Florida Transportation Magazine

During the last fiscal year, Florida’s Top 20 contractors, according to Florida Department of Transportation contract figures for fiscal year 2007/2008, were awarded contracts totaling more than $1.3 billion.

        Florida’s Top 20 Contractors

(Based on FDOT Contracts for 2007/2008)

Community Asphalt Corp.	$325 m
Ranger Construction Industries	$168 m
Kiewit Southern Co.	$83 m
Lane Construction Corp.	$77 m
Anderson Columbia Co., Inc.	$76 m
C.W. Roberts Contracting Inc.	$73 m
APAC-Southeast, Inc.	$62 m
De Angelo Brothers, Inc. T/A AQU	$53 m
Posen Construction, Inc.	$52 m
Cone and Graham, Inc.	$50 m
Sema Construction, Inc.	$49 m
Ajax Paving Industries, Inc.	$46.5 m
Archer Western Contractors, Ltd.	$43 m
Prince Contracting Co., Inc.	$42.6 m
Hubbard Construction Company	$40 m
Southeast Underground Utilities	$31 m
Pepper Contracting Services, Inc.	$29.5 m
Misener Marine Construction, Inc.	$23 m
DeMoya Group, Inc.	$22 m
Weekley Asphalt Paving, Inc.	$21.9 m

While Florida struggles with the economic downturn which is reflected in state revenues, the FDOT work is still a mainstay for the construction industry, according to reports.

“It feels good ...

 

By Mary Brooks   

The Wekiva Parkway will complete the beltway around northwest metropolitan Orlando and help meet the area’s growing transportation needs. But what is truly extraordinary – and groundbreaking for Florida – is that the road is being planned to actually help the environment. The marching orders for the agencies developing the Wekiva Parkway, the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority and the Florida Department of Transportation, District 5, go much farther.

The 27-mile roadway through Lake, Orange and Seminole counties will weave through one of the state’s natural treasures, the Wekiva River Basin. The Wekiva River system has been designated an Outstanding Florida Water, a National Wild and Scenic River, and a Florida Aquatic Preserve. Dozens of wildlife species – some considered threatened or of special concern – inhabit the area including the black bear, coyote, burrowing owls, gopher tortoises and bobcat. The basin is also the source of Wekiwa Springs, Rock Springs and 25 other known springs.

By Cathy Palmer

 

When we think of farming in Florida, we usually think of citrus or cattle, but not at Port Canaveral. They think petroleum.

Cropping up all over Port Canaveral’s north 30 acres are massive storage tanks, phase 1 of a two-phase petroleum tank farm, according to Stan Payne, Port Canaveral’s chief executive officer.

But that’s not all that’s cropping up at the east coast port. There’s going to be four new cruise ships, two revamped marinas, a new restaurant, harbor deepening and widening, improvements to the piers and terminals, storm water and road system improvements—all part of a $213 million enhancement package that got underway recently.

The petroleum farm costs the bulk of the money, with a price tag of about $120 million. Payne says the project is a public/private endeavor between the port and the Netherlands-based oil-trading firm Vitol S.A. Inc. “This is the largest single investment in the port’s history,” he added.  

Phase 1 of the project involves constructing 24 huge tanks which will hold about 2.7 million barrels with phase 2 adding eight more tanks bringing the total capacity of the tank farm to 3.9 million barrels. The second phase project will include a secondary terminal that will both serve the shipping industry as well as boost oil and gasoline supplies in Central Florida with the construction of a 50-mile pipeline from the port to Orlando International Airport.

Payne said this project had its genesis in 2004 after the three hurricanes disrupted supplies from Tampa and Port Everglades. Vitol decided that Port Canaveral was deep enough to accommodate the appropriate tankers and it was located strategically to serve Florida’s fuel needs. Once the farm is finished, Vitol will operate and manage the system, Payne said.  Meanwhile, on the other side of the port, piers are being extended and cruise terminals enlarged to accommodate four new cruise ships including the Freedom of the Seas and the Carnival Dream, two of the industry’s largest and newest cruise liners.  The new cruise ships are expected to dock at Canaveral next May, followed by the Disney ships in 2010. Also in the mix is the addition of the Las Vegas Casino line, the port’s third gaming vessel, which should also take to the seas this year. To accommodate the larger ships, the harbor is being dredged and deepened and the basin widened so these marine behemoths can easily maneuver through the port.

“We are fortunate that the planning efforts of our staff and the sound decision making of our Port Authority board has resulted in this record boom of construction activity during a crucial time when our region and the nation over all is experiencing a slowdown,” Payne said. Moveover, the current construction has created nearly 2,000 construction related jobs, generating more than $200 million for the regional economy. But that’s not all; the improvements will result in 3,537 permanent jobs for the east coast community.

The four new cruise ships include two from the Disney Cruise Line and one each from Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise lines.

Cruise terminals are also getting a face lift with new porte cocheres to make loading and unloading bus passengers easier, more comfortable and more efficient. The terminals also will be fitted with new sound systems and back-up generators, Payne added. Getting to the port also will be easier when the road improvements are in place. Payne explained that construction is expected get underway next year to widen George King Boulevard on the south side of the port from two lanes to four lanes and the realignment of the access roads to the north cruise terminal area.

Also underway is a $40 million renovation program for the enhancement of the port’s cargo piers. These improvements will facilitate the loading and unloading of cargo vessels as well as their access and egress.

The master storm water project will help protect and preserve sensitive land on the port’s south side. This project is to construct a master storm water system for development parcels within the Port. The Cove Area Regional Storm Water Pond project has been designed to treat the storm water from the Cove/marina area in a retention pond and also will remove exotic vegetation in the pond area, including Brazilian pepper trees and cattails.

The pond fringe will be planted with wetland species as part of a mitigation plan.

The marina upgrades include creating a new marina district as well as upgrading existing marina facilities, which presently house more than 20 deep-water fishing charter vessels.

The construction related projects and new cruise ship deals are additional economic contributions made by the port to the local economy, port officials say. “We are mindful of the port’s role as an economic engine for Central Florida and that it becomes even more significant as our community faces the challenges in the space industry, “said Joe Matheny, chairman of the port authority.  “Our goal is to generate more job opportunities as we grow.”

                                        

A clean and historic break with the past is needed to encourage the future vitality of our country’s transportation network, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters, who recently unveiled the Bush Administration’s new plan to refocus, reform and renew the national approach to highway and transit systems in America. 

“Without a doubt, our federal approach to transportation is broken. And no amount of tweaking, adjusting or adding new layers on top will make things better,” Peters says. “It is time for a new, a different and a better approach.”  

 By Jackie VanderPol, President of the Fulcrum International         

Thanks to a multi-agency effort, Florida toll road users who have resisted purchasing a SunPass or E-Pass will now have access to an “almost, sorta, kinda free”* transponder that will work seamlessly throughout most of the state.    Upgrading the technology to make this possible was no small feat and is not without its price, but the ultimate savings for both agencies and users in time, money and environmental impact makes it worth the trouble.