Related Links: Transit Builders Buoyed By Ridership Figures Frustration With Politics Flavors Transportation Expo Like their bridge and highway counterparts, U.S. mass-transit builders are catching the public-private partnership bug. But some issues pose challenges, such as the environmental permitting process and the uncertainty of long-term federal funding."State-of-good-repair projects are good candidates for P3s, but the private sector needs clarity of timeframes," said Karen Hedlund, the Federal Railroad Administration deputy administrator. Speaking to attendees of the American Public Transportation Association, she noted that transit agencies might offer stipends for unsolicited proposals to "telegraph serious intent" about pursuing P3s.Unlike highway projects, on
Related Links: Engineers Puzzle Over Cause, Fixes for Sagging Wisconsin Bridge Leo Frigo I-43 bridge sinks another half inch; emergency funds approved The I-43 bridge in Green Bay, Wis., has a 2-ft-plus sag because pier pilings buckled from corrosion, state investigators say. Meanwhile, findings from monitoring equipment installed on the Leo Frigo Bridge show that Pier 22, which settled 2 ft on Sept. 25, settled another half-inch on Oct. 3. Supported by 100-ft-deep H-pilings, the pier is not the only one showing corrosion, says Tom Buchholz, the investigation team's leader."We also went to the adjacent piers—Pier 21, Pier 23, Pier
Related Links: U.K. Launches $52-Billion Rail Plan CH2M Hill Tapped To Advise On $26.5-Billion Line in England Speculation is rising that political forces in Great Britain may thwart initial funding for the country's ambitious HS2 high-speed-rail program, now budgeted at more than $80 billion. The Labour Party's shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, questioned whether the money might be better spent on other projects. But U.K. Chief Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander told a civil engineers' transportation conference in London on Sept. 25 that the current government intended to push the project forward and that it was "absolute folly to neglect its long-term
Photos Courtesy of WisDOT Motorists are being rerouted to other roadways, while investigators use sensors to inspect the pilings on the bridge. The Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge on Interstate 43 in Green Bay, Wis., is closed indefinitely after a pier settled early on Sept. 25, causing a more than 20-in. sag across the four-lane roadway.State and federal structural and geotechnical experts have been joined by consultants from Michael Baker Jr. Inc. and Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc. to examine the bridge and develop a plan of action.No one has determined the cause of the settling, any estimated time for repairs
Photo Courtesy FDOT The incident severely damaged a structural beam on the bridge's central span. Related Links: Fast-Track Replacement Planned for Collapsed Skagit River Bridge In Wake of Washington Span's Collapse, Federal Bridge Funding is in Focus The Florida Dept. of Transportation scrambled to award an emergency contract for repairs to a downtown Jacksonville bridge after a U.S. Navy cargo ship struck the 60-year-old, steel-truss structure's central span on Sept. 26. FDOT announced on Oct. 1 that Superior Construction, Jacksonville, submitted the apparent low bid, with a price of $1.07 million, plus a potential $500,000 in bonuses. FDOT estimates the
Related Links: Ten Minutes With Elaine Dezenski Of WTS Officials: Transportation Needs Many Options, Funding Transportation officials are calling for greater unity among modes and emphasis on infrastructure as an economic development tool in order to increase public support for funding."Transportation is increasingly about place-making," said U.S. Dept. of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, addressing members of the Women's Transportation Seminar in Washington, D.C., during a day-long symposium on Sept. 17. He added, "We have to husband our resources to be as efficient as we can."For example, he noted that ramping up use of construction methods such as warm-mix asphalt could
Related Links: Time-Lapse Video of Skagit Bridge Replacement Oregon Bridge Truss Travels On Teflon-Coated Tracks Time was of the essence: It was even built into the bidding process as a key factor in the $8.5-million project to replace the collapsed Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River in northwest Washington state.On Sunday, Sept. 15, crews from winning contractor Max J. Kuney Co., Spokane, made good on the firm's bidding commitment by sliding into place the state's first lightweight concrete bridge, with a 19-hour closure of the four-lane interstate connecting Seattle to Vancouver, B.C.Everything about the project was fast-tracked following a
Related Links: P3s, Maintenance In the Future for NYC Area Innovation, Outreach Will Accompany Billions in Transportation Work in New York and New Jersey Public-private partnerships for a major bridge and airport-terminal renovation are highlights of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey’s plans for the next decade, which focus mainly on fixing infrastructure that, in some cases, is almost 90 years old.Pat Foye, port authority executive director, told members of the Transportation Research Forum’s New York chapter in early September that the agency will retain authority over tolling on the Goethals Bridge, which will undergo a $1.5-billion
Photos Courtesy of Parsons Corp. Unbraced tied-arch structure was built off-site, then rolled and floated to its final destination over the Mississippi River. Related Links: Builders Say Precast Concrete Network Arch Bridge Is A First Massive Railroad Truss Rolls Into Place A new iconic crossing for Hastings, Minn., is nearing completion. The job used self-propelled modal transporters, barges, skid tracks and strand jacks to set what officials say is North America's longest free-standing, unbraced tied-arch bridge structure.The structure was not even in the original plans to replace the two-lane continuous steel-arch truss over the Mississippi River. The Minnesota Dept. of
Image Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects Global firms will manage billions in construction for ambitious Saudi metro program. Related Links: Saudi Arabia Upgrading Passenger Rail And Freight Service Global Teams Win Massive Contracts For Saudi Subway Lines Several global consulting firms have won plum contracts for a six-line, 131-station, 106-mile-long mass- transit system for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Riyadh Metro Transit Consultants, a joint venture of Parsons Corp., Egis and Systra, won a $556-million contract to manage the first two packages— including lines Nos. 1, 2 and 3 and totaling 104 kilometers—for the ArRiyadh Development Authority. The team will oversee construction of
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