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Photo courtesy of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) at the ribbon-cutting for Hershey Co.’s new Reese Chocolate Processing facility on April 16, 2025, in Dauphin County. The project benefited from broader permitting reforms, and Pennsylvania’s SPEED program now seeks to replicate similar efficiencies in DEP environmental reviews. Pennsylvania’s Dept. of Environmental Protection is expanding its Streamlining Permits for Economic Expansion and Development (SPEED) program while reporting a nearly 98% reduction in its permit backlog since 2023.  Officials say the dual effort is designed to accelerate project delivery across the state without weakening environmental oversight. The office of Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) announced Aug. 20 that SPEED now applies to multiple permit types beyond the Chapter 102 stormwater approvals covered at its June launch.  Permit categories now eligible for expedited review under Pennsylvania’s SPEED program include air quality, dam safety, and stormwater approvals. Source: Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection.  The list now includes air quality, dam safety, waterway and wetland encroachments, and both general and individual stormwater discharge permits. “The Shapiro administration is committed to moving at the speed of business and expanding opportunities for Pennsylvania, without sacrificing the environmental and public health protections that Pennsylvanians deserve,” DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley said in a statement announcing the expansion. Under the program, applicants can hire DEP-approved qualified professionals to review applications before they reach the agency. The agency makes the final decision, but officials say the process cuts months off the review process. A pilot run in 2024 reduced review times by 30 to 40 business days in many cases, compared with the previous average of 176 days for stormwater permits. The department reported in July that it reviewed nearly 20,000 permit applications in the first six months of this year, shrinking backlog from more than 2,400 applications to fewer than 50.  The agency has also added 225 staff since 2023 and rolled out digital tools, including a permit tracker launched in January 2025. Although no projects have yet been publicly identified as proceeding through SPEED, the administration has highlighted other efforts that illustrate its permitting push.  In Dauphin County, Hershey Co.’s new Reese Chocolate processing facility opened this summer after expedited approvals helped keep its schedule on track. In Luzerne County, a major technology development known as Project Hazelnut advanced under the governor’s separate Permit Fast Track initiative.  State officials say SPEED is meant to bring the same type of acceleration directly into the department’s environmental reviews. Pennsylvania’s reforms mirror a national trend.  In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation in June overhauling the state Environmental Quality Act, exempting entire categories of housing and infrastructure projects from lengthy review.  Pennsylvania has taken a different approach, maintaining department oversight but delegating initial reviews to vetted professionals. Both strategies aim to streamline approvals, although environmental groups in each state caution that speeding up reviews could erode protections and public transparency. Agency officials in Pennsylvania say they are evaluating results and expect to add more permit categories to SPEED in 2026. Shapiro administration leaders contend the program will improve predictability for developers and contractors while keeping environmental safeguards intact. ENR requested additional data from the department on average processing times under SPEED and examples of specific projects that are permitted but had not received a response before press time. Bryan Gottlieb is the online editor at Engineering News-Record (ENR). Gottlieb is a five-time Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism award winner with more than a decade of experience covering business, construction, and community issues. He has worked at Adweek, managed a community newsroom in Santa Monica, Calif., and reported on finance, law, and real estate for the San Diego Daily Transcript. He later served as editor-in-chief of the Detroit Metro Times and was managing editor at Roofing Contractor, where he helped shape national industry coverage. Gottlieb covers breaking news, large-scale infrastructure projects, new products and business email: gottliebb@enr.com | office: (248) 786-1591 Read More

