The Shape of Things to Come
High-performance steel (HPS) offers improved toughness and durability for bridge construction. This article presents several innovative concepts for HPS structural systems�including I-girders...
Closing in on Approval
A lack of qualification criteria and design standards has hindered some engineers from using fiber-reinforced polymers to restore concrete structures. But several organizations�among them,...
Moving Mountains
The earthmoving and rock-crushing operations at the Eastside Reservoir represented one of the largest such projects in the history of the United States. The earth and rock-fill dams required...
Walled In (Available in Geo-Environmental Special Issue only)
For more than 50 years manufacturing plants adjacent to the northeast bank of a midwestern creek produced asbestos-reinforced construction materials. When manufacturing at the plants ceased...
NAVSTAR Global Positioning System Surveying
Technical Engineering and Design Guides, as adapted from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, No. 28. This manual provides technical specifications and...
Keeping It Together
A new framing system for precast concrete columns and beams will allow tall buildings to withstand large earthquakes without damage to the structural integrity of the building. By using...
Return of the Master Builder
As projects become more complex and clients demand streamlined design and construction approaches, more consulting companies are attempting to add hard-dollar construction to their scope....
Box Girder Balancing Act
On November 18, 1999, cranes lowered into place the last of 202 precast concrete segments that form the main span of the new Sagadahoc Bridge, a $46.6 million crossing that boasts the...
Sum of the Parts
As with all of the bay bridges that serve as life lines to the San Francisco peninsula, the 32-year-old San Mateo Bridge needs strengthening to withstand a maximum credible earthquake...
Above Them All
The design for what would be the next world's tallest building relies on a 1,550 ft (472 m) high concrete core that will give occupants of the top floors of the building unimpeded...
Branching Out (Available in Structural Engineering Special Issue only)
The Cologne/Bonn Airport in Germany is currently undergoing its biggest construction project to date: a $200 million, five-story addition. Close and productive collaboration between the...
On Martian Soil
Discussions are ongoing about how and when to build human settlements on other worlds. Many scientific discussions have focused on settlements on Mars, and how the initial colonists would...
Casino Connection
New Jersey's $330-million, 2.2 mi (3.5 km) Atlantic City-Brigantine Connector will provide easy access to gambling casinos when it is completed in May 2001 and is one of the...
Fast-Track Funding
The South Carolina Department of Transportation has implemented one of the most innovative highway and bridge construction programs in the United States. With creative financing and contracting,...
The Berlin Local Transport Company (BVG): A Part of Berlin
Public transport was in existence in Berlin for more than 150 years. Buses, trams, and underground trains were combined in a single company, whose initials BVG became part of Berlin. As...
Inside Job
River Mill Dam is a large Ambursen (buttress type) dam constructed in 1911 on the Clackamas River in Oregon. The preliminary and final design phase of the seismic upgrade project coincided...
Third World Markets: Anticipating the Risks
The market for construction in lesser-developed nations is estimated at $750 billion. Clearly, these nations represent an important emerging market for engineering and construction firms,...
Re-Creating the Rainbow Bridge
A team of American and Chinese experts constructed a pier-free arch bridge in China based only on a 12th century...
High-Performance Hybrid
The Nebraska Department of Roads is taking advantage of the new high-performance steel (HPS) to develop a modular, two-girder bridge that will employ standardized hybrid HPS components,...
Safety in a Designer's Hands
Although contractors face safety issues every day, engineers and architects have traditionally not addressed construction site safety in project designs. But there are design practices...
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