The Transalpine Pipeline (TAL) is a crude oil pipeline , which connects Italy , Austria and Germany .
104-525: The feasibility study of the pipeline was carried out by Bechtel in 1963. The pipeline was commissioned in 1967. This time, the construction cost around US$ 192 million. In 1972, the pipeline was the target of a Palestine terrorist attack . In May 2023 the Czech company MERO ČR announced a $ 73 million expansion to the Transalpine Pipeline that would double capacity to 8 million tons of oil to
208-853: A Political Action Committee. Outside of North America, the Infrastructure unit's headquarters is located at the company's London office. The Mining & Metals unit is based out of Santiago, Chile, and Brisbane. In 2013, the company established its global center of engineering excellence in Dubai focusing on rail and marine projects. It established innovation centers in Houston and London in 2015 and Santiago in 2018 to test new technology. Bechtel works on global megaprojects through its four business units. The company frequently manages work from design through construction phases. Its corporate values include safety, quality, and ethics. Bechtel
312-623: A fauna resembling its position in the dry deserts with temperature extremes. The western continental coast of the U.S., just as the East Coast, varies from a colder-to-warmer climate from north to south. Few species live throughout the entire West Coast, however, there are some, including the bald eagle that inhabits both the Alaskan Aleutian Islands and the California Channel Islands . In most of
416-578: A motorist. Litigation ensued, and in January 2008, Bechtel settled with federal and state officials for $ 352 million with other contractors involved paying smaller amounts. As a result of the Gulf War , Bechtel accepted the task of extinguishing oil well fires in Kuwait in 1991. This fire-suppression project was part of the effort to rebuild the infrastructure of Kuwait. In 1994, Bechtel began work on
520-414: A myth of the west which has shaped much of American popular culture since the late 19th century. Writers as diverse as Bret Harte and Zane Grey celebrated or derided cowboy culture, while artists such as Frederic Remington created western art as a method of recording the expansion into the west. The American cinema , in particular, created the genre of the western movie , which, in many cases, use
624-884: A national issue, agencies of the federal government own and manage vast areas of land. (The most important among these are the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management within the Interior Department , and the U.S. Forest Service within the Agriculture Department .) National parks are reserved for recreational activities such as fishing , camping , hiking , and boating , but other government lands also allow commercial activities like ranching , logging , and mining . In recent years, some local residents who earn their livelihoods on federal land have come into conflict with
728-948: A new dynamic leaching pad and a mineral handling system. In 2015, the unit completed the Las Bambas copper concentrator in Peru for MMG , the Kitimat aluminum smelter in Canada for Rio Tinto Group ., and the Escondida Organic Growth Project 1 (OGP1), the largest single-line copper concentrator ever built. M&M also completed a third berth for the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) at Hay Point Coal Terminal in Queensland, Australia, which increased export capacity from
832-558: A pipeline from the Yukon to Alaska called Canol for the United States Department of War during this period. Under Stephen Bechtel Sr., the company diversified its projects and expanded its work into other countries. The company also focused on turnkey projects, a concept Stephen Bechtel Sr. pioneered, in which Bechtel handled a project from planning and design through construction. Bechtel's first job outside
936-463: A possible shift in the popular understanding of the West as a region in the early 1990s, historian Walter Nugent conducted a survey of three groups of professionals with ties to the region: a large group of Western historians (187 respondents), and two smaller groups, 25 journalists and publishers and 39 Western authors. A majority of the historian respondents placed the eastern boundary of the West east of
1040-1098: A power transmission project in Canada , which included 1,200 new transmission towers and 85 miles (137 km) of transmission lines in 2013. Bechtel completed Phase I of an extension of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail in Northern Virginia and completed the Hamad International Airport in Doha , Qatar, in 2014. Bechtel also completed the world's largest solar thermal project, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California , which began producing power in February 2014. In 2015, Bechtel began work as project manager of
1144-578: A sharp decline in citrus production in Arizona. Many varieties of chile peppers are grown in the valleys of New Mexico . Starting in 1902, Congress passed a series of acts authorizing the establishment of the United States Bureau of Reclamation to oversee water development projects in seventeen western states. During the first half of the 20th century, dams and irrigation projects provided water for rapid agricultural growth throughout
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#17327662508941248-464: A total 2020 population of 78,588,572. The West is one of the most sparsely settled areas in the United States with 49.5 inhabitants per square mile (19.1 inhabitants/km ). Only Texas with 78.0 inhabitants/sq mi (30.1 inhabitants/km ), Washington with 86.0 inhabitants/sq mi (33.2 inhabitants/km ), and California with 213.4 inhabitants/sq mi (82.4 inhabitants/km ) exceed
