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...

NYT survey finds 309 bridges across the U.S. vulnerable to ship strikes following Baltimore disaster

2024-04-09T12:19:00-04:00

In the wake of last month’s fatal collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, the New York Times has published an assessment of other vulnerable spans across the country in danger of similar catastrophic failures due to the precarity of critical elements and various structural deficiencies.

According to the report, a total of 309 bridges are at risk of collapsing from a direct hit by an errant ship as was the case in Baltimore and nearly repeated in an incident last week at the Verrazzano Bridge in New York City.

Of those 309 surveyed, 193 bridges that service a significant number of motor vehicle traffic (10,000 or more cars per day) face dangers stemming from a lack of protective barriers at their pier supports and caissons. Among the largest are the Lewis and Clark Bridge in Washington state and the Crescent City Connection in New Orleans.

Recently on Archinect: Transportation Secretary Buttigieg admits ‘we don't fully know’ scope or extent of Francis Scott K...

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...

LAX Automated People Mover construction won't be completed until 2025

2024-04-01T11:45:00-04:00

KTLA is reporting that construction setbacks on the long-awaited Automated People Mover transit system at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) have delayed the project until at least the end of 2025.

According to the local outlet’s analysis of a new Fitch Ratings report, “The Automated People Mover system is 96% complete but increasing construction delays and a ‘strained relationship’ between the contractor and Los Angeles World Airports, which owns and operates LAX, have kept it from being completed.”

The news comes after five years of construction on the $5.5 billion transportation component of the airport’s larger $14.5 billion first phase of upgrades. Completion was originally expected last year. Once it is finished, the 1.2-million-square-foot station will connect the rest of the 2.25-mile-long tract to Terminals 3, 4, and 5 and form the bookend of a system that will serve approximately 30 million people a year.

Related on Archinect: Final LAX Automated People Mover statio...

BIG unveils mass timber transit hub design for Toulouse

2024-03-26T12:38:00-04:00

BIG has unveiled renderings for its new Marengo Multimodal Transport Hub project in Toulouse, France’s fourth largest city. The 129,000-square-foot building connects the city center to the UNESCO-listed Canal du Midi and the Périole neighborhood and will be realized adjacent to the existing Gare Matabiau, which was first built in 1905.

The local studio A+ Architecture is also contributing to the project. The design is for a mass timber structure topped with a rose-colored folded roof replete with photovoltaics and finished in the same tone by a low-carbon concrete floor. Both of these reference the vernacular use of "foraine" brick architecture that is endemic to the southern departmental capital.

Rendering courtesy BIG

Rising exponentially to a height of seven stories, users will access the building on one end and be greeted by shops and a subterranean connector to the metro station underneath. Further on, floors one through six include 71,000 square feet of offices for the region...

LA City Council places Dodger Stadium Gondola project on hold pending further reviews

2024-03-25T11:48:00-04:00

The contested plan to build an aerial gondola tram line from downtown LA to Dodger Stadium has been placed on hold after city council members voted last week to halt the Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (LA ART) for the time being.

Local outlet ABC 7 was first to report on the council’s decision to pause the approvals process “until further studies can be conducted on its potential impacts.”

Opponents of the project had lobbied against its invasiveness and potential for displacement in communities that have been historically marginalized through gentrification. Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who introduced the measure, said: “We owe the public a real analysis of the issues and evidence-based solutions around Dodger Stadium.” The Los Angeles Department of Transportation will now hire a special consultant to conduct the assessments.

(An unrelated assembly bill, meanwhile, is being advanced that would compensate displaced families who fell victim to the construction of Dodger Stadiu...

Polish transport center with tree-trunk inspired columns completed by Tremend Architecture Studio

2024-02-22T11:47:00-05:00

Warsaw-based Tremend Architecture Studio has completed a transport center in the Polish city of Lublin, described by the team as “one of the most environmentally friendly developments of its kind in Poland.” In addition to its signature canopied platforms for urban and regional bus transport, the scheme contains underground car parking, taxi bays, cycle infrastructure, and a public roof garden.