Jeff Yoders/ENR A Trumbull-Brayman excavator barge with a jackhammer attachment performs demolition work on a lock chamber wall at the Montgomery Lock and Dam near Monaca, Pa. Demolition work is underway to remove an auxiliary lock chamber measuring 56 ft by 360 ft at the U.S Army Corps of Engineers’ Montgomery Lock and Dam, near Monaca, Pa., a $1.59-billion overall project expected to be completed in 2033. Joint-venture contractor Trumbull-Brayman will eventually replace one of the existing chambers on the 1920s-era lock and dam with a new 110-ft-by-600-ft new primary lock chamber, according to the Corps’ Pittsburgh District, which is the owner of much of the nation’s inland waterways infrastructure and took journalists and local officials on a tour of the megaproject Aug. 20. “These are the oldest and smallest [locks and dams] on the Ohio here,” said Chris Dening, project manager, for the Corps Pittsburgh District. “When I say smallest, that means everything downstream here is twice as big. They have a 1,200-ft capacity. This only has a 600-ft one, so it becomes kind of a natural bottleneck for industry when they’re coming up toward the Port of Pittsburgh … they’re coming up on 100 years old at this point. They’ve seen a lot of wear and tear. They were rehabbed in the 80s, and that was to extend their life another 25 years. So if you do the math on that, you know we’re in overtime.” Maintenance activities on the small locks can cause navigational bottlenecks on the Ohio and if the locks were closed to perform such work, according to the Waterways Council, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group representing users of the nation’s inland waterways. The economic impact of just a one-year closure at Montgomery Locks and Dam would cost the U.S. economy nearly $180 million, the council said. Jenna Cunningham, resident engineer for the Corps’ Pittsburgh District, said the project is still in single digits of completion as a percentage of the entire work and it will continue to be built in the wet until the engineering command is satisfied that a cofferdam can be built for the final phases of construction to be completed in the dry. Army Corps Resident Engineer Jenna Cunningham explains the construction plan at the $1.59-billion Montgomery Lock and Dam project in Monaca, Pa., as Army Corps Pittsburgh District Chief Col. Nicholas Melin looks on August 20. Photo by Jeff Yoders/ENR Much of the original auxiliary lock chamber wall was being demolished by excavator-mounted jackhammer attachments from Trumbull-Brayman barges on the day of the site tour. “We’re building a new main[-sized] chamber over the footprint of the auxiliary chamber,” said Col. Nicholas Melin, Corps Pittsburgh District commander.  “If you can imagine we’re going to be demoing the auxiliary chamber here and building a new 600-ft chamber right over that footprint.” Melin said only one barge at a time can go through Montgomery’s existing auxiliary chamber so shutting down the main chamber would essentially turn moving a nine-barge tow into a full day of breaking apart and reassembling the barges. Cunningham said the new middle wall will be right next to that and will need to be built in the dry once the project switches means and methods.   “We don’t want to destabilize our new middle wall,” Melin said. “We’re not excavating below that wall and destabilizing that. We’re tying in our cofferdam plan to some other in the wet models that allows us to pull all that material, all that water, out of there,” so the construction of the new middle wall can take place in the dry.  Reporters and officials were shown a detailed Autodesk Navisworks model from the Corps’ Engineering Research and Design Center in Vicksburg, Miss. The model for Montgomery was being used by Trumbull-Brayman not only for construction activities, but for quantity take-off and purchasing decisions for the project. Dening pointed out that even as Montgomery’s concrete batch plant was still under construction, steel was able to be purchased for the lock doors that will be installed in a later phase of the project and fabrication could begin on them.   “The Corps is actually switching to 100% Autodesk – that just was a recent mandate that came out,” Melin said. “All our major mega navigation projects we have design responsibility for, so that’s the Soo [Michigan] lock, that’s the Kentucky lock, that’s Montgomery, that’s lock 25 in LaGrange Ill., we have a lot of lessons learned and best practice sharing organically. We also have a major database of lessons learned that we’re tracking as well.” Corps officials said the process of switching entirely to Autodesk design products such as Revit, Civil 3D and AutoCAD began in 2018 and was largely completed by 2023. Another long-lead item is the concrete batch plant being built on a hillside above the remote lock and dam. Because the Corps uses largely proprietary concrete mixes for lock and dam projects, building the plant is essential to later phases of construction. Cunningham said after it’s completed this winter, conveyors will be built across the existing structure to deliver concrete right to site ready to place.  There are three lock and dam modernization projects in the Upper Ohio Navigation master plan, Montgomery, Dashields and Emsworth. ENR Associate Technology, Equipment and Products Editor Jeff Yoders has been writing about design and construction innovations for 20 years. He is a five-time Jesse H. Neal award winner and multiple ASBPE winner for his tech coverage. Jeff previously wrote about construction technology for Structural Engineer, CE News and Building Design + Construction. He also wrote about materials prices, construction procurement and estimation for MetalMiner.com. He lives in Chicago, the birthplace of the skyscraper, where the pace of innovation never leaves him without a story to chase. Read More

