Construction of the first new U.S. nuclear reactors in more than 30 years will ramp up gradually following the Feb. 9 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision to approve a combined construction and operating license for two new units at utility Southern Co.'s Vogtle nuclear plant near Waynesboro, Ga.
The construction of new hydroelectric dams, geothermal wells and biomass projects are threatened if Congress does not approve an extension of the production tax credit. Renewable energy interests provided a stark warning in a conference call on Feb. 8 as they pushed for an extension of the PTC, which is set to expire at the end of February.
Last spring, more than 4,000 homes were destroyed and 1,000 Minot Air Force Base airmen displaced when the Souris River flooded, breaking century-old crest records.
The Sustainable Sites Initiative, or SITES, has certified the first three projects under its four-star system for rating the sustainable design, construction and maintenance of built landscapes.
Related Links: Related Story: Resilient Systems Not Yet Tested by a Quake Structural engineer Steven Tipping doesn't often attend industry events, let alone introduce himself to keynote speakers. But he is glad he did just that on Dec. 5, 2007. So is the team for the $145.5-million San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Headquarters, a nearly finished job with a difficult past.Tipping's actions at the Dec. 5 breakfast—at which a project of his was recognized and he heard Webcor Builders' Phillip Williams speak—inadvertently helped recenter the ailing job. The 13-story showcase for sustainable design and construction owes its existence, in part,
Related Links: Main Story: Tensioning Eases Stress on a 13-Story Sustainability Showcase Tipping Mar's vertically post-tensioned concrete shear walls in the 164-ft-tall San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Headquarters is the most ambitious—and tallest—example to date of a family of lateral-load-resisting structures designed to minimize damage in a major earthquake and allow immediate reoccupancy. U.S. structural practitioners and researchers have been developing the self-centering systems, modeled after PT bridge construction, for about a decade.Self-centering structures, when designed in structural steel, have become known as "rocking frames." In addition to concrete systems, there are examples of self-centering PT structures in precast concrete
HNTB New Portsmouth Bridge design evokes history of predecessor www.portsmouth-nh.patch.com Old Memorial bridge main span floated out Feb. 8-9. After three days of delays, a visit from the Federal Highway Administrator and spirited public input, demolition began Feb. 8-9 on a key crossing between New Hampshire and Maine.
After three days of delays, a visit from the Federal Highway Administrator and spirited public input, demolition began Feb. 8-9 on a key crossing between New Hampshire and Maine.During a 72-hour window authorized by the Coast Guard to interrupt shipping, a design-build team led by Archer-Western Constractors used barges to float out the 300-ft-long center span of the Memorial Bridge in Portsmouth, N.H. during high tide. Through March, the towers and 40-ton concrete counterweights of the lift bridge will be removed using a 500-ton crane.The 88-year-old bridge was closed permanently to vehicular traffic on July 27 after New Hampshire Dept.
After enduring Gov. Rick Scott's suspension of contracts and consequent year-long delay to the start of construction, local, state and federal officials celebrated the survival of their prized $1.3-billion SunRail project with a project kickoff in late January.
A bipartisan-sponsored piece of legislation that would increase the weight limits for trucks on the interstate highway system is in limbo for now, after the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted 33-22 on Feb. 2 to delay consideration of any increase.
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