Tall Order
Successive earthquakes have damaged the 32-story, 460 ft (140 m) tall Los Angeles City Hall, built in 1926. Masonry infill and concrete walls have cracked, and the terra cotta cladding...
Back from the Brink
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States, has been moved to prevent it from toppling into the sea as a result of coastal erosion. Engineers from...
Managing the Megaproject
The Mon/Fayette Expressway and Southern Beltway will link Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Morgantown, West Virginia via a 104 km, $3.5 billion Y-shaped highway. With the project split into...
All Eyes on I-15
The largest single highway construction contract in United States history is currently underway in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Utah Department of Transportation's innovative...
Special Geotechnical Testing: Central Artery/Tunnel Project in Boston, Massachusetts
The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T) in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest urban highway construction project in the history of the interstate system. The magnitude and complexity...
GIS Paves the Way
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 requires an environmental impact assessment study for all Federal-aid transportation improvement projects. NEPA studies evaluate potential...
Safe Passage
Past studies have indicated that the existing juvenile fish bypass system at the second powerhouse located at the Corps of Engineers' Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River...
A Race Against Time
The coastal hillsides of San Mateo County, California, were quickly developed during the post WWII construction boom. Although the land is prized for its scenic beauty, the underlying...
Easy Interface
Engineers have long desired to be able to move freely from computer-aided design (CAD) programs to geographic information systems (GIS) and their vast databases. Now, thanks to improvements...
Construction Control for Earth and Rockfill Dams
Technical Engineering and Design Guides, as adapted from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, No. 27 This manual provides critical guidance for constructors...
Passage to 2000
On Dec. 31, 1999 the United States turns over ownership and operations of the Panama Canal Commission. In preparation for the handover, the Panama Canal Commission, an independent U.S....
The New Commute
Owners of small engineering firms differ in their opinions about the efficacy of allowing employees to work from home one or more days per week. Some find it difficult to justify the technology...
Advancing Composites (Available in Structural Engineering Special Section only)
Advanced composites, particularly fiber-reinforced polymers, have received considerable attention from bridge owners over the last few years, as cost-effective, durable alternatives to...
Preparing Specifications for Design-Bid Build Projects
The Committee on Specifications of the Construction Division of ASCE has developed a guide to preparing construction specifications for design-bid build projects. The guide contains preparation...
Consulting Engineering
A Guide for the Engagement of Engineering Services
Ground Attack
Buried surfaces made of concrete, ductile iron and carbon steel are susceptible to corrosion by the soil that surrounds them, but there are numerous ways that these surfaces may be protected....
Mix and Match
The U.S. Navy wanted to expand operations at Pearl Harbor, which required a bridge from Oahu to nearby Ford Island. The bridge spans more than 4,000 ft, and combines a fixed bridge and...
Over the Top Concrete
The 60-year-old Tongue River Dam in southeastern Montana is undergoing extensive dam safety and reservoir enlargement modifications. Major features of the project include a 60,000 cfs...
A Tale of Two Bids
In early 1992, the Escambia County Utilities Authority determined that its 2 mgd Avondale Wastewater Treatment Plant should be expanded to 8 mgd to meet the growing needs of the Pensacola,...
Rebuilding Bosnia
A civil engineer serving in the U.S. Army Reserve on deployment in Bosnia-Herzegovina gives a first-hand account of construction in a war-torn country. As a member of the Environmental...
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