The desire for federal 'TIGER' grants shows no signs of fading in transportation circles. Photo: U.S. Dept. of Transportation LaHood's DOT is sorting through almost 1,000 applications The U.S. Dept. of Transportation reported on Sept. 24 that the second round of its Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants had drawn more than $19 billion in applications for the $600 million it has available to award. A DOT spokesperson says that the department hasn't set an award date yet for the 'TIGER II' round. In all, DOT said it received almost 1,000 applications for the TIGER II competition, from every state,

Poor management of available resources at the Virginia Dept. of Transportation resulted in $877 million in transportation funds left unspent during the last two fiscal years, says an independent audit commissioned by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R). Photo: Virginia Governor’s office Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell wants recently uncovered transportation funds contracted by Dec. 1. Some of that funding carried over from previous fiscal years will be used to help VDOT award $800 to $900 million in contracts by Dec. 1. “This audit demonstrates that available funding has not been effectively used in the past few years,” McDonnell said Sept.  23.

Hoover Dam, the Depression-era engineering marvel, turns 75 this month. While its new bridge crossing is set to open in November, the concrete monolith also is marking a dubious milestone this year—a 54-year low point for its water level, which threatens the dam’s hydroelectric output. Photo: Courtesy of Southern Nevada Water Authority Lake Mead reservoir level is at its lowest point in 54 years, putting electricity generation capability at risk. Engineered mitigation measures include a third water-intake tunnel and new turbine design. Lake Mead dipped to 1,085 ft in September, less than 40% of its capacity, following a decade of

The San Francisco Public Utility Commission’s $4.6-billion regional water-system improvement program is racing against the clock as the construction team retrofits facilities to withstand a potential earthquake that, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, could come at any time. Set for completion by December 2015, the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) is a mammoth undertaking, consisting of 86 separate water-supply and storage projects spanning counties in northern and central California. Construction is well under way on some of the projects; others won’t break ground until 2011. Julie Labonte, the commission’s WSIP program director, says that while some of the projects

Airports in Southern California, one of the nation’s most heavily populated regions, are building as much and as “green” as they can with limited space and tight budgets. Modernization projects at the San Diego, Long Beach and Los Angeles airports are requiring engineers to think creatively. Photo: Courtesy of Paragon Shuffling of L.A. airport facilities, including a new taxiway, is a complex puzzle. Rendering: Courtesy Of SUNDT San Diego airport’s outdoor ticketing and check-in lobbies will take advantage of the region’s year-round mild weather. The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s $1-billion green-build program includes a 445,000-sq-ft expansion of Terminal

Paolo Soleri, a renowned 91-year-old architect and urban theorist, finally will see a bridge he designed open on Dec. 11. Photo: Stephen Krystek The cable-stayed pedestrian bridge will traverse a canal in downtown Scottsdale, Ariz. The Phoenix office of Howard S. Wright Constructors began work in March on the $3-million Soleri Bridge and Plaza in downtown Scottsdale, Ariz. Local firms Douglas Architects, structural engineer PK Associates and landscape architect Steve Martino & Associates worked on the design with Soleri’s Cosanti Foundation, Paradise Valley. The 130-ft-long cable-stayed pedestrian bridge crosses the Arizona Canal from the Waterfront District on the north side

Utah’s recent best-value infrastructure procurement for a $1.1-billion highway expansion and reconstruction came with a controversial, unexpected cost: a $13-million payout to the second-place proposer to end its protest of the award. Photo: Courtesy of UDOT Critics question UDOT Executive Director John Njord�s decision to make a big payment to team whose proposal came in second on major infrastructure best-value competition. + Image Photo: Courtesy of UDOT “In relative terms, it’s a small amount of money,” UDOT Executive Director John Njord says. “A lawsuit would have prevented us from being as creative as possible in the design-build process. “This was

American Transmission Co., Pewaukee, Wis., has proposed making $3.4 billion in Wisconsin-focused power-line upgrades—a portion of what could be a roughly $25-billion transmission build-out designed to deliver thousands of megawatts of renewable power from the Great Plains states across the Midwest. Map:Sue Pearsall For ENR Minnesota leads way in transmission line projects worth up to $26 billion. Source: American Transmission Co. The focus on expanded transmission capacity is driven by state renewable-energy requirements. A transmission assessment conducted in July by Houston-based Quanta Services estimated that 11 Midwest states would need roughly 47,000 MW of new wind generation to meet 80%

Bechtel Corp. moved into the renewable-energy sector in a big way on Sept. 14, announcing it would develop and own an offshore wind farm on Lake Erie with partners Cavallo Energy LLC and Great Lakes Wind Energy. The five-turbine, $100-million project, seven miles from Cleveland, could become the first offshore wind farm in the United States. “There is no question that renewables is a growth area … we are moving into,” says Sprague Cook, vice president and manager of renewable power for Bechtel. The San Francisco-based multinational engineering-construction firm is looking into both onshore and offshore wind development, he says.

On Sept. 15, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it is revising its rules to allow storage of spent nuclear fuel for at least 60 years after the licensed life of any reactor, doubling the time previously allowed. The fuel can be stored on-site or at independent spent-fuel storage installations without significant environmental impacts, says NRC. The change gives federal officials more time to find a permanent storage solution for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel. Earlier this year, the Obama Administration stopped work on the Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste depository in Nevada. An Obama-named commission is to recommend new options by