Photo Courtesy of NOCoE The National Operations Center of Excellence was launched in January. Dennis Motiani, executive director, and the NOCoE board of directors commemorate the occasion at the 94th annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington, D.C. From left: Shailen Bhatt, Jeff Lindley, Laurie Matkowski, Dennis Motiani, Doug Wiersig, John Barton, Don Hunt, Greg Johnson, Harry Voccola and Abbas Mohaddes. Related Links: DOTS Slow to Change DOT Moves to Streamline TIFIA Loan Decisions A new era of transportation is right around the corner—one where driverless, autonomous vehicles cruise public roadways utilizing ever-advancing mobile and location-based electronics to
In fall 2009, Philadelphia-based Drexel University broke ground on the $70-million, 130,000-sq-ft Papadakis Integrated Science Building, a project seeking LEED Silver certification under the auspices of the U.S. Green Building Council.
Related Links: CMAP Site Chicago Infrastructure Trust Passes First-Ever Financing Deal Chicago To Rehab Blue Line in 2014 The Chicago Metropolitan Agency of Planning (CMAP) this month launched a website that aims to help the public become more involved in identifying and prioritizing infrastructure investments.The CMAP site, allows taxpayers to "peek under the hood" of the Chicago transportation system, says CMAP spokesman Tom Garritano. Chicago loses $7 billion in fuel and productivity because of congestion, bad roads and missed transit connections. Old rail infrastructure causes about 7,800 hours of delay each weekday for more than 380,000 motorists, says CMAP.CMAP's criticism
Related Links: Contractor: Collapsed Ohio Overpass Had Engineer-Stamped Demo Plans Engineering Oversight Might Have Prevented Ohio Overpass Collapse, Says Bridge Inspector Kokosing Construction's preliminary internal investigations have detected an engineering error that may have contributed to the collapse of the Hopple Street Ramp Bridge and the death of Brandon Carl, according to a Feb. 13 statement.CEO William Brian Burgett apologized and said that the contractor has hired Jaansen & Spaans to design all future bridge-demolition plans in close collaboration with Kokosing staff, and shared its findings with the Ohio Dept. of Transportation and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which
Photo Courtesy of Metropolitan Transit Authority While projects face the perils of optimistic initial cost estimates, they can be "sold" to the public with honesty and outreach, says MTACC chief. Photo Courtesy of Metropolitan Transit Authority Related Links: Infrastructure Megaprojects: Looking For Legacies Investigators Eye Drill Holes, Decking After Dangerous Blast Meet the $17-Billion Man of the New York City-area MTA Megaprojects blow through initial budget estimates on a regular basis, contends Michael Horodniceanu, president of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Construction Co., . That certainly has been the case with MTACC's East Side Access (ESA) rail project:
Related Links: Project Members Ponder Untold Stories of the Bay Bridge Boston Begins Reaping Benefits Of Big Dig In NYC, An Ambassador Gains Public Acceptance Of Megaprojects California High-Speed Rail Proponents Plow Forward Transportation's Next Chapter: Maintenance, Mobility, Money "If God went to a local community board meeting and presented a plan to build the Garden of Eden," says a wry Sam Schwartz, New York City Dept. of Transportation's former first deputy commissioner, "people would protest the location, the design and how they're going to treat the serpent."Is public suspicion justified? In his book "Megaprojects and Risk," Oxford professor Bent
Photo Courtesy of Nevada DOT NDOT bid out the first phase of the Boulder City bypass with the option to use asphalt or concrete. The latter was picked due to life-cycle costs. Related Links: Boosting Fuel Economy Where The Rubber Meets the Road Competition Can Help Our Roads Evolve Citing long-term life-cycle costs, officials at Nevada Dept. of Transportation have awarded the first phase of the planned Boulder City Bypass to a contractor that proposed paving the highway section with concrete, despite this proposal costing $3 million more than the lowest bid, which planned to use asphalt."We opted to use
Photo Courtesy of Caltrans Making the media wait for briefings did not ease tough scrutiny of the new bridge. Photo Courtesy of Caltrans Related Links: Infrastructure Megaprojects: Looking For Legacies Temporary Fix Will Allow San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to Open on Time Bay Bridge Errors Put Caltrans Under Fire A lengthy delay mandated by the governor, a rebid and a fierce debate over the design of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge were just the beginning. Over the course of the 11-year construction period came allegations, faulty rods, foundation questions and even an FBI investigation on the $6.4-billion crossing, which
Photo by AP Wide World A tragic death due to faulty tunnel panels in the I-90 tunnel is the fatal flaw in the Big Dig, which many say was ultimately worth it. Photo by AP Wide World Related Links: Infrastructure Megaprojects: Looking For Legacies Massachusetts DOT Agrees to Pay Contractor's Big Dig Claim After 15-Year Battle MassDOT Chief Jeffrey Mullan Leaving in Wake of Big Dig Safety Problems The Boston Central Artery/Tunnel project would seem to be a textbook case of a megaproject gone off the rails: Projected to cost $8 billion, the "Big Dig" ended up at $14.6 billion.
Image Courtesy of California High-Speed Rail Authority Although voters approved billions of dollars in bonds for high-speed rail, fierce foes still fight. Related Links: Infrastructure Megaprojects: Looking For Legacies Officials Cite Big Steps Forward In California High-Speed Program California Clears Path for Funding To Get High-Speed Rail Back on Track Jeff Morales, chief executive officer of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, often speaks of how the plan to build the Golden Gate Bridge produced 2,000 lawsuits and descriptions of "an upside-down rat trap."Recalling these facts "helps us to get through each day as people throw rocks at us," Morales told
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