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Construction & Infrastructure

Hoerr Schaudt Delivers $25M Kansas Playscape, Wins Koch Backing

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Hoerr Schaudt Delivers $25M Kansas Playscape, Wins Koch Backing

Wichita, Kan. – September 29, 2026 -- Landscape architecture firm Hoerr Schaudt has completed a $25 million civic playscape at Exploration Place in Wichita, Kansas, featuring what is believed to be the first aviation-themed playground of its scale in the world and one of the largest educational water play environments in the United States.

Adventure Playscape spans 10 themed environments built into a renaturalized riverfront landscape

As master planner and design lead, Hoerr Schaudt organized the site as a continuous riverfront campus of paths, gardens and native plantings rather than a collection of standalone attractions. The project incorporates more than 40,000 plants emphasizing native Kansas species and grasses, 500 tons of Kansas limestone, and 250 new trees alongside preserved existing trees. City water consumption at Exploration Place is expected to decline through revised irrigation design and stormwater management.

Nonprofit's HVAC Classroom Push Hits 1.3M Students, Gets TV Feature

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Nonprofit's HVAC Classroom Push Hits 1.3M Students, Gets TV Feature

Los Angeles – September 29, 2026 -- Explore The Trades, a Minnesota-based nonprofit founded in 2005, has placed classroom poster kits reaching more than 1.3 million students since 2021 across over 3,400 U.S. school districts, roughly a quarter of the country, as part of a national push to rebuild the plumbing, HVAC, and electrical talent pipeline.

Public Television Feature Set to Film October 2 in Boca Raton

The organization will be profiled in an upcoming segment of "All Access hosted by Andy Garcia," a short-form documentary series distributed to Public Television stations nationwide. Filming is scheduled for October 2, 2026, at the program's Boca Raton, Florida studio, with the segment examining how the nonprofit works at the classroom level to reintroduce trades careers before students choose a path.

Boudreau Pipeline Marks 10th Charity Car Show, Backs Trades Education

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Boudreau Pipeline Marks 10th Charity Car Show, Backs Trades Education

Corona, Calif. – September 28, 2026 -- Boudreau Pipeline Corporation will host its 10th Annual Charity Car & Bike Show on Saturday, October 3, 2026, directing 100% of proceeds to two local nonprofits: the California Homebuilding Foundation's Building Industry Technology Academy (BITA) Program and Leaps & Bounds Pediatric Therapy in Norco.

Event proceeds fund construction workforce training for high school students

The BITA program delivers hands-on construction education to California high schoolers, offering OSHA 10 training, scholarships, and work-ready grants for tools and boots as students enter jobsites. Jill Herman, Executive Director of the California Homebuilding Foundation, said the underground utility contractor's decade-long event has created consistent opportunities for students pursuing homebuilding and skilled-trades careers.

Vortex Companies Acquires Cincinnati's MCSP to Expand Midwest Reach

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Vortex Companies Acquires Cincinnati's MCSP to Expand Midwest Reach

Houston – – September 28, 2026 -- Vortex Companies has acquired Municipal & Contractors Sealing Products, LLC (MCSP), a Cincinnati-based trenchless infrastructure rehabilitation contractor, expanding its geotechnical and Midwest operating footprint.

MCSP brings 25 years of specialized rehabilitation expertise to Vortex's platform

Founded in 2000 by Bob O'Connor, MCSP has spent more than two decades rehabilitating municipal storm water and sanitary sewer systems across multiple U.S. states. The company specializes in geopolymer and cementitious spray lining, protective coatings, chemical grout injection, and rehabilitation of pipelines, manholes, culverts and tunnels.

US Investors Eye NATO Eastern Flank Infrastructure, Demand Risk Clarity

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US Investors Eye NATO Eastern Flank Infrastructure, Demand Risk Clarity

New York – September 28, 2026 -- American investors identified NATO's Eastern Flank as one of the decade's major infrastructure investment opportunities, on condition that projects carry clearly allocated risk and rely on local partners capable of long-term construction and maintenance. The assessment emerged from a roundtable held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, hosted by Romanian infrastructure firm Concelex and Atlantic Council Romania, and addressed by Romania's President Nicușor Dan.