1352-754: A volcano in Washington , is also over 14,000 feet (4,300 m). Mount St. Helens , a volcano in the Cascades , erupted explosively in 1980 . A major volcanic eruption at Mount Mazama around 4860 BC formed Crater Lake . These mountain ranges see heavy precipitation, capturing most of the moisture that remains after the Coast Ranges, and creating a rain shadow to the east forming vast stretches of arid land. These dry areas encompass much of Nevada , Utah , and Arizona . The Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert along with other deserts are found here. Beyond
1456-716: Is an American engineering , procurement , construction , and project management company founded in San Francisco , California in 1898, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia . As of 2022 , the Engineering News-Record ranked Bechtel as the second largest construction company in the United States , following Turner Construction . Bechtel's business activities began in 1898, when cattle farmer Warren A. Bechtel moved from Peabody, Kansas , to
1560-576: Is headquartered in Reston, which also houses the company's global operational headquarters, as well as the headquarters of the Nuclear, Security & Environmental global business unit and the Americas offices of the Infrastructure global business unit. The company's Oil, Gas & Chemicals unit is based in the Houston office. The Washington office is home to the government affairs team, and maintains
1664-489: Is in the Western states. Public lands account for 25 to 75 percent of the total land area in these states. The climate of the West is semi-arid , yet parts of the region get high amounts of rain or snow. Other parts are true desert which receive less than 5 inches (130 mm) of rain per year. The climate is increasingly unstable, and subject to periods of severe drought. The seasonal temperatures vary greatly throughout
1768-661: Is intended to serve an estimated 200 million people a year upon completion. As of June 2015, the project is 65% complete. In 2016, Bechtel began construction on the first phase of the Edmonton Valley Line Light Rail Transit project in Alberta , Canada, the first public–private partnership (P3) business group. The company is also involved in several ongoing projects as of 2016, including building national infrastructure in Gabon and supporting
1872-553: Is leading a consortium in the engineering, procurement and construction of lines One and Two of the Riyadh, Saudi Arabia metro, which began construction in April 2014. In July 2014, Bechtel was selected to build a new 37-mile motorway linking Kosovo's capital, Pristina , to Macedonia . Bechtel is also participating in the building of London's Crossrail , a $ 24 billion project that will connect commuter towns east and west of London and
1976-689: Is predicted to experience drought-like conditions for much of the 21st century. Violent thunderstorms occur east of the Rockies . Tornadoes occur every spring on the southern plains, with the most common and most destructive centered on Tornado Alley , which covers eastern portions of the West, ( Texas to North Dakota ), and all states in between and to the east. Agriculture varies depending on rainfall, irrigation, soil, elevation, and temperature extremes. The arid regions generally support only livestock grazing, chiefly beef cattle. The wheat belt extends from Texas through The Dakotas , producing most of
2080-734: Is the largest region of the country, covering nearly half the land area of the contiguous United States . It is also the most geographically diverse, incorporating geographic regions such as the temperate rainforests of the Northwest , the highest mountain ranges, including the Rocky Mountains , the Sierra Nevada , and the Cascade Range , numerous glaciers , and the western edge of the Great Plains . It also contains
2184-816: The American West , the Western States , the Far West , the Western territories , and the West ) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau . As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward , the meaning of the term the West changed. Before around 1800, the crest of the Appalachian Mountains was seen as the western frontier . The frontier moved westward and eventually
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#17327662508942288-519: The Cenozoic era. Salt flats and salt lakes reveal a time when the great inland seas covered much of what is now the West. The Pacific states are the most geologically active areas in the United States. Earthquakes cause damage every few to several years in California . While the Pacific states are the most volcanically active areas, extinct volcanoes and lava flows are found throughout most of
2392-545: The Department of Energy 's Inspector General reports and Government Accountability Office studies regarding rising costs, nuclear safety and quality, and whistleblower allegations. For example, in 2013 the DOE Inspector General concluded that "Bechtel determined that there was a systemic problem and a breakdown in controls over the review of design changes", but that the company had taken steps to correct
2496-590: The East . During the latter half of the 20th century, several transcontinental interstate highways crossed the West bringing more trade and tourists from the East. Oil boom towns in Texas and Oklahoma rivaled the old mining camps for their rawness and wealth. The Dust Bowl forced children of the original homesteaders even further west. The movies became America's chief entertainment source featuring western fiction , later
2600-693: The Grand Canyon . The Colorado River is a major source of water in the Southwest and many dams, such as the Hoover Dam , form reservoirs along it. So much water is drawn for drinking water throughout the West and irrigation in California that in most years, water from the Colorado River no longer reaches the Gulf of California . The Columbia River , the largest river in volume flowing into
2704-544: The Gulf of Mexico . The Mississippi River forms the easternmost possible boundary for the West today. The Missouri River , a tributary of the Mississippi , flows from its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains eastward across the Great Plains , a vast grassy plateau, before sloping gradually down to the forests and hence to the Mississippi . The Colorado River snakes through the Mountain states , at one point forming
