CNBC reports that low bidding on stimulus projects may stifle recovery and threaten jobs.

Contractors may be bidding themselves out of business for highway and infrastructure projects included in the U.S. economic stimulus plan, as they low-ball their proposals in hopes of winning much-needed work.

For now, bids have come in for as much as 30 percent less than what state agencies had projected and been welcomed as examples of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s success, as the federal government spends leftover funds on additional projects.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama said the low project costs, “means we can do more. We can create more jobs and launch more projects with every taxpayer dollar.”

That, in turn, could help realize Obama’s promise that the stimulus will create or save more than 3 million jobs, the bulk of them in a construction industry that has suffered tens of thousands of layoffs during a severe housing slump.

But the low bidding may have the opposite effect. Contractors could bid at such steep discounts that they are unable to cover the costs of completing projects.

Read the full story here.

Wring Group sets sail on unusual overnight possession contract.

One of Bristol city centre’s most recognisable landmarks is being pulled down after it was found to be dangerous. The wooden sail structure, standing opposite the Hippodrome on the Centre, is being dismantled after engineers found serious weaknesses in its structure.

Council contractors started removing the metal benches beneath the sail on Friday, and Wring Group worked through last night and this morning to dismantle the remaining structure.

Faults in the sail’s eight wooden masts were first found three years ago, and work was carried out to stop them decaying. More repairs were carried out in 2007 and last year to address splits in the timber and decay around the bolt recesses.

Read the full story here or watch the video below.

Lancaster-based Mitchells has announced plans to demolish its old brewery buildings.

The redundant buildings, in Brewery Lane, form part of the plans by developers Centros for the regeneration of the canal corridor site. The £150 million scheme is currently under consideration by the Secretary of State, with a decision likely to be made in January.

However, Mitchell’s this week gave the city council a Notice of Intended Demolition under Section 80 of the Building Act 1984 for the demolition of the buildings. The proposed demolition does not require consent under current planning law, and under the Building Act the council cannot refuse such a notice, although limited conditions can be applied.

The legislation does not permit demolition to begin until the council has agreed conditions (to ensure proper treatment and sealing of services, and safety measures for demolition), or a period of six weeks has elapsed without response.

More details here.

JCB donates $250,000 worth of equipment to Indonesian quake relief effort.

JCB, the world’s third largest manufacturer of construction equipment, is donating equipment worth $250,000 to help the disaster relief effort in the city of Padang following the devastating earthquake that struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra on 30 September 2009.

The donation of a 20-tonne JS200 heavy excavator and a 3CX backhoe loader was offered by JCB Chairman Sir Anthony Bamford in response to an appeal from the Indonesian authorities for foreign aid to help the relief effort.

The machines are being made available to Satkorlak, the disaster response unit of the Indonesian authorities by PT Altrak 1978, the JCB dealer in Indonesia. Three Altrak operators and a mechanic accompanied the machines from Jakarta to Padang to ensure rapid deployment with service and parts support. They will also provide any training that might be required by local operators so that the authorities leading the relief effort can secure the full benefit of the machines’ versatility.

Sir Anthony said: “Thousands of people in West Sumatra have been affected by this dreadful earthquake and there is a desperate need for heavy equipment to assist in the clear up operations and to help alleviate large-scale human suffering. The excavator and backhoe loader will be put to use straightaway in Padang and will hopefully help local people to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of this awful disaster.

“JCB machines proved invaluable in the aftermath of the Asian Tsunami and I do hope that this donation will make a difference in the same way.”

The contribution to the aid effort follows a series of other JCB machinery donations in recent years to other parts of the world hit by natural disasters, including the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province in China, when six backhoe loaders worth over $600,000 and a team of operators were sent from the company’s factory in Shanghai to help the clear-up effort in the region.

Demolition company hit by fine following fall from first floor.

UK trade magazine Construction News is reporting that Stoke-on-Trent based demolition firm G Baskerville has been fined £8,000 at Newcastle-under-Lyme Magistrates’ Court after an employee suffered life-threatening injuries falling from the first floor of a building under construction in October 2008.

The unnamed man was using a power saw at Barnfields Industrial Estate in Leek, Staffordshire, when he fell through the side of the building to the ground on 30 October last year.

An investigation showed the walls of the building had been removed and there was an inadequately positioned steel girder around the sides.

Click here for further details.

New video captures the demolition of 100-year old fuel tanks in Portland, Dorset.

These old naval oil tanks have dominated the entrance to Portland for 100 years. The last one was demolished May 2008.

To celebrate the demolition of the last of these tanks, 99 years-old Portlander George Davey – born the same year the first tanks were built for the Royal Navy – got behind the levers of the excavator charged with the demolition. The video captures superbly the ease with which the excavator slices through the skin of the tanks.

The area was previously a natural tidal flat land “The Mere” which was later filled in to become Europe’s largest Naval Helicopter base, which closed in 1999. The entire site is now “Osprey Quay” and includes the National Sailing Academy. This site is being cleared as it is the venue for the 2012 Olympic games sailing events.

DEMOLITION – Portland’s Last 100-year-old Fuel Oil Tank – Click here for this week’s top video clips

Work is underway on demolition of 114 year old Kuala Lumpur prison.

The contractor appointed by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has begun carrying out demolition works on some structures inside the 114-year-old Pudu Jail complex.

The partial demolition is to facilitate the future construction of an underpass at Jalan Pudu, part of which encroaches on the land at the historic jail site.

Read the full story here.

Australian casino owner will leave rock demolition to the professionals.

Tabcorp Holdings has dealt a blow to Sydneysiders itching to tear down the fibreglass rock in the main atrium of Pyrmont’s Star City casino.

The listed gambling concern has called off plans to give volunteers sledgehammers to knock down the fake multi-storey rock, much in the same way the Berlin Wall came down 20 years ago. ”It’s got so much electrical wiring and so much gear inside it that it would have been a danger for people to smash up,” a clearly disappointed Star City spokesman, Peter Grimshaw, explained to CBD.

”We’re just going to leave it to the professionals,” he said. ”Safety comes first, I’m afraid.”

Read the full story here.

Work on public square in Hull will require demolition of eyesore flats.

A boarded-up block of flats that has been a magnet for vandalism is to be demolished as work begins on a new public square in Hull.

The buildings on Perry Street have been described as an eyesore by residents who said it has blighted the community.

The demolition on Monday will make way for a public square on Anlaby Road that will link to a new pedestrian entrance to the city’s KC Stadium.

Read the full story here.

Alabama councilors complain that legal process takes too long to demolish blighted properties.

City council members in Mobile, Aalabama are frustrated with new rules that make it more difficult to destroy blighted houses. For years, the city has demolished or repaired structures that are considered uninhabitable and a threat to public safety. But officials put the program on hiatus last year after a federal court ruling called into question whether the city was following the correct legal guidelines.

The new process is lengthier, which has upset City Councilman Fred Richardson. In a statement that will be welcomed by local demolition companies, he said the city needs to be more aggressive in dealing with blighted properties. “It’s taking too long,” Richardson said. “I’ve had some that have been up there for more than three years.”

Read the full story here.