Shovels, hammers and hardhats were nowhere in sight. Instead, participants in a public outreach workshop used hair curlers, buttons and paper clips to construct model train stations for California’s proposed high-speed-rail route. California has been awarded $2.25 billion in federal economic stimulus funds to develop a high-speed-rail line, scheduled to start construction in 2012. The project, currently in the process of finalizing track alignments, will feature trains running up to 220 mph. Transportation experts repeatedly have cited the importance of public involvement to the success of the $45-billion, multiregional project. Held in downtown Los Angeles on July 17, the “groundbreaking”

Transportation officials are eager for states to take the lead in using public-private partnerships (P3), but they seek clarity and leadership from the federal government on the future of transportation in general. A recent upsurge in major P3 deals has encouraged global firms regarding U.S. opportunities, but uncertainty over federal transportation legislation overshadows the optimism. In Washington, D.C., a keynote speech by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood at the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) P3 conference on July 22-23 did little to quell doubts. He said a highway user fee and a gas tax increase are “off

In 2011, residents of Daybreak, a 4,200-acre master-planned community in South Jordan, Utah, will drive, bike or walk across the $2-million Brookside Bridge, which is made almost completely out of recycled materials. By then, project officials hope an environmental rating system for infrastructure will exist to quantify the bridge’s eco-friendliness. Photo Courtesy Of Kennecott Land Precast arches made out of recycled concrete were built on site, not shipped. Photo Courtesy Of Kennecott Land Builders of a Utah community bridge want a green rating. This June, contractor Ralph L. Wads-worth Construction, Salt Lake City, took two days, 500 worker-hours and twin

Photo: Tom Lilly Related Links: Willis Makes Waves: New York Bridge Finds New Home The new Willis Avenue Bridge on Manhattan’s Harlem River completed the final leg of its journey from upstate New York on July 26. The 2,400-ton, 350-ft-long swing bridge was floated into place by Weeks Marine Inc., Cranford, N.J., on two barges. Hardesty & Hanover LLP, New York City, provided the design and construction support for the bridge. According to project manager Bill Nyman, two separate barges will be used to support the span at its ends during installation, slated for Aug. 9. The span will then

Earthquakes, wind and ice can make electric service transmission poles topple like dominoes, costing millions of dollars to replace. Illustration By Walter Konefal div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Jon Rouse, a civil engineering professor at Iowa State University, hopes to eliminate that cost by incorporating hinges into the base of poles to deflect stress and bounce the poles back—like Weebles, the 1970s toys that “wobble but don’t fall down.” Currently, the industry relies on sturdy and costly “dead-end structures” every five to 10 miles to block poles from cascading. Rouse’s 110-kv poles, now being tested at the university, eliminate

As the Superfund program approaches its 30th anniversary, it is at a crossroads. To finish cleaning up nearly 1,300 designated hazardous waste sites—some dangerous to human health—sources say the program needs funding. But with a difficult economy and little congressional support for reinstating a dedicated trust fund, those resources could be hard to come by. The result is a slowing of the already lethargic pace of site completions. + Image Photo: courtesy of North Wind Inc. The trust fund legislation sunset in 1995 and ran out of money in 2000. Source: GAO Meanwhile, some industry firms have developed solutions of

The House has approved a $59-billion spending measure that includes $32.8 billion to continue the war in Afghanistan, and $2.8 billion for assistance in Haiti, where a Jan. 12 earthquake killed 230,000 people and caused an estimated $11.5 billion in damages. The July 27 House vote is the final congressional action on the package. It next goes to President Obama for his expected signature. The defense portion of the bill includes $649 million for military construction in Afghanistan. The Haiti funding includes $438 million for infrastructure.

With a cap holding pressure on a runaway BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, Adm. Thad Allen, national incident commander for the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill, reported July 26 that crews expect to finish preparations in the last week of July and begin a “static kill,” in which drilling mud and cement will be forced down into the top of the well on Aug. 2. Then about five days later, they plan to begin the bottom kill, in which the same materials are pumped into the well bore near its base, after being conveyed there through a relief

Shovels, hammers or hard hats were nowhere in sight. Instead, hair curlers, buttons and paper clips were used to construct future train stations for California’s new proposed high-speed rail. Held in Downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, July 17, the “groundbreaking” was part of an interactive community design forum to engage the public on high-speed rail. The event was hosted by railLA, an organization comprised of the Los Angeles Chapters of the American Institute of Architects (AIA/LA) and the American Planning Association (APA-LA), created to raise public awareness about the future of high-speed rail. “We are doing these workshops to get

Conceding that they lack the votes--at least for now--to pass a comprehensive energy and climate-change bill, Senate Democrats instead will propose narrower legislation. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said July 22 that he soon will introduce a scaled-back measure that includes more accountability for oil spills and a handful of other targeted provisions. After meeting with his fellow Senate Democrats, Reid told reporters that there are no Republican votes at present to support a wide-ranging energy measure. Reid said that "in the next few days" he will introduce a four-part energy package and that it would move to the Senate