Image credit: Alek Malachowski

Located near the city’s historic 19th-century railway station, the design approach for the new transport center sought to “blend in with the urban and architectural context of the place” while also serving as an act of renewal for the post-industrial area. The resulting project was envisioned as a simple, modernist pavilion to contrast with the eclectic style of the railway station, “remaining unchallenging of it, thanks to its clearly different architectural language.”

Image credit: Alek Malachowski

Image credit: Rafal Chojnacki

The s...

KPF completes Abu Dhabi airport inspired by undulating sand dunes

2024-02-13T11:58:00-05:00

Kohn Pedersen Fox has completed Terminal A of the Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Formerly named Abu Dhabi International, the new complex will serve up to 45 million passengers per year, doubling the airport’s previous capacity.

Image credit: Victor Romero

The design of the new terminal was informed by the country’s undulating desert sand dunes and the geometric patterns of Islamic heritage. Externally, the form was developed from a desire to provide shading for the interior without the use of external shading devices, which could be impacted by sand accumulation. Instead, the undulating form “drapes” over the facade, where high-performance glass is fritted in a graduated pattern to further mitigate solar glare.

Image credit: Victor Romero

As visitors approach the terminal, they are met with a 160-foot-tall, free-standing glazed facade, behind which sits a largely column-free departure hall. The hall’s supporting arc...

High-speed rail line between Vegas and SoCal receives additional $2.5 billion funding

2024-01-26T11:04:00-05:00

The U.S. Department of Transportation has approved $2.5 billion for the Brightline West High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail project. As we have previously reported, the 218-mile line will connect Las Vegas to Southern California, running primarily along the I-15 median.

Electric trains on the line will be capable of reaching 186 miles per hour, fulfilling the journey in half the time to travel by car. The cost of the project currently stands at $12 billion, funded partly by an additional $3 billion allocation last month under the Infrastructure Act, and a $25 million to to the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority that will be used to construct stations on the line in Hesperia and Victor Valley, California.

Related on Archinect: U.S. Department of Transportation awards $6.1 billion in funding for high-speed rail projects in the American West. Image courtesy Brightline West

“As the first true high-speed rail system in America, Brightline West will serve as the blueprint for c...

A new soccer training center for the Vancouver area designed by Formline Architecture

2024-01-14T14:00:00-05:00

The City of Port Coquitlam in British Columbia, Canada, recently unveiled the final proposed design for one of the province’s largest training and recreational hubs for soccer.

Designed by Indigenous-led, Vancouver-based firm Formline Architecture, the facility will serve as a state-of-the-art soccer and community hub and B.C. Soccer’s new headquarters, with office space for local soccer club Port Coquitlam Euro-Rite FC. The project includes the reconfiguration and improvement of the surrounding Gates Park, which is located just west of downtown Port Coquitlam.

New renderings reveal that there will be a 1,200-seat grandstand covered by a sculpted wooden roof. This space will feature locker rooms, washrooms, a lobby, a meeting space, and other amenities. Additionally, a state-of-the-art synthetic turf field will be constructed to FIFA international competition standards, replacing an existing underutilized grass field. There will also be a multi-use public plaza for community events ...

Gordie Howe International Bridge construction: Opening delayed to September 2025

2024-01-09T17:04:00-05:00

The completion date for the delayed Gordie Howe International Bridge has been pushed back to September 2025, according to the Detroit Free Press.

A public announcement put out by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority detailed the progress that’s been made since the project commenced in late 2018.

Since that time, the bridge’s road deck construction, stay cable installation, and Port of Entry facilities have progressed successfully. Completion of the road deck, stay cable installations, and ancillary Port of Entry outbuildings will follow in the coming year. The finalization of the operations process is then anticipated for the year after.

"After a three-year pandemic and considering the size and complexity of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, our project team is pleased that the impact to the construction schedule is limited to only 10 months beyond the original contracted com...

Feds dole out $1 billion to get the Inglewood Transit Connector moving in LA's South Bay

2024-01-08T19:15:00-05:00

The planned Inglewood Transit Connector (ITC) in the Los Angeles area is moving forward thanks to a recent $1.09 billion investment by the federal government that will help deliver the 1.6-mile automated people mover to the rapidly changing South Bay district.

