Tracking the Temblor
The earthquake that occurred in Izmit, Turkey, in August 1999�along a fault line that is similar to the San Andreas Fault in Southern California�has provided useful data to researchers...
Learning from Disaster
After each earthquake, civil engineers learn more about what can be done to minimize the damage to infrastructure from seismic events. The recent large earthquakes that struck Izmit, Turkey,...
How Creative Engineers Think
Engineering giants think in a non-traditional way, combining scientific thinking with creative thinking, which results in technological thought. The author gives examples of how Gustave...
Light Rail as Planned
The Mission Valley West project, an extension of the San Diego Trolley, runs 6.1 miles between Qualcomm Stadium and the Old Town District. Conceived by the Metropolitan Transit Development...
Tough Conditions, Innovative Solutions
Two major innovations in U.S. construction practice are part of the solution to a complex and difficult portion of the Massachusetts Highway Department's Central Artery/Tunnel...
Burrowing Beneath Bangkok
The $2.9 billion Bangkok subway project faces several daunting obstacles�soft soils, a high water table and Thailand's current economic upheaval. The Blue Line subway system...
Traffic and Transportation Studies
This proceedings,
How to Succeed in Business...
As civil engineering continues to evolve as a profession, consulting engineers must continually re-invent their businesses and their practices. In this article, consulting engineers talk...
Rebuilding History
Deterioration of the second-oldest multiple-arch masonry viaduct in the country�in Canton, Mass.�threatened its ability to continue carrying Amtrak's Northeast Corridor trains,...
Riding the Rail
Spurred by decaying or overcrowded roads, communities across the U.S. are planning, building or renovating light rail, freight rail and high speed rail systems. The rail boom, funded in...
Bridge Within a Bridge
A multinational consortium retrofitted the Tagus River suspension bridge in Lisbon, Portugal. The retrofit included widening the roadway deck from five to six lanes, installing a railroad...
Tornado Aftermath: Questioning the Tools (Available Structural Engineering Special Issue Only)
In May 1997, several tornadoes hit central Texas. The strongest of these killed 27 people and destroyed about 40 single-family houses on the outskirts of Jarrell, north of Austin. A post-storm...
Building Between Buildings (Available in Structural Engineering Special Issue Only)
Construction of tall buildings in the centers of the world's large cities almost invariably involves working within severe site constraints. The constraints can involve all...
Design/Build Goes Light
Full speed ahead: Those might well be the bywords of Baltimore's Central Light Rail Line extension, a trailblazing project believed to be the first in which the design/build...
Tunneling Against Time (Available only in the Geoenvironmental Special Issue)
The phenomenal growth of Las Vegas has prompted nearly $1 billion worth of water-supply projects. A $33 million tunnel scheme�a critical element of the new construction�is on pace. The...
Bridge Bashing
Ships can be dangerous to bridges. Collisions are increasing and costs are considerable. There are ways to reduce the risks, but these cost money, too. A 1993 vessel collision with and...
BART on a Roll
The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) opened its Pittsburg/Bay Point Station ahead of schedule, and now the district sets to work on an ambitious 14-mi rail system extension...
Infrastructure Opportunities in Chile
Chile has a stable government and a flourishing economy. The nation needs a drastic infrastructure upgrade to continue that prosperity. Capital is short, and the country is embarking on...
Taking in the River
As dams across the country age, so do their intake gates, and testing them requires dewatering. To meet the challenge of dewatering these structures without upsetting sensitive aquatic...
Scandinavia's International Connection (Available only in Structural Engineering Special Issue)
The 7.8-km-long cable-stayed �resund Bridge, the centerpiece of the first road and rail link between Scandinavia and Europe, is the third and final link of the 15.8 km Oresund Link. The...
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