Ukraine's rapid infrastructure repairs reshape crisis-readiness standards

Participants examined how the war in Ukraine has redefined infrastructure requirements near NATO's eastern border. Restoring a railway bridge, transformer substation or hospital hinges on heavy equipment, compatible structural components and certified response teams already positioned on-site, since these capabilities cannot be mobilized within days once a crisis begins.

L.A. Concrete Retrofit Lag Persists as Colombia Quake Highlights Stakes

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L.A. Concrete Retrofit Lag Persists as Colombia Quake Highlights Stakes

Los Angeles – September 28, 2026 -- Fewer than 15% of Los Angeles properties covered by the city's mandatory non-ductile concrete retrofit program had submitted retrofit plans more than a decade after the ordinance took effect, according to research published in Earthquake Spectra in July 2026.

Colombia's $13.28 Billion Earthquake Loss Underscores Retrofit Stakes

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia in August 2026, damaging more than 225,000 structures and causing an estimated $13.28 billion in direct physical damage, according to a United Nations Development Programme assessment. The scale of destruction has renewed scrutiny of Los Angeles buildings that share similar structural vulnerabilities.

Arcadis Expands Autodesk Alliance to Scale AI-Driven Project Delivery

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Arcadis Expands Autodesk Alliance to Scale AI-Driven Project Delivery

Amsterdam – September 28, 2026 -- Arcadis (EURONEXT: ARCAD) has deepened its collaboration with Autodesk to embed artificial intelligence and connected data workflows across design, engineering and project delivery for clients in the built and natural environment sectors.

Automation Cuts Quality Review Time From Five Days to Half a Day

Existing AI and automation initiatives already running across Arcadis operations in North America and Europe have reduced quality reviews from five days to approximately half a day, the company said, demonstrating capacity gains and faster project turnaround.

Brookfield Rebuilds Six Altadena Homes in Six Months Post-Eaton Fire

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Brookfield Rebuilds Six Altadena Homes in Six Months Post-Eaton Fire

Los Angeles – September 25, 2026 -- Six families displaced by the January 2025 Eaton Fire moved into rebuilt homes in Altadena's La Viña neighborhood this September, just six months after Brookfield Residential broke ground on the project on March 12, 2026.

The pace stands in sharp contrast to the broader rebuilding effort in the fire zone. According to CBS News, only about 1% of Altadena homes have been rebuilt in the 18 months since the Eaton and Palisades fires destroyed more than 16,000 structures. The L.A. County Recovers dashboard reported 100 Altadena homes fully rebuilt and 2,981 building permits issued as of July 7, 2026.

Infrasense Maps Route 133 Pavement with 3D-GPR Survey

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Infrasense Maps Route 133 Pavement with 3D-GPR Survey

Lowell, Massachusetts – September 25, 2026 -- Infrasense, Inc. has completed a 3D Ground Penetrating Radar investigation covering approximately 1.37 miles of Route 133 pavement in historic Lowell, mapping dowel bars, tie bars and subsurface voids across the full corridor width.

Survey spans both travel directions, shoulders and center turning lane

The engineering team scanned the westbound and eastbound lanes, both shoulders and the center turning lane along the Route 133 corridor to evaluate pavement conditions and structural components.

20-channel sensor captures continuous five-foot-wide subsurface swaths

Data collection was performed with a Kontur DXG1820 sensor, which uses 20 independent channels to gather three-dimensional subsurface information across a continuous five-foot-wide swath, in contrast to traditional single-channel GPR systems.

Cardinal Infrastructure Boosts Credit Facility to $550 Million

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Cardinal Infrastructure Boosts Credit Facility to $550 Million

Raleigh, N.C. – September 24, 2026 -- Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc. (Nasdaq: CDNL) has expanded its total credit facility commitments to $550 million after its subsidiary, Cardinal Civil Contracting, LLC, signed a second amendment to its senior secured credit agreement.

New $250 million delayed draw term loan targets acquisitions

The amendment adds a delayed draw term loan facility of up to $250 million, which the company can access in as many as five separate advances over 18 months through March 2028. Cardinal intends to use the proceeds to finance permitted acquisitions and related fees and expenses. The facility remained undrawn at the completion of syndication.