Photo Courtesy of Acciona Two of four tunnel boring machines arrived in Brazil in November. Photo Courtesy of Acciona 210-ft-long earth pressure balance TBMs will dig new subway route. Related Links: Two Years To World Cup Kickoff For Brazilian Stadiums Architects, Commerce Dept. Embark On Trade Mission To Brazil As demonstrated by this summer's fare-increase riots—which caused an estimated 1 million protesters in São Paolo and other Brazilian cities to take to the streets—public transportation is a crucial issue for the burgeoning country. Next year's World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games will add tremendous strain on the country's infrastructure.

Morocco imports 95% of its energy. Its fortunes dependent on oil-price fluctuations, the country's trade deficit has been expanding.Renewable energy was an obvious solution for a country that has more than 2,000 miles of windy coasts along the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and more than 3,000 hours of sunshine annually; it also has access to the biggest sand desert on the planet.With energy plants under construction that will generate solar, wind and hydro power on a scale never before seen in Africa, Morocco is turning very green. By 2020, the country plans to generate over 40% of its

Courtesy of Acciona Spanish contractor Acciona won a key contract in 2010 on the billion-dollar Legacy Way tunnel in Brisbane, Australia. Related Links: El Pais Report on Contractor Corruption Spanish Contractors Make a Global Imprint Spanish construction giants are facing a brutal reality.The 2008 economic collapse and resulting ripples have caused massive losses and bankruptcies. Drastic cuts in Spanish government spending have all but dried up domestic infrastructure work and dug-in European competitors block entry into lucrative projects in European Union markets on the rebound.And corruption allegations surfacing now in media reports involving some key industry executives have not made

A final report is pending on how technological advances can aid in the diagnosis, and ultimate rehabilitation, of the nation's vast bridge network, based on an exhaustive study led by Rutgers University in New Jersey, involving teams from three continents.

 Courtesy Rutgers University Research that will look at U.S. system of 600,000 bridges begins with a single span in Wayne, N.J. Courtesy Rutgers University Non-destructive evaluation methods provide information more quickly, at a fraction of the cost of conventional testing metods. Related Links: Rutgers/PB-Led Research Team Will Study Hundreds Of Bridges The U.S. system includes some 600,000 bridges. This number

Funds originally planned for a multi-billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River instead will go to New Jersey road rehabilitation projects, as proposed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R). At a Board of Commissioners meeting on March 29, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey authorized $1.8 billion to fund New Jersey road and bridge projects, none of which are owned or operated by the port authority. The money had been slated as part of the agency's contribution to the Hudson River tunnel, which Christie cancelled last October. Construction began on the Access to the Region's Core

Funds originally planned for a multi-billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River instead will go to New Jersey road rehabilitation projects, as proposed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R). CHRISTIE At a Board of Commissioners meeting on March 29, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey authorized $1.8 billion to fund New Jersey road and bridge projects, none of which are owned or operated by the port authority. The money had been slated as part of the agency’s contribution to the Hudson River tunnel, which Christie cancelled last October. Construction began on the Access to the Region’s

In Lower Manhattan, the steel on the World Trade Center’s Tower 1, formerly know as Freedom Tower, on Dec. 16 reached its halfway point—the 52nd floor—Tower 4 is at the 9th floor, and the north memorial pool had a successful water test in late November. The steel for the atrium that will lead to the below-grade memorial museum was also put in place in mid-December. “It’s a fantastic time in the project,” said Quentin Brathwaite, assistant director of program logistics for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s WTC construction program, at the start of a talk hosted

Amid the controversy surrounding Park51, the Muslim community center and worship space in Lower Manhattan labeled the “Ground Zero Mosque” by its opponents, the young New York-based firm SOMA Architects last week quietly unveiled designs for the new 15-story building. “I think the location of the center has been overexposed and overrated,” says Michel Abboud, principal at SOMA. Image courtesy of SOMA Architects SOMA Architects unveiled designs for the controversial Park51 Islamic Center in Lower Manhattan, but the young company is looking to work with a larger, more experienced firm if the project goes forward. Abboud recently sat down in

ENR reporter Alex Padalka recently sat down with Michel Abboud, a principal at SOMA, to discuss the New York firm’s involvement in the controversial Park51 Islamic community center and prayer space proposed for Lower Manhattan. Renderings of the 15-story building—labeled the Ground Zero Mosque by its opponents—recently were released. Image: Courtesy Of Soma The Park51 Islamic center’s design was unveiled recently. Q: What can you tell me about your firm? A: We have offices in New York, Mexico and Beirut. With the economic crisis, we wanted to extend our projects in the Middle East, so the past couple of years

The tri-state area’s designers were on the front lines of a construction market choking on its excesses in 2008. Today, even if temporarily, most of the rampage seems to be over, but there is little cause for excessive optimism: colleagues across the three states remain unemployed, projects are stalled, and there are few indicators that the federal or state governments will come to the rescue to the extent they did in previous downturns. Among those still standing, there’s a growing consensus that business as usual is over, and the industry as a whole will need to reinvent itself to stay