Construction Notes from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania

Matthew Phair -- Constructioneer, 1/2/2008 5:27:00 AM

Sling Possible Cause of Accident Adjacent Ground Zero
New York, N.Y. – An undetected weakness may have caused a crane's nylon sling to rupture abruptly and drop seven tons of steel onto a construction trailer across from ground zero. The accident December 14 hurt an architect working in the trailer and builder Tishman Construction Corp. was cited for four violations. The contractor leasing the crane was also cited with unsafe hoisting operations, and the city Buildings Department issued a stop-work order for crane operations at the site.The project is a new corporate headquarters for investment banking giant Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The crane's sling snapped and dropped its load of 25- to 30-foot-long galvanized steel studs while lifting them to the building's 13th floor. The studs were being used to support shaft walls at the building's core. The sling was carrying a 14,000-pound load and is designed to carry 19,000 pounds, the Buildings Department said. Architect Robert Woo was hospitalized in stable condition after the accident.

The $2 billion Goldman Sachs tower is rising just across the street from the signature Freedom Tower being built to replace the World Trade Center. The investment bank's building was considered a crucial anchor for the redevelopment of downtown Manhattan after the 2001 terrorist attacks. The planned tower is expected to house 9,000 of the company's employees when it opens in 2009.

NJDOT announces $200 million For Port Jersey Deepening
Trenton, N.J. – Construction began December 6 on the 50 foot Port Jersey Channel deepening project in Bayonne and Jersey City. NJDOT, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the US Army Corps of Engineers contributed to the $200 million project. The Port Jersey deepening project will increase the channel’s maximum depth from 41 feet to 50 feet, providing an access point for the largest ships using the bi-state harbor. In addition, the project will improve safety by realigning the channel. The deepening project will require the removal of over 3.6 million cubic yards of sand, silt and glacial till sediments, all of which will be beneficially used. Almost a million cubic yards will be used to create fish habitat in a defunct navigation channel on the south side of the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor.

Another 750,000 cubic yards of silt will be blended with Portland cement and used to cap landfills and brownfields in New Jersey and New York. Approximately 500,000 cubic yards of clean sand will be used to fill low lying areas on the Peninsula at Bayonne, preparing them for development. The remaining clean sediments will be used to cap the former ocean disposal site off of Sandy Hook. The Port Jersey Channel provides access to Global Marine Terminals, the Northeast Auto Marine Terminal, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Cape Liberty Cruise Terminal. The deepening of the Port Jersey Channel is considered a keystone in the overall federal Harbor Deepening Project.

NJDOT’s $100 million share is provided by the Dredging and Harbor Revitalization Bond Act of 1996. Port commerce, particularly container traffic, has increased in New York Harbor an average of seven percent every year for the last 10 years, which creates a need for additional space for container ship berthing and container processing in the region. The project is scheduled for completion in fall 2009.

Unions, minorities fight over jobs as Philly expands center
Philadelphia, Pa. – A city councilman said December 14 that a provision in a bill that would have allowed nonunion work at the Pennsylvania Convention Center has been dropped, as unions and minorities fight over jobs at the $700 million expansion project. Councilman Wilson Goode, Jr. said the council instead will require that trade unions set up a long-term diversity plan to be approved by City Council before they can sign agreements to work on the convention center. He expects the plans to be submitted for approval over the next few weeks. City Council had been frustrated at the lack of diversity in the city's trade unions.

All sides agree the city must authorize the convention center expansion by year's end or risk losing meetings booked for 2011. The bill earlier had set goals of 40 percent minority and 10 percent female hiring in terms of total work hours, and 35 percent minority-owned and 15 percent women-owned in terms of the contracts awarded. The mostly white unions told council last week that they do not have any hard data on their racial makeup, and would welcome more minorities into their fold. Others question whether there are enough minority firms available to meet the goals.

Leaders of the powerful electricians' union argued Thursday that underemployed minorities would fare better in the long run if they went through their training and apprenticeship programs which can last up to four years rather than work in nonunion shops.