2808-610: The Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford site in Washington state . The project is a highly complex plant for the treatment of radioactive liquid waste that has employed new technologies and construction techniques that are the first of their kind. As of 2013, it is considered the most complex project in the US. Management of the project has been the subject of controversy including
2912-677: The Houston Galleria area; in 2022 the company announced it would move those offices to Westchase, Houston effective late 2023. The Infrastructure unit handles transportation , power, and hydroelectric facilities. Transportation projects include highways , bridges , rail , and aviation facilities. Bechtel has built more than 17,200 miles (27,700 km) of roadway, 390 power plants, 50 hydroelectric plants, as well as 20 towns and cities globally. It has worked on 300 subway and rail projects, 80 port and harbor projects, and 96 major airport projects. Bechtel's Infrastructure unit
3016-703: The Las Vegas Valley and Los Angeles . Plains make up much of the eastern portion of the West, underlain with sedimentary rock from the Upper Paleozoic , Mesozoic , and Cenozoic eras. The Rocky Mountains expose igneous and metamorphic rock both from the Precambrian and from the Phanerozoic eon. The Inter-mountain States and Pacific Northwest have huge expanses of volcanic rock from
3120-413: The Mississippi , Ohio , Missouri , Illinois , Tennessee , Cumberland , Arkansas , and White Rivers and their tributaries, and certain other rivers that flow towards the Gulf of Mexico ." The Ohio River portion of the system includes parts of several Atlantic coastal states, from Georgia to New York. Most of the public land held by the U.S. National Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management
3224-529: The Mormon Trail , made its fortunes on outfitting settlers; St. Louis built itself upon the vast fur trade in the West before its settlement. The 1850s were marked by political battles over the expansion of slavery into the western territories, issues leading to the Civil War . Between 1863 and 1869, North America's first transcontinental railroad was constructed to connect the eastern US with
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3328-593: The Mountain States include Denver , Colorado Springs , Phoenix , Tucson , Albuquerque , Las Vegas , Reno , Salt Lake City , Boise , El Paso , and Billings . Along the Pacific Ocean coast lie the Coast Ranges , which, while not approaching the scale of the Rocky Mountains , are formidable nevertheless. They collect a large part of the airborne moisture moving in from the ocean. East of
3432-882: The Northern Mariana Islands ) are sometimes considered part of the Western United States. American Samoa is in Polynesia in the South Pacific Ocean , while Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are in the Mariana Islands in the western North Pacific Ocean . Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands have district courts within the 9th Circuit , which includes western states such as California and Nevada. (See District Court of Guam and District Court for
3536-647: The Oklahoma Territory to construct railroads with his team of mules . Bechtel moved his family frequently between construction sites around the western United States for the next several years, eventually moving to Oakland, California , in 1904, where he worked as the superintendent on the Western Pacific Railroad . In 1906, W. A. Bechtel won his first subcontract to build part of the Oroville-to-Oakland section of
3640-522: The Oklahoma panhandle are typically considered to be the Southwest states. Meanwhile, the states of Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington can be considered part of the Northwest or Pacific Northwest . The term West Coast is commonly used to refer to just California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, whereas Hawaii is more geographically isolated from the continental U.S. and does not necessarily fit in any of these subregions . The three inhabited Pacific U.S. territories ( American Samoa , Guam and
3744-443: The Pacific Ocean from North America , and its tributary, the Snake River , water the Pacific Northwest. The Platte runs through Nebraska and was known for being a mile (2 km) wide but only a half-inch (1 cm) deep. The Rio Grande forms the border between Texas and Mexico before turning due north and splitting New Mexico in half. According to the United States Coast Guard , "The Western Rivers System consists of
3848-473: The Pacific coast . The resulting railroad connection revolutionized the settlement and economy of the American West by making the transportation of passengers and freight quicker, safer, and cheaper. The history of the American West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries has acquired a cultural mythos in the literature and cinema of the United States. The image of the cowboy , the homesteader , and westward expansion took real events and transmuted them into
3952-412: The Philippines , and a semiconductor plant in China. Bechtel also managed design and construction of facilities for Olympic games: the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics , and the Winter Games in Nagano, Japan in 1998. In the early 2000s, the company provided planning and management services for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City . In 2001, Bechtel was part of a consortium to project manage
4056-399: The Southeastern U.S. Among completed projects, Bechtel finished a 10.8 miles (17.4 km) four-lane motorway in Kosovo a year ahead of schedule in November 2013. The unit completed the 143 MW Catalina Solar photovoltaic generating facility and the construction of the 250 MW California Valley Solar Ranch in 2013. Bechtel also completed the Hanna Region Transmission Development,
