TEXAS STATE EDITION
A Supplement to:
November 14 2015 Vol. I • No. 23
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Texas Connection • Dale Agnew, Carrollton, TX • 1-877-877-4997
Voters Approve Prop 7 for Road Construction, Maintenance By Will Weissert ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Voters statewide approved all seven proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution on Nov. 3, including Proposition 7 which will pump billions of extra public dollars into roads. Proposition 5 lets counties with fewer than 7,500 people privatize road construc-
tion and maintenance — up from the current maximum of 5,000 residents. About 70 counties qualify. And Proposition 7 means that when sales tax revenue exceeds $28 billion per fiscal year, the next $2.5 billion would go to road construction and maintenance starting in Sept. 2017. Then, beginning in September 2019, if tax revenue from vehicle sales and rentals
exceeds $5 billion per fiscal year, 35 percent of the amount exceeding $5 billion would go to road funding. The amendment allows the GOP-controlled Legislature to bolster transportation infrastructure strained by Texas’ booming population without raising taxes. “Prop 7 will provide an efficient way to dedicate a portion of our sales tax revenue to build the roads that our children and grand-
children will use,” said Rep. Joe Pickett, an El Paso Democrat who chairs the House Transportation Committee. “All we are doing is taking the success of the Texas economy and dedicating a portion of it to transportation.” (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Houston Museum of Fine Arts Undergoes $450M Expansion By Lori Lovely CEG CORRESPONDENT
Like a reworked piece of art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, one of the largest cultural institutions in the country, will present a dramatically altered appearance by the end of 2019, due to a campus transformation of its 14-acre campus that includes construction of two new buildings designed by Steven Holl Architects; a new conservation center designed by Lake|Flato Architects; and a landscape plan that unifies a century’s worth of architectural legacy. There are technically two separate projects, but the museum is treating them as one. Work includes the addition of a new art school, new exhibition building and new conservation center. The space above the parking garages also will be modified. “There will be three new During demolition, they will be exportbuildings and two new inter- ing about 115,000 cu. yds. (87,924 cu connected underground m) of dirt and importing sand and parking garages,” said gravel for backfill and drainage, using Willard Holmes, COO and track hoes, excavators, loaders, some project manager serving as small bulldozers and tandem dump the owner’s representative in trucks to haul materials.
Once building begins, they’ll bring in two tower cranes and a 110ton (99.79 t) hydraulic crane to set the precast concrete panels, various drilling rigs. There also will be additional equipment associated with the retention system the project will be using.
the museum. It’s the first major construction since two buildings were added to the Fayez S. Sarofim campus in 2000. An important aspect of the redevelopment is a unifying master plan to integrate the new structures with the diverse architectural elements already on campus, such as the glass and steel designs of
German-born Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, considered the father of Modern architecture, and the Neoclassical limestone designs of Spaniard Rafael Moneo, known for his postmodern influence, as well as the Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden designed by Isamu Noguchi, the renowned Modern sculptor.
“We want the buildings to be distinctive, not be stylistically homogeneous,” Holmes explained. “We want them to add to the campus, to use materials in unique ways and to reflect our standards.” Their choice of architects will introduce the translucent forms of Steven Holl Architects and the regional Modernism of Lake|Flato Architects. In addition to helping blend the existing architecture with the new buildings, the landscape will make a major contribution to Houston’s efforts to improve the pedestrian experience. Located in Houston’s Museum District in the heart of the city, the MFAH is enhancing its pedestrian-friendly urban campus with an array of public plazas, reflecting pools and gardens. “There will be a new public plaza north of the existing Noguchi sculpture garden,” Holmes said. “There will be water features, a small café and public space for the community.” Sidewalks, street lights and “way finding” also will be improved. The intent of the campus redesign is to expand MFAH’s see MUSEUM page 16