Stormwater Management System Protects University of Michigan Campus
The system protects university buildings from potential floods while benefiting the environment and the city of Ann Arbor. The University of Michigan’s Central Campus is a gathering spot for students and visitors. It’s also a stormwater collection point in the downtown Ann Arbor, Mich., area, particularly during large storm events. A new underground stormwater infiltration system was designed to protect the campus and adjacent historic buildings from a 100-year storm event while provi...
Four Places Putting Green Infrastructure to Work for Local Communities
Figure 1. A map shows areas that would be flooded by 1.5 meters of sea-level rise, which is how much sea levels could rise by 2100 if emissions aren’t curtailed. By Emily Cassidy and Suzanne Ozment Water is a source of growing tension and violence in places where it’s scarce. At the same time, sea-level rise and flooding threaten millions of people living near coastlines and low-lying areas. Traditional infrastructure such as concrete dams and seawalls isn’t sufficient to protect...
Interview with Greg Bentley, CEO, Bentley Systems: The Continuing Evolution of Engineering Software
Informed Infrastructure Editorial Director Todd Danielson (right) interviewed Bentley Systems CEO Greg Bentley (left). In April 2019, Informed Infrastructure Editorial Director Todd Danielson went to Bentley Systems’ corporate headquarters in Exton, Pa., (photo below) to interview its CEO, Greg Bentley. The full 45-minute interview can be viewed above or at wp.me/p8dJln-cyJ, but we also wanted to include some excerpts in this “5th Anniversary Special Edition” on “Smart Engineering.” Da...
Building a Smarter City: Baton Rouge Shows that Bigger Isn’t (Necessarily) Better
According to the IESE Cities in Motion Index, New York City, London, Paris and Tokyo topped the list of the world’s “smartest cities” in 2018. When megacities (with populations of more than 8 million) top these types of rankings, it’s easy to lose sight of the areas of real opportunity. In fact, much of the innovation and explosive growth in the Smart City arena is happening in small and midsize cities. This makes sense. Although megacities have the staff and budgets to really embrace some of...
CAVTEC Moves Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Forward
Smart mobility solutions—such as connected infrastructure, autonomous vehicles, data-driven mobility and intelligent transport systems—are gaining ground in the transportation industry. To further these emerging smart mobility solutions, Space Institute Research Corp. (SIRC), an independent research and development organization at the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI), recently partnered with Stantec to develop the Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Technology Evaluation Center (...
Grid Modernization Will Require Active, Holistic Network Management
As concerns about aging infrastructure in the electric industry fester, the promise of grid modernization is gaining increasing sway as power suppliers pursue optimized uptime and resilience while satisfying consumer cravings for lowered carbon footprints. Utility business models are changing to accommodate growing volumes of renewable energy coming onto the grid. New services are being demanded by customers, and new and divergent forms of energy are testing the flexibility and capacity of thei...
Reef Re-Creation for Shoreline Protection
The Terrebonne Bay Shore Protection Demonstration Project points to one technique to help reduce shoreline erosion as well as promote oyster reef building. As climate change and subsidence begin to endanger America’s coastal communities, city and state governments are struggling to stand their ground as it literally sinks below them. Larger cities such as Miami and Atlantic City are constructing seawalls and water pumps to fight back against the rising waters, but community members fro...
Mobile 3D Scanning Technology Gaining Traction in Home-Renovation Market
A complete 3D point cloud of an entire property is viewed in CloudCompare. As residential real estate prices continue to climb in many parts of the United States, property owners are increasingly investing in renovations and additions to their existing homes. To meet the demand, architects seek digital as-built documentation of the structures so they can design the new construction. Many are asking for mobile 3D scanning by name as the technology they prefer to quickly capture the acc...
Making History by Preserving History: Casino Development in Springfield Based on Extraordinary Structural Preservation
June 1, 2011, was a tragic day in Springfield, Mass. (settled since 1636, it’s Massachusetts’ third-largest city); seven devastating tornadoes touched down in and around the city, killing three people, injuring 300 and leaving more than 500 homeless. Several residential and commercial sections of Springfield were more or less wiped out entirely. Recovery has been difficult, but one important piece of the puzzle fell into place in 2018 when a major ($960 million) redevelopment of a 14.5-acr...
Digging Deep to Unlock the Waterfront: Massive New Tunnel Opens Below Downtown Seattle
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) needed to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct that carried a section of State Route 99 (SR 99) along the downtown waterfront. Originally opened in 1953, the Viaduct was aging and cut off access to the important waterfront area. In addition, Seattle is in a seismic zone, and engineers believed the elevated Viaduct could collapse in a significant earthquake. Some of its columns had already moved as much as 5 inches in a 6.8 magnitude earth...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
