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BUSINESS NEWS T.Y. LIN INTERNATIONAL WINS PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CONTRACT FOR 4TH BRIDGE OVER THE PANAMA CANAL T.Y. Lin International announced that TYLI was awarded the Program Management Contract for the 4th Bridge over the Panama Canal. Continuing the firm’s legacy in the Republic of Panama for the delivery of state-of-the-art transportation projects, the 4th Bridge over the Panama Canal marks TYLI’s third major bridge project involving crossings over the world-renowned canal. Over the last three decades, starting in 1994, TYLI has been assisting the Republic of Panama Ministry of Public Works with the widening and retrofitting of the iconic Bridge of the Americas, which opened in 1962, and facilitating ongoing bridge repair and maintenance. The firm was also responsible for the feasibility study, preliminary design, and final design of the Centennial Bridge, also known as the Panama Canal Second Crossing, which opened to traffic in 2004. TYLI will provide specialized technical assistance for the 4th Bridge over the Panama Canal project during the design, construction, and commissioning phases, ensuring the implementation of the objectives of the MOP. The bridge, which is surely destined to become yet another historic landmark for the country, will be built on the north side of the existing Bridge of the Americas, connecting west Panama with Panama City. Rising up

from the landscape of the country’s urban center, the new crossing will benefit the more than 500,000 residents living in the suburbs of Panama City on the west side of the canal. The 4th Bridge over the Panama Canal will incorporate the latest in bridge design and construction technologies, and feature two dramatic towers with multiple cable planes in a highly aesthetic configuration. The signature structure, with approximately 1,120 meters of cable-stayed main bridge and 1,500 meters of approaches, will include a 540-meter-long by 54-meter-wide main span across the Panama Canal. The multi-modal bridge will carry six lanes of vehicular traffic, two-way rail lanes to be linked with the future Metro Line 3, and a pedestrian and bicycle path. TYLI’s extensive history with Panama’s Metro Rail systems will also be a significant advantage, as this project will require close coordination with the rest of the country’s public transportation system. FLUOR WINS BEST PRACTICES AWARD FOR MODULARIZATION INNOVATION Fluor Corporation announced that the Construction Owners Association of Alberta named Fluor the 2016 Best Practices Award winner for the company’s modularization innovation for the Shell Quest carbon capture and storage project. Fluor was recognized for innovation at the COAA 2016 Best Practices Conference’s

awards presentation last night in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Quest project marked the full implementation of Fluor’s innovative, first-of- a-kind modularization technology, 3rd Gen Modular ExecutionSM. 3rd Gen increases the portion of a facility that can be modularized by consolidating equipment and components into the modules, allowing for decentralized electrical and instrumentation distribution. The process also significantly reduces plot plan footprints. The result is improved construction and safety performance and reduced onsite labor, material quantities and capital costs. 3rd Gen helped reduce the plot plan by 20 percent and capital costs by 30 percent from initial estimates on the Quest project. “The results achieved on Quest showcase the capital efficiency and delivery predictability that 3rd Gen brings to projects,” said Jim Brittain, president of Fluor’s Energy & Chemicals business in the Americas. “Use of 3rd Gen is not just a technology improvement, but a project execution improvement because it encourages collaboration between the procurement, construction and operations teams from day one, thereby creating more efficient designs and execution strategies. COAA’s recognition that 3rd Gen is an industry best practice to improve construction performance further confirms the value it brings to project execution.”

WILLIAM QUATMAN, from page 11

The appellate court concluded that the owner had a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect its business invitees from all harmful third party conduct reasonably anticipated due to either the place or character of the business, or the landowner’s past experience. Evidence showed that the owner had four painted, concrete post bollards to protect some pipes on the southeastern corner of the same property. This gave rise to an inference that the owner recognized the risk of cars jumping the curb and, therefore, “had actual or constructive knowledge of a foreseeable risk of harm to business invitees walking on the sidewalk.” As to the defense of compliance with building codes and zoning ordinances, the appellate court said, “Compliance with a law or administrative regulation relieves the actor of negligence per se, but it does not establish as a matter of law that due care was exercised.” The court added that compliance with a legislative enactment or an administrative regulation does not prevent a finding of negligence where a reasonable person would take additional precautions. Even though this case did not involve a design firm, designers need to be aware that the law may hold them to design for potential areas of greater concern for safety above what is required by the building code, when a reasonable professional would have taken greater precautions. G. WILLIAM QUATMAN, Esq., is general counsel and senior vice president at Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. He can be reached at bquatman@burnsmcd.com.

tall concrete wheel stop and struck her while she was on the sidewalk, pinning her to the building. The trial court ruled in favor of the property owner and the pedestrian appealed. The owner argued that his duty is coextensive with the building and zoning codes, and he discharged that duty because the wheel stops complied with the applicable zoning ordinance governing commercial off-street parking. The trial court agreed, stating: “A possessor of land is not the insurer of the safety of his patrons and must only take reasonable measures to control the conduct of third persons.” “Courts have stated that compliance with building codes or industry standards is not an absolute defense to a claim of negligence.” Importantly, no Pennsylvania court had held that a business owner was negligent for failing to install vertical bollards in addition to horizontal wheel stops. The trial court said it was “not inclined to do so here.” The trial court agreed that the owner had complied with all applicable codes and said that, “to impose a duty upon property owners above and beyond these standards would defeat the purpose of having such standards in the first place.” The injured pedestrian appealed.

THE ZWEIG LETTER June 27, 2016, ISSUE 1158

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