Photo Courtesy of BNSF Rep. Garamendi decries lack of public data concerning 5,000 railroad bridges. Related Links: Pipeline Advocates Question Crude-By-Rail Safety California lawmakers are pressuring railroads to share maintenance and construction data for infrastructure exposed to increased crude-oil traffic from North Dakota. There are 5,000 railroad bridges in California, but almost no public data exists on them, says U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.). "Are they safe?" he asks. "I don't know, but there should be some standard for determining their safety."Garamendi tells ENR that infrastructure upgrades and maintenance, especially to bridges, are crucial as more crude from North Dakota
Photo Courtesy of NASA SpaceX's CRS-5 Dragon arrives at the International Space Station on its fifth supply run on Jan. 12. Related Links: SpaceX CRS-5 Mission Elon Musk on Twitter As January comes to a close, 2015 already has been a busy year for Elon Musk, president of Space Exploration Technologies. Musk's SpaceX rocket manufacturing company secured $1 billion in financing from Google and Fidelity Investments for a shared 10% stake. Musk also announced his intention to build a five-mile test track for his pet high-speed land-transportation project, known as the Hyperloop.The Google-Fidelity announcement came days after Musk's Jan. 16
Photo Courtesy Exelon Corporation EnergySolutions underestimated Zion's decommissioning cost by about $100 million. Related Links: EnergySolutions Inks Contract For Unique D&D Plan at Zion U.S. Nuclear Plants Provide Market Niche for Waste Disposal System Providers The company charged with decommissioning a nuclear powerplant in Zion, Ill.—among the largest undertakings of its kind in the nation—could face a financial shortfall before completing work on the $800-million project, according to Chicago-based former plant operator Exelon.Exelon officials indicated that, late last year, nuclear-waste management firm EnergySolutions informed them of a potential shortfall and how the company intended to address it. "They've kept us
Photo Courtesy U.S. EPA Airboat cleanup crews find oil, cut through the ice and swab up the spilled pollutants. Related Links: Yellowstone River Cleanup Continues Following Spill Arkansas Spill Zone Residents Await Plan to Return Home; New Leak in Missouri Bridger Pipeline LLC must install horizontal, directionally drilled crossings on its Poplar Pipeline where it crosses two rivers after a Jan. 17 breach spilled more than 29,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River, near Glendive, Mont.The cause of the breach has not been determined, but sonar testing on Jan. 24 showed that the 2,250-ft section of pipeline—laid in a
Photo Courtesy of ARTBA Transportation and technology professionals mingled at ARTBA's annual TransOvation workshop last fall at Microsoft's headquarters. Related Links: ARTBA Workshop Asks: Will Smart Vehicles Meet Dumb Roads? Intelligent Vehicles, Tools and Collaboration Hot Topics At Transportation Meeting Big data, automation and the "internet of things" will profoundly influence the construction and management of transportation infrastructure—and industry insiders are still trying to figure out exactly how that will happen.This mind-set was reflected at the most popular sessions at the Transportation Research Board's annual meeting, the theme of which was "Corridors to the Future: Transportation and Technology." Held on
Related Links: PennDOT Pushes On With P3 Plan To Replace 614 Bridges Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners In a $899-million deal to address the state's aging transportation infrastructure, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation signed a contract on Jan. 12 with Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners to replace 558 bridges by the end of 2017."Now that we have a contractor in hand, we can go full-steam ahead," says Erin Waters-Trasatt, PennDOT spokeswoman. She says the plan is to replace 58 bridges in 2015 alone, with construction to begin this spring. PennDOT performed much of the advance work on the first batch of spans,
Related Links: Contractor Seeks 10-Year Construction Extension for MOX Project The full cost to build the much delayed Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MOX) project at the Savannah River site in South Carolina eventually could triple its original estimate, the Dept. of Energy acknowledged in a Jan. 15 project-management report. "Estimates for the capital work range from $8 billion [to] $12 billion, depending on the funding profiles," stated DOE's report. The agency also said capital expenditures so far have totaled $4 billion—the contract's original cost estimate—with construction only 50% complete, more than seven years after work first began.Project critics used DOE's
Related Links: DOE Contract and Project Management Working Group Report More Troubles, Less Support for Energy Dept.'s MOX Project U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz on Jan. 15 outlined actions his department is taking to improve project management and performance on troubled projects, such as the Mixed- Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in Savannah River, S.C., and the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant in Washington state.Some of those steps include requiring more-developed designs before major projects can begin, reconstituting the Energy Systems Advisory Board process and establishing a portfolio review board to provide independent assessments of the risk profiles for all major
Photo Courtesy of Heath Consulting Firms say devices already exist to detect escaping methane and will be necessary for compliance with any regulation. Related Links: Fact sheet on White House Plan Datu Research Report on Methane Emissions Technologies and Jobs The Obama administration's proposal to regulate emissions from new and modified oil and natural-gas sources will provide some new work for environmental services companies.That assessment is according to companies that have been working to help oil-and-gas exploration and production companies, pipeline owners and other energy-sector firms identify and mitigate leaks of methane—one of the most potent greenhouse gases. The administration
Related Links: TxDOT Awards $1-Billion Houston Loop Contract Alternate Project Delivery on the Rise Snaking 38 miles through both forests and developed land, the F-1, F-2 and G segments of state Highway 99's Grand Parkway feature straightforward construction—just lots of it in a short period of time. Advancing the rapid growth of the Houston metropolis—thanks largely to key investments by ExxonMobil and Southwest Energy to the north and east of the city—the design-build team, led by a joint venture of Zachry and Odebrecht, must build the three segments in just over two years for a 2015 completion."Technically, the project's design
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