Recent shake-table tests on a wood-framed house with a newly developed low-cost structural system for seismic resistance confirmed researchers' predictions of drastically reduced earthquake damage. The goal of the study, considered a big step toward more quake-resilient single-family housing, is
Champlain Hudson Power Express, which got a federal green light on Oct. 1 to build and operate a 1,000-MW, high-voltage transmission line that would run from Canada through New York State and into New York City, now seeks an EPC contractor and additional financing for the estimated $2.2 billion project.The direct-current line would bring hydro and wind-generated power from Quebec into a constrained area of the Big Apple that also faces the closure of the 2,000-MW Indian Point nuclear plant in Buchanan, N.Y. It was granted a presidential permit by the U.S. Energy Dept.The 336-mile new line would terminate in
Photo Courtesy of TJPA Officials hope developers will not challenge new district tax rates for projects. Related Links: Crucial Intermodal Terminal Design Unveiled in Bay Area Rail Dollars Rolling Despite protests and litigation threats from real estate developers, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Sept. 23 to create a special community tax district—locally known as a Mello-Roos district—for the Transbay Transit Center at 2014 market rates. The vote marks a key funding piece for the approximately $4.5-billion Transbay Transit Center, billed as the "Grand Central of the West."Mello-Roos districts are named for Senator Henry J. Mello (D-Watsonville)
Photo Courtesy Cariboo Regional District Tailings dam breach at Imperial Metals' Mount Polley mine in British Columbia in August spilled nearly 10 million cu yd of gold and copper mine tailings into the Fraser River system. Related Links: Mount Polley Dam Failure Raises Bar for Pebble Mine Backers Mount Polley tailings spill effects could last for decades Aerial Video of Spill Site The massive western Canada mine spill is even bigger than initial estimates, generating government-mandated inspections of almost 100 other mine tailings ponds and calls for hiring more engineers to inspect mines.Mount Polley Mine, near Likely, British Columbia, and
Related Links: Fix Under Way for Sagging Green Bay Bridge Piling Corrosion Blamed For Sagging Wisconsin Bridge Inspection of the Leo Frigo Bridge in Green Bay, Wis., that developed a 2.5-ft sag last year after a piling buckled also showed severe corrosion in four other piers that “significantly reduced the structural capacity” of their foundation systems, a state report said.Pier 22, along with Piers 21-25, were classified as “Tier 1” in terms of damage severity and potential for safety problems, and had to be repaired before the bridge could be used. The repairs were completed and the bridge re-opened in
Photo by Matthew Kraus/flickr Cars awash on 15th Street in lower Manhattan, New York City, during Superstorm Sandy. Related Links: Flood Risk Management: Call for a national strategy ASCE's Post Katrina Statement: What Must We Do Next A task force of the American Society of Civil Engineers, formed to assess the nation's response to the ASCE's eight years of repeated, urgent calls to improve flood risk management as a national priority, delivered its report on Sept. 22 with the finding that there has been only limited progress.But the ASCE committee delivered an analysis of why progress is lacking and, significantly,
Related Links: Whooshh Pneumatic Fish Handling System Features VIDEO: John Oliver Discovers the Salmon Cannon (Youtube) Volitional fish Entry Feasibiliity Study Wild and hatchery-spawned fish are commingled in this fall's Chinook salmon run on the Washougal River in southwestern Washington state. The state Dept. of Fish and Wildlife wants them separated and has turned to an engineered solution for help.Whooshh Innovations, Bellevue, Wash., is trapping migrating salmon, manually culling marked ones from hatcheries and, from the river, shooting them live through a pneumatic tube, up a high bank and into tanker trucks. The peak so far is 400 fish a
Photo by Jeff Rubenstone/ENR Crews prepare to dewater a precast pile-cap 'tub' that, eventually, will support piers for the bridge's eastern approach. Photo by Jeff Rubenstone/ENR A floating batch plant provides on-site concrete for pile-cap installation. Related Links: Most of Tappan Zee Bridge Loan Nixed Drifting Barges Lead to Payment Penalty For New Tappan Zee Bridge Builders The new Tappan Zee Bridge is finally getting above the waterline, but the $3.9-billion project's finances remain in a state of flux as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rejected a plan pushed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to use state
Related Links: Airports Peg Their Five-Year Capital Needs at $71 Billion Automation, Weather Will Influence Future Airport Designs In terms of NextGen air-traffic-control technology, U.S. airports are ready for takeoff, but the industry is still waiting on the tarmac for progress on a key goal: raising the per-ticket passenger facility charge (PFC) to $8.50 from $4.50, to fund infrastructure projects.Noting that, in the past five years, $5 billion has been invested in NextGen technologies nationwide, Edward Bolton Jr., the Federal Aviation Administration's NextGen assistant administrator, said, "This is a make or break time in the history of the program. The
Photo by Johanna Knapschaefer for ENR A mill fashions old-school rivets from hot-rolled steel for the century-old bridge. Photo Courtesy of MassDOT The Longfellow Bridge is nicknamed the Salt and Pepper Bridge for its shaker-like towers. Related Links: Salt and Pepper Bridge Slated For Major Rehab in Boston Boston's Callahan Tunnel Set for Three-Month Rehab Closure Restoration of the 106-year-old Longfellow Bridge, which spans the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge, evokes Rosie the Riveter's World War II era, when hot metal pins connected structural steel on bridges, skyscrapers and ship hulls.A joint venture of J.F. White, Skanska and Consigli
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