Among the best: The Main Library at Goodwood is on Elle Decor’s list of “The 50 Best Libraries in the United States.” The magazine gives a nod to the library, ranked No. 18 on the list, for being both hi-tech and green. “The award-winning library opened in 2014 with large stained glass windows, a rooftop terrace and garden, a plaza with water features, a recycled paper waterfall spanning three floors and a sloped roof that catches and feeds rainwater to surrounding plants,” the magazine says. The Ben May Main Library in Mobile, Alabama, is ranked No. 1. See the full ranking, which includes a gallery with photos of each library.
Getting wider: The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has selected Stanley Consultants, an engineering firm with offices in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, to design and widen a 3.5-mile stretch of Interstate 12 in St. Tammany Parish. A portion of the highway from U.S. 190 to La. 21 will be widened from two lanes to three in both directions. Auxiliary lanes also will be added in each direction along the roadway, connecting the La. 21, Pinnacle Parkway and U.S. 190 exits. The firm also is being asked to provide design services to widen the 1,500-foot-long Tchefuncte River Bridge, as well as the La. 21 overpass. Design is underway and scheduled to be completed in March 2018. Construction will begin once the design is completed. DOTD also is seeking a design-build firm for the widening of Interstate 10 in East Baton Rouge and Ascension parishes.
In production: Construction of Incitec Pivot’s $1 billion ammonia production plant in Jefferson Parish is complete. To commemorate the plant’s completion, the Australian company’s officials joined Gov. John Bel Edwards today in dedicating a plaque to the facility. The plant includes the combined construction of Dyno Nobel’s $850 million ammonia plant with Cornerstone Chemical’s $175 million investment in upgrades and infrastructure. Incitec Pivot says the plant has an annual ammonia capacity of 800,000 metric tons. Construction began in 2013, and ammonia production is already taking place there. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in another 477 new indirect jobs, for a total of more than 540 new jobs. Read the full announcement.
