2Q Cost Report: Hard Bids, Low Costs
In less than a year the construction market has gone from owners fishing for bids to a bidding frenzy.

NASA Fuels for Liftoff
NASA is beginning demolition and construction of launch pads for a new rocket system to return to the moon, but organizational weaknesses threaten the agency’s ability to achieve its goal.

Digging In To Deliver Clean Water
Contractors now are moving quickly to build New York City’s water filtration plant 100 ft below grade. When finished, its roof will be covered and used as part of a golf course.

Staging Machinations
The curtain is going up soon on both an experimental and classical theater in Dallas, thanks to a building team that jumped through hoops to construct the high-rise theater's frame-on-stilts.

Everybody’s in Business
Distributed energy resources, linked and communicating over the smart grid, are transforming the entire country into a virtual powerplant.

Panama Widens Horizons
Massive amounts of earth now are being moved in preparation for building a third set of locks to expand the Panama Canal and double its capacity.

Learning to Live Off Last Year’s Bounty
Contractors believe the current widespread industry recession will last through 2010 and are relying on backlog and good management to see them through a lean year.

Inside a Safety Turnaround
The new worker-safety program at the gigantic CityCenter project in Las Vegas has stopped fatalities but not lost-time accidents. ENR takes a close-up view of the program.

Digging into 3D Modeling Unearths Many Worms
A look at projects being designed and built using multiple buildinginformation- modeling systems shows it can be a bumpy road for all members of the building team.

Long Road to Reality
After years of delays, the new Bandra-Worli Sea Link will cut a trip across Mahim Bay in Mumbai, India, from about 40 minutues to six. The 4.7-km viaduct with two cable-stayed spans is slated to open to traffic in mid-May.

Firms Have One Question: How Long Will the Recession Last?
For large design fi rms, 2008 was the last hurrah before the recession hit. Now that bad times are here, designers are living off backlog, learning to manage and discovering how to become lean and mean.

Dollars Roll Out At Uneven Pace
Construction spending is rising, particularly for transportation work, but the money flow is uneven as agencies still struggle with planning and provisions.

As the Economy Worsens, Machinery Auctions are Swamped
Prices plummeted at one of the largest industry auctions held earlier this year. Despite the mass exodus of equipment, the results were better than many people expected.

Academic Ignites Engineering Talent to Drive Levels of Needed Change
Bernard Armadei, professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado-Boulder, has served the industry and the world with the creation of Engineers Without Borders-USA. It engages students, engineers and companies on meaningful projects.

Tight-Fisted Banks Stall Development
Few building construction companies have seen a market like this one, where weak banks hesitate to lend to anything involving real estate. Patrick Cebelak, controller of Granger Construction Co., Lansing, Mich., is resigned to the fact that "this isn't going to be a fast recovery." Most of the experts on real estate finance would agree.

Engineers Focus On Big Delta Threats
Deltas house great ports and centers of industry, but they perch on fragile land, buffeted by the rivers that made them and threatened by the seas. They will take the brunt of sea-level rise and climate change, which is fueling concern.

Best of the Best - 2008
Judges selected the most outstanding design and construction projects of 2008 from McGraw-Hill Construction’s regional publications. Learn who won and what the judges said.

Modeling Pathfinders Impatient To Have A Much Fuller Digital Toolbox
Software developers know product capabilities, but user needs influence where technology goes.

Unwrapping the Big Package
Industry officials are scouring the voluminous stimulus bill, looking not only for how much money it has for individual programs but also for critical details on exactly how and when the funds will be disbursed.

San Francisco-Oakland Crossing Starts To Take Shape
Preparatory and temporary construction is in full swing for the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge’s signature element, a self-anchored suspension bridge.

America May Gain from Materials Designed To Stretch Your Stimulus Dollars
As infrastructure begins drawing attention on Capitol Hill, venture capitalists are looking for firms with innovative products and materials to bring to market.

For Contractors and Their Advisers, A Sinking Feeling Is Good in Busan
Tunnels and bridges form $1.8- billion, 8.2-kilometer-long project that some believe paves the way for future links between Korea and its neighbors.

Proposal in House Fires Up Debate
The Jan. 20 inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation’s 44th president coincides with an $825-billion stimulus proposal now before Congress that includes billions in construction investment and business tax relief. How quickly it is enacted and in what final form is a key industry focus.

Stupendous Setting Is Crummy Site
Vancouver convention center offers great views but is being built on a difficult harborside site that complicated design and construction.

The Top 25 Newsmakers of 2008
In recognition of those who serve the best interests of the construction industry, ENR editors have chosen 25 individuals for their innovations and achievements featured in ENR and ENR.com in 2008.

2008: Images of the Year in Construction
More than 800 photographs flowed into ENR's seventh annual "Images of the Year in Construction" photo contest, and our judges studied them all to select the top shots for this winners' gallery issue.