Southeast's Top Projects
Fourth Annual List Ranks $3.7 Billion in Projects

Power- and transportation-related projects collectively dominated this year's ranking of the Southeast's "Top Projects." Taking the top spot, though, was the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fla.

By Scott Judy

Southeast Construction presents its annual "Top Projects" report, a ranking by contract value of the top 30 Southeast construction projects that broke ground sometime during 2003.

This feature is a product of extensive research using sources that primarily included the Dodge division of McGraw-Hill Construction; all state transportation agencies; a survey of the top contractors in the four-state region; and back issues of Southeast Construction.

After putting together a preliminary list, we followed up with contractors, architects and owners for the latest information on their projects. Every effort was made to obtain accurate and complete project information, including verification with owners and general contractors.

In all, these 30 projects represent approximately $3.7 billion worth of construction.
On this year's list, power and transportation-related projects battled for list dominance. Power projects edged out transportation contracts, with a $697 million total compared to the $690 million reported for this year's collection of highway and airport projects.

Residential-related projects also were prominent, with a total of roughly $597.7 million reported. Of that amount, roughly $480.7 million was generated by multiresidential condo projects in Florida.

This year's No. 1 project is the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fla., which is being built by a joint venture team led by Skanska USA Building. As the facility takes shape, its neoclassical design should continue to set it apart from today's more modern structures.

Notably, five contractors had more than one project included on this year's list. They included:

• Skanska USA Building for its Duval County Courthouse project and its Northlake Mall assignment in Charlotte.
  
• San Antonio-based Zachry Construction Corp. with its two plant-expansion projects for FPL in Florida.
  
• Turner Construction with its 1180 Peachtree commercial office project in Atlanta, its Lexington Medical Center contract in South Carolina, its Bath Club project in Miami, and its South Miami Hospital expansion and renovation.
  
• Hensel Phelps Construction Co.'s Multi-Trade Contract for Miami International Airport and its prison project in Butner, N.C.
  
• Archer-Western Contractors for its $159 million Fifth Runway Bridge Structure at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as well as its $116.5 million contract for a segment of the Greensboro Urban Loop project in North Carolina.
  

By state, the greatest number of this year's top 30 came from Florida. The Sunshine State contributed 15 projects to this year's list, with a cumulative construction value of roughly $1.9 billion.

Georgia and North Carolina each contributed six projects to the ranking, with North Carolina's projects totaling $782.5 million to edge out Georgia's cumulative $763.8 million. South Carolina added three contracts totaling approximately $278.5 million.

Unfortunately, one of the projects, PCL's Reversible Lanes Bridge project in Tampa, ran into some bad news in April when a sinkhole swallowed one of the pier supports, causing two deck spans to collapse down upon the at-grade portion of the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway. Construction was halted for project review and inspection. For more information on that project, please see this issue's "Florida News" section.

To view the list of the Southeast's Top Projects: Click here >>