Getting supersized prefabricated steel modules to the Kearl oil-sands project in Alberta is proving to be the toughest part of the job for Canada’s Imperial Oil and ExxonMobil Canada. The evidence is in Lewiston, Idaho. Photo: Courtesy Imperial Oil Photo: Courtesy Imperial Oil Equipment modules, right, shipped from South Korea are parked in Idaho, more than 1,300 miles from their destination in northern Alberta’s oil fields. As part of the companies’ $8-billion construction project to produce as much as 345,000 barrels per day of oil roughly 45 miles north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Imperial Oil sourced 207 prefabricated specialized bitumen

There was no shortage of takers for the $1.2 billion in federal passenger-rail funds that newly elected Republican governors in Wisconsin and Ohio said they don’t want. U.S. Dept. of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced on Dec. 9 that 14 states may divide the $1.2 billion that earlier had been awarded to Wisconsin and Ohio. California will get the largest share of the turned-back funds, $624 million. Many observers will be watching Florida to see whether the $342.3 million the Sunshine State gets in the redistribution will be enough to keep alive a proposed Tampa-Orlando rail line. Governor-elect Rick Scott

The fast-growing power needs of emerging economies, the “nuclear renaissance,” and the push for more renewables are creating a booming worldwide market for new power generation facilities. Most opportunities, however, are outside the U.S., which is still suffering from a tepid economy and regulatory uncertainty. Photo: Courtesy of Black & Veatch The expansion of Indonesia’s Tanjung Jati B coal station reflects the continuing growth of coal projects in developing countries. Related Links: Overview: Finding Work in Tough Times View Complete Global Sourcebook with Rankings General Building: Firms Say World Market Is Thawing, Albeit Slowly Transportation: Asia Bright Light in Otherwise

The group headed by the National Transportation Safety Board investigating the Sept. 9 natural gas pipeline rupture and explosion that killed eight people in San Bruno, Calif., released an interim report that ruled out outside corrosion and damage caused by a third party as the cause for the blast, but found that part of the pipe near the rupture was constructed with seam-welded pipe, which owner Pacific Gas & Electric reported as seamless. Photo: NTSB NTSB investigator examines welds on a pipeline section recovered from the San Bruno explosion. Related Links: NTSB Preliminary Report 9/29/2010 State Inspector Warned PG& E

A relatively simple formula can predict how well buildings withstand earthquakes, according to lab work and research in Haiti by Purdue University. The studies suggest how to strengthen existing buildings at a low cost and how to make new buildings damage-resistant. Photo: Courtesy of Purdue University Purdue engineers tested their new seismic index theory by building and then shaking a three-story building in a lab. After the January 2010 earthquake, Purdue professors Santiago Pujol and Ayhan Irfanoglu, both civil engineers, surveyed 170 buildings in Haiti. They concentrated on two- to five-story buildings that were made with reinforced-concrete exteriors. About 40%

As many western economies continue to struggle in the wake of the recession, top companies in the environmental sector are expanding their global reach through a mix of organic growth and aggressive acquisitions. Within the water and wastewater sectors, competition has been particularly fierce, as firms look to narrow the bidding lists through consolidation and capitalize on emerging economies. Photo: Courtesy of Black & Veatch Work in the United Kingdom is starting to ramp up again with new projects such as the $150-million expansion of the Mogden Sewage Treatment Works in west London by Black & Veatch. Related Links: Overview:

Philadelphia has launched an ambitious 20-year, $1.6-billion stormwater control plan that its creators hope will transform the city’s combined-sewer system and its urban landscape with new shades of green, including bio-mimetic systems. Photo: Courtesy of Philadelphia Water Dept. Natural rooftop plantings at Philadelphia’s Central Library have reduced stormwater runoff entering the city’s combined-sewer system. Photo: Courtesy of Philadelphia Water Dept. America’s sixth-largest city aims to convert a third of its impervious asphalt surface—about 4,000 acres—into absorptive green spaces through the use of constructed wetlands, floodplain restoration and the use of rain barrels, porous concrete and green roofs. The goal is

Photo: APimages/AN Heisenfelt The fabric roof of the Metrodome Stadium in Minneapolis collapsed on Dec. 12 under the weight of 17 or more inches of wet snow. Steve Maki, the stadium’s director of facilities and engineering, said a seven-person snow-removal crew retreated from the roof when winds gusting to 40 mph made working unsafe. Maki says that, early Sunday morning, one fabric roof panel gave way because of the snow load, which overstressed two more panels that also then failed. The roof was fabricated and installed by Birdair Inc., Amherst, N.Y., in 1981. Maki says three samples of roof fabric

The need to integrate resilience into building design has moved up the agenda this month among several federal authorities. On Dec. 1, President Obama declared December to be Critical Infrastructure Protection Month. The announce-ment was made as the Dept. of Homeland Security and the National Institute of Building Sciences hosted a summit in Washington, D.C., on high-performance, resilient buildings and related architecture. The summit included both public officials and private industry representatives as well as nine working group sessions. The results of the summit will be published in a report scheduled for release in January.

Anewly opened $4-billion Las Vegas mega-resort will test the city’s recession-racked, tourist-based economy, while concluding years of work for 3,220 tradespeople and construction staff responsible for the 2,995-room, 7-million-sq-ft Cosmopolitan Casino Resort. Photo: Bill Hughes The Cosmopolitan was the right hotel-condo-casino at the wrong time, a source says. Characterized in one media report as the city’s “most expensive debacle,” the bank-owned hotel complex, set to open a year late on Dec. 15, epitomizes Vegas’ real estate boom gone bust. Developers broke ground on the project, originally valued at $1.8 billion, in late 2005 with little cash down. The price tag