When John Hillman’s cell phone rings, out comes the tune of “Tom Sawyer,” released by the rock band Rush in 1981. The song is not just a favorite of Hillman’s—it comes as close to summing up his philosophy and personality as any one song could.
Hillman joined Swiss post-tensioning firm VSL in 1990 to work on a 385-m-long incrementally launched bridge in Utuado, Puerto Rico. Six months later, the project manager left the job. Hillman, then age 27, found himself in charge of completing a type of structure built only once before in the Western Hemisphere. And it was slowly collapsing. Photo: John Hillman It was an incrementally launched bridge being pushed across the piers by 1,000-ton rams supported on the abutments, says Elvin Wright, then VSL project superintendent. But the project was behind schedule and in trouble. Wright credits Hillman with saving the day.
Building information modeling, still relatively rare in the transportation construction world, proved key in gaining public approval for a planned $573-million, 9.4-mile rapid-transit bus system in Hartford, Conn. Advocates hope transit agencies will begin to ramp up use of BIM in future projects. Slide Show Image: SEA Three-dimensional imaging proved a valuable public-outreach method. The Connecticut Dept. of Transportation had planned on design-build for the line connecting Hartford and New Britain. “We had a designer bring the project from [environmental permitting] to 30% design,” says Michael Sanders, ConnDOT transit administrator. But after then-Gov. John Rowland (R)—who had approved special design-build
Rocky economic times, green infrastructure, lean construction and helping the industry be heard were themes at the Associated General Contractors of America convention in Orlando on March 17-20. AGC has to be about “the industry, not about the politics,” says AGC’s new president, Ted Aadland, CEO of Aadland Evans Construction Inc., Portland, Ore. “We can’t afford to be a partisan organization. We need to work with elected officials in both parties on the issues.” Aadland said AGC is like “the sleeping giant”—members can “wake up” to influence those who make codes and regulations and reach out to other construction associations
Building information modeling, still relatively rare in the transportation construction world, proved key in gaining public approval for a planned $573-million, 9.4-mile rapid-transit bus system in Hartford, Conn. Advocates hope transit agencies will begin to ramp up use of BIM in future projects. Slide Show Image: SEA Three-dimensional imaging proved a valuable public-outreach method. The Connecticut Dept. of Transportation had planned on design-build for the line connecting Hartford and New Britain. “We had a designer bring the project from [environmental permitting] to 30% design,” says Michael Sanders, ConnDOT transit administrator. But after then-Gov. John Rowland (R)—who had approved special design-build
High-speed rail advocates celebrated the Jan. 28 award of grants from the $8-billion pot that is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but officials must now figure out how to leverage the seed money into successful long-term programs. Florida, one of the big grant winners at $1.25 billion, is now pondering design-build and public-private partnerships along with other funding sources. Related Links: Public Works: Industry’s Salvation Transportation, Military and Civic Projects are Saving the Day for Some Southeast Firms Most of the funds went to long-term programs that now can proceed with environmental reviews and preliminary engineering. But
Thanks to an increasing national awareness of infrastructure maintenance issues and the environment, composite materials are gaining support. But acceptance will not occur until regulatory agencies set official standards, say engineers who work with alternatives to traditional materials such as concrete and steel. Habib Dagher, director of the Advanced Structures & Composites Center at the University of Maine, told the Composites 2010 convention on Feb. 9 that until the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials adds codes for bridges using fiber-reinforced polymer materials, they will never be mainstream. Without such a standard to back them up, engineers cannot
High-speed-rail builders from Europe and Japan trekked to Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles in early February to share their experiences with Americans. Public-private partnerships, interoperability with other systems and public outreach were among the topics broached by French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese rail officials. Photo: California High Speed Rail Authority California’s planned high-speed rail line may be informed by advice offered from around the world at a symposium. State engineers and their consultants are rolling up their sleeves after a Jan. 28 award of grants from the $8-billion pot for high-speed rail. In the Los Angeles symposium, held
Just a week after the chairman of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority warned of a possible budget crisis—one that would be the worst in 30 years—one of his former chief engineers told another industry audience of the subway and bus systems’ urgent needs. Cosema Crawford, who left her post as chief engineer of the New York City Transit Authority last fall to join Louis Berger Group as senior vice president, noted that the 106-year-old subway system still has a signal system that is more than 50 years old. “It needs $20 million a year over 15 years just to
Transportation agencies have been near the front of the pack in getting American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds out the door. In highways, state depts. of transportation have $16.8 billion in ARRA projects under construction, says David Bauer, American Road & Transportation Builders Association senior vice president. That represents 63% of ARRA’s $26.7 billion in formula highway aid. “If it’s under construction, it’s supporting employment,” he says. Related Links: As Federal Dollars Pour Out, A Second Stimulus Plan Grows Electricity Programs See Work Start to Surge Water, Cleanup Sectors See Mixed ARRA Prognosis Buildings Project List Still Long U.S. Dept.