Structural fire engineering is heating up in the U.S. and Europe, thanks in large part to the "traveling fires" observed on Sept. 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center.
Related Links: Salt River Project's Horse Mesa Dam Video Tour of Horse Mesa Dam Saturation divers, working one at a time, have begun a repair project on a pumped-storage hydroelectric system at Horse Mesa Dam on the Salt River in central Arizona. The repair will reestablish 115 megawatts of peak-load generating capacity that was lost 13 months ago, when failure of a guide vane sent about 50 tons of concrete shooting down the penstock serving the turbines."It is our largest hydro-generation asset on the Salt River," says Roger Baker, principal engineer for hydro-generation at the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation's
Photo Courtesy of WSSC Two D.C. utility employees needed 12 hours to close a badly corroded pipeline valve. Related Links: Heroes in Hardhats: The Men Who Kept the Water Flowing in Prince George's A last-ditch effort on July 16 by two Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission technicians to close a stubborn, corrosion-covered valve for water-pipeline diversion enabled the Washington, D.C., area water-wastewater utility to bypass the rapidly failing main. Closing the valve averted an extended service outage in a densely populated section during excessively hot weather.The 54-in.-dia reinforced-concrete high-pressure transmission line, installed in 1966, supplies 10 million to 15 million gallons
With just a few quick blasts and a puff of smoke, Advanced Explosives Demolition workers imploded the 700-ft-long main span of the Milton-Madison Bridge on July 23 to make way for a new crossing over the Ohio River.
Related Links: Green Light for Proposed Record-Tall Modular Building at Atlantic Yards Two New York City licensed trade groups have sued the city's Dept. of Buildings (DOB) over the agency's approval of work on prefabricated building units for Atlantic Yards' B2, a 32-story modular residential tower under way in Brooklyn.The groups—the Mechanical Contractors Association of New York and the Plumbing Foundation City of New York (PFCNY)—charge that off-site work done in a factory without supervision of DOB-licensed master plumbers and fire-suppression contractors violates core Construction Code requirements. The suit, filed on July 8 in the state Supreme Court, New York
Related Links: Industry Firms Envision New Group as 'Voice' for P3s in the U.S. Interstate 595 Widening Marks Florida's First P3 Effort Indiana DOT Seeks P3 for I-69 Project Nevada recently approved using a public-private partnership for a massive, costly upgrade to a heavily traveled section of Interstate 15 in downtown Las Vegas. Called Project Neon, the plan is meant to improve a 3.7-mile stretch of I-15 between Sahara Avenue and the U.S. 95/I-15 "Spaghetti Bowl" interchange, which sees 250,000 cars daily. Traffic through the corridor is expected to double by 2030.“We received an unsolicited bid a year and a
Related Links: LEED v4 Approved by USGBC Members Skaska USA CEO: Don't Let Green Standards Wither ENR's 2013 Top Green Design Firms Tumult Grows Over LEED Rating System Update An Uphill Battle Against LEED-Based Codes International construction giant Skanska USA has terminated its membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce due to what the firm views as attempts to “halt progress in sustainable building.” The move reportedly came after failed talks with the U.S. Chamber about its policies and follows on the heels of a pro-LEED op-ed in the Washington Post penned by Michael McNally, president and CEO of Skanska
Related Links: States Gear Up to Seek Expanded TIFIA Loan Aid (ENR 8/27/12) SR 91 Project home page A plan to expand and upgrade Southern California's congested state Route 91 has received a $421-million federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation's July 3 loan announcement means construction on the $1.3-billion design-build project in Riverside County can begin by the end of 2013."This project is going to make Riverside County more accessible and more attractive to potential employers and businesses once it's completed," says John Standiford, deputy executive director of the Riverside County Transportation
Image Courtesy of Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee A saddle retrofit will replace the lost clamping force from the failed rods that are embedded in the pier cap. Related Links: Plan Enlists Custom Steel Saddles to Repair Broken Bay Bridge Bolts Read the Full Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee Report (PDF) The San Francisco Bay Bridge will not open on time because of the ongoing effort to fix broken shear bolt rods. California lawmakers, meanwhile, vow to hold accountable those responsible for the delay to replace the seismically deficient current bridge.Originally planned to open on Labor Day, the $6.3-billion bridge's
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