Nothing except war tears apart the seams of civilization like a natural disaster. 

Along with rainstorms and cherry blossoms, spring at Engineering News-Record means some finger crossing and nail biting as we wait to find out the results of the journalism competitions we have entered for our work in the past year.

It’s clear now that an organized plan for trade can never be expected to emerge from the Trump administration’s deal-oriented style.

Crane accidents are one of the enduring nightmares of construction work, so it is notable that as an industry where regulation often equals costs and entanglements, construction professionals have joined together to support the long-awaited publication date of a new federal safety rule that would make certifying crane operators mandatory.

There are those who bellyache that the construction industry is stagnant and lacks innovation and productivity gains.

Resilience is a term that’s talked about a lot today. But to see its human face, look no further than the 3.4 million residents of Puerto Rico.

How many of today’s $17-an-hour construction laborers are tomorrow’s $90,000-a-year project managers? During the partisan opera unfolding over immigration in Washington, D.C., the question is worth asking.

Finally, infrastructure’s moment may soon arrive in U.S. politics, but will critical projects such as replacing 19th-century sewer lines get the attention they deserve?

The Republican majority is set to fill in the details of the Trump administration’s tax framework.

In recent weeks, President Trump has let it be known that he no longer foresees public-private partnerships as the centerpiece of his infrastructure plan. No surprise there.