Related Links: Drought in Western U.S. Has Water Utilities Considering a Range of Solutions Project to Provide Woodland and Davis with More Sustainable Water Supply Although the drought in the West is being called historic, utilities and engineering firms are developing solutions to ensure water supplies continue to meet demand in the future, even as populations swell and climate change intensifies.That was one of the recurring themes at ENR's first Western Water Summit, held in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Nov. 13.According to Roger Pulwarty, director of the national integrated drought information system and senior adviser for climate at the National
Related Links: Expansion in Natural Gas Production Spurs Big U.S. Export Plans CB&I and Chiyoda Win $6 Billion EPC Award for Louisiana LNG Burgeoning U.S. production of crude oil, natural gas and natural-gas liquids is spurring thousands of construction projects—from site-access roads to pipelines to LNG export terminals—and keeping engineers and contractors with appropriate experience busier than they have been in years.That was a key takeaway from ENR's second annual Energy Construction Summit, a one-day conference in Houston that convened energy-sector owners and the design and construction professionals that make their projects a reality.The conference featured speakers and panelists who
Related Links: New Jersey Landfill Mired in Turmoil Applellate Court Decision Text Fenimore Landfill has sparked controversy once again in Roxbury, N.J., after an appellate court ruled that New Jersey's Dept. of Environmental Protection overstepped its authority when it seized the site in 2013.The court found NJDEP did not secure judicial approval before seizing the property under an emergency order and neglected to properly test the site for contaminants it claimed were a danger to the community.The state's emergency order was issued hours after Gov. Chris Christie (R) signed the New Jersey Legacy Landfill Act, a law which allows the
Related Links: American Concrete Institute Engineers Welcome Designer-Friendly Structural Concrete Standard Pankow Foundation Charts Ambitious Research Goals For High-Strength Rebar More than 25,000 Twitter users participated in a Nov. 18 Twitter chat, hosted by the American Concrete Institute, to ask questions about the group's revised "Formwork for Concrete" manual, which was published last month.Topics "discussed" included polyvinyl chloride formwork; safety design of formwork; new content in the manual; the latest load and materials standards; and the benefits students can gain from the manual, says ACI. "The objectives of the manual, through many editions, are to support quality, safety and economy,"
Photo Courtesy of Gehry Partners LLP/Projectcore Frank Gehry's design for the Mirvish + Gehry Toronto (above), including 305-m and 275-m towers, is reminiscent of the architect's first high-rise (below), in New York City. Photo Courtesy of Forest City Ratner Related Links: Projectcore Inc. WSP Group If all goes according to plan, architect Frank Gehry's second high-rise building, a 305-meter-tall skyscraper currently entering its schematic design phase, would become, at 305 meters, Canada's tallest building. The planned residential building, which received Toronto City Council approval in July, is expected to be under construction in 2016 and take four and a half
Photo by AP Wideworld One worker died in the first bridge collapse, while the second occurred more than 12 hours later. The fatal collapse of an under-construction pedestrian bridge and—more than 12 hours later— the overnight crash of another nearby span at a $49-million community-college project in Raleigh, N.C., have contractors, engineers and state safety officials stumped for a cause of the two failures at the Wake Technical Community College Building F project.On Nov. 13, around 10:30 a.m., workers with Skanska USA Building's subcontractor, Central Concrete of North Carolina, were placing concrete on the deck of a bridge, connecting Building
Photo by AP Wideworld Since August, a number of contracts have been signed for infrastructure and dredging work. Related Links: Egypt Moves Forward on $6-Billion Petrochemical Project Expansion in Natural Gas Production Spurs Big U.S. Export Plans In an attempt to rekindle national pride and demonstrate his administration’s ability to move the country beyond a turbulent political period, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last August announced that the Suez Canal would be expanded to enable more vessels to transit the waterway and boost the country’s revenues.Now in the early stages of construction, the expansion project is estimated to cost $4
Indian Railways The high-speed-rail current plan involves linking two major cities, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, in western India. Related Links: Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Link Plan Draws Global Interest Collapse of China Track Section Highlights Flaws in High-Speed-Rail Program Japanese rail companies, once considered high-speed-rail pioneers, have allowed Chinese rivals to overtake them to win more major contracts in recent years. Suddenly, though, Japan is aiming to gain back lost market share by competing against China on a new, unexpected battlefield: India.This September in Tokyo, for instance, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shook hands with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on a
Israel Ports Development and Assets Co. Chinese contender was the low bidder on a planned Haifa private port but could not win the job because it is building another big port in Ashdod. Related Links: Europeans Avoid Big Israel Port Bids Amid Palestinian Boycott Threats Haifa Port workers call wildcat strike An all-Israeli consortium has beaten out an Israel-Belgium team to build a new private port in the northern city of Haifa.Shafir Civil and Marine Engineering Ltd. and Ashtrom Properties Ltd. won the Israel Ports Development and Assets Co. contract for the new port, beating out Israel’s Shikun U’Binui Holdings
Photo courtesy of Bouygues Construction Ivory Coast's new bridge will be Africa's first lagoon crossing. Rendering courtesy of JICA Tanzania's first cable-stayed bridge is facing a six-month delay due to unexpected soil conditions. Related Links: European, U.S. Firms Still Dominate Africa Infrastructure Market Africa Poised for LNG Boom Bridge-building is booming in Africa. Key projects are being unveiled or are under construction to give the region vibrant, efficient and economic transport corridors and boost the incomplete integration of their associated economies.Botswana and Zambia are hoping to commence construction of the delayed $259-million Kazungula Bridge over the Zambezi River, a critical
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