Duke Energy Awards $1.3B Contract to Shaw Group

The Shaw Group of Baton Rouge, La., announced it has been awarded a $1.3 billion engineering, procurement and construction contract by Duke Energy Carolinas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, as part of the utility’s Cliffside modernization project in Rutherford and Cleveland counties in North Carolina.

N.C., S.C. Activity Down Again in June

Compared to the same period of a year ago, the value of new contracts signed in June for future construction activity fell by 8% in North Carolina and by 29% in South Carolina, McGraw-Hill Construction reported.

In North Carolina, the value of new starts totaled nearly $2.1 billion for the month. Only the nonbuilding market was up for the month. This category totaled $347.3 million, an improvement of 57% over the same period of a year ago. Residential starts, at about $1.3 billion, were 18% behind last June, while the volume of nonresidential contracts dropped 5% to total about $417.4 million.

Through the first half of the year, North Carolina contract activity is 2% behind last year’s pace, with a total of nearly $13.2 billion in new starts so far. The nonresidential category, at $3.6 billion, is 19% ahead of ‘06, while the residential market is 10% behind last year with an $8.3 billion total. The nonbuilding sector is now on par with last year’s pace, with a roughly $1.26 billion total so far.

Meanwhile, South Carolina contract activity totaled approximately $917.7 million in June, or 29% lower than a year ago. The value of new residential contracts totaled about $618.5 million, 19% below last June’s figure. Activity in the nonresidential category was off by 54% compared to last year, and tallied just $155.1 million. The value of nonbuilding contracts fell by 25% to total about $144.1 million.

For the year-to-date, South Carolina construction is 19% behind the 2006 pace so far, with new contracts totaling $5.8 billion. The residential category, with its $3.7 billion tally, is about 22% behind the 2006 pace. Nonresidential, at about $1.4 billion, is 18% behind last year’s pace. The nonbuilding sector, at about $720.2 million, is 3% ahead.

Warren and Associates Design-Building $10M Baptist Church

Warren and Associates Design-Build of Greenville, S.C., is providing design-build services for an all-new $10 million Worship Center for First Baptist Church-Simpsonville in Greenville County.

The 43,000-sq-ft facility, with seating capacity of 1,500, will replace the church’s existing 700-seat sanctuary, which will be converted to a multipurpose facility. A two-story music wing will house choir, orchestra and handbell rehearsal rooms.

The new worship center is designed to complement existing building architecture on the church’s 75-year-old campus.

ARTBA Recognizes NCDOT for Media Relations, Education

The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s “Trucking in the Work Zone” campaign recently took first place in the PRIDE Awards competition held by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. The competition recognizes “excellence in community relations and public education.”

NCDOT took the first place-public sector award in the Public-Media Relations/Education category. The agency’s “Trucking in the Work Zone Campaign” involved partnering with the state trucking association to increase driver awareness of work-zone safety issues and educate them on navigating through these sites. The accompanying DVD was distributed to more than 2,000 truckers and statewide organizations.

Balfour Beatty Recognized for Safety

Balfour Beatty Infrastructure recently won six North Carolina Department of Labor Gold Awards in recognition of its health and safety efforts.

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