From the Editor: It’s Time to Think About More Than Financial Costs
As I scanned the Table of Contents for this October 2019 issue of Informed Infrastructure, I noticed the article title “Brick Sewer Rehabilitation in Nation’s Capital.” My first thought was that it didn’t read “Brick Sewer Replacement.” I’m sure that cost was a major (and perhaps only) factor in the decision to rehabilitate rather than replace. But I also thought that we’ve approached the time when cost should only be one of many factors in such decisions. As we continue to engineer our way int...
Future Forward: Harnessing Ocean Waves to Add Another Piece to the Renewable Energy Equation
These profiles are based on interviews, and the opinions and statements are those of the subject and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by this publication. Christopher Ridgewell is the CEO at AW-Energy, a Finnish company developing the patented WaveRoller concept and product design to utilize ocean wave energy. After working in marine technologies for nearly 30 years, Ridgewell was exposed to the potential of WaveRoller technology, and he was hooked. “Wave energy has always been the ‘...
Future Forward Full Interview: Harnessing Ocean Waves to Add Another Piece to the Renewable Energy Equation
These profiles are based on interviews, and the opinions and statements are those of the subject and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by this publication. Christopher Ridgewell is the CEO at AW-Energy, a Finnish company developing the patented WaveRoller concept and product design to utilize ocean wave energy. V1 Media: Can you describe your education and career before AW-Energy? Ridgewell: I studied Naval Architecture and Shipbuilding at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne...
ReEngineering the Engineer: A Tale of Two Projects
Every now and then, you get a project that just seems to run into headwinds no matter which direction you turn. This latest one, however, came at a time when we were closing out our Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) project. The difference between the two projects couldn’t have been more striking and left us longing for a better way to work together to build our buildings. The Worst of Times The first project was a relatively simple two-office building with an outdoor open-air covered stor...
Bridge Rehabilitation and Replacement: Engineers Explain Methods Used on the Seabrook Strauss Bascule Bridge
By Gregory P. Taravella, P.E., and James W.H. Costigan, E.I. The Seabrook Bridge is a Strauss Heel-Trunnion Bascule Bridge located in New Orleans and owned by the Port of New Orleans. Built in 1923, the through-truss bridge originally carried two railroad tracks inside the trusses and two single-lane roadways cantilevered outside the trusses. The bridge is one of three duplicate bridges that cross the Inner Harbor-Navigation Canal (IH-NC), which links the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain...
An Olympian Achievement: Los Angeles Zeroes in on Emissions-Free Bus Fleet
When Los Angeles hosts the Summer Olympic Games in 2028, city officials are hoping its zero-emissions bus fleet will share a bit of the spotlight with the world’s best athletes. Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is starting the journey to create a comprehensive Zero Emissions Bus Program through an analysis of its network of 165 bus and bus rapid-transit routes and 12 maintenance facilities. The goal is to convert to a complete zero-emissions bus fleet by 2030. To achie...
Code Update: ACI 318-19: Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete
The American Concrete Institute (ACI) recently published “ACI 318-19 Building Code for Structural Concrete.” ACI 318 includes the requirements for design and construction of structural concrete that are necessary to ensure public health and safety. This edition of ACI 318 is the first to be published since the format of ACI 318 was reorganized in 2014, and it’s anticipated that it will be referenced in the 2021 International Building Code (IBC). Important Updates Now in full color with 3D ill...
Long-Span Composite Floors: Engineered Options for Multi-Story Project Design
By Alex Therien, AIA LEED/AP, and Sean Smith, M. Arch, LEED/AP Today’s variety of long-span composite floor systems requires the specifying engineer to understand their differences and how to optimize the unique advantages of the particular chosen system. In a construction sector that includes hotels and dormitories, multi-story buildings continue to be on the rise. Not coincidentally, so is the specification of long-span composite floor systems that uniquely address the structural perform...
Executive Corner: Do the Valuation Multiples You’re Using Actually Apply to Your Firm?
Firm owners often rely on pricing multiples to arrive at a ballpark estimate of their firm value. We regularly hear from them that they generally rely on data points from transactions that either they or their peers at other firms had been part of in the past relied, or on data published in our “A/E Business Valuation and M&A Transaction Study.” But many also inquire about what the specific multiples are that they should be relying on, and as part of my response to these inquiries, I counter by...
Future Forward: Advancing Artificial Intelligence and Natural-Language Interfaces
These profiles are based on interviews, and the opinions and statements are those of the subject and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by this publication. Shafat Qazi is the CEO and founder of BQE Software. Pain Points in Project Management An engineer by education and training, Shafat Qazi arrived in California in 1998 to help retrofit buildings for earthquakes. But after a few years as a partner in a successful engineering firm, he realized there was an even greater good he could...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
TriMet’s Banfield Type 1 Substation Replacement Project
February Issue 2026