4160-410: The Sydney Metro project. Considered Australia's largest public infrastructure project, the work includes new twin rail tunnels under Sydney Harbour . Bechtel won the contract in August 2017 to design and build a 473-kilometer highway with 19 interchanges linking Nairobi, Kenya's capital, to Mombasa, Kenya's main port. The first section is targeted to open in October 2019 and the entire length of
4264-414: The U.S. government to construct the Hoover Dam . Six Companies won the bid in March and construction began in the summer of 1931. Warren Bechtel died unexpectedly in 1933 while in Moscow on business. He was succeeded by his oldest son, Warren A. Bechtel Jr., first, then later Stephen Bechtel Sr. , who became both the head of Bechtel and chief executive of the Hoover Dam project. Under his leadership,
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4368-446: The Virginia opossum , which occurs throughout California and coastal areas in Oregon and Washington. The North American beaver and mountain beaver live in forested areas of Washington, Oregon and Northern California. The kit fox lives throughout Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, while the gray fox occurs throughout the Western U.S. The Western United States has been populated by Native Americans since at least 11,000 years ago, when
4472-413: The 1940s, particularly in the Middle East . In 1949, Bechtel began working with nuclear power after being contracted to build the Experimental Breeder Reactor I in Idaho . The company later built the United States' first privately financed commercial nuclear power plant, the Dresden Generating Station , for Commonwealth Edison in Illinois in 1957. Other major projects in the 1950s included
4576-403: The 1970s, including major airports in Saudi Arabia and the metro rail in Washington, D.C. In 1976, the company began work on the industrial city of Jubail in Saudi Arabia. The company's multiple construction contracts helped to transform the area from a small village to a city with a population of over a quarter of a million people. In the 1980s, Bechtel handled the project management of
4680-412: The 1980s turned the company's focus toward new areas of growth including environmental cleanup and alternative energy projects. In 1989 Riley P. Bechtel was named president of the company. In 1991, Bechtel, in a joint venture with Parsons Brinckerhoff , broke ground on Boston's Central Artery/Tunnel Project or " Big Dig ", a project the company had been in charge of since 1986. The Big Dig was, at
4784-399: The 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics . The company also built the Ankara-Gerede Motorway in Turkey as part of the network of roadways linking Europe and Asia in 1986. In 1987, Bechtel was awarded a contract for project management services of an undersea tunnel linking the UK and France called the Channel Tunnel or "Chunnel". The tunnel was completed in 1994. The recession of
4888-405: The Census definition out on the eastern edge of the Great Plains or on the Mississippi River . The survey respondents as a whole showed just how little agreement there was on the boundaries of the West. The region is split into two smaller units or divisions, by the U.S. Census Bureau: Other classifications distinguish between Southwest and Northwest . Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas , and
4992-433: The Coast Ranges lie several cultivated fertile valleys , notably the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys of California and the Willamette Valley of Oregon . Beyond the valleys lie the Sierra Nevada in the south and the Cascade Range in the north. Mount Whitney , at 14,505 feet (4,421 m) the tallest peak in the contiguous 48 states, is in the Sierra Nevada . The Cascades are also volcanic. Mount Rainier ,
5096-589: The Czech Republic, requiring 20 additional pumps and the upgrade of other equipment to pump the oil to 1,500m above sea level, over the alps, with completion scheduled for the end of 2024. The object being to make Czechia independent of Russian oil. The pipeline starts from the marine terminal in Trieste . From Trieste, the pipeline runs 465 kilometres (289 mi) through the Alps to Ingolstadt . From Ingolstadt one 21-kilometre-long (13 mi) pipeline runs to Neustadt an der Donau and another 266-kilometre-long (165 mi) pipeline runs to Karlsruhe . In Vohburg ,
5200-518: The Hoover Dam was finished in 1935. The project was the largest of its kind in U.S. history at the time and Bechtel's first megaproject . During World War II , the United States Maritime Commission invited the company to bid for a contract to build half of their order of 60 cargo ships. The company had no prior experience in shipbuilding , but bid for the entire 60 ships. Between 1941 and 1945, Bechtel's wartime shipyards, including Marinship and Calship , built 560 vessels. Bechtel also worked on
5304-427: The Northern Mariana Islands ). American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands are also considered part of the western U.S. by the U.S. National Park Service , the Federal Reserve Bank system, FEMA , and the USGS . The population distribution by race in the Western United States (2022): As defined by the United States Census Bureau , the Western region of the United States includes 13 states, with
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#17327662508945408-516: The Pacific Coast where it increases again. In fact, the greatest annual rainfall in the United States falls in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest . Drought is much more common in the West than the rest of the United States. The driest place recorded in the U.S. is Death Valley , California. In Western states, drought is closely associated with fire risk, and there have been a number of notable wildfires causing extensive property damage and wildlife habitat destruction . The Western United States
