The Rail Commission partnered with Kanawha River Railroad (KNWA) and Norfolk Southern (NS) on a December 2022 submission to the Federal Railroad Administration and was recently notified the project was approved. The project will rehabilitate significant sections of the line which runs between Columbus, Ohio, and Cornelia, West Virginia, a distance of approximately 240 miles.  The line is owned by NS and operated by KNWA, a subsidiary of Watco. The project includes replacing rail and ties as well as necessary surfacing work. It also includes repairing several bridges along the line. The approximately $32.5 million project will result in the elimination of slow orders and the restoration of Class II track speeds across the project area.  These improvements will allow KNWA to maintain safe and reliable service to meet the needs of its existing customers and improve its ability to attract new customers.

Matthew Dietrich, Executive Director of the Rail Commission, said “This project will preserve and improve a rail line in Southeastern Ohio that serves as an important link between industries in West Virginia and Ohio.  Anytime we are able to work in tandem with our railroad partners to make improvements that reduce the opportunity for incidents to occur, it’s a benefit to all.  We are happy to support that effort.”

HOUSTON – McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has completed construction on Port Houston – Bayport Wharf 6. The new 1,000-foot-long wharf allows for the latest generation of container cranes to unload shipping containers from neo-Panamax vessels. Construction on Wharf 6 began in May 2021 and was completed in an accelerated timeline of 26 months.

Located at the Bayport Container Terminal in Seabrook, Texas, partial funding for the project was received from the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration. The project scope included substantial earthwork and traditional mechanical dredging activities – dredging 400,000 cubic yards of sediment from the shoreline. Other components of the project included underground utilities, the installation of drilled shaft foundations, cast-in-place concrete, crane rails, and a new ship fender and mooring system.

The new wharf incorporates two crane beams, one landside and one waterside, allowing new ship-to- shore wharf cranes to move alongside ships for loading and offloading. Three wharf decks, each measuring 300 plus feet, tie to the waterside crane beam. The new wharf can accommodate large shipping vessels, some measuring up to 1,200 feet long. Construction of the new wharf included installing 623 drilled shafts – 269 landside and 354 waterside, measuring either 36 or 42 inches in diameter.

“We were pleased to continue our 30 year working relationship with Port Houston, the nation’s largest port for waterborne tonnage, and an essential economic engine for not only the state of Texas but the entire country,” said Fitz O’Donnell, senior vice president of operations for McCarthy’s marine & industrial business unit. “Our team’s commitment to excellent client service, communication, and a dedication to safety on the jobsite helped to make the Wharf 6 project a success.”

Throughout the project, McCarthy remained committed to a safe work environment; zero lost time safety incidents or recordables were logged during the project, which totaled over 475,000 man hours. This represents a huge achievement considering the length and complexity of the project, including coordinating multiple shifts with different crews working both day and night throughout the project to achieve completion on a compressed schedule.

The team faced several challenges from the beginning of the project, with procurement starting in early 2021 at the height of the global supply chain and shipping crisis. With these issues, McCarthy utilized constant communication with all stakeholders to minimize logistical impacts to maintain the project schedule, while always emphasizing safety.

McCarthy has worked at various ports along the Gulf Coast for approximately 35 years, with experience in marine construction spanning a diverse array of project types including petrochemical liquid terminal facilities, bulk cargo handling terminals, deep water container terminals and ship docks. McCarthy undertakes complex projects for public clients such as Port Freeport, Port Beaumont, and Port Houston, as well as private mid-stream clients, and is partner of choice for EPC firms servicing oil and gas and petrochemical clients. In the past 15 years, McCarthy has completed over half a billion dollars’ worth of work in Port Houston alone.

“We are truly thrilled to receive this award that recognizes our fundamental approach of connecting people, data and technology to deliver the innovative solutions our clients depend on,” said Steve Morriss, President, Engineering Services, U.S., AtkinsRéalis. “By combining our digital expertise with decades of engineering excellence we are optimizing design and delivery of our planet’s most complex and challenging projects.”

The Floyd Hill project removes a bottleneck of the interstate and reduces travel times for commercial traffic, residents and tourists driving to nearby ski resorts and other destinations. It has been highlighted by U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and CDOT for the economic benefits it provides to Colorado and the Nation. Safety enhancements along the corridor include improving the highway’s design speed and increasing stopping sight distance on horizontal curves. Additional upgrades include a westbound tolled Express Lane, an eastbound auxiliary lane, new bridges, improved interchange and frontage road access, wildlife passageways under the roadway, two air quality monitoring stations and a full reconstruction of a nearby trail. Construction is underway with project completion expected in 2028.

The use of technology and visualization software helped the team develop solutions to handle many site-specific challenges and constraints. Leveraging digital tools made it possible to mitigate impacts to the surrounding natural environment, built environment, residents and other stakeholders while also providing a more efficient and cost-effective design.

