Power Line Stresses Environmental Concern
A recently constructed power line in Colorado and Wyoming has been labeled a leader in protecting the environment and enhancing the area's natural scenic beauty. Built by...

Why Does the Public Resist High-Voltage Power Lines�
Why, in some instances, has the public reacted so strongly to the erection of high-voltage electric transmission lines (765,000 kV and up) across portions of the United States? Is there...

Multimillion-Acre Tea Bag
Just as pouring the same cupful again and again through a tea strainer makes bitter tea, so irrigating again and again with return-flow water concentrates salts in the water supply. While...

America's Covered Bridges
Soon after the Revolutionary War, bridge construction became more important in the United States. Early builders developed by trail and error an economical, permanent, long-span covered...

West Virginia Cooling Tower Collapse Caused by Premature Form Removal
The collapse of a reinforced concrete cooling tower under construction at Willow Island, W.Va. in April 1978 resulted in 51 fatalities, making it the worst construction accident in American...

Continuing Education in Engineering�What's New?
ASCE's growing program in continuing education is described, plus a view of projected program growth. Two background factors�whether or not more states are likely to follow...

New Approach to Storm Drainage Pipe Design
Using a recently developed computer program, drainage swales can be designed to provide short-term storage of stormwater. Benefits of this approach to stormwater management include reduced...

Post-Tensioned Foundations as Economical Alternative
Although post-tensioned (p-t) foundations have been utilized in the U.S. since the early 1960s, the last five years have witnessed a substantial increase in their implementation. Used...

Stumbling Blocks to Effective Management
The author, who for a time was a manager with a powerplant design/construct company, after working with many aspiring managers, concludes that five stumbling blocks exist that sometimes...

Willow Island Aftermath: The Limits of OSHA
In April 1978 a natural-draft hyperbolic concrete cooling tower under construction at Willow Island, W.Va. collapsed. Fifty-one workers, suspended on a scaffold supported mainly by a layer...

The Concrete Canoe: A Technological Challenge
In 1970 the first concrete canoe was built, and since that time many colleges and universities have built and raced concrete canoes. The Union College (Schenectady, NY) Stone Boat Club...

Public Engineers�Why the Least Happy Category of Civil Engineers�
Civil engineers in government, city, county, state and federal, and especially the first three, seem to be the group of ASCE members who are least happy. Reasons why include lower pay...

The Long Road to Regulatory Reform
A brief report on ASCE's actions to encourage the regulatory reform movement in Washington. Included are the resolution as accepted by ASCE's Board of Direction,...

U.S. Water Policy: Putting the Lid on the Pork Barrel
Federal water policy is undergoing a significant change, both in the way projects are developed and approved and in the kinds of water problems addressed. The Congress and the Executive...

Whither Satellite Remote Sensing�II�
For about six years, NASA SERTS (now called Landsat) satellites have been circling the globe, radioing back digital information on what they see on earth. After being massaged by computer,...

The New Energy Boom: Hydropower
Based on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimate, there are 49,500 dams in the U.S. that could produce around 9,000 MW of power. The government has been subsidizing demonstration projects...

Earth-Filled Slurry Walls Provide Economical Seepage Control
Slurry trench cut-off walls are often used for seepage control after structures requiring excavation are completed, but at a construction site on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway project...

Re-decking a Bridge With Precast Concrete
Re-decking a 1627-ft deck girder bridge on the Pennsylvania Turnpike with precast concrete slabs allowed the bridge to remain partially open to traffice during the entire construction...

The Fly-Over: It Unclogs Urban Traffic in A Hurry
Fly-overs are light-weight, low-cost, prefabricated steel structures that elevate only one or two lanes over a traffic-choked city intersection but dramatically reduce congestion. By removing...

Computerizing Public Works Design
Computers are an easy way to increase engineering design productivity. This is especially important to public works departments who have decreasing budgets and increasing work loads. This...

 

 

 

 

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