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...
Cell Tower Inspection and Maintenance: UAV Reality Capture and Digital Twin Pilot Project Suggest Major Efficiency Gains
Telstra’s complex cell-tower arrays typically are mounted at the top of 25-meter, non-climbable steel monopoles. Determining the precise number of cell towers in the world is a difficult task, complicated by the lack of coordinated international reporting and the difficulty of distinguishing between base stations (which may or may not be sited on a tower-like structure) and actual towers (which may host several base stations). But reasonable estimates for the global number of cell towers...
Panel Discussion: How Can We Improve U.S. Transportation Infrastructure?
Introduction The title question for this feature has been discussed and debated countless times by countless people and organizations in many formats. But a letter Informed Infrastructure received and published in its July/August 2018 issue sparked our own questions about how we can better discuss and analyze this problem as well as come up with some real, actionable solutions. The letter was from Mike Lawrence, the CEO of Tensar Corp., which produces geosynthetic technologies for infrastructu...
Fairfield Glade: Pressure Sewer System Perfect Fit for Tennessee Retirement Locale
In the early 1970s, a flashy promotional campaign launched Fairfield Glade, a private retirement enclave atop East Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau. It was the first step of a marathon project that developers likely knew would take generations to complete, but the momentum of its expansion and allure has never wavered. Today, the 12,000-acre enterprise (population about 8,200; average age 68) is consistently lauded as one of the best retirement spots in Tennessee, and reviewers regularly...
Constructible Models: Lead to Time and Cost Efficiencies in Building a Particleboard Plant
The main concrete structure can be seen in this overall model view. From its blank canvas in Grayling, Mich., a year ago, the site of ARAUCO’s new particleboard operation has transformed into a vibrant construction project. A leader in sustainable-forest product solutions and market innovation, ARAUCO is building the most-modern facility of its type in North America: a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant that will produce world-class decorative wood-panel products used in home inte...
Engineered Solutions: Transcending Time - Hot-Dip Galvanized Steel Provides Solution to Combat Corrosion on Bridges Old and New
Sponsored by: The world is a very different place today than it was in 1966—a time of space exploration, computers the size of an entire room, and color TVs being a new phenomenon. In addition to these scientific and technological advancements, there was an important infrastructure innovation in the United States: the first hot-dip galvanized bridge was built. The 420-foot Stearns Bayou Bridge in Grand Haven, Mich., opened on Aug. 31, 1966, replacing the old, one-lane wooden structur...
New Tricks Result in Treat for I-95 Commuters: Collaboration Key to Early Project Completion
On Halloween, Oct. 31, 2017, commuters who use the heavily congested I-95/395 highway in Virginia received a special treat: a new 2-mile-long reversible express lane that would significantly ease congestion on the heavily travelled interstate. Although they surely appreciated reduced slowdowns, more-navigable merges and lane changes, and ultimately a shorter commute, most were unaware of the coordinated teamwork that took place behind the scenes to make the treat a reality. Project Genesis a...
Infrastructure Digitization: Two Industry Analysts Discuss Recent Tech Efforts from Autodesk and Bentley
Three Trends Defining Industrialized Construction By Drew Buechley On the main stage of Autodesk University 2017 in Las Vegas, Jim Lynch, vice president of the Autodesk Building Products Group, highlighted Autodesk’s increased focus on the industrialization of construction. It was clear that a convergence of manufacturing and construction processes was happening. In the next few years, this convergence will radically change the way we design buildings, build components, as...
Optimal Surroundings: Engineering Is Critical to Optimize a Fabric Building for Your Application
Rigid-frame engineering allows for precise building dimensions to be calculated and applied based on the equipment being housed. By Jeff Williams and Scott Jones Nobody enjoys being forced into a decision. We usually like to consider our options, and the best option of all (of course) is getting something exactly the way we like it. Eating at a restaurant is a perfect example. Although most menus will have a wide selection of great entrée choices, many of us may prefer t...
Staying on Track: CSX Leads a Reline for Timber-Beam Bridges in Georgia
CSX Corp., together with its subsidiaries based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the nation’s leading transportation suppliers. For nearly 190 years, CSX has played a critical role in economic expansion and industrial development across the eastern United States and into parts of Canada. With more than 2,700 miles of rail track and more than 2 million carloads handled in the state of Georgia alone, CSX maintains a busy schedule transporting loads along those lines as well as maintaining and ins...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