Once in place, the ITC will connect the neighborhood’s most important recent economic cogs, including SoFi Stadium and the soon-to-open Intuit Dome, with the Metro line while serving a maximum of 11,000 riders per hour. The design contractor for the project's implementation will be selected later in the year.

"This action delivers on the promise of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support communities whose transit infrastructure has been neglected for too long and who have been impacted negatively by the construction of major freeways like the I-405 in Inglewood," Senator Alex Padilla said at the announcement.

Image courtesy City of Inglewood

"For the federal government to make a $1 billion investment in a city of 9 square...

Clayco and SOM to design major EV manufacturing plant for Rivian in Georgia

2023-12-27T11:17:00-05:00

Clayco and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill have been selected by electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian to construct a “state-of-the-art EV manufacturing plant” in Stanton Springs, Georgia. The 1,800-acre complex is expected to “contribute significantly to the continued growth and adoption of electric vehicles,” according to Clayco.

Image credit: Clayco

“We have an ambitious goal to develop an eco-conscious facility that illustrates our mission of keeping the world adventurous forever,” said Tony Sanger, Vice President of Facilities at Rivian, in a statement. “With Clayco’s dedication to developing innovative ideas and solutions, we are confident they are the right partner to ensure the Rivian plant is a shining example of sustainable manufacturing.”

The plant is expected to begin vehicle production in 2026.

Image credit: Clayco

The electric car manufacturer had previously been planning a $5 billion factory in Fort Worth, Texas, as we reported in 2021. However, later that year, it was announ...

Over $1 billion allocated to California’s transportation infrastructure

2023-12-19T12:11:00-05:00

The California Transportation Commission has announced the allocation of $1.1 billion for projects aimed at repairing and improving the state’s transportation infrastructure. The funding will be deployed to projects in areas including Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and San Diego.

In Los Angeles, $12 million will be used to upgrade bicyclist and pedestrian infrastructure on an 18-mile stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway between Redondo Beach and the Orange County line. Upgrades include Class II bike lanes, bus pads, crosswalk visibility enhancements, a rectangular rapid flashing beacon, and pedestrian push buttons, among others. Meanwhile, $6 million will be allocated to San Francisco BART expansion.

The single largest project to receive funding will be a $108 million development along Interstate 80 near the State Route 20 connector that will replace an...

U.S. Department of Transportation awards $6.1 billion in funding for high-speed rail projects in the American West

2023-12-06T14:36:00-05:00

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced $6.1 billion in funding for two high-speed rail projects in Nevada and California that will make history upon their respective completions at the end of the decade.

Both the $8 billion Brightline West plan connecting Southern California to Las Vegas and the California High-Speed Rail project between Los Angeles and San Francisco will receive a total of $3 billion and $3.07 billion each.

The funding will help propel the former towards a formal project announcement that is expected by Friday, according to Reuters. The latter will aid in the development of a pared-down version of the larger California project that has been plagued by funding challenges for several years.

Brightline’s chairman Wes Edens told Reuters the funding marks a “historic moment that will serve as a foundation for a new industry and a remarkable project that will serve a...

Foster + Partners finishes work on revamped Penn Station entrance

2023-11-20T16:49:00-05:00

A dramatic new makeover of Penn Station’s entrance at 7th Avenue and 32nd Street in Manhattan has been completed by Foster + Partners and AECOM for clients Amtrak and the Vornado Realty Trust.

The rebuilding project expands the entrance’s width by 50 percent while making it safer and fully ADA-accessible for 600,000 daily users of what is considered the nation’s busiest train station.

Image: Fernando Sandoval/MW

A new canopy and LED display were constructed at the entryway, which now features a wider staircase, new interior lighting feature, improved elevator access, and an added third escalator for enhanced circulation. Outside sidewalks and the surrounding plaza were also expanded. The project complements part of Vornado and MdeAS Architects’ redevelopment of the adjacent PENN 2 Tower while creating what Amtrak describes as a “sense of place and civic monumentality.”

Image: Fernando Sandoval/MW

In a press statement, Foster + Partners’ Head of Studio, Nigel Dancey, commented: “We h...

