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
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
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.
Mrs. Martin, the 1949 Hudson Commodore 8 carrying the Low and Slow tour team, parked behind the tainter-gate section of Folsom Dam's Auxiliary Spillway. Related Links: Low and Slow Across America's Infrastructure Blog: Mrs. Martin Meets the Mile-High City Slide Show: Across the Great Basin From an airport terminal expansion in Salt Lake City to an industrial complex growing at warp speed near Reno to a sewer treatment update and the retrofit of Folsom Dam, infrastructure stewards are digging in to upgrade facilities and enhance lifestyles.As ENR's Low & Slow tour made its way to the West Coast, an uphill
Photo By Dan McNichol for ENR Denver International Airport's new rail terminal is set to open in the spring of 2016. Photo by Dan McNichol Three workers prepare the walkway from the rail platform to the retail, hotel and airport entrance to the terminals. Related Links: Low and Slow Across America's Infrastructure Low and Slow: The Tour Reaches the Heartland Low and Slow: A State's Transportation Funding in Misery In St. Louis, a half-dozen public agencies teamed up with scores of private donors to fund the $380-million CityArchRiver 2015 project. One of the agencies is the Great Rivers Greenway District,
Enlarge The Low and Slow Tour, as of June 14. Click the image to enlarge. Related Links: Low and Slow Across America's Infrastructure (scroll down for the updated Low and Slow itinerary)While working away at my desk at ENR’s home office in New York City, in spirit I have been touring the nation’s infrastructure with transportation editor Aileen Cho and author Dan McNichol, on special assignment for the cross-country expedition.Happily, I did get to sit in the driver's seat when Mrs. Martin visited Penn Station during the pretour. And I’ve had lots of opportunity to stay involved, working with the
Related Links: ENR's Low & Slow Across America's Infrastructure Tour How One Old Car Became a Metaphor for America's Infrastructure Darrell Carlisle approached the 1949 Hudson sedan, nicknamed Mrs. Martin and serving as a low-slung symbol of America's aging infrastructure. Standing at a gas station off Interstate 64 between Louisville, Ky., and St. Louis, the Jefferson, Ind., resident recalled a "60 Minutes" television episode on infrastructure and thought of a Pittsburgh bridge, which had a special platform built to catch spalling concrete."Every time I go across a bridge, I think about that," Carlisle said. "How well was this built, and
Enlarge The proposed route across America's infrastructure. Click to enlarge. Related Links: Low and Slow Across America's Infrastructure: An ENR Special Report Two strangers get into a 65-year-old car and set off across the U.S., looking for projects, plows and professionals dedicated to our nation’s infrastructure. This is what happens when two transportation infrastructure writers who’d never met, talk for an hour on the phone: Low and Slow Across America’s Infrastructure.ENR’s senior transportation editor Aileen Cho and author Dan McNichol are setting off in mid-May on a real-time documentary "road trip" in a vintage 1949 Hudson automobile that symbolizes the
Related Links: Entrepreneurs Taking Tool Ideas to Kickstarter White House Rolls Out New Private Infrastructure Finance Plans If a fledgling venture succeeds, members of the public might be able to participate in crowd-funded public-private partnerships for infrastructure projects.Brian Ross, a former construction manager, conceived the idea in fall 2013 and formed a venture called InfraShares with Pablo Nunez, an entrepreneur with P3 experience in Europe and India. Ross envisions that individual investors will be able to peruse P3 projects and make investments accordingly, through the website InfraShares.Through his experience with P3s in water-wastewater, Ross says, "one common criticism was that
