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CH2M Hill Lockwood Greene, a $100 million biochemical plant in east Tennessee is on the edge of transition from a petroleum company to one based on renewable feedstock's. The plant will produce a polymer made from corn rather than petroleum feedstock.

A research group claims that saltwater can be desalinated with about half the energy required by existing technologies. A 60,000-gallon per day pilot facility has demonstrated the energy reductions in two test runs and the group is forecasting similar results in a third test ending next month and a Florida desalination project, now in construction will become the first commercial application of the technology.

A new team to build the planned 51 mile Coalfield Expressway in the state's southwest corner was found by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) after design build partner, Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) were pulled out for delays. According to the agreement, KBR still has the first right of refusal for any construction work needed outside of the coal firms' purview.

The state of Mississippi hopes to transform the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina into an opportunity to improve the Gulf Coast area. New transportation projects are key to the rebuilding plan, and ensuring pedestrian-friendly development will increase appeal for developers and future residents and tourists.

The Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority is suing San Francisco-based URS Corp. for at least $120 million for breach of contract and professional negligence over delays and costs caused by shifting piers on the $350-million elevated Lee Roy Selmon Expressway project. The Florida Dept. of Transportation concluded that URS did not order test shafts drilled deep enough for the foundations of the 7.5-mile road.

Federal Emergency Management Agency is rearranging Katrina housing contractor workloads amidst criticism that the housing program is far behind. Contractors are planning and executing installation of thousands of temporary housing units and supporting infrastructure for Hurricane Katrina affected population and the contractors are facing many obstacles in doing so.

The Entergy Corp.'s Gulf Coast transmission system was severely damaged by Hurricane Rita and this has left industry observers wondering as to how the New Orleans based utility will rebuild the system. Industry observers believe that Entergy was already facing problems since all its systems are outdated poorly designed and far too constrained and was not upgraded to handle increasing energy demands.

The Baton Rouge seeks help from federal funds to cope with sudden growth. The federal aid will benefit in environmental infrastructure, transit, aviation, housing and downtown development infrastructure with much of traffic being diverted from New Orleans to Baton Rouge.

The Army Corps of Engineers issued $2billion to $4billion in contracts to eliminate huge piles of debris left behind by Katrina for the removal of at least 77 million cu yd of material from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The contracts were awarded to four companies where each company is currently contracted for up to $500 million with the possibility of renewing for an additional $500 million.

Repair crews were working round the clock to restore water and sewer services after hurricane Rita caused devastation in New Orleans as some sections in the city have water, but in many places it is not potable and far fewer neighborhoods have sewerage. The officials stated that the system is in shambles with multiple new breaks in main and lateral lines and main wastewater treatment plant is under 6ft of water and return to service is several weeks away.

Repair efforts for Mississippi and Louisiana infrastructure, hit hard by hurricanes, are gaining momentum, particularly for completely destroyed US 90. Bridges along Mississippi's US 90 are impassable and huge efforts are under way to repair and reconstruct the worst hit bridges from the Gulf Coast.

Construction expenditures could double from a low of $1.3 billion in 2005 to $2.7 billion in 2006 and further will climb to $3.1 billion in 2007, as the natural gas pipeline business is expected to poise a boom with construction expenditures doubling, according to industry analysts. This will create a surge in liquefied-natural gas market and will help in bridging the gap created by growing demand of gas.

The Miami-Dade County's aviation division plan to take over construction oversight of Miami Airport's north terminal from American Airlines. The airline has agreed to pay $105 million over a period of 10 years as compensation for claims and delays on the project.

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)'s Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute (COPRI) stated that the seawalls slowed the speed and force of the tsunami waves that destroyed the shores of Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. Studies indicated that the seawalls made enough deflection that diverted the horizontal force of the wave vertically.

Houston will become a major player in clean burning fuel production with the opening of three new eco-friendly 'biodiesels' plants in the next two years. Biodiesel is a low-emission, renewable, fuel made from plant oils or trap grease, and is produced by adding one part methanol to 10 parts of oil.