the Joor Road (La. 946) reconstruction project in Central, La.

Work on the 3.1-mi project included widening Joor Road from two to four lanes with a continuous center turn lane from Jones Bayou to Hooper Road.

The project also included the construction of two new girder span bridges at the Comite River and Comite River Relief.

DOTD celebrated the reconstruction of Joor Road with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, hosted by DOTD Legislative Liaison Roy Quezaire.

Other speakers included State Representative Clifton R. Richardson, State Representative Regina Ashford Barrow, State Senator Sharon Weston Broome, Central Mayor Shelton “Mac” Watts and East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden.

More than 16,000 drivers use the road each day. This number is expected to increase to approximately 20,000 vehicles per day by 2022.

The new lanes and center turn lane will help to ease congestion on this heavily-traveled stretch of Joor Road.

Work on the $26.8 million project began in February 2007. The contractor for the project was Denton-James LLC of Baton Rouge.

The Lemoine Co. awarded Lafayette General Medical Center tower renovations

The Lemoine Co. LLC of Lafayette, La., will soon begin work on Phase I of renovations to Lafayette General Medical Center.

This is the first phase of a multi-phased hospital renovation, patient room expansion and exterior upgrade.

Phase I, having a value of $6.8 million, consists of a 5,586-sq-ft emergency room renovation, a 10,050-sq-ft patient wing renovation, a 4,713-sq-ft ICU renovation and an 8,954-sq-ft rehab renovation, including a new exterior curtain wall system.

The Phase I scope will soon be expanded to encompass a $3.2 million renovation to include 3,273 sq ft of dialysis space, an 11,306-sq-ft MHU wing and a 4,265-sq-ft expansion of the new rehab department.

This includes a new gym/treatment area and a new exterior curtain wall system that will redefine the building’s façade.

Phase I will ultimately add 56 patient rooms that will be used to accommodate the relocation of patients during the Phase II renovations. The fast track project is scheduled for completion in 24 months and has an anticipated construction cost of approximately $55 million.

The Lemoine Co. provides construction management, general contracting and design-build construction services in the southern region markets.

TOPCOR Services celebrates 20 years

TOPCOR Services Inc. of Baton Rouge, La., recently commemorated 20 years of service.

The company recognized the milestone with a company-wide celebration highlighting benchmarks, the company’s safety record and the recognition of its first 20-year employee, Patrick Chambers.

“It is the quality and professionalism of our employees that has allowed us to enjoy tremendous growth and success over the past 20 years. No one exemplifies these characteristics more than Patrick Chambers,” said James Baker, president and CEO.

Recently joining the TOPCOR group is the former secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation, Johnny Bradberry, who serves as the chief operating officer of TOPCOR Companies.

Other officers include Jon Gary and James Kennison, who serve as vice presidents of TOPCOR Services.

TOPCOR Services was formed in 1989 by James M. Baker and Todd Lusk, as a specialty contractor in the field of concrete restoration and protection.

TOPCOR’s services include the restoration of steel and concrete structures, the protection of concrete structures through specialty coating systems, as well as cathodic protection systems, fireproofing of steel structures, etc.

Their markets include chemical and petrochemical, petroleum refining, power, food and beverage, oil and gas, as well as federal and municipal markets.

Corps uses innovative construction contracting in St. Bernard Parish

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $539,000 contract recently, reaching another pivotal milestone in reducing risk for residences and businesses in St. Bernard Parish.

The Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) contract was awarded to St. Bernard Levee Partners LLC for preconstruction services on the Chalmette Loop from Bayou Dupre to Highway 46.

Preconstruction services will run concurrent to the design effort, allowing for collaboration between the design team and St. Bernard Levee Partners LLC. When complete, this project will reduce impacts from a storm surge event that has a 1 percent chance of occurring in any given year.

The ECI contract includes two subsequent contract options which, when awarded, will account for the majority of the estimated $281 million in construction costs.

Construction will include 7.5 mi of new floodwall to elevation 29 ft, which will tie in to the Bayou Dupre sector gate structure to the west and to the Highway 46 and Bayou Road Floodgate to the east.

Last month, the Corps awarded the base portion of an ECI contract for preconstruction services on the Chalmette Loop between Bayou Bienvenue and Bayou Dupre to Chalmette Levee Contractors, A Joint Venture.

Construction begins on EOC Center in Gretna

Construction has begun on the $23.9 million Jefferson Parish Telecommunications (911) and Emergency Operations (EOC) Center in Gretna, La.

Burgdahl & Graves Architects of Gretna and Sizeler Thompson Brown Architects of New Orleans collaborated on the design for the new facility, which will receive 911 calls and dispatch fire, sheriff and Emergency Medical Services.

The building will also house the parish’s Emergency Operations Center and accommodate parish officials and emergency personnel during an emergency.  

In addition to communications and support areas, the EOC will include a press room (the only part of the building accessible to the public) for press briefings during emergencies or natural disasters.

The building will be located at the Gretna Government Complex campus, adjacent to the Jefferson Parish General Government Building, also designed by Sizeler Thompson Brown Architects. This location will allow for convenient coordination between agencies.

Expected completion date for the project is spring 2010.