Independent transmission developers in both the northeastern and northwestern U.S. looking to bring Canada’s renewable electricity resources to power-hungry regions south of the border are installing hundreds of miles of line by using the path of least resistance—underwater. Photo: Neptune Regional Transmission System LLC. Developer of Neptune HVDC line between New Jersey and Long Island in 2007 is now planning underwater cable between British Columbia and Washington state. Photo: Neptune Regional Transmission System LLC. The Neptune underwater cable carried 660 MW of power. Developer’s Juan de Fuca cable would carry 450 MW over 31 miles. Related Links: Underwater Cable Deployment

Argentina has completed a $314-million, 37.7-km natural-gas pipeline across the Strait of Magellan. The 24-in. (61-cm) undersea gas pipeline links Cabo Espiritu Santo in Tierra del Fuego province with Cabo Vírgenes in Santa Cruz province. Government officials say the new line, built by a consortium of Royal Boskalis Westminster and Allseas Group, will begin transporting 5.5 million cu m per day in June, with an additional 2 million cu m per day coming on line in early 2011. Previously, the gas fields in Argentina’s remote south only were connected to the mainland gas network via the San Martin pipeline, which

The good news for Chileans is that less than 1% of the 10,000 buildings three stories or taller, constructed since Chile’s 1985 earthquake, will have to be demolished as a consequence of the magnitude-8.8 Maule earthquake that struck on Feb. 27. The bad news is that the type of structural damage observed in many of the bearing-wall concrete frames of 12- to 26-story buildings is calling into question the effectiveness of Chile’s building code, which does not require confinement reinforcing steel for concrete members. A code change in the future is likely, say engineers who inspected the damaged areas. Of

As potential donors gather at the United Nations to assemble a fund to help rebuild earthquake-battered Haiti, the White House is asking Congress for additional spending to contribute to the reconstruction effort. Haiti is hoping to raise $3.9 billion at the March 31 donors’ meeting to cover the initial 18-month phase of what is certain to be a lengthy reconstruction. The estimated total rebuilding cost is $11.5 billion, the U.N. says. More than 220,000 were killed in the Jan. 12, magnitude-7 quake, and an estimated 2 million people are living in temporary shelter in Port-au-Prince or have moved away from

Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, partners of the Tokyo-based Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates, better known as SANAA, have been awarded this year’s Pritzker Prize. The annual award is given by the Hyatt Foundation to a living architect or architects who have consistently produced important work. Nishizawa is the youngest architect ever to win the Pritzker, while his partner Sejima is only the second female laureate in the competition’s history. The pairs’ first masterpiece, according to McGraw-Hill’s Architectural Record magazine, was the 21st-Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan. Located in the center of an urban park, the circular

The 2010 World Cup begins on June 10, when Mexico challenges South Africa in Soccer City Stadium in southwest Johannesburg, near the historic Soweto township. Thirty-two teams from around the world that have survived the qualifying rounds will contend for a share of the $17.6 million in prize money. However, even as the soccer stadiums project the image of a “new” South Africa, questions remain about the considerable infrastructure upgrades needed to raise the standard of living for millions of people. More importantly, the players will compete for bragging rights in the world’s most popular sport. Where the championship trophy

Companies came out in force March 24 to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers briefing in New Orleans to pick up details—and size up the competition—on a planned $800-million, design-build contract for permanent closures and pumps at the city’s three outfall canals to better control potential hurricane flooding damage. + Image Image: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The Corps is allowing flexibility for design-build contractors to propose their own pump configuration. About 100 people representing dozens of contracting firms attended the Corps briefing, but few questions were asked as the companies appeared to want to hold any competitive advantages close

A dam on the Green River in western Washington state remains one of the nation’s most unsafe, despite $15 million of work that has been completed over the past year. But the Army Corps of Engineers told local officials on March 18 that an additional $44 million in upgrades is needed to lower the structure’s failure risk to acceptable levels. Photo: Seattle District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Leaks in the Hanson dam landed it on the Corps’ danger list. The Corp says it needs a $44-million repair. “We can manage the risk at the dam, but doing so puts

If another Hurricane Katrina-like disaster hits New Orleans, the city’s water and sewer board will now have a hazard-mitigation plan to ensure that local environmental infrastructure can get state and federal emergency repair funds. “Probably a lot of other cities don’t have this because they haven’t had the disaster,” says Gordon Austin, chief of environmental affairs for the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board. “This is a formality to make sure you’re eligible for [Federal Emergency Management Agency] mitigation funds.” The board still is trying to obtain FEMA funding to mitigate an estimated $98 million in damage from Katrina, which

Skanska, Whitestone, N.Y., in a joint venture with Watsonville, Calif-based Granite Construction, has been awarded a $542-million contract to construct the new PATH station at the site of the World Trade Center in New York City. Skanska’s share of the contract is 80%. PATH is the Port Authority’s commuter rail system, which connects New Jersey to downtown Manhattan. The joint venture is responsible for placement of all cast-in-place concrete to construct the new station platforms 36 feet below and immediately west of New York City Transit’s No. 1 subway line’s structural box. The concrete roof will form the plaza to