| News for and about the civil engineering community
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- Big Dig still 18 months from completion
Two months after closing the head office of Boston's Big Dig, Massachusetts officials say the $14 billion roadway project still has a list of about 2,000 items needing attention. Though the unfinished business accounts for only about 1% of the total project, it could take 18 months to complete, according to Helmut Ernst, chief engineer of the Massachusetts Turnpike. The Boston Globe
(3/3)
- San Diego to present comprehensive urban plan
For the first time in almost 30 years, San Diego has completely rewritten its long-term urban plan, creating a 360-page document to guide the city's expected 25% growth over the next two to three decades. Planning officials are emphasizing smart growth in established neighborhoods, because just 4% of the city's 331 square miles remain available for new development. "This is the first time in the city's history where most of the growth will be predominantly through infill and redevelopment," says Bill Anderson, director of planning and community investment. San Diego Union-Tribune
(3/2)
- Akron-Canton Airport officials to reveal expansion plans
After watching traffic double over the past 10 years, Akron-Canton Airport officials will attend the Cleveland Engineering Society's 56th Design & Construction Conference next week to show off their plans for a $110 million expansion project. In 2006, the airport fell just 43 passengers short of making the FAA's list of the nation's 100 busiest airports. Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio)
(3/2)
- Evanston high-rise proposal roils university town
With nowhere to grow but up, the leafy, low-rise university town of Evanston, Ill., is being roiled by a developer's proposal for a condo tower nearly twice as tall as any other building on the horizon. Developers and some city officials say the 49-story structure would become an icon for the university town, attracting business and residents to the compact downtown. But recent hearings have drawn hundreds of angry protesters who say they moved to Evanston to avoid the high-rise skyline of nearby Chicago. Los Angeles Times (free registration)
(3/2)
| Technology and Trends | | |
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- Florida approves electroslag welding for highway project
With the blessing of the Florida Department of Transportation, workers on a roadway project in Tampa are using a new type of electroslag welding, a process once forbidden by the Federal Highway Administration. The updated technique, known as Narrow Gap Improved Electroslag Welding, is being used by Florida Structural Steel on a $205 million project. Company officials say splicing plates for the overpass would take about 22 hours with conventional welding, versus six to seven hours using electroslag techniques. Engineering News-Record
(2/27)
| Sustainability | | |
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- Western states eye dams as solution to water crisis
After a lull of more than 40 years, big dam projects are getting a second look across the drought-plagued western U.S. Officials in California, Colorado, Washington, Nevada and Idaho are all considering major new dam projects to provide water for their states' exploding populations. But the projects may never come to fruition due to protests by environmentalists and the sticker shock of multibillion-dollar price tags. Seattle Post-Intelligencer/Associated Press
(3/1)
- Green building requirement fails in Southern California
After failing to convince skeptical residents and businesses to adopt "green" building standards, Chula Vista, Calif., Mayor Cheryl Cox has withdrawn a proposed law that would have governed development in her city's downtown core. With residents set to vote on a 45-foot building cap in several months, the mayor still hopes to advance her agenda. "Green buildings lower energy use, they promote indoor air quality, they result in discounted insurance premiums, they reduce maintenance and equipment failure due to coordinating construction from the outset," she said. San Diego Union-Tribune
(3/1)
| Management Practices | | |
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- Business owners can prep successors before retirement
Business owners who plan for the future of their company following their retirement often nurture their own successor. To do this, the owner may set up an informal review period to test the person's skills before making a commitment, increase the successor's benefits to retain him or her until the time is right, and put the buy-sell agreement in writing. The Advertiser (Lafayette, La.)
(3/3)
- Sleep deprivation has become costly, risky work issue
Sleepiness costs billions of dollars in lost production and puts workers at risk driving to and from work, according to a new study on sleep and the workplace. Of the respondents polled for the research, 39% had nodded off or fallen asleep while driving, almost 30% had fallen asleep at work or become very sleepy and 12% had arrived late for work because they were sleepy. USA TODAY
(3/3)
| Policy Update | | |
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- DHS chief raises concerns about the future of security
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said he is concerned about the next administration and Congress letting their guard down on homeland security issues. "The biggest obstacle my successor will face is, 'Does the public and does Congress have the will to stick to it?' " Chertoff said. "Or are we going to start to see people cannibalize homeland security because we haven't been attacked for six years, [and] it doesn't seem like it is a burning issue any more?" The Sun (Baltimore) (free registration)
(3/2)
| Critical Infrastructure | | |
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- Opinion: Fix Connecticut roads before building new ones
Smart-growth advocates in Connecticut are criticizing a state transportation budget that earmarks 32% of available funds for highway-expansion projects while only 19% is spent on maintaining existing roads. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign wants to see the state Department of Transportation implement a "fix-it-first" policy that also seeks to reduce commuters' dependence on cars by encouraging close-in development with access to public transportation. The Hartford Courant (Conn.)
(3/2)
| News from ASCE | | |
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OPAL winner for construction Luyties recognized for achievements in offshore-platform advances
William H. Luyties III, P.E., M.ASCE, spent decades working on the development of offshore platforms for Shell Oil. His first major project was the Eureka platform, at the time the sixth-deepest platform in the world. He was in charge of a string of record deep-water Tension Leg Platforms (TLPs) and was project manager for the Na Kika Project, a $1.5 billion development in the Gulf of Mexico in a record-breaking 6,350-foot water depth. Luyties will receive the 2008 ASCE Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Lifetime Achievement Award for construction. Learn more about his achievements. The award will be presented on April 30 during ASCE's annual OPAL Awards Gala at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va. Learn more and register.
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Water Resources Academy to honor new diplomates at Environmental Congress
The American Academy of Water Resources Engineers (AAWRE) will hold its annual induction ceremony for diplomates on May 13 at the 2008 EWRI World Environmental & Water Resources Congress in Honolulu. The ceremony will recognize Professor Asit K. Biswas, Ph.D., Hon.D.WRE, and Professor Rafael L. Bras, Sc.D., P.E., Hon.D.WRE, along with new diplomates from 2007 and 2008. AAWRE will offer opportunities to delve into ethics issues in three engineering ethics sessions at the EWRI Congress. Learn more about the 2008 EWRI Congress and AAWRE.
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