Minneapolis Disaster Results in Inspections, Other Actions

Reverberations from the collapse of the Interstate 35W Bridge in Minneapolis on Aug. 1 have caused ripples throughout the Midwest.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters called on all states to inspect any steel deck truss bridges similar to the bridge that collapsed.

Two days after the collapse, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich directed Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois Tollway to immediately conduct inspections of critical bridges in Illinois. Bridge inspectors from IDOT and the Tollway will be examining bridges that are similar in design to the Minnesota bridge, are under construction, or that carry high volumes over waterways.

Critical spans, including those crossing the Mississippi River and other major waterways, were to be visually inspected, with more detailed inspections expected using high tech equipment.

Visual inspectors will be looking for general structure alignment and anything out of the ordinary. The detailed inspections will assess beam deterioration, determine the condition of the connections and identify cracks and anything that is out of alignment.

In Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels ordered inspections on Indiana bridges with design characteristics similar to the one that collapsed in Minneapolis. Indiana Department of Transportation bridge inspectors will examine 13 full or partial steel deck truss bridges throughout the state.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt ordered the inspection of 11 state bridges similar in design to the deck arch truss bridge that collapsed in Minnesota. Inspections began Aug. 2 and are expected to take five weeks. MoDOT inspectors will thoroughly examine every detail of these bridges to look for any possible problems and will take corrective action if anything is found.

St. Louis County closed Old Gravois Road Bridge in Fenton and Sunset Hills only days after the collapse.

The nearly 90-year-old span was ordered to be blockaded on both approaches by concrete barriers.

“The horrors of that disaster obviously weren’t something we wanted to experience on a first-hand basis,” said Garry Earls, director of the St. Louis County’s Department of Highways and Traffic. “This is an aged and decaying bridge that was facing closure in the very near future.”

$250M Expansion Breaks Ground At Northwest Community Hospital

Northwest Community Hospital in suburban Arlington Heights has broke ground on the Renaissance Project, a $250 million redevelopment of the hospital’s campus.

It is the most comprehensive expansion in the hospital’s 50-year history encompassing more than 332,000 sq ft of new and renovated space.

The cornerstone of the project is a new eight-story, 225,000 sq ft patient care addition on the south side of the hospital’s campus. It will house an expanded Emergency Department, a 24-bed Critical Care unit, Labor, Delivery and Postpartum units, floors for medical and surgical patients, administrative staff and support operations.

Key features include all private rooms with a same-handed layout for improved privacy and patient safety, balconies on every floor allowing patients, family, and staff access to the outdoors, and extensive use of glass to promote the penetration of natural light into the building’s core.

Northwest Community is seeking LEED Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council when the project is done. The project is also registered as a Green Guide for Health Care project.

On the east side of the campus, a new welcoming center and parking structure will provide convenient access for patients and visitors.

3 Million Sq Ft Addition Opens at McCormick Place

The $882 million McCormick Place West expansion will add 3 million sq ft to the convention center on Chicago’s South Side.

An additional 470,000 sq ft of exhibit space were added to McCormick Place’s existing 2.2 million sq ft. West also adds 250,000 sq ft of meeting space, which includes 61 meeting rooms and a ballroom the size of a football field at 100,000 sq ft, making it one of the largest in the world.

One of the greatest challenges was relating this large center to the four distinct environments found on each side of the site. These includes the Stephenson Expressway to the south; MLK Drive and the existing McCormick Place South, McCormick Square and Hyatt hotel to the east; existing structures, vacant lots and the city skyline to the north; while the west side of the facility is bordered by the historic Motor Row district.

The service drives and entrances were placed to the south along the Stephenson Expressway. The east facade enhances the existing McCormick Square and serves as the main, formal entry to the convention center for tourists and exhibition users.

An enclosed walkway over Martin Luther King Boulevard connects the new building to the existing center and completes the boundaries of McCormick Square. The north facade, constructed predominantly of glass, announces the building to approaching public. Lit at night, the north facade is a welcoming gesture to attendees.

The west facade breaks down the scale of the building to better relate to the historic structures of Motor Row. Brick is used in addition to the architectural pre-cast concrete and glass to make the building more compatible with the historic buildings in the neighborhood.

The west facade also features an exclamation point of sorts. A 90-ft lantern, with glass on three sides, cantilevers out from the face of the building and creates a canopy over the west entrance. A transportation center is also conveniently located in the heart of the building, allowing for the loading/unloading of up to 16 buses simultaneously.

McCormick Place West boasts a rooftop garden, which offers views of the city. The green roof is part of the environmentally-sensitive plans for the building, which include high-efficiency heating and cooling systems, reduced water consumption and recycled building materials.

Leopardo Tabbed for Greenbuild Project

Hoffman Estates-based Leopardo Construction was selected as the general contractor for the U.S. Green Building Council’s 2007 Legacy Project.

In conjunction with its annual Greenbuild conference in Chicago, the USGBC will complete a legacy project to support a local nonprofit that is implementing green building practices and using the LEED green building rating system.

This year’s project is the renovation and expansion of the Chicago Center for Green Technology, a building with the Platinum LEED certification. The center helps professionals and property owners learn how green technology is cost-effective and good for people and the environment.

O’Hare Project Marks 355,000 Safe Workhours

The O’Hare Modernization Program has recognized one of its contractors, Kiewit Western, for performing 355,000 consecutive construction work hours without a reportable incident.

OMP requires extensive safety training of employees. It has trained nearly 2,900 workers, representing 127 companies and government agencies.

Garrett Kelleher Gets Honor

Shelbourne Development Executive Chairman Garrett Kelleher was recently recognized for fostering trade and investment links between the U.S. and Ireland at a luncheon in New York by 300 people.

Hosted by Business & Finance, an Irish business publication, the event was designed to celebrate the contributions of U.S. multinationals operating in Ireland and Irish corporations operating in the United States.