Engineering Continuity: The EOR’s Role in Structural Steel Solutions for Historic and Architecturally Complex Renovations
A 3D model of the Pepco Mt. Vernon substation in Washington, D.C. (Extreme Steel Inc.) Historic renovations and architecturally ambitious retrofits walk a fine line between preservation and modernization. Whether it’s an adaptive reuse of a century-old mill or a new cultural landmark embedded in a dense urban grid, the challenges go far beyond aesthetics. Structural performance, code compliance, constructability and integration with existing materials all converge, requiring both technical...
A Glass Seawall in Florida Balances Function with Aesthetics
Venice, Fla., reconstructed its seawall using a glass floodwall. (City of Venice) Florida’s Gulf Coast is beloved by its residents and visitors, but its attractive shoreline can take a beating from severe weather events. In Venice, Fla., an existing seawall had reached the end of its useful life and needed to be replaced. During very high tides and large storms, water would overtop the seawall and flood the adjacent roadway, notes Christopher F. Kuzler, P.E., managing principal/d...
Country’s Largest Standalone Airport Terminal Set to Open at JFK
The 2.6-million-square-foot New Terminal One will be able to handle up to 20 million passengers per year when it opens fully in 2030. (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey) The New Terminal One (NTO) at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) will accentuate a series of major airport improvements in the New York metropolitan area when it opens its first phase in June 2026, applying modern design and technology to support the area’s growing passenger, sustainability and resilience d...
Change Leader: Why Infrastructure Projects Lose Margin Before They Break Ground
In the world of civil and structural engineering—especially on large infrastructure projects such as bridges, highways, airports and water systems—project margin is a crucial benchmark. Firms diligently track it, work to protect it and develop strategies to recover it when challenges arise. However, for many infrastructure projects, a significant portion of that margin disappears long before construction crews arrive. The root cause isn’t always rising material prices or regulatory hurdles; ofte...
Future Forward (Powered by ACEC): Work Together to Build a Golden Age of Infrastructure
In May 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) established a new Advisory Board to create a strategic framework for modernizing and improving our nation’s transportation infrastructure. Two months later, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy led the inaugural meeting of this newly formed 12-member panel, composed of leaders in infrastructure, aviation, law, finance and innovation. I’m honored to have been selected to serve as one of those 12 panelists. In advance of our July meeting,...
Getting Geotechnical: Lightening the Environmental Load of Aggregate Use
Globally, approximately 75 percent of aggregates are used for cement, roads and railway ballast, while about 25 percent supports drainage, void fills, pipe insulation and protection, hard surfaces, water filtration, and sewage-treatment processes. Aggregates are an important component across large swathes of infrastructure development and maintenance. However, the environmental cost of quarrying aggregates can be high and irreversible. As such, in addition to prioritizing structural resilience...
Executive Corner: A Tale of Two ESOP Companies
Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) continue to be a popular ownership strategy for firms in the architecture, engineering and environmental consulting industry. In fact, A/E firms are over-represented among the largest ESOP-owned companies in the United States. More than 20 of the firms on the National Center for Employee Ownership’s (nceo.org) latest published list of the country’s largest ESOP companies were A/E firms. A/E firms are natural candidates for ESOP ownership for several reason...
Thoughts From Engineers: Hidden, But Not Harmless: The Unsettling Impacts of Land Subsidence on Urban Centers
The core assumptions that have shaped for decades how we plan, build, develop our cities and even live from day-to-day are losing ground. For example, most engineers and scientists would agree we’re now in an era of climate non-stationarity even though we presumed the opposite—climate stationarity—for years. Another assumption relates to the use and extraction of natural resources such as groundwater. We now know there are limits to how much we can safely withdraw to meet a variety of needs, fro...
Transportation Troubleshooting: Gaining Traction: National Tolling Interoperability Advances
This fall, motorists travelling on Puget Sound’s recently completed State Route 509 Expressway will gain another opportunity to seamlessly pay tolls using the Good to Go! Pass—Washington state’s electronic toll collection system implemented in 2008. Since its introduction, there have been a growing number of successful implementations of all-electronic toll systems across the United States. However, my home state is one of several states and regions that remains geographically limited. While Wa...
From the Editor: Readying for the Road; Observations to Come
I’m preparing to leave for a three-week visit to the Iberian Peninsula. While it’s exciting to plan and pack, it takes a huge effort—at least it does for me. Where exactly to go? What sites to see? How long at each place? How much do I take along? I’m sure it will all work out. After all, engineers plan for everything, don’t we? It has always been my curious brain to pay attention to engineering features wherever I go. So perhaps I will be able to report on “interesting engineer stuff” when I r...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