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's $400M C Concourse Expansion gets cleared for takeoff

2023-10-15T08:00:00-04:00

A previously-announced plan from Woods Bagot and The Miller Hull Partnership is moving forward in Washington State after officials with the Port of Seattle Commission finally approved the $399 million C Concourse Expansion for the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The expansion will add 145,530 square feet in total, including a 20,000-square-foot Alaska Airlines passenger lounge, multifaith prayer room, meditation center, nursery room, amphitheater, and a retail/dining area called The Grand Stairs, to an existing structure from 1966. The firms say their proposal “rethinks the airport experience where design creates an intuitive journey, a sense of calm, and climate consciousness.” Turner has been contracted to lead the construction.

Rendering courtesy of The Miller Hull Partnership and Woods Bagot.

SEA planning officials are optimistic its realization will add to its claims of being the most energy-efficient port in the country as the first major construction to be undertaken in ...

Gensler and Moody Nolan debut terminal design for Columbus International Airport

2023-08-25T15:28:00-04:00

Gensler has revealed plans for a new terminal design for John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH) in Columbus, Ohio. The project replaces an existing terminal from 1958 and is aimed at enhancing the regional economy of the state’s capital in the interest of “Connecting Ohio with the World.”

Columbus-based architects Moody Nolan will join the project as a design partner. The construction is necessary to meet the demands placed on the airport by Columbus’ expected demographic change, which will see the population of what is now the Midwest’s fastest-growing city expand to over 3 million by the year 2050.

Image courtesy Columbus Regional Airport Authority

The ‘Y’ form of the design is meant to mirror the confluence of nearby Olentangy and Scioto River while “symbolizing the fluid pathways taken by travelers and the connectivity.” Visitors will move from a ground-level entrance lobby through ticketing and security and into the main concourse’s retail plaza framed by a central gran...

Former Chicago Transportation Commissioner Gia Biagi joins Studio Gang in new planning role

2023-08-24T17:33:00-04:00

While the city’s top transportation post remains vacant, the department’s respected former commissioner has landed a leadership post at the award-winning Chicago architecture firm Studio Gang. Gia Biagi will join Studio Gang as Principal of Urbanism, the firm announced Thursday. Biagi told the Sun-Times that under the newly-created role, she’ll lead Studio Gang’s planning and urban design work nationally.

Biagi told the Sun-Times architecture critic, Lee Bey, her work will help Studio Gang’s efforts to shape “how we think about cities, how we revitalize them, and how that connects to other important systems, whether that’s emphasizing ecology or looking at the important public policy questions on the ground.” She will leverage further experience with the Chicago Park District and the Department of Planning and Development in the execution of her duties.

Previously on Archinect: Studio Gang's Gia Biagi picked to run Chicago Department of Transportation

Gang says Biagi, who worked previously at the firm from 2015 to 2019, shares the same goals and values essential to the core mission of the 12-year-old planning studio. Biagi holds degrees in planning from the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois Chicago.

The CDOT is still searching for a permanent replacement after she stepped down from the role at the end of July.

German research group completes Europe's first Hyperloop test track

2023-08-04T17:57:00-04:00

Europe’s first certified full-scale Hyperloop test track is now ready for test operations, marking a significant milestone in sustainable and ultra-fast transportation. The 24-metre-long track was developed by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) Hyperloop research group. The first successful test run with a passenger pod in vacuum conditions took place on the 10th of July 2023.

The research and development program TUM Hyperloop at the Technical University of Munich reached a milestone when it successfully conducted the first passenger ride under vacuum conditions on July 10, 2023. As reported by Innovation Origins, the group will now focus on refining their track’s drive system, levitation technology, and behavior when in vacuum conditions.

Image © Andreas Heddergott/TUM

TUM Hyperloop was founded to compete in the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition, an annual competition from 2015–2019 that called for hyperloop transport vehicle designs and prototypes.

Image © Andreas Heddergott/TUM

TUM’s recent triumph comes following another achievement it has made in hyperloop design, in which a student team won the “Not-A-Boring Competition” with a tunnel boring machine that employs an innovative horizontal digging technique.

