Contractors are preparing to hand over Italy’s newest section of high-speed railroad to the state’s operator, Ferrovie Italiane, for testing. The 5.6-km Novara–Milan section of the Turin-Venice line is due to start service this December. The new Bologna-Florence line, handed over on June 30, also will become operational in December. Nine tunnels, the longest extending 18.5 km, carry 93% of this 78-km line along the Apennine Mountains. Photo: Impregilo Bologna-Florence line featured New Austrian Tunnelling Method. Impregilo S.p.A, Milan, leads consortiums handling turnkey construction of both sections, part of the high-speed network being developed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana S.p.A. (RFI),
Restoration work for a rail-to-trail with a lift—elevated 18 ft to 20 ft on an abandoned trestle—is called “an engineer’s dream,” even though parts of the 71-year-old steel structure, not used for commerce since 1980, were in “terrible condition,” says the structural engineer charged with preserving the section of the trestle that slices through, between and above 10 blocks of buildings and streets on Manhattan’s West Side. It is a dream because the elevated rail line, renamed the High Line in its reincarnation as a linear urban park, was designed for a 10,000-psf live load during its active years, when
Doubling up in Las Vegas usually means doubling the size of your bet. At the new terminal at McCarran International Airport, the steel erector’s detailing subcontractors doubled the number of staff working on the project. That and other measures other measures paid off big. Slide Show Photo: SME Steel Contractors/Michael Moore Terminal 3 is expected to open in mid-2012 and will cost approximately $2.4 billion. It will span 1.9 million square feet, and include 14 gates and a multistory parking garage. The Terminal’s frame, 300 ft wide and a half mile long, rose from the desert floor this summer. General
The airport world marked the latest leg of its journey toward standardizing sustainability this month in Chicago. The Chicago Dept. of Aviation, which is running a $6.6-billion modernization program, has unveiled the latest version of a sustainability manual that now offers specific guidelines and scoring systems for design, construction, operations and maintenance, concessions and tenants at airports. “Say goodbye to the old manual and hello to a new sustainable airport,” says Eugene Peters, director with Ricondo & Associates Inc., a Chicago-based aviation consultant. “This applies to everything...not just what you build but how you built it. Photo: OMP Green Airport
The University of Akron, paired with the Defense Metals Technology Center, a Dept. of Defense-funded institution in North Canton, Ohio, this fall will hold a contest calling for pedestrian-bridge designs that specify titanium. The bridge will connect the university’s Quaker Square residence hall to the main part of the campus over high-traffic railroad tracks. Contest staff hopes the bridge project, which may garner enough funding in donations for construction, promotes greater commercial construction use of titanium and advocates its lightweight quality and resilience. Titanium’s high cost precludes its use on infrastructure projects. DMTC hopes the metal’s demand will rise and
Fixing a looming problem in the Highway Trust Fund--at least for now--President Obama has signed legislation providing a $7-billion infusion for the trust fund's highway account. The additional money, which will be transferred from the general fund, is expected to keep the account solvent through Sept. 30 or perhaps a bit longer. Related Links: After 'Fix,' Trust Fund Still Not Out of the Woods Obama signed the measure on Aug. 7, the day the Senate began a four-week recess. The House's break began on July 31. When lawmakers return after Labor Day, debate is expected to heat up over how
Elliot G. "Lee" Sander, who ran New York City's huge transportation operation under former state Gov. Elliot Spitzer (D), is rejoining engineering giant AECOM Technology Corp. on Sept. 1, according to an internal company memo. His new position is managing director for global strategic initiatives. To be based in New York City, Sander will "develop and execute an integrated global strategy focused on new growth opportunities for AECOM in the world infrastructure market," says the memo. SANDER Sander resigned in May as CEO of the New York City region's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), reportedly under pressure by Gov. David Paterson
How would local transportation be affected if a metropolitan area experienced 140 million miles of additional heavy traffic in a 28-month period due to an explosive construction boom or a major disaster? New Orleans is about to find out. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state and city officials may be writing a primer on how to manage that kind of scenario. “They certainly had traffic impact with the Big Dig and the cleanup after the destruction of the Twin Towers, but never has a whole city been so affected by a construction project,” says Gib Owen, the Corps’
With the Highway Trust Fund facing a shortfall within weeks, Congress has approved a $7-billion infusion for the fund's highway account, a move that backers of the legislation say will be enough to keep the account solvent through Sept. 30. Photo: Granite Construction Stopgap measure will fund project such as this new bridge in Key Largo, Fla. Related Links: Highway Trust Fund Fight is Heading Down to the Wire Downward Travel Trend Raises Highway Trust Fund Worries Other ENR Highway Trust Fund Stories The new money will be transferred from the general fund. Final Congressional action on the short-term trust-fund
Officials from the Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee, which oversees construction of the new $6.3-billion San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, will travel to Shanghai at the end of August to investigate recent delays in steel deliveries from the Zhenhua Port Machinery Co. The discovery in January of cracked welds in girders has slowed shipments. Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney says a major delivery of deck- work segments for the self-anchored suspension span’s tower will be two months late. Ney says the delay will not affect the bridge’s 2013 completion date, but further delays may threaten the schedule. Photo: Caltrans
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