Archinect - News

Brightline West breaks ground on $12 billion Vegas to California high-speed rail project

2024-04-23T17:28:00-04:00

The $12 billion high-speed rail infrastructure project that will connect Las Vegas with various hubs in the Southern California region is off and running. Brightline West’s 218-mile loop is now under construction with a $3 billion push from the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the 2028 finish line in sight to coincide with LA's turn as host of that year's Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Las Vegas Station aerial view. Image courtesy Brightline West

Las Vegas Station interior view. Image courtesy Brightline West

The trains will be operated at a maximal speed of 200 miles per hour, setting the North American record. (Another project between Raleigh, North Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia, will commence soon.) Wes Edens, Brightline's founder, said: “Today is long overdue, but the blueprint we’ve created with Brightline will allow us to repeat this model in other city pairs around the country.”

Rancho Cucamonga Station exterior view. Image courtesy Brightline West...

Transportation Secretary Buttigieg admits ‘we don't fully know’ scope or extent of Francis Scott Key Bridge repairs in Baltimore

2024-04-01T13:02:00-04:00

"A lot goes into how that reconstruction will be designed, how the process is going to work," Buttigieg said on "Face the Nation" on Sunday. He noted that he didn't have an estimate on the rebuilding timeline, but the bridge itself took five years to initially construct. "Right now we don't fully know everything we need to know about the condition of the portions of the bridge that did not collapse."

Engineering News-Record reported that debris removal has already begun in haste at Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse site, where six people lost their lives last Tuesday, courtesy of the U.S. Navy, Army Corps of Engineers, and Coast Guard. The surviving portions of the bridge will first have to be removed piecemeal, although that work has no timeline.

Previously on Archinect: Major Baltimore bridge collapses after being struck by container ship

Speaking on CBS 'Face the Nation' on Sunday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Buttigieg said, “It’s a very complex process,” adding, “This is not going to happen overnight.” Maryland’s Governor Wes Moore told ENR, “To see this up close, you realize how daunting a task this is. You realize how difficult the work is ahead of us.”

The most recent reported costs for the bridge’s replacement are around $400 million.

The United States currently needs about $319 billion worth of repairs to bridges, according to an analysis that was released...

FAA selects PAU to deliver new air-traffic control tower prototypes

2023-04-20T17:42:00-04:00

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced its selection of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) for a new sustainable air-traffic control tower prototype that will initially deliver 31 highly-adaptable facilities at small regional and municipal airports throughout the United States.

The projects, funded in part through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, were selected against the agency’s strict requirements to minimize environmental impact while reducing operational costs and the price of construction.

Image courtesy PAU

Construction will vary in height between 63 and 119 feet and include elements such as all-electric building systems, thermal efficient facades, mass timber, and recycled steel and metal products. The new generation of towers will replace I.M. Pei’s iconic mid-century variation on the typology and will include interior spaces tailored to the well-being of air traffic control workers.

Image courtesy PAU

Geothermal heating and cooling techniques a...

FAA gives the final go-ahead to multibillion-dollar Chicago O'Hare expansion

2022-11-23T12:10:00-05:00

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued approval to the proposed O’Hare 21 Expansion plan following the results of an environmental review that was announced by the agency on Tuesday.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg was on hand in the Windy City to join Mayor Lori Lightfoot for the announcement, which allows for construction to begin in the spring on two satellite concourses and a new Global Terminal that will replace O’Hare’s existing Terminal 2. The FAA says “no significant impact” will be made by the Terminal Area Plan (TAP) and that it will immediately lead to a decrease in emissions thanks to reduced taxi times and more flexible gate capacity. The total budget for the TAP project is around $7.1 billion.

Image render courtesy of Studio ORD.

SOM will lead the construction of both concourses, which add about 1.3 million square feet of space and are expected to be delivered between 2027 and 2028, respectively. The new Global Terminal designed by Studio ...

Federal Buy Clean task force issues first recommendations for low-carbon construction materials

2022-09-21T12:29:00-04:00

The Biden Administration has unveiled the first set of recommendations under its Federal Buy Clean Initiative, an undertaking that aims to drive the development of American-made, low-carbon construction materials, while also supporting job growth.

During a visit to the Cleveland-Cliffs Direct Reduction steel plant in Toledo, Ohio, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, U.S. General Services Administration Administrator Robin Carnahan, and Deputy National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi announced that the federal government will prioritize the purchase of green construction materials, which will encompass 98% of materials purchased by the government.

The Federal Buy Clean Initiative is a part of President Biden’s economic plan, which includes the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Law, the $485 billion Inflation Reduction Act, and the $52 billion CHIPS and Science Act. As detailed by the White House, the federal government is the largest direct purchaser of construction materials in the world...

What will Transportation Secretary Buttigieg do with all that infrastructure money? Hint: megaprojects

2021-11-08T13:30:00-05:00

Modern-day equivalents of megaprojects like the Hoover Dam can benefit broad swaths of the United States, but infrastructure experts say they have often stagnated. President Biden campaigned to address the issue. Now his transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, is tasked with speeding up such projects, which can straddle state lines and take years to complete.

Megaprojects like the finally-approved Gateway Program that would add a tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan’s west side have been thrown around without much tangible backing until now.

Buttigieg has been vocal about the need for infrastructure spending, calling for a “generational investment” to address racial and environmental inequalities in a testimony before Congress this April.

“No matter where they live or who they voted for, all Americans deserve to have a transportation system that works for them,” the transportation secretary said. Proponents of further spending will have to wait for the Build Back Better Act, which has more provisions for environmental spending and affordable housing but is considered less likely to pass owing to Republican opposition.

Will Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg's new infrastructure plan strike gold with voters?

2020-01-15T13:45:00-05:00

In light of the recent Democratic debates, many candidates have shared their goals and intentions towards sustainability, housing, and infrastructure plans. Last year presidential candidate hopefuls like Andrew Yang shared his sustainability plan back in August 2019. Candidates like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders shared their plans for affordable housing and their responses to the Green New Deal during the summer of 2019. With the list of candidates gradually withdrawing from the races, American voters are looking to those left in the race to provide plans and policies they can stand behind.

Recently, Democratic presidential candidate, Pete Buttigieg, announced his national "Vision Zero" plan. According to his site, the infrastructure plan aims to achieve: "Opportunity, equity, and empowerment [...] My administration will invest over $1 trillion in working with states, cities, and other local governments to build the sustainable infrastructure of the 21st century."

Buttigieg p...