Related Links: High in the Sky, Tower Rescues Require Skill Ironworker Crushed by Steel at Brooklyn's Barclays Center An ironworker and an elevator constructor were seriously injured and one later died after an external hoist cab fell three stories at the Partners Healthcare administrative building under construction in Somerville, Mass. on June 11.The accident occurred when a hoist cab unexpectedly pulled away during the assembly of the hoists on the building, said Boston-based contractor Suffolk Construction in a  statement.  The two workers were given first aid by Somerville police on the scene and transported by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital,

Photo by David J. Odeh Odeh engineers work in early June with project collaborators from TRC Cos. to coordinate the design for an electrical substation. Related Links: Odeh Engineers Scalable Display Technologies Fully appreciating the implications of design alternatives for a major structure can take a great deal of analysis and an even greater ability to visualize changes. One Rhode Island structural engineering firm finds the stakes high enough that it has developed its conference space into a 10-projector BIM immersion room for collaboration with as many as 40 people."We realized BIM could be supercharged by creating a room where

Related Links: In New York City, Alexander Hamilton Bridge Gets Complicated Rehabilitation As Pulaski Deck Replacement Begins, Officials Push Hard to Manage Both Traffic And Public Trust Northern Construction is nearing completion of the $19.3-million Willimansett Bridge Rehabilitation ahead of schedule despite the challenges of a hard winter and taking over after Canton, Mass., contractor Pihl Inc. went broke.The 125-year-old, 800-ft x 50-ft bridge carries Massachusetts Route 116 over the Connecticut River and Pioneer Valley Railroad between Holyoke and Chicopee in western Massachusetts."MassDOT [Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation] was helpful," says Shawn Clark, project manager for Northern Construction, Palmer, Mass. "But

Related Links: Contractor Placing World's Largest FRP Deck, After Settling Dispute With Owner Dozens of Test Projects Later, Advocates Still Have Durable Dreams In the bucolic town of Brookfield, Vt., crews are finishing work on the world's first composite floating bridge. It is the eighth iteration of the original log bridge built in 1820, after a town resident fell through ice and drowned in what is now called Sunset Lake.The 318-ft x 20-ft, single-lane Brookfield Bridge, which carries Vermont Route 65 across the lake, employs a fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) flotation system with a 100-year design life. Construction of the $2.4-million

Courtesy of AIM Electrical specialist Brad Diehl (seated) is joined by COO Donn Rosen (right) and President Troy Perez on project task. With a close-knit workforce and low-key workplace, Houston-based AIM Electrical Consultants seems to have a formula that has kept sparks flying at the firm for 18 years, even through down times.The consultant’s 13 employees are treated like family with a relaxed dress code and flexible schedules but also profit sharing and 401Ks and robust health insurance at the financially-savvy firm. “Three percent of profits were rolled into employee 401Ks last year,” says Donn Rosen, a disabled Vietnam veteran

Oculus Rift As head of Boston-based Suffolk Construction's 18-month-old national R&D group, Jason Seaburg leads a team searching for new technologies that may become standard tools on company jobsites. His excitement is infectious, says Corren Collura, chief information officer. "Colleagues really buy into it and want to partner with him," she says.Recent explorations include drones, thermal imaging cameras, Google Glass, and still and video cameras on extenders to examine hard-to-reach locations.The 12-member R&D group investigates and recommends the most promising proposals for testing during biweekly conference calls. It works to keep costs within an R&D budget set at the start

Related Links: Ball and Taper Technology Fukushima Disaster Fukushima Forward First Subsea, based in the U.K., has supplied an innovative cable-connector system in preparation for linking to the first of two 7-MW floating wind turbines for the second phase of the Fukushima offshore floating pilot wind test project this summer.After a magnitude-9.0 earthquake on March 11, 2011, triggered a tsunami and knocked a nuclear powerplant off line, the Japanese government was quick to seek alternative means of generating electricity.The test project, commissioned in 2012 by the Japan Ministry of Trade, Economy and Industry, is laying the foundation to build the

Courtesy Canton, Mass., PD Youth hockey team evacuated Canton, Mass., rink 15 seconds before section of roof collapsed. The harsh winter of 2015 is taking a toll on the roofs of New England.At about 7:15 a.m. on Feb. 28, the Norwood Nuggets youth hockey team were filing onto the Metropolis Ice Hockey Rink in Canton, Mass., for practice when they heard a snap, followed by another. Immediately, a coach yelled for everyone to leave the ice and exit the building. About 15 seconds later, a portion of the roof fell.A blast of air pressure propelled a coach across the rink,

Beverly A. Scott, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, announced her resignation on Feb. 11 following criticism by Gov. Charlie Baker (R) of “T” transit performance that left thousands stranded during two system-wide shutdowns in a string of epic snow storms.Gov. Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito (R) said in a statement the same day, they were “surprised” to learn of Scott's resignation. She will stay on until April 11 while a search for a successor is conducted.   ScottFrustrated by the second system-wide shutdown on Feb. 10 and with another storm brewing, Baker reportedly said that whatever

SunEdison Alternative energy developer SunEdison's $2.4-billion purchase of First Wind provides 21 MW of solar assets but moves firm into wind sector for the first time. Missouri-based solar-power developer SunEdison aims to become one of the country's leading alternative-energy providers with its $2.4-billion acquisition of Boston wind-energy giant First Wind, completed on Jan. 29. The deal is SunEdison's first involving wind energy. In the transaction, the firm and one of its operating units, TerraForm Power, purchased 500 MW of operating wind powerplants and 21 MW of operating solar powerplants from First Wind. "With the acquisition of First Wind, SunEdison becomes the leading