The discovery of concrete cracks from an alkali-silica reaction, or ASR, in five safety-related structures at New Hampshire's Seabrook nuclear powerplant has prompted plant owner NextEra Energy Resources to launch several ASR studies as part of a comprehensive corrective action plan.
Photo by Julio Delgadillo, Skanska USA Will Senner, left, an assistant project manager with Skanska USA, and Glen Smith, right, a superintendent, demonstrate how they can use Vela's tools for taking BIM to the field on iPads. Here they match a model view with a project location to "see" in-wall utilities of ductwork, mechanical piping and fire protection piping at the James B. Hunt library construction project at North Carolina State University's campus in Raleigh. A set of new products that graduated from public beta status in late May will let users of Vela Systems' field data management services add
Massachusetts joins the growing ranks of states that are using self-propelled modular transporters to rapidly replace bridges. Photo By Stephen Setteducati The first phase of the project includes three bridge replacements. Related Links: Utah Moves On Down the Road Did Someone Order an Instant Bridge? Massachusetts is following the lead of other states and embracing accelerated bridge construction, or ABC, using the method not only for highway spans but also for rail structures in Boston's Fairmont Corridor project.
Related Links: More ENR Information Technology News ConsensusDocs Coalition A new cloud-based platform lets users of ConsensusDocs, a popular library of more than 90 best-practices contract-document forms, collaboratively edit and prepare contracts in real time with Microsoft Word on a Mac or PC.The new tool, released on April 23 by the ConsensusDocs Coalition, accesses new and updated contract templates and enables document sharing with multiple collaborators, either live on the web or offline. Among other improvements, it also enables comparison of document versions of Word and PDF files."It's easier to use, and you don't have to send copies [to each
Pittsfield, Maine-based contractor Cianbro, a Massachusetts developer and a Boston contractor have purchased a former radar station in Moscow, Maine, where they plan to develop a powerplant and business complex.
Fourteen months after a 110-lb light fixture fell from the ceiling of Boston's O'Brien tunnel, Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation highway officials have announced a $54-million plan to replace all of the tunnel's 25,000 lighting units with new light-emitting diode fixtures to assure long-term safety in the Central Artery system.The fixture recommended by the Boston-based office of engineering consultant HNTB is an 8-ft-long sealed unit that has a fiberglass housing, an acrylic lens cover and a three-row LED array board.
Wagner Ohio's energy plans may be more focused on coal and shale than on renewable energy these days, but that's not stopping Cleveland-based nonprofit LEEDco.
Virginia Tech Univ. Holly Matusovich Potential gaps between how faculty teach and how students learn engineering concepts is the subject of a new study by a Virginia Tech University assistant professor. Holly Matusovich will focus her five-year research on thermal dynamics classes in chemical and mechanical engineering, but the results "will unlock secrets to conceptual learning that will apply across all fields," she says.On the faculty of the Blacksburg, Va.-based school's engineering education department, Matusovich will use a $438,000 National Science Foundation grant to study the gap between what faculty think they are teaching and what students say they are
Rendering Courtesy Elkus Manfredi Proposed New Balance headquarters building (left) will anchor a 14-acre complex that will include a 175-room hotel (center). Athletic shoe manufacturer New Balance plans to build a 14-acre world headquarters complex featuring LEED-certified buildings in Boston's blighted Allston-Brighton area, located along the Massachusetts Turnpike. The proposed complex includes at least four office buildings, restaurants, a 175-room hotel and a sports complex with a 200-meter track-and-field facility, according to a master plan filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority on March 21. The new 250,000-sq-ft headquarters building, designed in the shape of a running shoe, will not exceed 130
Courtesy of Nitsch Engineers Engineer Christine Breen boosts industry's prospects to students, ages 10 to 18. Avery Elementary School, an $18-million project in Dedham, Mass., was the site on March 14 for a hands-on classroom in which 150 middle- and high school girls learned how engineering directly affects their world and about the potential for a career in the industry. In the annual program sponsored by Nitsch Engineering, female professionals shared their passion for the work and the challenges of doing technical jobs that involve teamwork.This year's event—co-sponsored by Consigli Construction, WSP Flack + Kurtz, GEI Consultants and the Engineers