Gabions: Economical, Environmentally Compatible Erosion Control
Not well known in this country, gabions have been in use for about 75 years in Europe. Gabions are wire baskets, filled with rock and wired together to form an erosion control or bank...
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,...
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...
Flood Studies Led to National Flood Insurance
Federal responsibility for flood insurance was decreed by Congress in 1956, after it realized that the private insurance could not alone bear the risk. Flood-plain management, a prerequisite...
Why Does a Federal Demonstration Project Succeed or Fail�
This is a condensed version of an article published in
Design and Construction of Long-Span Metal Culverts
Long-span metal culverts are built of corrugated-metal plates bolted together. They have spans exceeding 15 ft. Principal applications include use as drainage structures, grade separations,...
1977 Clean Air Act: Cheapest Way to Clean Up the Environment�
What impact is the Clean Air Act of 1977 having on American industry? Is the law the most cost effective way to clean up the nation's air? The power industry dislikes the...
Construction Risk: Who Pays�
A report is given on the January 1979 Construction Risk and Liability Sharing Conference sponsored by ASCE's Construction Division Committees on Contract Administration and...
The Computer Service Bureau: What Role Today�
Given the fact that minicomputers are finding their way into more and more engineering offices today, it is timely to ask: does the computer service bureau still have a role to play? This...
Highway Embankment Doubles as Dam
By slightly modifying the design of a highway and its drainage, Pennsylvania engineers were able to reclaim about 100 acres of former swampland for residential use. Without extra cost...
Stamford's Urban Renewal Project Takes Off
Stamford, Conn. is one of the most fiscally sound cities in the United States. And a key reason is that over the past 13 years, it has become the home of 16 of the nation's...
Washington METRO: A People's Eye View
Much has been written about the technical aspects of this 101 mile, 86 station system. But as important in Washington, D.C. were the political aspects. Backed by Presidents; scrutinized...
Corps Takes New Approach to Flood Control
As urban development increased storm runoff into the Charles River, a dam built in 1910 became inadequate to protect the Boston area from flooding. Boston suffered $5,000,000 in flood...
More Than Just Another Routine Job
Split-second scheduling, attention to community needs and esthetics�� all figures into the design and construction of the Mission Road highway-railroad grade separation in central Los...
New York: Water City
New York's waterfront (some 584 miles) is its most impressive natural resource and its biggest management headache. In Manhattan, changes in waterfront technology (container...
Will EPA Relax Its Mandatory Secondary Treatment Requirement�
In the Clean Water Act of 1977, Congress said that under some circumstances communities discharging to marine waters might not have to provide full secondary treatment. At the present...
Coming This Year: Reusable Link with Space
Scheduled for launch in early 1980, the Space Shuttle is the first reusable space vehicle. It will reduce space flight cost, saving an estimated $11.2 billion between 1980 and 1991. This...
What Has the U.S. Gotten Out of the Space Program�
Since the time of its creation in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has spent billions of dollars on space activities. What has the U.S. gotten out of these tremendous...
First Line of Atlanta's New Transit System Opens
With lessons learned from San Francisco and Washington, D.C., Atlanta hopes to avoid some of the problems encountered by those cities in building and operating its new transit system....
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