Ground Breaks on High-Tech Lab

Senators Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) were among the dignitaries who recently officiated at a ground-breaking ceremony for a $15.5 million laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base.

K. L. House, Inc. of Albuquerque was awarded this contract by the Albuquerque District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is supervising the contractor's design and construction activities. The building is scheduled for completion in April 2004.

The 52,000-sq.-ft. facility will support the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate in its advanced optical research, laser propagation and space object imaging.

This new facility, called the Telescope and Atmosphere Compensation Laboratory, will feature an aluminizing recoating capability for large mirrors. One such mirror is the 3.5-meter primary mirror on the directorate's largest telescope at Kirtland's Starfire Optical Range. This recoating capability could also be used on the large mirrors at local astronomical observatories.

Power Plant Lead Named

Trans-Elect's New Transmission Development (NTD) Company recently announced that Houston-based Steag Power has stated its interest in building a generation facility that will produce up to 1,500-megawatts of electricity in the Four Corners area. The company will also move its power over the Navajo Transmission Project (NTP) being jointly developed by Trans-Elect's NTD and the Navajo Nation's Dinè Power Authority (DPA).

Steag will take the lead in developing the generation project and will seek additional partners.

Wilson Wins ABQ Work

Wilson & Company's Transportation Division has been awarded design contracts for a major portion of Tingley Drive, which will connect many of the cultural centers of Albuquerque, including the Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, and the Hispanic Cultural Center. The roadway design will take into account the city's vision for a people mover light rail system that would intersect the corridor.

Wilson & Company was also awarded the final design services for the controversial Paseo del Norte four-lane roadway, which will go through the eastern boundary of the Petroglyph National Monument on the city's west side. The approximately 0.64 mile corridor will provide much-needed infrastructure for the Westside transportation system.