Critical Path

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Key elements of the Port-au-Prince utility infrastructure came through Jan. 12’s 7.0 earthquake unscathed; but that’s because there wasn’t much of anything there to scathe.And that, in itself, represents a form of resiliency not to be discounted.

Nobody messes with Mimi’s stuff...they appreciate what she is doing too much.

In a way, the damage in Haiti is not about buildings. It’s about confidence. People no longer believe in structures.

It is the small initial accomplishments, like finding your bags, making it through customs without incident, and picking up some local currency, that start you off on a confident footing when you arrive at a foreign destination. Getting through all of that in Haiti these days is a real confidence builder.

We flew from New York City on a flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, April 16, to try to capture a construction-industry perspective on conditions there, a little more than three months after Jan. 12’s 7.0-magnitude earthquake ravaged much of the capital city and surrounding area with 35 seconds of mass death and destruction.

The long-stalled climate change legislation appears to be closer to moving back into the public eye, after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations between its three chief architects in the Senate, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The senators announced this week that they hope to unveil their climate change bill soon.

As Congress mulls a new Water Resources Development Act, a Corps-industry team has proposed a $7.6 billion, 20-year plan to speed construction of civil  works projects. it includes hiking the tax on diesel fuel.

ENR Special Report: Integrated Project Delivery: the good, the bad and the risky.I am planning to write a report on integrated project delivery. Questions follow. (No need to answer all of them, though that's fine, too.) I also invite you to simply write to me about IPD, in prose form, or send along any articles you have

The Federal Highway Administration denied Pennsylvania’s proposal to put tolls on its stretch of Interstate-80. Faced with the loss of a hoped-for $460 million a year for roads and transit, Gov. Edward Rendell now plans to call a special session of the legislature to deal with transportation funding. 

My article on the 70-story Frank Gehry-designed Beekman Tower, with its creased and folded curtain wall, has generated some buzz and at least one or two "fan" letters. I have been encouraged to post these on my blog and am doing so, to express my appreciation for the feedback and to ask for more. Letters like these validate