Related Links: Text of final FHWA rule The Federal Highway Administration has issued a final rule spelling out the requirements for the first federal inspection program for highway tunnels.The new National Tunnel Inspection Standards, published in the Federal Register on July 14, are similar to the nearly 50-year-old national requirements for bridge inspections.The tunnel inspection rule is to take effect on Aug. 13.The new standards, which stem from a provision in 2012’s Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, call for state and local agencies that own such tunnels to carry out routine examinations of that infrastructure at
Enlarge Photo Courtesy of WSDOT Steel reinforcements are being added to TBM Bertha in hopes of avoiding getting stuck again. Enlarge Photo Courtesy of WSDOT Big TBM awaits resumption of excavation on Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project. Related Links: Mammoet Custom Gantry Brings Up Bertha for Repairs Seattle Tunneling Behemoth Bertha Awaits Repairs to Bearing Seals The wait for one of the world's largest tunnel-boring machines to resume excavation under downtown Seattle should come to an end in late November, according to a new schedule released by contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP).Dubbed "Bertha," the TBM has sat idle since December
Photo by Aileen Cho / ENR MoDOT Chairman Miller discussed the agency's funding situation during the "Low and Slow Across America's Infrastructure" tour. Related Links: Low and Slow Across America's Infrastructure Many engineers, consultants and contractors will have to seek work in places other than Missouri through the rest of the decade. Early this month, the Missouri Dept. of Transportation announced it will not embark on any new expansion projects in its five-year FY2016-20 transportation plan, due to lack of funding.In May, ENR’s “Low & Slow Across America’s Infrastructure” tour made stops along Interstate 70 in St. Louis and in
Enlarge Rendering Courtesy of Hong Kong Airport Authority Hong Kong master plan includes a third runway and extensive reclamation work. Related Links: Immersed In Innovations, Hong Kong-Macau Link Takes Shape Hong Kong Secures $1.1 Billion To Cover Jump in Cost of Link Road Project Construction of a third runway at one of the world's busiest airports will include careful reclamation of some 650 hectares of contaminated land, using techniques such as Deep Cement Mixing (DCM) and wick drains. Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok International Airport needs the third runway to handle an expected 97 million passengers by 2030, as compared
Image courtesy of Auckland Transport New transit link will serve a rapidly growing Auckland city center. Image courtesy of Auckland Transport Related Links: New Zealand's $1B Highway Job Resumes After Concrete Error Skills Shortage Challenges New Zealand Earthquake Rebuild A $1.7-billion public transit line dubbed the “missing link” in Auckland, New Zealand’s rail and bus network is a step closer to construction. Two joint ventures are beginning a $2-million initial design phase for the City Rail Link (CRL), which will include 3.6 meters of tunnels.Downer NZ, Soletanche Bachy JV, and Connectus, a joint venture of McConnell Dowell and Hawkins, will
What's missing here?" That's how Ron Heustis begins his public briefings as the manager of construction for the Indiana Dept. of Transportation on the East End Crossing.
Enlarge Related Links: Senate Panel's Highway Bill Wins Praise (ENR 6/29/2015 issue) [subscription] ARTBA analysis of DRIVE Act With another surface-transportation extension likely this month, construction officials continue to push for a longer-lasting measure to end the dribs-and-drabs funding they have endured for several years. They welcome the six-year, $277-billion highway bill that the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee cleared unanimously on June 24. But they are acutely aware that the Highway Trust Fund is about $90 billion short of the money to fund the bill fully. Where to find the dollars remains a mystery.As they look at the
Two 17.6-meter-dia tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are now driving a 4.2-kilometer-long highway link between Hong Kong's Lantau Island, site of the territory's international airport, and the New Territories.The second TBM set off on June 15, two months behind the first, on twin drives of Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok road tunnel.The Dragages-Bouygues joint venture of France is building the tunnel under a contract valued at nearly $2.4 billion. According to Bouygues, the TBMs, supplied by Germany's Herrenknecht A.G., are the world's largest and can map the rock face in real time plus remotely detect cutterhead damage, reducing manual inspections under compressed
Photo by Tudor Van Hampton / ENR Three towers reaching over 20 ft will support cable-stayed structures. Photo by Tudor Van Hampton / ENR Improvements to the 'Spaghetti Junction' interchange will facilitate the flow of 125,000 daily vehicles in and out of Louisville. Related Links: Dynamic Duo: Ohio River Bridges Rise In And Around Louisville $2.6-Billion Ohio River Bridges Project Ramps Up In Louisville Scope, Schedule Pose Challenges On Ohio River Bridges Project Jeremiah Littleton, section engineer with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), recalls a public meeting held early on in the process of getting the $1.2-billion Downtown Crossing underway.
Photo Courtesy of California DOT Caltrans crew, pictured in 2013, penetrates cap beam in preparation for an earlier bolt fix. Related Links: Bay Bridge Errors Put Caltrans Under Fire Plan Enlists Custom Steel Saddles to Repair Broken Bay Bridge Bolts Seismic anchor rods used for the $6.4-billion San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge are once again under scrutiny. Inspectors' discovery last month of stripped threads, loss of protective coatings and micro-indicators in three galvanized-steel units—installed in 2007 at the base of the bridge's 525-ft-tall east self-anchored suspension span (SAS) tower—have triggered a new probe.Although the investigation is ongoing, Caltrans believes the presence