Ford, Bacon & Davis, Southeastern Louisiana University partnership graduates 15

Recognizing the shortage of available personnel to fulfill the area's engineering needs, Ford, Bacon and Davis LLC has embarked on a plan to assist in alleviating this shortfall.

FB&D has formed a strategic training partnership, an outgrowth of its long-term relationship with Southeastern Louisiana University's Industrial Technology Department, and is sponsoring training classes in Computer Aided Drafting. The first class was conducted at FB&D's Baton Rouge office and graduated 15 students in October.

Manhattan Construction adds to L'Auberge

Manhattan Construction Co.'s Houston Division has begun construction on the expansion of the L'Auberge du Lac Casino & Resort in Lake Charles, La., which was originally completed in May 2005.

The addition to the 26-story, 750-room hotel includes a new tower that will add about 174,000 sq. ft., or about 250 rooms. Once the $45 million expansion is completed, it will add 500 new jobs to the Lake Charles area.

"Pinnacle Entertainment is a repeat client for Manhattan and we plan to keep a positive, ongoing relationship and provide them with a quality product," said Duane Duffy, Manhattan's Houston operations manager and the project director on the original build of the hotel and casino.

The project team includes project manager Michael Thompson, who was the project coordinator on the original hotel and casino; superintendent David Morton and field office manager Joye Frith, who both also worked on the original project.

Bergman Walls & Associates of Las Vegas, Nev., is the architect. The addition will be completed by December 2007.

I-10/Picardy Avenue Interchange ribbon-cutting ceremony

DOTD Secretary Johnny B. Bradberry hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Nov. 1 to mark the opening of the I-10/Picardy Avenue Interchange in Baton Rouge.

Accompanying Secretary Bradberry werer Baton Rouge Mayor Melvin "Kip" Holden, Rep. William Daniel; Danny Hester, James Construction Inc.; and Todd Denton, general manager for the Mall of Louisiana. 

The I-10/Picardy Avenue Interchange is designed to relieve some of the traffic congestion on Bluebonnet Boulevard and on I-10 between Bluebonnet and Siegen Lane.

DOTD announces results of October bid letting

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) considered bids totaling more than $50 million at its Oct. 25 public bid opening, according to Gov. Kathleen Blanco and DOTD Secretary Johnny B. Bradberry.

With a bid of $27,792,04.66, Gilchrist Construction Co. LLC, Alexandria, was the apparent low bidder on the state's most expensive job, a project in Allen and Rapides parishes calling for grading, drainage structures, lime treatment, subgrade layer, class II base course, superpave, Portland cement concrete pavement and related work on U.S. 165 from Oakdale to Glenmora.

Dewberry opens New Orleans office

Dewberry, a design firm, has announced the opening of its New Orleans office. In addition to supporting the firm's emergency management contracts, the office plans to provide full-service architecture, engineering, planning and program management to assist the region's rebuilding efforts.

"This office will strengthen our existing presence in the West South Central United States," said Larry Olinger, Dewberry's vice president of federal programs. "We look forward to staffing this office with the same kind of engineering and architecture talent our clients have come to expect from Dewberry."

"We are currently looking at public and private sector opportunities to rebuild the region," said Chris Davis, Dewberry's vice president of Gulf Coast Operations. "These efforts will be supported by the New Orleans office and our project offices in Baton Rouge and Biloxi, Miss."

With 1,840 people nationwide, Dewberry specializes in engineering, architectural, program management, planning, geographic information, and environmental services. The firm has 33 offices nationwide.

Duke of York opens Atkins, Faithful+Gould office in New Orleans

Atkins and its subsidiary, Faithful+Gould, have launched a new office in New Orleans. The Duke of York, special representative for international trade and investment, officially opened the office.

As one of the largest cost and project management consultants in the United States, Faithful+Gould will bring its expertise to Louisiana in order to assist the community with rebuilding efforts.

"We have been providing our services to Louisiana clients for a number of years, so it was a natural progression to open an official office in the area," said Paul Wood, CEO, Faithful+Gould. "This office will support our increased workload and improve our ability to respond to the needs of the community."

The new office, located in Metairie, La., is the latest addition to the U.S. locations jointly operated by Atkins and Faithful+Gould. They now have 24 major offices in the United States and currently work in Louisiana with both private and public sector clients, including assisting with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita relief efforts.

"Prince Andrew kindly offered his services to help us mark this important moment for the business," said Wood. "This new office will reflect our continued commitment to the region and the people of Louisiana, as we look forward to building our professional teams with residents of Louisiana."

Atkins and Faithful+Gould services include engineering and industry consulting, project design, planning, cost and construction management.

Faithful+Gould is a construction consultant and member of the Atkins group of companies. Headquartered in New York City, Faithful+Gould employs more than 500 professionals in 25 cities throughout the United States. For additional information please visit fgould.com.

Atkins plans, designs and enables the delivery of complex capital programs for clients in the public and private sectors across the globe. Atkins is one of the world's largest design firms.