5512-402: The Rockies , 54 of which are over 14,000 feet (4,300 m), are found in central and western Colorado . East of the Rocky Mountains is the Great Plains, the western portions (for example, the eastern half of Colorado) of which are generally considered to be part of the western United States. The West has several long rivers that empty into the Pacific Ocean , while the eastern rivers run into
5616-505: The Romanian National Roads Authority jointly agreed on a settlement to end the contract for works on the Autostrada Transilvania in 2013. The Albanian Motorway was opened to traffic in 2010 on schedule. Other major projects at the end of the 2000s included the twinning of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington state, Jamnagar Refinery expansion in India , Equatorial GuineaLNG , and Oak Creek Power Plant in Wisconsin . After years of unreliable water supply and 40% water loss in
5720-420: The Toronto-York Spadina subway extension for the Toronto Transit Commission . The project was completed in 2017. Bechtel completed construction of the Stonewall Energy Facility in May 2017. The 778 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant supplies electricity to 778,000 homes in northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C., metro area. Bechtel's work on the Carroll County Energy Facility in Ohio for Advanced Power
5824-415: The Trans Mountain Pipeline in 1952, an oil pipeline in Canada , and a preliminary study for the English Channel in 1959. Bechtel also began engineering work on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in 1959. Stephen D. Bechtel Jr. took over for his father as president of the company as Stephen Bechtel Sr. retired in 1960. During the 1960s and 1970s, Bechtel was involved in constructing 40% of
5928-481: The Transalpine Pipeline is connected with the Ingolstadt-Kralupy-Litvínov pipeline , which supplies oil refineries in the Czech Republic. It could be used to reverse the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline to supply Slovakia. In Würmlach, Austria , the Adria-Wien Pipeline (AWP) branches off from the Transalpine Pipeline. It supplies the OMV refinery in Schwechat . Through the proposed Bratislava - Schwechat Pipeline it may supply also Slovakia. In addition to
6032-413: The U.S. was building the Mene Grande pipeline in Venezuela in 1940. In 1947, Bechtel began construction on what was then the world's longest oil pipeline, the Trans-Arabian Pipeline , which began in Saudi Arabia , ran across Jordan and Syria , and ended in Lebanon , followed by the Kirkuk–Baniyas pipeline from Kirkuk, also to the Mediterranean. The company continued to expand globally throughout
6136-411: The US$ 20 billion Hong Kong Airport Core Programme , which was the largest civil engineering project at the time and included a new airport and nine other infrastructure projects. Bechtel's other major projects during the 1990s included the Athens Metro system, the Atlantic LNG in Trinidad , the Croatian Motorway , the Jubilee Line Extension for the London Underground , Quezon Power Plant in
6240-435: The US$ 4.3 billion construction of the CSPC Nanhai Petrochemicals Complex in China . Several projects in the 2000s attracted controversy. In 2000, after a protest against water prices being raised by a utility partially owned by Bechtel in Bolivia , the company pulled out of the country and later filed suit against Bolivia for $ 25 million in losses. The claim was settled in 2006 for $ 0.30. In 2001, Bechtel began work on
6344-429: The West and California , whites and blacks together are less than half the population because of the preference for the region by Hispanics and Asians . African and European Americans, however, continue to wield a stronger political influence because of the lower rates of citizenship and voting among Asians and Hispanics . According to 2022 estimates from the Census Bureau, the largest ancestries reported in
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#17327662508946448-440: The West and brought prosperity for several states, where agriculture had previously only been subsistence level. Following World War II , the West's cities experienced an economic and population boom. The population growth, mostly in the Southwest states of New Mexico , Utah , Colorado , Arizona , and Nevada , has strained water and power resources, with water diverted from agricultural uses to major population centers, such as
6552-517: The West are Mexican (24.2%), German (10.1%), English (9.5%), Irish (7.2%), Italian (3.5%), Filipino (3.4%), and Chinese (3.3%). The West also contains much of the Native American population in the U.S., particularly in the large reservations in the Mountain and Desert States . As of 2022, the West is home to 365,351 Navajo , 109,208 Apache , and 78,364 Blackfeet , as well as 276,082 people identifying as Indigenous Mexican . The largest concentrations for African-Americans in
6656-453: The West as a metaphor for the virtue of self-reliance and an American ethos. The contrast between the romanticism of culture about the West and the actuality of the history of the westward expansion has been a theme of late 20th and early 21st century scholarship about the West. Cowboy culture has become embedded in the American experience as a common cultural touchstone, and modern forms as diverse as country and western music have celebrated
6760-409: The West can be found in San Diego , Los Angeles , Oakland , Sacramento , Fresno , San Francisco , Seattle , Tacoma , Phoenix , Las Vegas , Denver , and Colorado Springs . The Western United States has a higher sex ratio (more males than females ) than any other region in the United States. Because the tide of development had not yet reached most of the West when conservation became
6864-662: The West. The ecoregions and ecology found in the Western United States are extremely varied. For instance, large areas of land are made up of everything from sand dunes in the Central Basin and Range ecoregion , which makes up much of the State of Nevada , to the ecology of the North Cascades in Washington state , which has the largest concentration of active alpine glaciers in the lower 48 . The densely forested areas found in Northern California , Oregon , Washington, Idaho , and Montana have mostly species adapted to living in temperate climates , while Southern California , Nevada , Arizona , southern Utah , and New Mexico have
