construction

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Toll in Haiti Collapse Hits 75
 Toll in Haiti Collapse Hits 75 
Nov 8, 2008 12:21 PM CST

Toll in Haiti Collapse Hits 75

(Newser) - The death toll in the Haitian school collapse has risen to 75, the AP reports. The mayor of the Port-au-Prince suburb where it occurred said 17 dead students have been found so far today. Another 80 are being treated for injuries, many of them serious, and hundreds more children could...

Economy May Cripple Chicago Spire Project

Consultants file liens against world's tallest skyscraper

(Newser) - The sputtering economy could topple plans to erect the nation’s tallest skyscraper, reports the Chicago Tribune. Consultants on the construction of the Chicago Spire have filed liens, with celebrity architect Santiago Calatrava seeking more than $11.3 million and a Chicago-based firm demanding $4.85 million. The developer’s...

Mandatory Tests Key to Feds' New Crane Regulations

Operators will be made to pass qualification exams in wake of fatal accidents

(Newser) - Crane operators will be made to pass certification tests, the AP reports, as the US Department of Labor, reacting to a number of deadly crane accidents this year, moved to make written and performance assessments mandatory in every state. In the first update since 1971, the tests will measure safety...

Minneapolis Greets New Bridge
 Minneapolis Greets New Bridge 
Sep 18, 2008 12:09 PM CDT

Minneapolis Greets New Bridge

Drivers queued up to see collapsed bridge replacement

(Newser) - Festive honks awoke Minneapolis today as first responders to last year's bridge collapse led a procession over its newly-minted replacement. Drivers waved and passengers snapped photos as they rode over the 10-lane interstate at a creeping 10mph. Traffic was backed up for a mile after the bridge opened at 5am...

Construction Theft Is Building Concern

$5B in annual losses drive home prices up by as much as 10%

(Newser) - Increasing theft of building materials from construction sites, especially residential projects, is driving up the cost of homes to consumers as much as 10%, the New York Times reports. Experts say as much as $5 billion a year is being lost to thieves looking to profit from skyrocketing prices for...

South Jersey Man Finds Gator on Side the Road

No explantion where 4-foot, 60-to-80-pound beast in cage came from

(Newser) - A South Jersey man spotted something unusual on his way to work yesterday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports: a caged alligator on the side of a road. Fred Schubert decided to help out the 4-foot, 60-to-80-pound beast, loading the cage into his pickup. After calling several wildlife agencies, an official came...

Dubai High Rise Would Add Novel Twists

Revolving floors just one of 80-story tower's planned innovations

(Newser) - If heights make your head spin, a planned 80-story tower in Dubai might not be the place for you. Set to be the "world's first building in motion," David Fisher's design features doughnut-shape floors that rotate 360 degrees around a fixed cement core, the AP reports. It would...

NYC Crane Inspector Booked for Corruption

Not tied to recent collapse, city says

(Newser) - New York cops collared the city’s chief crane inspector on corruption charges today, but officials see no link to last week's fatal crane collapse. James Delayo, a 26-year Buildings Department veteran, is accused of taking money to issue fake crane appraisals and supplying cheat sheets for a city exam,...

Chinese Police Drag Parents From Protest

100 called for lawsuit over poorly-built schools

(Newser) - Chinese police cracked down on parents protesting today over poorly-constructed schools they say killed their children in last month’s earthquake, the AP reports. Protesters had been chanting “we want to sue” before police dragged them down the street away from a courthouse, with some yelling for an explanation....

Poorly Built Schools Stood No Chance in Earthquake

Up to 10K kids died; parents blame gov't

(Newser) - As a massive earthquake shook Sichuan province, subpar construction turned many Chinese schoolrooms into the mass graves of as many as 10,000 children, the New York Times reports, and grieving parents are pointing fingers at Beijing. The government, aware of the problem, had issued warnings on school safety in...

Bereaved Parents Question Quake School Safety

Outrage centers on public buildings that survived

(Newser) - Nearly 7,000 schools were destroyed in the Chinese earthquake, and parents want answers. In particular, they want to know why so many nearby government buildings survived while schoolchildren died, the Washington Post reports. “This building is totally a ‘bad tofu’ project,” said one grieving mother. “...

College Grads Learn the Fourth 'R': Recession

Job growth crawls to 5-year low as students prep their résumés

(Newser) - If college grads are looking glum this year, it's likely because they face a tighter job market once they turn their tassels. More than one million grads will look harder to find work, the Christian Science Monitor reports, and job growth has hit a 5-year low. Companies "are just...

Housing Starts Hit 17-Year Low

March starts plummet 11.9% as foreclosures create glut on market

(Newser) - Foreclosures and a glut of unsold homes flooding the market were blamed for an 11.9% drop in new housing starts last month, more than twice the slide economists had predicted, reports Bloomberg. Starts are at the lowest level since March 1991, according to the Commerce Department, casting a pall...

Condo Glut Floods Cities
 Condo Glut Floods Cities 
Mar 22, 2008 8:17 AM CDT

Condo Glut Floods Cities

Bargains abound as boom-time projects completed

(Newser) - A deluge of new condos is about to hit many American cities already flooded with an unprecedented number of unsold units, the Wall Street Journal reports. This year, thousands of projects started at the height of the housing boom will be completed; oversupply and economic slowdown are likely to cause...

Mortgage Meltdown Hits Small Builders

Wave of bankruptcies could in turn weaken regional banks

(Newser) - The housing market collapse that's sending homeowners into foreclosure is starting to hit small- and medium-size builders left with developments they're unable to sell, the Wall Street Journal reports. Buyers are canceling contracts and builders are missing mortgage payments on often highly leveraged projects. Small regional banks, in turn, could...

Stanford Dig Combines Sleuthing, Classwork

Students look into why '06 quake toppled gym

(Newser) - Stanford University has found a way to give archeology students valuable excavation experience without leaving campus, Bloomberg reports, and hopes to find out why an enormous gymnasium couldn't withstand the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The gym was intended as a signature building for the young school. "They thought if...

Housing Starts Down; Producer Prices Up

Housing will hurt '08 growth

(Newser) - Housing starts fell yet again in February, and building permits hit a 16-year low, Bloomberg reports. The annual housing start rate fell to 1.065 million homes, a 0.6% drop from January, while permits sank 7.8%, indicating still bigger declines to come. “We don’t see it...

City Blew Off Crane Warning
 City Blew Off Crane Warning
Mar 16, 2008 10:29 AM CDT

City Blew Off Crane Warning

Construction site had received 32 complaints, numerous violations

(Newser) - Twelve days before the crane accident that killed four, the city of New York largely ignored a warning that the crane wasn't braced properly, reports the New York Daily News. An inspector responding to a retired contractor's complaint that the upper 100 feet of the crane was unsecured determined on...

Crane Crash Among Worst NY Accidents, Mayor Says

Ground-level pics depict shocking scene

(Newser) - A towering crane that ripped through two buildings and hit a third is one of the worst construction accidents in New York history, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today. "It is a tragic event," he said. "Our hearts go out to all the victims and their families."...

Crane Crash Kills 4 in Manhattan
 Crane Crash
  Kills 4 in
  Manhattan 
Updated
Mar 15, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

Crane Crash Kills 4 in Manhattan

At least 4 people trapped; several buildings damaged

(Newser) - A gigantic crane collapsed in Manhattan today, killing four and putting several others in critical condition as it smashed into nearby buildings, Newsday reports. The crane was about 19 stories tall and demolished at least one building entirely. Police have swarmed the area as emergency crews try to rescue people...

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