ReEngineering the Engineer: Don’t Just Say No
One of my long-time architect colleagues teaches a graduate-level architecture class at a local university. One part of their curriculum requires them to talk to their students about soils-related items in their projects. Rather than fumble through that discussion himself, my friend asked me to spend some time with his class explaining a soils report. The point wasn’t to explain the process of gathering soil samples or classifying the soils or determining the area’s geology—a geotech expert wou...
From the Editor: It’s Time To Get Back to School (And That’s a Good Thing)
This time of year always brings mixed emotions. I’m definitely a summer person and have a difficult time realizing summer is about to end. But it’s also the start of another school year, which is still an exciting time of year for me. I’m almost jealous of students everywhere as they begin another year of study and learning. So let me take a few minutes of your time to compare some campus observations now vs. what I remember as a student. The Different Now a few weeks into this fall semester i...
From the Editor: A Travelog from a Summer EV Road Trip
This issue of Informed Infrastructure is focused on Sustainable Engineering. As I write this column, there’s news about the U.S. Senate passing a climate, tax and healthcare package. While there are many details to be worked out, it’s encouraging that something positive is happening, in particular regarding a focus on climate change. I noted in the August 2022 issue of this column that I was planning a road trip to the East Coast in our electric vehicle (EV). I spent a lot of time planning the...
ReEngineering the Engineer: Get the Whole Job Done Right the First Time
Modeling and design software has made our design life really simple these days. The ability to add or modify loads and reconfigure framing provides a lot of flexibility in determining the best system for floors and lateral systems. However, at the end of the day, someone still has to be able to build it. BIM software has made it easy to convert 3D models into a bunch of framing plans on sheets of paper, and you can make a lot of sheets in a hurry. But that’s only part of our job. We’re still re...
Executive Corner: A New Age of A/E Entrepreneurship Is Here
With industry headlines everywhere addressing severe talent shortages, rampant consolidation, record backlogs, digital transformation, inflation and private-equity involvement, one intriguing development has quietly gone under the radar. During the last five years, some of the industry’s brightest young leaders have formed a growing number of startups. And given A/E demographics, coupled with a healthy long-term infrastructure and building outlook, we believe we’re on the verge of a boom in newl...
Thoughts From Engineers: Urban Heat Islands Grab the Latest Climate Headlines
Extremely high temperatures searing U.S. and European cities in recent weeks invariably focuses the world’s attention on the “urban heat islands” that cities by and large represent. With rising temperatures of late, cities are literal hotbeds for experiencing the first-hand effects of a changing climate. According to a number of recent studies, due to a variable combination of site-specific factors—from building materials to placement of buildings and patterns of air circulation to the absence...
Transportation Troubleshooting: Cascadia Innovation Corridor Partnership: Balancing Growth and Livability through Ground Transportation
As a resident of Olympia, Wash., I live in one of the most attractive, economically vigorous and culturally rich regions of the United States: the Cascadia Corridor. While not as fast-growing as the Texas Triangle or as large as SoCal, our Pacific Northwest megaregion possesses a dynamic knowledge economy of high-tech employers and universities, a vast land-marine border that saw $12 billion in Canada-U.S. trade in 2017, and coastal ecosystems and cultures that draw millions of tourists annually...
Infrastructure Outlook: Digital Delivery Will Drive Efficient Projects and Sustainable Infrastructure
By earmarking an unprecedented $1.2 trillion for infrastructure improvements, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—formerly known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)—provides a generational opportunity for America to regain its top-level status among the world’s infrastructure leaders. Yet money alone will not deliver success. As the United States has fallen from the envy of all to its current world ranking of 13th for infrastructure quality, we’ve spent more on roads than any othe...
Transportation Troubleshooting: Cooperation Key to Developing a More Diverse Workforce
The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) represents an unprecedented opportunity to renovate and build a 21st-century integrated transportation system, addressing equity, energy, water, internet access and other infrastructure needs. Yet to realize the benefits of the IIJA and increased state investments, private industry and the public sector must solve a core problem: how to recruit, train and retain the people needed to do all the work the IIJA could fund. While it’s...
Code Update: Change to ACI 318-19 Sets Lower Shear Capacities for Many Concrete Structures
In January 2020, the American Concrete Institute (ACI) published the second printing of ACI 318-19: “Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete.” ACI 318-19 code sets the minimum criteria for materials, design and detailing of structural concrete buildings and, where applicable, non-building structures. The code is organized into 10 parts: 1. General 2. Loads and Analysis 3. Members 4. Joints, Connections and Anchors 5. Resistance 6. Materials and Durability 7. Strength and Servi...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
