Vail Pass Highway�Respecter of Mountain Ecology
Environmental constraints to a large degree controlled both the design and construction of a 14-mi segment of Interstate Highway 70 through Vail Pass in Colorado and necessitated adoption...
San Antonio Freeway: Social-Impact Landmark
San Antonio's McAllister Freeway, or rather its proposed construction, aroused so much furor as to generate national publicity in the early 1970s. Objections arose because...
Parrotts Ferry Bridge: Pioneer in Lightweight, Pumped Concrete
Spanning the Stanislaus River in Northern California, this bridge includes a 640-ft center span that is the world's longest span in lightweight concrete and the longest bridge...
Venezuelan Dock Features Unconventional Design, Quick Set-Up
This structure, designed by Caracas design/construct firm Precomprimido, kills two birds with one stone: a series of huge, hollow concrete cylinders both support the service deck of the...
Strategic Petroleum Reserves: Billion Dollar Project to Provide Energy Security for U.S., Part 1 and 2
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, created in 1975, is intended to provide security to the U.S. by storing 750 million barrels of crude oil in salt domes in Louisiana and Texas. Since 1976,...
Miami Riot�Will a Phoenix Rise from Ashes�
In May, inner-city black residents of Miami, Florida, looted and burned about 300 buildings in their neighborhoods. The cause is detailed�their perception that the judicial system was...
Municipal Sewage: Three Communities Try to Cope
To meet federal clean water guidelines, New Hampshire's Winnipesaukee River Basin, the City of San Francisco, and the City of Milwaukee have to upgrade their treatment to...
What Can be Done to Boost the Efficiency of the Civil Engineering Profession�
In view of all the talk about the declining efficiency of American business, how can civil engineering works be planned, designed, constructed, operated, or maintained more efficiently?...
Some Ideas for Reducing Subway Construction Costs
This article presents the conclusions of a major study made during the past few years of both U.S. and European practices in building subways. Among the key conclusions: Planners and designers...
Pavement Recycling Catching On
Sparked by rising prices of asphalt, aggregates, energy, and construction labor, and plagued by a decline in the real dollars available for highway and road maintenance, many highway departments...
Inspecting Dam Construction
Through and competent inspection during construction is crucial to assure dam safty. Inspection for dam construction is more important than for other types of structures because plans...
How Texas got a New Highway Plan and More Construction Dollars
Texas has a new highway system plan, a new systems approach to highway design and about $300 million a year increase in highway funds over the next 20 years. Here are two articles that...
Structural Design of Tall Steel Buildings
This is the second in the ASCE five-volume Tall Building series. It is a comprehensive reference record and guide to the design and behavior of tall steel buildings. The volume is divided...
Construction Risks and Liability Sharing
Extensive litigation, large claims, construction conflicts and long delays have been increasing at an alarming rate during the past decade the trend is unmistakable and the dollar magnitude,...
101 Uses for Earth Reinforcement
A mini-symposium on earth reinforcement held at the April 1978 ASCE national convention attracted participants from around the world; symposium papers form the basis of this paper. Methods...
Seepage Cutoff Wall Installed Through Dam is Construction First
A new construction technique has been developed which provides a permanent solution to the foundation problems at Wolf Creek Dam. Muddy flows and sinkholes discovered in 1968 led to a...
Faults in Swedish and American Tunnel Practice: A Fable
Swedish and American practices in dealing with unanticipated geological conditions encountered during tunnel construction are contrasted. Swedish practice, illustrated with an actual example,...
Steel Plate Shear Walls Resist Lateral Load, Cut Costs
Two new buildings have a seldom-used stiffening system�� steel plate shear walls. Reasons for using them, rather than reinforced concrete shear walls or steel or concrete rigid frames,...
Highway History: Modern Turnpike Era Recounted
Early history of the development of revenue bond financing of transportation projects is outlined including advances in engineering technique and policies. The origins of the original...
Ontario Writes New Bridge Code
In 1976, Ontario's Ministry of Transportation and Communications decided to write its own bridge design code, breaking away from the AASHTO code, because: (1)It wanted a metric...
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