Fire ravages under-construction San Francisco apartment building

A five-alarm, late-afternoon fire in the Mission District on Tuesday raced up a six-story building being erected by BRE Properties.

By Ron Gallagher • March 12, 2014

Bankrupt Detroit to spend $500M to demolish buildings

Detroit is planning on more and faster demolition as part of its bankruptcy recovery plan, going from knocking down 100 buildings a week to as many as 450.

By Ron Gallagher • March 12, 2014

Explore the Trendline➔

Data center construction

New projects from customers like Meta, Google and Amazon make this a burgeoning sector for contractors.

By Construction Dive staff

BIM backers: Conventional process wastes 30% of effort

A trade group Down Under and the government are close to issuing a joint Project Team Integration Workbook about how to maximize BIM benefits.

By Ron Gallagher • March 11, 2014

Calif. to pay losing bids for high-speed railway line $2M each

The California High-Speed Rail Authority will pay losing bidders $2 million each to offset the cost of seeking a contract estimated to be worth $1.5-$2 billion.

By Ron Gallagher • March 11, 2014

Propane blast shuts down Colo. VA construction site

Several people in Aurora, Colo, were awakened early Tuesday when a propane tank that fuels heaters for workers caught fire and blew up, officials said.

By Ron Gallagher • March 11, 2014

How the EPA is changing stormwater runoff rules

A central part of the Environmental Protection Agency's approach to construction runoff is eliminating numeric standards for turbidity in the water.

By Ron Gallagher • March 11, 2014

Construction women tell female students they have opportunities

California State University, Sacramento, held a career day for its engineering and computer science students, and women made a showing on International Women's Day.

By Ron Gallagher • March 10, 2014

U. of Michigan gives old nuclear reactor $11.4M makeover

The school plans to keep the building for nuclear engineering use, but with a small particle accelerator rather than a reactor that Ford provided in 1957.

By Ron Gallagher • March 10, 2014

EPA to drop one-size-fits-all approach to construction runoff

The EPA found that construction storm runoff should be handled differently in different areas, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.

By Ron Gallagher • March 10, 2014

Life-cycle assessment for building materials made easier with new app

An architectural firm teamed with a data firm and a software maker to come up with Tally, an app that runs on the Revit design software.

By Ron Gallagher • March 10, 2014

Ever-larger tilt-up panels bring clarification about slab beneath bracing

The Tilt-Up Concrete Association has issued a statement saying it's a building owner's rep who has to make sure a slab can take the pressure of wall bracing.

By Ron Gallagher • March 9, 2014

Heavy construction makes up bulk of 15,000 new jobs in Feb.

February saw 15,000 new construction jobs, well under January's 26,600.

By Ron Gallagher • March 9, 2014

Chinese equipment-makers put on strong showing at CONEXPO

Along with manufacturers that sell in the U.S. already, visitors are seeing machines from Lonking, which is big in China but is making its U.S. debut.

By Ron Gallagher • March 7, 2014

BIM compatibility, model-sharing bumped up in Trimble product revision

Trimble Buildings Group said it has added features to its SketchUp 2014 release, with BIM compatibility with all systems an important goal.

By Ron Gallagher • March 7, 2014

History lessons in an Alabama theater renovation

Taking on the renovation of the 100-year-old Lyric Theater in Birmingham is like peeling back the cover on how concrete and steel used to be done.

By Ron Gallagher • March 7, 2014

N.C. conjures up a 'college' to help minority contractors

The state's Office for Historically Underutilized Businesses is organizing the 12-week program and major contractors are supplying the teachers.

By Ron Gallagher • March 6, 2014

Energy-efficiency law finds construction-industry defenders to fight repeal effort

The American Institute of Architects is at the head of a coalition that says there is no way Congress should repeal energy-efficiency goals for federal buildings.

By Ron Gallagher • March 6, 2014

Labor wants NYC to demand all-union workers on development

Getting an agreement with the mayor's office to develop an 11-acre Brooklyn waterfront site moves Two Trees Development into a new struggle.

By Ron Gallagher • March 5, 2014

Ft. Worth construction-fraud case goes to jury, contractor goes to jail

It's believed to be the first time a fraud case like Keith Alexander's has gone to trial in Tarrant County, Texas, instead of being settled by a plea deal.

By Ron Gallagher • March 5, 2014

Quebec senior home fire that killed 32 draws attention to building code

The Jan. 23 blaze in L'Isle -Verte pointed up the complexity of provincial regulations and raised questions about how they address an aging population.

By Ron Gallagher • March 5, 2014

Miami to contractors: Hire local, we're watching

County commissioners approved a strong suggestion that contractors hire 50% local residents.

By Ron Gallagher • March 4, 2014

As World Cup nears, Brazil is sounding like Sochi all over again

Global sporting event? Check. Major construction needed? Check. Nerve-wracking amounts of work left? Check.

By Ron Gallagher • March 4, 2014

2014 will be laser scanning's year, tech leader says

The president of BIM vendor Microdesk sees demand growing for laser scanning and LiDAR to create 3-D building models.

By Ron Gallagher • March 4, 2014

Developer and builder survey shows they like market-rate rentals

Market-rate rentals were more popular than low-rent apartments or units for sale in the last quarter of 2013, according to the Multifamily Production Index survey.

By Ron Gallagher • March 3, 2014

Barge ahoy, Google 'craft' to set sail out of SF Bay jurisdiction

The Google construction project widely known as the "mystery barge" has to move to an anchorage in Stockton, Calif., because of permitting issues.

By Ron Gallagher • March 3, 2014