The new cell blocks will be mostly built off site As part of the Ministry of Justice’s small secure houseblocks (SSHB) alliance, Laing O’Rourke has been allocated the expansion of HMP Humber and HMP Ranby and has now started main works. Each project will deliver 120 new prison places and at HMP Ranby it will include the creation of a new workshop inside the existing prison, while at HMP Humber it will include a new kitchen area. HMP Humber is in Everthorpe on Humberside; HMP Ranby is near Retford in Nottinghamshire. Both are Category C men’s prisons. The Alliance is made up of Laing O’Rourke, Kier, and Wates, with the three companies sharing best practice. Last week Wates was awarded the £100m expansion of HMP Onley in Warwickshire. [See that report here.] Laing O’Rourke did not disclose the costs of the Humber and Ranby works, but on the basis of Wates’ £100m costs for adding 180 new places HMP Onley, it is assumed to be in the region of £130m for the 240 places that Laing O’Rourke is putting in.  Laing O’Rourke delivery director Martin Staehr said: “Moving into the main works is a big milestone for these projects and one we’re excited to reach. Each project will run for around 18 months and will rely heavily on modern methods of construction. We’ll use our experience in offsite manufacturing to provide greater certainty over the programme and quality of the product. “We look forward to continuing to work with Kier and Wates to share best practice and help deliver new prison places for the Ministry of Justice.” Fiona Parker, deputy director for the small secure houseblocks programme, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), said: “The expansion at HMP Humber and HMP Ranby marks a critical step forward in delivering modern, secure, and rehabilitative prison facilities as part of our wider commitment to increase prison capacity. The new houseblocks and supporting facilities will help ensure prisoners have the opportunity to develop skills that support their reintegration into society, ultimately helping to protect the public and reduce reoffending.” HMP Humber is scheduled to complete early 2027 and HMP Ranby is due to complete in spring of that year. Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk Read More

John Nicholson John Nicholson has been appointed head of delivery & programme management at The Crown Estate. He will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of all major construction projects across the UK for the Crown Estate’s urban development pipeline. His previous experience spans retail and office developments to sports stadiums across London and New York, including the delivery of the Sky TV Campus in London and the Aquatic Centre and Athletes Village for the Olympic Delivery Authority, where he spent eight years. He was awarded an OBE for services to the London 2012 Olympics in 2013. The Crown Estate’s urban portfolio includes 10 million sq ft in London’s West End, alongside a potential pipeline of up to 19 million square feet of workspace and up to 56,000 homes nationally. Kristy Lansdown, managing director for development at the Crown Estate, said: “John joins our urban business at an exciting time as we ramp up activity across our development pipeline. He brings a wealth of global experience in the construction industry, working on the delivery of technically complex and large-scale projects. For the Crown Estate he will also have a particular focus on ensuring our safety-first approach is embedded in everything we do, as we seek to continually raise the bar in Health, Safety & Wellbeing standards. We’re thrilled to have John on board as we look to deliver our ambitious development pipeline to better serve the country.” Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk Read More

Victor Idowu Victor Idowu joins Keepmoat’s South Midlands team to deliver growth plans across Peterborough, Milton Keynes and Stevenage. Idowu has been instructed to focus on implementing new strategies for the region, supporting the land acquisition strategy and driving growth. He joins the Keepmoat with experience gleaned from years working at Taylor Wimpey, Barratt and David Wilson Homes. Idowu said of his new job: “With my strong track record sourcing and securing new land opportunities, I look forward to bringing my expertise from my previous roles in land and planning. The team is expanding, marking an exciting time of growth and I am excited to lead the region to meet ambitious targets, creating high quality new homes with a sustainable edge.” Keepmoat divisional chair for West, East and South Midlands, Charlotte Goode, added: “Victor brings a wealth of experience and we’re excited to grow our delivery in this fantastic region.” Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk Read More