6968-444: The West. Low elevations on the West Coast have warm summers and mild winters with little to no snow. The desert southwest has very hot summers and mild winters. While the mountains in the southwest receive generally large amounts of snow. The Inland Northwest has a continental climate of warm to hot summers and cold to bitterly cold winters. Annual rainfall is greater in the eastern portions, gradually tapering off until reaching
7072-445: The Western Pacific Railroad. That year he bought a steam shovel , becoming a pioneer of the new technology. He painted "W.A. Bechtel Co." on the side of the steam shovel, effectively establishing Bechtel as a company, although it was not yet incorporated. Bechtel completed work on a series of railroad contracts during the early 1900s, culminating in an extension of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad finished in 1914. Starting with
7176-415: The city of Cochabamba , Bolivia, the World Bank pressured Bolivia to put SEMAPA (the Cochabamba water utility) up for auction without funding. Bechtel and others formed a consortium named "Aguas del Tunari" (Water of Tunari – a local regional term) to file a bid to the city of Cochabamba , Bolivia in 1999. Bechtel was a 27% partner and Abengoa S.A. of Spain was a 25% partner. This bid was in response to
7280-450: The community of Hollywood in Los Angeles became the headquarters of the mass media such as radio and television production. California has emerged as the most populous state and one of the top 10 economies in the world. Massive late 19th–20th century population and settlement booms created two megalopolis areas of the Greater Los Angeles / Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area / Northern California regions, one of
7384-424: The company's founding, it has built approximately 50,000 miles (80,000 km) of pipeline systems, more than 50 major oil and gas field developments, and completed over 380 major chemical and petrochemical projects. The unit also constructs and tests tanks for LNG storage. Bechtel has built a third of the world's LNG liquefaction capacity. Western United States The Western United States (also called
7488-577: The construction of Klamath River Highway in California in 1919, Bechtel ventured into jobs other than building railroads. The company built roads, bridges, and highways throughout the western United States . The company worked on its first hydroelectric projects in the 1920s for Pacific Gas and Electric Company in California . In 1925, Warren, his sons Warren A. Bechtel Jr, Stephen , Kenneth (Ken), and his brother Arthur (Art) joined him to incorporate as W.A. Bechtel Company , which by this time
7592-644: The contiguous Western U.S. are mule deer , white-tailed antelope squirrels , cougars , American badgers , coyotes , hawks and several species of snakes and lizards are common. While the American black bear lives throughout the U.S., the brown bears and grizzly bears are more common in the northwest and in Alaska. Along the West Coast there are several species of whales, sea otters , California sea lions , eared seals and northern elephant seals . In
7696-509: The continuous development of Jubail industrial city in Saudi Arabia. Bechtel has worked at Jubail for more than 40 years, and was granted a five-year extension on both projects June 2016. In February 2017, Bechtel was chosen to support setting up and operating Saudi Arabia's National Project Management Office. In May 2017, Bechtel was appointed the delivery management partner for the tunnels and stations excavation package of Stage 2 of
7800-564: The deserts lie the Rocky Mountains . In the north, they run almost immediately east of the Cascade Range , so that the desert region is only a few miles wide by the time one reaches the Canada–US border. The Rockies are hundreds of miles wide and run uninterrupted from New Mexico to Alaska . The Rocky Mountain Region is the highest overall area of the United States, with an average elevation of above 4,000 feet (1,200 m). The tallest peaks of
7904-569: The dry, inland desert areas of states such as California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico there are some of the world's most venomous lizards, snakes and scorpions. The most notorious might be the Gila monster and Mohave rattlesnake , both found in deserts in the Southwest . The Sonoran Desert has eleven species of rattlesnakes - more than anywhere else in the world. Along the southwestern border there are jaguars and ocelots . Other mammals include
8008-888: The engineering, procurement, and construction of a water system and desalination plant for the Escondida copper mine in Chile in 2018. The Bechtel-Techint joint venture team built a dual 112-mile-long pipeline to carry desalinated water from the Pacific Coast across the Atacama Desert to the Escondida copper mine approximately 10,000 feet above sea level in the Andes . The Energy unit designs and builds liquefied natural gas (LNG), oil , pipeline , petrochemicals , natural gas , and water treatment facilities. Since
8112-546: The escalating security concerns in the country. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Bechtel was one of four companies hired by FEMA to build temporary housing. Bechtel delivered over 35,000 trailers in under a year for displaced residents in Mississippi , though the company was criticized by officials and in the media for the cost and quality of work. In 2007, Bechtel began work on the Romanian A3 motorway (Autostrada Transilvania) and Albanian motorways. Bechtel and
8216-542: The existing 44 Mtpa to 55 Mtpa. Bechtel began building the Al Taweelah alumina refinery (formerly Shaheen) in Abu Dhabi , United Arab Emirates for Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) in 2015. In April 2016, Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) announced that Bechtel had been appointed engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) contractor for the company's Line 6 Expansion Project. The initiative will make Alba
