The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has initiated a “Grand Challenge.” The Grand Challenge asks for a commitment from civil engineers to be innovative in all phases of project planning, design, and implementation. The Grand Challenge’s goal is to reduce infrastructure lifespan costs by 50% by 2025 and to encourage innovation and design for infrastructure sustainability. The ASCE…
No Time For Waste(water) In DC!
An earth-moving event is underway in Washington D.C. Only this time it’s not on Capitol Hill. This one is happening approximately 100 feet underground to fix runoff and wastewater problems that have afflicted the District of Columbia since the 1800’s. DC Water is conducting a $2.6 billion project to install 13 miles of new sewer…
Hurricane Katrina 10th Anniversary
On August 29, The City of New Orleans will experience the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. With the expertise of planners, architects, engineers, construction teams, The City of New Orleans has improved its hurricane protection system, upgrading and repairing much of the destroyed infrastructure. As we reported over the past 10 years, a number of the failed…
Sustainable Highways, Transportation & GREENROADS?
The CivilEngineeringCentral.com blogs have often discussed the need for sustainable transportation in the US. Whether we discussed transit, high speed rail, the SCHWEEB or SkyTran, we are fascinated with the concept of finding a way to be better to our planet while getting where we need to go when we want to get there. One…
The Brazilian Infrastructure Boom
It was not too long ago that the infrastructure and construction boom in the UAE and the surrounding Gulf Region was all the rage. Take a look at this segment from a Discovery Channel special on Dubai to see what I am talking about: Over the course of my conversations with civil engineering professionals I always like to ask what…
Are You High On Speed…Rail?
Matt Barcus President, Precision Executive Search, Inc Managing Partner, CivilEngineeringCentral.com View Matt’s profile & connect with him on LinkedIn It’s been quite some time since I have touched on this subject, so at the risk of “beating a dead horse,” here I go again! Have you ever known anyone who has traveled via high-speed rail? …
How to Prevent Infrastructure Disaster?
By Carol A. Metzner President, The Metzner Group, LLC and Managing Partner, A/E/P Central, LLC home of CivilEngineeringCentral.com This August will be the 3rd anniversary of the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis and the 5th anniversary of the New Orleans levee system failure. July brings with it the 19th year mark of the Kansas City Hyatt…
The National Infrastructure Bank
By Carol A. Metzner President, The Metzner Group, LLC and Managing Partner, A/E/P Central, LLC home of CivilEngineeringCentral.com Press releases reported last month that a “broad coalition of members of Congress, experts and stakeholders called on Congress and the Obama Administration to create a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) to help generate the investment needed for…
The Bridge Collapse…Two Years Later. What Do We Know?
By Carol Metzner President, The Metzner Group, LLC Managing Partner, A/E/P Central, LLC home of CivilEngineeringCentral.com On August 2, 2007, the entire span of I-35W (officially known as Bridge 9340) in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River. Vehicles, concrete and metal crashed into the water below. Lives were lost and many more were changed that fateful…
Is There A Future in Civil/Structural Shweebeneering?
By Matt Barcus President, Precision Executive Search, Inc. Managing Partner, A/E/P Central, LLC, home of CivilEngineeringCentral.com Well, you can thank this week’s blog to my new hobby of “tweeting.” One of the other professionals that I follow made a “tweet” that led to a way cool website whose idea is worth mentioning. The future of this “pod…