Community revitalization grant awarded to New Orleans project

National Trust for Historic Preservation President Richard Moe and HGTV President Burton Jablin announced recently that grants were awarded to 12 U.S. projects as part of the multi-million-dollar Restore America: A Salute to Preservation partnership.

Restore America focuses on the role that preservation plays in the revitalization of communities and supports community re-investment projects.

In New Orleans, a $50,000 grant will be given to Incardonia's, a restaurant and bar once run by successful Italian immigrant Joseph Incardonia.

Currently vacant and badly deteriorated, the roof system of the "arts & crafts" style building must be replaced and wall framing, flooring and floor joists of the second floor repaired.

Because of its prominent location on Tchoupitoulas Street, the building's restoration and adaptive reuse is critical to sustaining the architecturally rich Faubourg Marengo neighborhood and spurring new investment. Restoration plans have already generated new investment in the area in the form of artists' spaces.

Grant funds will be used by Preservation Alliance of New Orleans to convert Incardonia's into four residential units with loft-like layouts to appeal to young buyers and artists.

HGTV donated $1 million for the 2005-2006 campaign of Restore America to fund community revitalization grants. More than 100 grant applications were received from nonprofit organizations and public agencies across the country to complete residential projects.

Twelve project recipients have been awarded grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 for the community revitalization projects.

Vulcan recognizes Port Aggregates for 10 million tons of limestone

Port Aggregates Inc. of Jennings was awarded a silver plate for being the first distribution center on the Gulf Coast to receive 10 million tons of limestone from Vulcan Materials' Calica Quarry in Mexico.

W. Houston Blount and William "Billy" Ireland made the presentation near the quarry in Cancun. Blount is the former CEO of Vulcan Materials and founder of the Mexican quarry operation. Ireland's family founded Vulcan in 1912 and is still the largest single shareholder of Vulcan Materials Co.

Receiving the award for Port Aggregates was Andy Guinn, president; Tim Guinn, vice president; James Guinn, Concrete Division manager; and Kirk Trahan, operations manager.

DOTD, Parsons Brinckerhoff get recognition during ARTBA award event

Transportation construction organizations from Maine to New Mexico were recognized at the American Road & Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation's (ARTBA-TDF) sixth annual "PRIDE Awards" luncheon, held in April during the association's "Federal Issues Program" in Washington, D.C.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and Parson Brinckerhoff received an honorable mention for their joint public affairs outreach aimed at building support for the $4 billion statewide Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development (TIMED) program.

Established by the ARTBA Board of Directors in October 1999, the PRIDE Awards honor "excellence in community relations and public education that enhance the image of the U.S. transportation construction industry."

Better Roads and Roads & Bridges magazines sponsored this year's awards competition. An independent panel of public relations professionals and construction industry journalists selected the winners.

Mississippi River Bridge project in St. Francisville advances

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development recently announced the three short-listed teams for the design-build Mississippi River Bridge at St. Francisville/New Roads.

"Selection of the three short-listed teams is a significant milestone in the design-build process for the new Mississippi River Bridge," said DOTD Secretary Johnny Bradberry. "We are on target for selecting the final team by the end of the year."

The three short-listed teams are:

• American Bridge/Bilfinger Berger JV, a joint venture of American Bridge Co. and Bilfinger Berger Civil Inc. with designer URS Corporation
• Audubon Bridge Constructors JV, a joint venture of Flatiron Constructors Inc., Granite Construction Co. and Parsons Transportation Group (PTG) with designers Parsons Transportation Group and Buckland & Taylor LTD
• MRB Constructors, a joint venture of Traylor Bros. Inc., Massman Construction Co. and Gilbert Southern Corp. with designer HNTB Corporation.

"Legislation that passed in 2004 allowed DOTD to utilize design-build on the new Mississippi River Bridge project and we are pleased with the response and interest in this project from such notable engineering and construction firms," Bradberry said.

The three short-listed teams are now required to prepare proposals for the bridge project. DOTD will then review the proposals and select a final team based on pre-set criteria. The winning team is scheduled to begin work on the project in early 2006.

The new Mississippi River Bridge will be built just south of the existing ferry crossing between Point Coupee and West Feliciana parishes, about 40 miles north of Baton Rouge. The bridge will be a cable stay bridge, similar to the Luling Bridge in St. Charles Parish. Approaches will be constructed to tie the bridge into LA 10 in Point Coupee Parish and US 61 in West Feliciana Parish.

The $200 million project is scheduled for completion by December 2010.

Walton breaks ground on Bossier war veterans home

Walton Construction Co. of Shreveport recently broke ground on a new $24 million, 90,000-sq.-ft. Northwest Louisiana War Veterans Home.

The facility will have 156 beds for domiciliary, acute, intermediate and Alzheimer's care of veterans, and is expected to open in late 2006.

McGraw-Hill Construction, ReproMAX form alliance

McGraw-Hill Construction and ReproMAX Inc. have formed a national alliance to develop and market a set of integrated products and services to increase the efficiency of document management and distribution for the construction industry.

The agreement will also provide improved collection of project information, enabling faster availability to the industry.

The new partnership leverages both companies' expertise to provide integrated solutions that help businesses in the AEC community better manage their business process workflow to become more productive and competitive.

The alliance combines McGraw-Hill Construction's more than 100 local plan room centers with the 200-plus local ReproMAX facilities, creating one of the largest national networks for document management and distribution available to the market.

PALA awarded top safety award

PALA Interstate of Baton Rouge was recently presented the 2004 Motiva CEO Presidental Contractors Safety Award for outstanding achievements in safety performance at the Norco site.

A CEO award selection committee reviewed the candidates and selected PALA Interstate as the winner. The award is presented to contractors that sustain excellence in safety performance and have a process in place for continuous improvement.

"We expect everyone on the Norco site to have a 24/7 safety focus," said Kimberly Windon, Motiva Norco external affairs manager. "This award signifies that PALA is committed to safety."

Motiva Enterprises CEO William Welte presented PALA with the award.