CGI of the redeveloped Heathrow Eastern Business Park Heathrow Airport has appointed McLaren Construction for the redevelopment of its Eastern Business Park to build and construct a 9,481 sq m warehouse scheme. The original buildings at the Eastern Business Park were built in around 1952 and were demolished earlier this year to make way for a more flexible and commercially attractive development. Heathrow is redeveloping the 1.6 hectare site as four warehouse buildings, each split into eight units. The 32 units range in size from 200 to 400 square metres GIA on ground level. The structure allows expansion of the mezzanine to form a complete first floor, providing flexibility for occupiers to expand or consolidate space over time. The design allows most elements except footings and drainage to be manufactured offsite. The largest elements are the continuous roof panels which are 16 metres, including edge trims, gutters and solar array. The steel frame will be preassembled in factory, stripped down for transport and erected on site. Flat roof sections will consist of cross-laminated timber panels brought to site completed and to size. The buildings are expected to generate more than 700kWh of electricity a year from solar photovoltaics that will be exported back into Heathrow. McLaren will work within the constraints of a live operational airport site. Existing services crossing the site include cables, foul and surface water drainage, fire main and potable water. Obstacle limitation services (OLS) height restrictions of nine metres at the west end rising to 13.5 metres at the east end of site will be observed to ensure the safety of aircraft operations. McLaren has developed a methodology to work within the OLS limits offering programme and cost savings and avoiding out of hours work during the 12- to 18-month construction period. McLaren’s subcontractor team includes: Structural steelwork: SCWS Whitewall: Colclad Roofing and cladding: Roofdec PV panels: Watt Energy Precast: FP McCann Curtain walling: Ridgeway McLaren Construction’s managing director for industrial and logistics, David Gavin, said: “Heathrow’s status as a major hub creates opportunities not only in cargo handling but also for the many support services and businesses needed to meet the airport’s essential operational needs. These new Grade A warehouses represent a major transformation from the site’s post-war buildings. Their sustainable design highlights how far industrial development has moved on, and they now form an integral part of the airport’s infrastructure.”  The project is due to complete in summer 2026. Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk Read More

The old Forth Yards site in Newcastle that is set to be developed [Photo: Hi-Track Aerial Photography] The government has approved funding for enabling works to being forward construction of new homes, public realm and commercial space at Forth Yards on the site of old rail sidings in Newcastle. A new funding package worth £121.8m will fund vital remediation, groundworks and infrastructure activity, fixing complex land issues that have long acted as a barrier to investment at the site, which despite its prime location near Newcastle Central station and the city centre, has lain derelict for decades. Government has approved the business case for the package, developed by Homes England, working in partnership with the North East Mayor and Combined Authority, Newcastle City Council and Network Rail. The funding is expected to pave the way for a new development platform and subsequent appointment of a private sector developer for the Quayside West, with the procurement process due to start in the coming months, while public sector agencies will continue to progress the wider Forth Yards site. Quayside West, a parcel of land with capacity for around 1,100 homes alone, was brought into public ownership in 2024 after being acquired by Homes England. It iss one of the largest parcels of land at the centre of Forth Yards, which is set to become a new, sustainable mixed-use neighbourhood next to the city’s central station and Quayside, giving the city a new western gateway. Future Forth Yards [Photo: Newcastle City Council] Newcastle City Council leader Karen Kilgour, said: “Forth Yards is arguably Newcastle’s most exciting development site that in time will provide thousands of new homes and create hundreds of jobs. The funding will act as catalyst for development, allowing us to bring forward infrastructure improvements that will open up the site to attract much-needed private sector investment. “In about 15 years it will have created a whole new part of the city to the west and provided a new community for our residents while adding significantly to our economy.” The vision [Photo: Newcastle City Council] Network Rail property director Robin Dobson said: “As Network Rail Property bring forward planning submission for the first phase of Forth Yards with up to 600 homes this year, we welcome this financial commitment to unlock the wider Forth Yards estate delivering a further 2,500 homes.  “Forth Goods Yard has been landlocked for decades and the combined efforts of Network Rail Property, Homes England and the Newcastle City Council we will enable the transformation of this strategically important site for generations to come.” The National Federation of Builders (NFB) sees it as a significant development.  Rico Wojtulewicz, head of policy and market insight at the NFB, said: “The partnership between the North East Mayor, Newcastle City Council, Network Rail and Homes England will serve as a fantastic test case for how complex and expensive sites can be unlocked, particularly under the strategic place partnerships (SPPs) policy. It is an exciting change in placemaking and highlights the importance of regional development strategies.” Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk Read More

Indian Air Force bid farewell to the legacy Russian-made fighter jet MiG-21 on Monday, 25 August 2025, as the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, visited the last squadron operating the aircraft in the nation, according to a social media post on X.  The defence force announced that the Chief of the Air Staff flew the aircraft in a formation led by Sqn Ldr Priya, symbolising both tradition and transformation in the forces. The aircraft is set to retire after six decades of service in the Indian Air Force on 26 September 2025. “Honouring the enduring legacy of MiG-21, the Chief of the Air Staff visited No. 23 Sqn ‘Panthers’, the last squadron operating the legendary fighter. The CAS flew a fighter sortie, and also in a formation led by Sqn Ldr Priya, symbolising both tradition and transformation. On 26 Sep 2025, the MiG-21 retires after six decades of glorious service in the IAF,” said the Indian Air Force in a post on the social media platform X.  Chief of the Air Staff’s MiG-21 flight According to a video shared by the news agency ANI, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, on Monday, along with the pilots of the No. 23 Squadron ‘Panthers’, decided to take a few rounds in the aircraft before they are taken out of service in September 2025. Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said that the workhorse fighter jet, which was inducted in 1964, is a ‘remarkable aircraft’; however, it demands ‘rigorous training’ to operate in the field. “The MIG-21 has been the workhorse of the Indian Air Force. It was inducted in 1964 and has continued in service ever since. My first flight in a MiG-21 was in 1985. It was a simple yet remarkable aircraft to fly, though it demanded rigorous training,” said Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, cited the news agency.  Retired Sqn Ldr Varlin Panwar, in response to the agency’s post, said that senior Air Force officers fly in a trainer along with senior pilots due to not being in active flying. However, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh on Monday decided to fly in a single-seater MiG-21 Bison.  “I am sure people must have noticed that, due to not being in active flying, most of the senior officers fly in a trainer along with a relatively senior pilot who is current on the aircraft and undertaking active flying duties. Whereas ACM AP Singh chooses to fly in a single-seater MiG-21 Bison here. Not only does it take immense knowledge, but also courage, especially when the aircraft is so close to its retirement,” retired Sqn Ldr Varlin Panwar said in response to the social media post of the news agency.  Read More

Four days after the tragic death of Nikki Bhati, the Greater Noida dowry victim, a throwback video of her driving a Mercedes has surfaced online. Nikki Bhati was allegedly set ablaze by her husband and in-laws in Greater Noida over dowry demands. She succumbed to her injuries while being taken to a hospital in Delhi. In the now viral video, shared by Nikki’s sister Kanchan, the 28-year-old can be smiling and driving the Mercedes, while also filming a video from the driving seat. Watch the throwback video here: Previously, disturbing videos of the assault, recorded by Kanchan, showed Vipin Bhati dragging Nikki by her hair and later walking down the stairs in flames before collapsing. Vipin ‘used to object’ to reels: Neighbours Neighbours have claimed that the Bhati family was also locked in disputes over Nikki and her sister Kanchan’s social media activity. Residents of Sirsa village alleged that both sisters, married into the same family, ran a beauty parlour from their home and were active on Instagram, posting makeover reels that their husbands Vipin and Rohit Bhati objected