Video courtesy TUM Hyperloop/YouTube

Foster + Partners and Arup to deliver first four California High-Speed Rail stations

2023-04-05T17:45:00-04:00

A joint venture of Foster + Partners and Arup will design the first four California High-Speed Rail stations in the state’s Central Valley region, the firms announced this week.

The plans they are developing for the transit organization will eventually deliver stations in Fresno, Kings/Tulare, Merced, and Bakersfield, serving the ambitious but still heavily scrutinized project’s initial 171-mile segment in an area that’s home to roughly 6.5 million people.

The joint venture announced its intentions of working with local interests during the two-stage Notice to Proceed (NTP) design and development process following the delivery of a "system-wide vision plan" for the proposed 500-mile project that will become America's first-ever high-speed railway.

Image courtesy Foster + Partners

Stefan Behling, Head of Studio for Foster + Partners, said: "After delivering our systemwide vision plan, we are now delighted to be working with Arup on detailed designs for the network’s first four station...

California’s High Speed Rail costs balloon again to $128 billion

2023-03-20T19:41:00-04:00

The price tag for the rail system has risen to $128 billion, according to a California High Speed Rail Authority project update report — a nearly 22% uptick from the previous figure of $105 billion from last year and a far cry from the $33 billion cost voters approved in 2008. The latest increases are due to “inflation/escalation, enhanced scope definition and greater contingency for risk,” per the report.

The cost imbalance has reportedly pushed back the Merced-to-Bakersefield segment’s targeted start of service from 2030 by up to three years, according to the CEO of the Rail Authority Brian P. Kelly.

Plans now are for at least the 119-mile segment that’s currently under construction in the Central Valley to be completed while the project waits on the tens of billions worth of outstanding federal grant funding that are still pending approval by the government.

The headache mirrors the troubles the HS2 line is having in England. In his report to the state, Kelly lamented the hamstrung funding, saying: “Megaprojects that last for decades need long-term, stable funding. Every country around the world that has built high-speed rail has dedicated billions of dollars over several decades to see it through. We don’t have one penny of state support for this project identified after 2030.”

Hyperloop companies form international consortium

2023-02-14T19:11:00-05:00

A consortium of seven international hyperloop companies has formed a new entity called the Hyperloop Association, the group recently announced. The organization was begun in December and expects a royal decree to follow shortly announcing it as a legal entity.

The Association says it will be based in Brussels in order to work with European Union commissioners and the EU's Agency for Railways to "advance the progress and facilitate the widespread implementation of the innovative transportation system across Europe and globally."

The news comes after years of collaborations between various participating hyperloop companies and architecture firms on infrastructure and transportation design.

BIG, for example, designed the XP-2 pods as well as passenger portals for Hyperloop One. Zaha Hadid Architects worked with Hyperloop Italia to develop station designs and strategies for urban and rural impleme...

MAD’s fan-shaped airport in Changchun, China is imagined as a ‘floating feather’

2023-02-07T10:53:00-05:00

MAD Architects has been named the winner of an international competition for the design of the Changchun “Longjia” International Airport Terminal 3 in Jilin Province, China. The 2.9 million square foot terminal will contain 54 aircraft gates and is expected to accommodate 22 million annual passengers when operational.

Image credit: MAD Architects

The fan-shaped airport is imagined by its designers as a “floating feather,” reflecting the movement of airplanes ascending and descending from the terminal throughout the day. The airport’s setting among forests, lakes, and undulating terrain are also echoed on the interior, with an indoor garden system combining trees and water features.

Image credit: MAD Architects

Natural light is brought into the departure hall through the feather-shaped roof to create a “bright and warm” interior space. The dominant lines of the roof’s ribbed structure are also expressed on the timber ceiling in an effort to naturally guide the flow of passengers toward...

MIT research finds that commuting distances are standard regardless of city size

2023-01-03T11:24:00-05:00

Researchers from the MIT Senseable City Lab have produced a series of maps visualizing commuting habits across Chinese cities. Titled Potato Project, the study used mobile phone location data from 50 million individuals across 234 cities to understand commuting patterns between a person’s home and work locations.

Image credit: MIT Senseable City Lab

The research project was launched in response to the group’s observation that despite the significant increase in the size of cities over decades, commuting distances and times in larger cities have remained stable versus smaller cities. “The conserved commuting properties are quite counter-intuitive,” the team notes, “as the distance from the periphery to the urban center in larger cities is obviously greater than that in medium- or small-sized cities.”

