Engineer Spotlight: The Unhappy State of U.S. Bridges and Highways
An interesting article ran in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Journal of Leadership and Management in Engineering in 2008: “A Tale of Two Bridges: Dangerous and Still Standing.” Robert W. Clark, P.E., authored the piece about two well-used bridges in Stuyvesant, N.Y. One of the bridges had passed safety inspections by the state DOT every year. The other bridge, owned by CSX Railroad, also had cleared corporate safety standards. Clark inspected the bridges and determined that they...
InfraWorks 360 Is Growing Up: From Conceptual Tool to Detailed Design, InfraWorks Adds Engineering-Grade Features
Since its initial release a few years ago, Autodesk InfraWorks 360 (IW360) has been received as an interesting software-development exercise in what a BIM application for infrastructure could look like, with some promising but limited functionality. Some robust features such as Model Builder, which enables users to quickly and easily compile data on existing site conditions, are powerful and were ready for “prime time” right from the start. A project surface (top) was obtained from the In...
Proceed with Caution: Concrete Cloth GCCM Provides Erosion Protection at Nuclear Power Plant
A nuclear power-plant site in the southeastern United States faced an erosion problem on a steep, 2:1 slope near dry-cast storage containers of spent nuclear fuel. The shotcrete finish covering the slope was intended to serve as a protective layer that would prevent the backfill material from eroding. However, the design of the erosion protection left it susceptible to shrinkage and temperature cracking, as no control joints were constructed. As a result, escape paths for the backfill material t...
2015 National Accelerated Bridge Construction Conference Award Recipients
The 2015 National Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) Conference presented awards to recognize the best ABC projects and most-influential person contributing to the cause and implementation of ABC. Most Influential Person Contributing to the Cause and Implementation of ABC Michael P. Culmo, vice president, CME Michael P. Culmo serves as the vice president of CME and has more than 25 years of experience in structural engineering. He’s considered an expert in the field of bridge design and...
New U.S. Bank Stadium Complete
Construction of the new U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis is substantially complete and ready for business. Finished six weeks ahead of schedule, the new stadium and home of the Minnesota Vikings features a bold, iconic design. Contractor Mortenson Construction symbolically turned over the stadium’s keys to the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA), the building’s owner, and the Minnesota Vikings during the MSFA’s June board meeting. The architectural landmark is 1.75 million s...
Sponsored Content: Top Five Reasons to Combine Autodesk's AutoCAD Civil 3D with InfraWorks 360 for Improved Civil Design
The dynamic duo of AutoCAD Civil 3D and InfraWorks 360 are a powerful combination for improving workflow efficiency for civil infrastructure design. The editorial team at Informed Infrastructure recently completed a detailed benchmark study (www.v1-education.com) of the use of these tools in tandem, showing the time savings and workflows that several independent reviewers achieved on sample projects. Following is a summary of the top-five takeaways of improved workflow and insight when combining...
The Village at Westfield Topanga: Strict Runoff Regulations Require Creative Solution
In 1964, the first enclosed shopping mall in California opened its doors. Located in Canoga Park, a neighborhood in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, Westfield Topanga is a two-level, 1.6-million-square-foot indoor shopping center. In 2015, its owners embarked on a major expansion directly across from the original mall. Called The Village at Westfield, the 31-acre expansion is a mixed-use project designed to be a community destination in the heart of the West Valley. The developer, Westfield Co...
Structural Solutions: Increasing the Effectiveness of Young Structural Engineers
Would you like to improve the effectiveness of your young structural engineers? This column will explore some ideas and ways you might be able to accomplish this. One of the major challenges facing companies is how to teach their younger engineers while also remaining profitable on projects. While fees for structural-engineering services have improved over the last couple of years since the economic downturn, profit margins still are tight. In addition, project deadlines keep shrinking, leavi...
Managing the Model: What is a "model"?
Got a minute? I have a question for you: What is a “model”? No, I don’t mean the attractive people we see in ads and movies. And no, I don’t mean a scale replica of an SR-70 Blackbird, Godzilla or the Santa Maria, although these are a bit closer to the concept I’m driving at. Even when we constrain the question to our infrastructure industry, the answer still varies widely, depending on who you ask, so it’s understandable if this seems like a trick question. I have another question for you: W...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