to. “They both used to make reels related to the makeover and share it on social media. But both Rohit and Vipin did not like it and used to object,” a neighbour said. Rishab, another local resident, recounted a March 11 quarrel between the sisters and their husbands over this issue. “After that both the sisters went to their home. But after the decision of the panchayat both the sisters came back to their in-laws’ house on March 18,he said. “In the panchayat, it was decided that both the sisters would not make reels in future. It remained for some days, but again they began making reels and that was responsible for the tension in between them,” another neighbour added. Locals also claimed Vipin assisted his father in running a grocery shop, while Rohit pursued business interests, and that the family owned agricultural land. What happened? Nikki was allegedly beaten and set on fire by her husband and in-laws on Thursday night. The police said Nikki faced years of torture and escalating dowry demands since her 2016 marriage. Her family alleged that they had given a Scorpio SUV, motorcycle, and gold jewellery to her in-laws, but demands later grew to ₹36 lakh in cash and a luxury car. In a major breakthrough, all four accused named in the FIR have been arrested. Vipin Bhati was arrested on Saturday. He was shot in the leg during an alleged escape attempt on Sunday and later in the day his mother, Daya, was nabbed near GIMS Hospital. Vipin’s father Satveer Bhati and brother Rohit were arrested on Monday. Read More

(Bloomberg) — Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the co-founder of Mexico’s deadly Sinaloa Cartel, pleaded guilty to drug-trafficking charges in a case brought by US authorities in New York and Chicago.  Zambada entered his plea Monday in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, to one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and one count of racketeering conspiracy. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison and agreed to forfeit $15 billion as the proceeds of his crimes. Zambada founded the violent drug organization with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who was tried and convicted in the same courthouse in 2019. “During my more than 50 years in this activity, I created a large criminal enterprise that I directed and led which became known as the Sinaloa Cartel,” Zambada said during a description of his crimes before US District Court Judge Brian Cogan that took more than five minutes Monday.  The guilty plea comes a year after Zambada was extradited to the US from Mexico to face drug-trafficking, firearms and money laundering charges, which could have carried the death penalty. Earlier this month, US prosecutors said they would not seek capital punishment for Zambada. Zambada and Guzman led a violent network that kidnapped and murdered people in both the US and Mexico and imported vast quantities of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamines and cocaine into the US. Zambada is accused of helping lead the group from 1989 until 2024. Bribed Police, Politicians Zambada, 75, said the cartel paid bribes to further its success, “to policemen, military members and politicians.” “The organization I led promoted corruption in my own country,” he said. “The payments of these bribes goes back to the beginning when I was a young man starting out and continued throughout the years of the cartel. I recognize the great harm that illegal drugs have done to the people of the United States and in Mexico. Prosecutor Francisco Navarro said in a letter to the court that Zambada, who eluded capture for decades, was arrested at a local airport in New Mexico and later transferred to El Paso to face charges there. News reports said at the time he was lured to the US from Mexico by El Chapo’s son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who is also facing US charges. President Claudia Sheinbaum said the US did not properly inform Mexican authorities before Zambada’s arrest. Her government has blamed the move for leading to ongoing violence in the state of Sinaloa, as factions of the cartel wage bloody battles against one another. Sheinbaum was asked today at a press conference if she had any concerns about what Zambada might say about Mexico as part of his court case, and she said that she wasn’t worried, and that anything he said would have to be verified. Another son of El Chapo, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, separately pleaded guilty in July to US charges including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and conspiring to distribute drugs. He agreed to cooperate with US authorities and testify for the government in “any criminal, civil or administrative proceeding.” During his plea, Guzman Lopez admitted he and his three brothers — known as “the Chapitos” — assumed leadership of the cartel after their father’s arrest. –With assistance from Maya Averbuch. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Read More