A Faster, Cheaper, Better Way to Build a Wall: How a Simple Highway Widening Led to a Patent
When first opened in 1940, and as segments were later added to it, the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Turnpike) was principally a four-lane highway with two eastbound and two westbound lanes. As traffic volume...
Paleoflood Analyses For Dam and Levee Safety Assessments: Was that Really the "500-Year Flood"?
What is paleoflood hydrology? How are paleofloods analyzed? What are common paleoflood results? What are the implications of paleoflood analyses?...
Engineers Strive to Design Schools That Are Safe from Shooters
Floating on Air
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has designed a concept for how Venus—which has a surface that is hot enough to melt lead—can be safely explored by astronauts....
America’s Water Infrastructure Act Reauthorizes WRDA, Safe Drinking Water Programs
The recently enacted America’s Water Infrastructure Act updates the civil works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, reauthorizes the federal dam and levee safety programs, and authorizes additional...
Oroville Dam Spillway Incident: Putting Community Safety First While Investigating the Cause
The Oroville Dam, and its associated reservoir and hydropower plant facility, is located on the Feather River in Northern California and is owned and operated by the State of California, Department of...
Rock Glue Gets the Job Done: Reducing Rockfall Hazards along the G.W. Parkway
After a large rockfall damaged the road and disrupted traffic along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in 2002, the National Park Service was looking for solutions to stabilize the slope against additional...
A Sunken Submarine Full of Mercury: Safe, Controlled Construction of a Counter Fill for Seabed Slope Stabilization at about 155 to 177 Meters
On December 5, 1944, with World War II still raging and peace in Europe still six months away, the German submarine U-864 set out on her maiden voyage on a secret mission to deliver strategic war supplies...
U.S. EPA ‘Action Plan’ Proposes Steps to Improve Public Health
When Things Became Muddy: TVA's Response to Seepage Discharge at Boone Dam
In October 2014, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) profited from investments in a robust dam safety program. This profit did not come in the form of money, but more importantly in the protection of...
Dam Safety Management Using Risk-Informed Decision-Making Methods: A Powerful Tool or an Unnecessary Venture?
This article discusses design standards, safety methods, and risk-informed decision-making methods for dams....
Open Pit Geotechnics: Designing Slopes for a Very Deep Hole
For most hard rock surface mining operations, the development of an open pit is required to extract the ore resource. In designing an open pit, the challenge is to develop the most cost-effective pit slopes...
Stormwater Measures Designed to Safeguard California Tailings Dam
Safeguarding Civil Engineering’s Future
Licensure: A Matter of Public Safety
Geotechnical Aspects of Pavements: There's More to Roads than Asphalt and Concrete!
When you jump on the highway to make that commute to work, do you think much about what's under the surface you ride on? Pavements are layered systems designed to provide a strong structure to support...
What Does the Case Law Say? Geotechnical Risk on Design-Build Projects
The growth of design-build (DB) contracting, particularly on public-sector civil projects, has generated a great deal of industry discussion over the age-old question of who should bear the risk of unforeseen...
Extreme Makeover: Interchange Gets Ground Improvement Facelift
As part of the massive, $159.9 million Interchange 14A Improvement Project in the cities of Bayonne and Jersey City, NJ, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) is realigning 12 ramps and roadways and...
Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations
Civil engineers have responsibilities for the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of physical infrastructures. These infrastructures include all types of buildings,...
Evaluating Bridges With Unknown Foundations for Susceptibility to Scour: North Carolina Applies Risk-Based Guidelines to Over 3,750 Bridges
Scour occurs when flowing water removes erodible material such as sand and rock. For bridges over water, scour affects the stability of pier and abutment foundations and contributes to...
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