8320-607: The first Paleo-Indians arrived. Pre-Columbian trade routes to kingdoms and empires such as the Mound Builders existed in places such as Yellowstone National Park since around 1000 AD. Major settlement of the western territories developed rapidly in the 1840s, largely through the Oregon Trail and the California Gold Rush of 1849. California experienced such a rapid growth in a few short months that it
8424-915: The highway is scheduled to be complete in 2024. In 2018, Bechtel's work on the Panda Power Funds ' 1.1 GW natural gas Hummel Station Power Plant in Pennsylvania was completed. Bechtel is also working on a project for Advanced Power, the Cricket Valley Energy Center in New York . Bechtel is also building the Keeyask Generating Station, a hydroelectric power plant for Manitoba Hydro in Manitoba , Canada. The Infrastructure unit had also worked on projects for Google Fiber in several markets in
8528-633: The increasing pressure from the World Bank , which had funded and extended water supply projects for the country of Bolivia , to privatize the water utility of Cochabamba. With the strings attached in 1995, and the World Bank participating in draft bids in 1997, the Aguas del Tunari consortium were the only bidders for the auction. The bid was accepted, under pressure of the World Bank and the conditions of their loans to Bolivia. The terms were ratified in
8632-433: The land's managers, who are required to keep land use within environmentally acceptable limits. The largest city in the region is Los Angeles , located on the West Coast . Other West Coast cities include San Diego , San Bernardino , San Jose , San Francisco , Oakland , Bakersfield , Fresno , Sacramento , Seattle , Tacoma , Anchorage , and Portland – some of which are dozens of miles inland. Prominent cities in
8736-747: The lands west of the Mississippi River were considered the West . The U.S. Census Bureau's definition of the 13 westernmost states includes the Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin to the Pacific Coast , and the mid-Pacific islands state, Hawaii. To the east of the Western United States is the Midwestern United States and the Southern United States , with Canada to the north and Mexico to
8840-455: The majority of the desert areas located in the United States. The Mojave and the Great Basin deserts lie entirely within the Western region, along with parts of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts (the latter extends significantly into Texas, while both extend into Mexico ). Given this expansive and diverse geography it is no wonder that the region is difficult to define precisely. Sensing
8944-638: The national average of 77.98 inhabitants/sq mi (30.11 inhabitants/km ). As of 2022, just under half of the 78.7 million residents of the West live in California . The entire Western region has also been strongly influenced by European , Hispanic or Latino , Asian and Native Americans ; it contains the largest number of minorities in the U.S. While most of the studies of racial dynamics in America such as riots in Los Angeles have been written about European and African-Americans , in many cities in
9048-599: The nuclear plants in the United States. In 1968, the company completed the largest nuclear plant in the U.S. at the time, the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station , in California. In 1972, Bechtel was involved in approximately 20% of all of the United States' new power-generating capacity. By the end of the decade, the company had moved from nuclear power construction toward nuclear cleanup projects, including Three Mile Island in 1979. Bechtel completed work on other megaprojects during
9152-462: The often-cited Law 2029 by the legislative body of Bolivia, however largely it had previously been accepted and influenced by local governments. Under the terms, Bechtel and the consortium immediately raised water pricing 35% and after the first month they had raised the price for water to the residents by almost 60% and in other parts much higher. The Bechtel consortium contract claimed harvesting of rainwater violated its contract essentially monopolizing
9256-735: The pipeline is approximately 43 million tons of crude oil per year. In 2012 the throughput of the pipeline was 34.9 million tons of crude oil. The pipeline is owned by the consortium of eight oil companies. The current shareholders are: The Czech unit of PKN Orlen , Unipetrol , is negotiating to buy an about 2% in the pipeline. The shareholders of the Group include : OMV, Shell, Rosneft, ENI, C-BLUE B.V. (Gunvor), ExxonMobil, Mero, Phillips 66/Jet Tankstellen and Total. 48°46′04″N 11°35′20″E / 48.76782°N 11.58897°E / 48.76782; 11.58897 Bechtel Bechtel Corporation ( / ˈ b ɛ k t əl / )
9360-470: The problems. In 2003, Bechtel won a $ 680 million contract to begin rebuilding infrastructure in Iraq for U.S. Agency for International Development . The contract led to the company being accused of both non-competitive bidding and war profiteering . Bechtel won a competitively-bid second contract in January 2004, and completed 97 of 99 task orders of the contract, returning the two remaining projects due to
9464-536: The sea transport, the Pan-European Pipeline , if constructed, will supply the Transalpine Pipeline. The diameter of the trunkline between Trieste and Ingolstadt is 40 inches (1,020 mm). Both sections starting from Ingolstadt are with 26 inches (660 mm) in diameter. The pipeline has ten pumping stations. The pipeline system includes tank farms in Trieste and Lenting , Germany. The capacity of
9568-503: The sense of isolation and independence of spirit inspired by the frontiersmen on "virgin land". The advent of the automobile enabled the average American to tour the West. Western businessmen promoted Route 66 as a means to bring tourism and industry to the West. In the 1950s, representatives from all the western states built the Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center to showcase western culture and greet travelers from