Image credit: MIT Senseable City Lab

With little existing large-scale modeling on the subject, the researchers analyzed the mobile phone location data to better understand the similarities...

LAX's Automated People Mover reaches another construction milestone ahead of 2023 completion

2022-12-13T18:28:00-05:00

Another milestone has been reached in the ongoing Automated People Mover (APM) project at Los Angeles International Airport after the last structural steel elements near the historic Theme Building have been installed.

The 180-ton final piece serves as a base for the new viewing pavilion and is connected to the APM's East Central Terminal Area (CTA) station. Most of the decking, glass panels, and roofing elements of the APM's six pedestrian bridges have now also been installed, leaving only metal ceiling and electrical components of their construction left before completion.

Image courtesy Los Angeles World Airports

"The viewing pavilion is a major milestone for the APM as it marks the completion of the project's largest construction efforts," Sam Choy, the Project Director for LINXS Constructors, explained in a news release. It joins the recently-completed final West Central Terminal Area station and pedestrian bridge for the $5.5 billion project, which will be fully completed nex...

Brightline's SoCal to Las Vegas high speed rail project could soon be underway

2022-12-05T15:45:00-05:00

A long-awaited high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas to Southern California is reportedly ready to proceed in 2023 as an $8 billion proposal from rail operator Brightline is nearing permitting permission from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

According to the International Railway Journal (IRJ), the project would include three stops along a 49-mile stretch of land along Interstate 15. The railway system is expected to reduce car traffic between Los Angeles and Vegas by 3 million vehicles per year and transport passengers at speeds around 180 miles for a trip that would only take a little more than 2 hours from end to end. The company says the project would create up to 1,000 permanent jobs in both states.

A proposed map of the network showing a Metrolink connection to central Los Angeles. Image courtesy of Brightline.

Operations could begin as soon as 2026 or 2027 depending on the start date, which Brightline West CEO Mike Reininger says will happen in “a matter of w...

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 ...

New York City to roll out 51 electric school buses with $18.5 million EPA grant

2022-11-03T12:28:00-04:00

Dozens of electric yellow school buses are scheduled to roll on city streets as early as next fall, officials announced Tuesday. The city is using an $18.5 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency with funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to purchase 51 electric school buses. It’s part of an effort to meet the city’s and the state’s shared goal of converting all New York’s school buses to run on electricity by 2035.

In April, New York Governor Kathy Hochul agreed on a $220 billion state budget with legislators, which included a plan to make New York State’s nearly 50,000 school buses 100% electric by 2035. It’s estimated that the state currently has just 36 electric school buses. New York City currently has approximately 5,000 school buses that run on diesel. It aims to convert buses that are six or seven years old to electric power. These new buses will account for around 1% of the city’s fleet.

As reported by Gothamist, it will cost $5 billion for the state to run on all-electric school buses. The money from the Environmental Protection Agency will be available to three New York City school districts. Additional funds for more electric buses in New York may be made available depending on the outcome of a $4.2 environmental bond proposal that will be voted on in this month’s election. If approved, $500 million will head towards electric buses and the infrastructure needed for them.

...

Arup and SOM selected to lead modernization and expansion of Newark Liberty Airport

2022-10-25T17:17:00-04:00

Arup has been selected for a multibillion-dollar expansion project for Newark Liberty International Airport following an announcement from the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey on Monday. SOM will also provide its expertise on the project.

The two will oversee the development of the Port Authority’s Vision Plan, which aims to “future-proof” the over 2,000-acre airport via a comprehensive framework that will take shape through the year 2065.

According to a press release, “the plan will accommodate future growth and demand, improve the travel experience, and identify opportunities for enhancing the sustainability and resiliency of the facility.”

Newark’s airport is one of the oldest in the United States and currently faces an 81.6% increase in travelers as it looks to upgrade its facilities with three ongoing projects that total $5.3 billion — including the delayed 33-gate new Terminal A from Grimshaw and $2 billion AirTrain upgrade, which has been called “critical component of ...