The airport world marked the latest leg of its journey toward standardizing sustainability this month in Chicago. The Chicago Dept. of Aviation, which is running a $6.6-billion modernization program, has unveiled the latest version of a sustainability manual that now offers specific guidelines and scoring systems for design, construction, operations and maintenance, concessions and tenants at airports. “Say goodbye to the old manual and hello to a new sustainable airport,” says Eugene Peters, director with Ricondo & Associates Inc., a Chicago-based aviation consultant. “This applies to everything...not just what you build but how you built it. Photo: OMP Green Airport
Virtual design and construction tools are crossing over from buildings to transportation projects. Officials admit that 3D parametric modeling in the transportation sector has trailed the buildings sector, but they say change is afoot. “In 10 years, we will be living in a BIM world,” predicts Cosima Crawford, chief engineer for the New York City Transit Authority. “It’s our new reality,” she says.That reality has transportation teams tackling the same challenges their building counterparts are seeing in their transition to building information modeling. These include BIM technology issues, process change and institutional buy-in. Image: NYC Transit Authority For new projects,
High-speed rail is red-hot. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has been flooded with proposals seeking a piece of the $8 billion it received for high-speed rail grants in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. However, the potential plans far outstrip DOT’s ARRA rail bank account. DOT’s Federal Rail-road Administration reported on July 16 it had received 278 rail-grant “pre-applications” totaling $102.5 billion. Some applicants may not win grants, but more money may be on the way. A House committee has recommended an additional $4 billion for high-speed rail in regular 2010 appropriations. Photo: California high speed rail authority California’s $40-billion
Faster, stronger and greener elements need to be part of bridge construction in the U.S., accomplished through fast-track project-delivery methods, Accelerated Bridge Construction techniques or alternative materials, according to a variety of industry officials. Fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) could contribute to all those themes, said speakers at the International Bridge Conference held in Pittsburgh on June 14-17. “The ABC mantra is ‘Get in, get out and stay out,’” noted David White, marketing manager with Sika Corp., Lyndhurst, N.J., a manufacturer of FRP components. “FRPs will fit all of that, especially the ‘stay out.’” But the higher initial cost of installing composite
Elaine K. Dezenski, the managing director of the new Global Security Initiative for INTERPOL, the International Criminal Police Organization, is currently president of the Women’s Transportation Seminar. Her career path has been an unusual journey from transportation to global security. She worked for the rail giant Siemens in marketing and business development, then joined the Federal Transit Administration in 1999. She was working as a Brookings Institution fellow when the attacks of September 11, 2001 occurred and that helped spur her return her to public service. She joined the Transportation Security Administration and became director of cargo and supply chain
T op bridge contractors and designers have formed a group dedicated to better ways of funding and building bridges. Spearheaded by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), the Bridge Policy and Promotion Council will promote alternative funding methods like private-public partnerships, as well as high-strength materials and high-tech building and inspection tools. “What we have attempted to do is to get key players...together under the banner of ARTBA to enhance the lobbying effort, get our thoughts into the legislation and influence the [six-year federal transportation] reauthorization,” says BPPC Chairman Robert Luffy, president and chief executive officer of Coraopolis,
Airports across the nation are cutting back on their capital programs, and the industry is anxious for a full reauthorization of a Federal Aviation Administration funding bill rather than settling for topgap extensions. Perhaps the most pressing issues of all are implementing a modern air-traffic control system (NextGen) and finding alternatives to crude-oil-based jet fuels. Catherine Lang, FAA’s acting associate administrator, told attendees of the American Association of Airport Executives that the Senate is the “wild card” in reauthorizing a four-year bill. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on March 5 approved a bill that would authorize $70 billion for
Anearly 7,000-ft-long railroad bridge is undergoing an extreme $35-million makeover over the Hudson River, thanks to hundreds of precast concrete panels, community zeal and the windblown determination of engineers and contractors. When completed by October, the revamped 121-year-old Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge may be the world’s longest pedestrian bridge at 6,768 ft, say officials. Photo: Bergmann Associates Old railroad bridge will become a soaring walkway over the Hudson River when it opens later this year. Photo: Bergmann Associates Work in high winds over the river was a challenge. The historic bridge’s 3,094-ft-long, 25-ft-wide main span consists of seven trusses supported on
The one kind of surprise you want when you have gone to great lengths to plan the moving of an entire bridge section is when things slip and slide along even more smoothly than expected. That’s what happened last weekend in Cleveland. It is a story of planning, good luck, checked calculations and final success. Photo: Ruhlin ws removed anchor bolts from bolster between pier cap and truss. Photo: ODOT Over 500 ft of Innerbridge was moved 4 in. to open up expansion joint. Using a painstakingly coordinated cast of hydraulic rams and jacks, crews performed a memorable 4-in. westward
Despite the global recession, a panel of transportation experts meeting in Seattle agreed now is the time to invest in and improve transit systems as part of a comprehensive and holistic solution to pollution and congestion. “The American public had the infrastructure that was once the envy of the world....We let it crumble,” said Patrick Natale, executive director of the American Society of Civil Engineers. “But it’s a new day. We finally have the leadership to take action, and it’s very exciting.” Planning is as crucial as funding. Susan Zielinski, University of Michigan’s managing director of sustainable mobility and accessibility