9672-672: The south. The West contains several major biomes , including arid and semi-arid plateaus and plains , particularly in the American Southwest ; forested mountains , including three major ranges, the Sierra Nevada , the Cascades , and Rocky Mountains; the long coastal shoreline of the American Pacific Coast ; and the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest . The Western United States
9776-402: The supply of water to millions of people. Water became one fifth of the average person's expenses and protests erupted. Protests were met with a cold shoulder response by Bechtel expressing they would simply cut-off water to those who did not pay. Further protests were enhanced when agricultural sectors realized the bylaws allowed Bechtel and the consortium rights to rain water as well, which
9880-457: The time, the largest and most complex urban transportation project ever undertaken in the US. The 20-year project was critiqued for rising costs and increasing scope of work, as the Big Dig became more complex than was originally estimated. Criticism of the project increased in 2005 when a leak sprang in one of the new tunnels. In the summer of 2006, a faulty tunnel ceiling panel collapsed, killing
9984-806: The unit completed construction of Saudi Arabia 's first aluminum smelter in Ras Al-Khair , the Daunia coal mine in Queensland, Australia, and the expansion of the Kooragang Coal Terminal in Port Waratah in Australia, increasing capacity to 145 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa). In 2014, M&M completed the Caval Ridge coal mine in Queensland, and began operations at Escondida's OLAP copper cathode project, which consisted of
10088-862: The violence was destruction of public property in downtown Cochabamba paid for by taxpayers, the death of one civilian, restitution by the government, and hundreds of injured police, military personnel, and protestors. A movie titled Even the Rain with actor Gael García Bernal depicts a historical fiction story set in this time. The conflict became known as the Cochabamba Water War . Bechtel's major operational locations are in Brisbane , Calgary , Chandler, Arizona , Dubai , Houston , Knoxville, Tennessee , London , New Delhi , Reston, Virginia , San Francisco , Santiago , Shanghai , Nairobi , Taipei , and Washington, D.C. The company
10192-534: The wheat and soybeans in the U.S. and exporting more to the rest of the world. Irrigation in the Southwest allows the growth of great quantities of fruits, nuts, and vegetables as well as grain, hay, and flowers. Texas is a major cattle and sheep raising area, as well as the nation's largest producer of cotton. Washington is famous for its apples, and Idaho for its potatoes. California and Arizona are major producers of citrus crops, however, declining supplies of water, as well as urban sprawl have contributed to
10296-601: The world's largest single-site aluminum smelter upon completion, boosting production to 1.5 Mtpa. That same month, Rio Tinto announced that Kitimat had reached full production levels of 420,000 tonnes per annum, while Las Bambas achieved commercial production in July 2016. As of 2016, Bechtel is advancing the Amrun bauxite initiative for Rio Tinto in Australia, which announced project approval in November 2015. Bechtel completed
10400-726: Was admitted to statehood in 1850 without the normal transitory phase of becoming an official territory. One of the largest migrations in American history occurred in the 1840s as the Latter Day Saints left the Midwest to build a theocracy in Utah . Both Omaha, Nebraska and St. Louis, Missouri laid claim to the title, "Gateway to the West" during this period. Omaha , home to the Union Pacific Railroad and
10504-843: Was also completed in 2017. In 2018, the unit completed a new air passenger terminal in Muscat , Oman. In May 2022, Bechtel was hired to update the Vision 2041 plan for Shannon Foynes Port in Ireland. The Mining & Metals (M&M) unit works on projects related to the mining and production of materials such as aluminum , coal , copper , iron ore , alumina and other metals and minerals. The unit operates on six continents and has completed hundreds of major mining projects as well as more than 1,000 mining studies. It has also finished 42 major copper projects, 30 aluminum smelters , 15 major coal projects, and eight alumina refinery projects. In 2013,
10608-433: Was assumed to mean they could no longer collect rain water. Violence between protesters and police resulted in the burning of government buildings and hundreds of injured within the first days of the conflict. The local governments of Manfred Reyes Villa (mayor) and Jose Pepe Orias (prefect or governor) resigned. The contract was ultimately abandoned, for which Bechtel in February 2021 demanded settlement. The aftermath of
10712-412: Was the leading construction company in the western United States. In 1929, Warren's son, Stephen, urged his father to embark on the company's first pipeline project. Bechtel began working with California Standard Oil Company to build pipelines and refineries. In January 1931, Bechtel joined other contractors in the west to form Six Companies, Inc. , a consortium created to bid for a contract from
10816-600: Was the presenting sponsor of "Dream Big: Engineering Our World", a 42-minute IMAX documentary produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films in partnership with American Society of Civil Engineers. The documentary seeks to inspire young people to pursue engineering careers. Bechtel opened its welding and applied technology center in 2017 in the Houston Energy Corridor to train welding and construction workers. The center also provides virtual training and augmented reality to train workers. Its Houston offices were in
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