Future Forward Full Interview: Innovative Mixed-Reality Technology Improves Construction Monitoring
This page profiles innovative and impactful applied research and development in civil and structural engineering to spur continuing thought and dialog to create a better industry. 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. This particular interview was recorded during Bentley Systems’ Year In Infrastructure 2018 Event in London, where Nancy Li was a guest speaker. Click this l...
Infrastructure Outlook: Lessons to Learn from Public-Private Partnerships and Military Housing
America’s infrastructure is in dire need of repairs. In its latest report, the American Society of Civil Engineers warns that our infrastructure is “falling apart.” Addressing these issues will require massive financial commitments, which is why the Trump administration seeks to continue to leverage private-sector investment. Often associated with major public infrastructure projects such as toll roads, Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) are unique arrangements that have been utilized for numerou...
Oregon DOT Uses Technology to Keep up with Progressive Contractors
ODOT inspectors use the Windows 7-compatible DT Research model DT391GS tablet equipped with a GNSS antenna and MicroSurvey FieldGenius to stake out and check precise layout points as part of regular inspection duties. In 2016, construction inspectors at the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) had a problem, but in a way it was a good problem. “A lot of our contractors are using machine control now on our projects, a lot more than just five years ago,” explains ODOT Construction A...
Don’t Believe in Magic: Berne, Switzerland, Demonstrates 20 Years of Public Works Coordination
Smart City, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Asset Lifecycle Management are today’s buzzwords to put a magic spell on many an infrastructure manager. How nice would it be to control unwieldy roads, bridges and tunnels, distribution networks or even an entire city by myriad light pulses in a fiber optics fabric and wirelessly through the air? How beautifully safe and sustainable would our cities be if maintenance and restoration could be budgeted and scheduled according to continuous...
Executive Corner: Five Takeaways on 2018 A/E M&A Activity
With a backdrop of solid macroeconomic growth, strong financial performance and robust backlogs—yet facing the tightest labor markets in a generation—A/E owners and executives are understandably wrapping up 2018 in a cautiously optimistic mood. And while there are certainly market sectors and states facing more headwinds than others, the year can best be described as “a rising tide lifting all boats” for the industry. However, a mature economic and design/construction cycle now is exhibiting mix...
Keeping it Safe and Efficient When Working in Wind
Denis Hogan, Performance and Special Projects Manager at the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA), highlights the regulations for working safely and efficiently with lifting equipment in the European wind energy sector. As the wind energy sector expands, so too does its requirement for lifting equipment, for which this relatively new industry sets several challenges. Working with lifting equipment must be carried out with safety as the priority because working at height in any appli...
Code Update: Resources for Safety in Lead Abatement
It’s well known that lead is harmful. Also well known is the metal’s usefulness as a component of industrial coatings because it holds up against the elements and helps prevent corrosion. As infrastructure and assets age, it’s a matter of when, not if, workers encounter lead hazards. That’s why businesses, industry organizations and governments have worked together to put lead-abatement procedures in place and develop lead-safe work practices. Use the following resources and information to help...
Clearing a Hurdle for the Potomac Yard Metro Station
Innovative financing played an important role in getting a long-anticipated Metrorail station on track for a 2021 opening. The addition of a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) rail station at Potomac Yard is a central feature to successfully redeveloping a 300-acre former rail yard in Alexandria, Va., into an accessible and walkable mixed-use development, poised to give the area an economic boost. In September 2018, WMATA and the city of Alexandria awarded...
Storm on the Horizon: Sewage Overflow Is a Problem for Today, Not Tomorrow
Climate change often is depicted as a far-off threat; something for future generations to worry about. However, while politicians continue to debate how to solve this critical issue, the effects of global warming and changing weather patterns are already being felt close to home. Across France, for example, heavy rainfall, flooding and other extreme weather events are becoming increasingly commonplace, putting further strain on already overworked infrastructure, including wastewater system...
Thoughts From Engineers: Rethinking the Water We Drink
Although it may come as a surprise to some, a few communities in the United States must work harder and invest more to secure clean drinking water every day. In a particularly bone-dry part of the country, one municipality has been working on a thorny water-supply problem for quite some time. The city of El Paso, Texas, is on the cusp of making fully operational a water-filtration system that eliminates one major step in what has been a standard water-treatment process. Instead of reinjecting t...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