“Utilizing digital tools allowed our team to visualize dozens of alternative designs and fully evaluate construction impacts, quantities, costs and constructability leading to a preferred alternative that best met the project goals,” said Donna Huey, Chief Digital Officer, Engineering Services, U.S., AtkinsRéalis. “This award highlighted our ability to reduce hours worked by more than 50,000 and project costs by more than $7 million, showcasing AtkinsRéalis’ ability deliver exceptional value to our clients and taxpayers.”

AtkinsRéalis is revolutionizing the design, delivery and operation of infrastructure projects through its world-leading knowledge in design, engineering, project management, sustainability and digital-transformation. Our consultants, engineers, technologists and project managers have helped clients reshape the world, with new ways of designing and building that make the lived environment work better for everyone for more than eight decades.

This accomplishment marks a significant achievement in Bowman’s commitment to delivering projects that enhance safety for pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and transit users.

In 2017, the Kleinfelder-led team was selected for the project through an on-call services contract with the City of Cambridge, MA. At the project’s onset, before its acquisition by Bowman in 2022, McMahon Associates was chosen to lead urban planning, transportation analysis and street designs, a role they continued to perform through the project’s conclusion as Bowman.

Prior to the improvements, Inman Square was a high-crash intersection. Through partnerships with local stakeholder groups, Bowman’s team developed an intersection design that aligned with the needs and objectives outlined in several city plans, including Vision Zero and pedestrian, bicycle, climate and transportation plans.

“Our ability to listen to the community and develop a design that effectively addressed local needs is a testament to the expertise of our team,” said Christi Apicella, New England urban planning team lead at Bowman. “This project is a shining example of what is possible when local needs, safety and sustainability are prioritized in an urban neighborhood. We’re proud to see this project complete and being enjoyed by the traveling public.”

The improvements were a high priority for the City of Cambridge. Our team’s ability to swiftly deliver an effective design was a crucial factor in meeting this urgency. The chosen design transformed Inman Square’s geometry into a configuration that prioritizes safety of all modes of transportation. Additional safety enhancements include separated bicycle lanes with protected phasing, fully accessible sidewalks and crossing islands and the addition of floating bus stops and a transit queue-jump lane.

“Kleinfelder’s partnership with McMahon, now Bowman, has allowed us to leverage our expertise, work together as a team, and help the city transform Inman Square into a safer and more vibrant community,” said Rebecca Weig, Vice President at Kleinfelder. “We look forward to future engagements with the Bowman team.”

Spanning 280 meters, the bridges will each host two lanes and pedestrian walkways. Once completed, the new bridges will connect Third Line to Neyagawa Blvd with the north and south bound bridges easing traffic congestion in an area of growing population.

The three span segmental bridge is being built by utilizing a cast-in-place segmental construction technique using a moveable form traveler system. While the first phase of the project adopts a typical cast-in-place segmental construction using a balanced cantilever method, the bridge construction will soon reach a section of the west pier cantilever where segment casting will proceed in a single direction toward the west abutment. This unbalanced cantilever construction is a unique adaptation of the balanced cantilever construction method which was required for the west and east pier configurations and locations. 

The portion of the extended cantilever will be supported by using a temporary stay cable tower that will anchor supporting stays at each of the 8 ‘unbalanced’ cantilever segments. For this system to work seamlessly, COWI designed a unique steel anchor box which will enable the load transfer of the supporting demands of the cable stay tower to the concrete segment. This unique mechanism not only minimized the need for top slab concrete modifications as compared to the original designs but will also ensure a clean extraction of the cable stay tower once the bridge is completed.

The construction of the North bridge is progressing well with the Bot team onsite having completed the installation of the first four pair of segments on the west and east pier cantilevers. Bot and COWI are now making progress to complete the cantilevers to a point to be able to cast the span closures.

Ivan Liu, P.E., Senior Bridge Engineer at COWI comments, “We are pleased to see positive progress on this project. The casting of the first segments are often the most challenging areas in segmental bridge construction due to the complexity of the rebar details, the learning curve for the casting procedures, and the absence of accurate project data to reflect the performance of the form traveler on that specific structure. Having worked on a number of similar projects across North America, we were able to lean on historical project data to provide informed engineering support for possible construction scenarios and estimations on the form traveler behavior.”

As a leading expert in segmental bridge construction, COWI was selected as the Construction Engineer, offering a knowledgeable pair of hands in supporting Bot Construction Group with its first segmental bridge project. Harnessing local and technical expertise from its offices in Toronto, Canada and Tallahassee, Florida, COWI is responsible for the construction analysis, geometry control, erection manual, and construction support of both bridges along with the design of temporary work structures.

The bridges are expected to be completed in Fall 2024, with plans to open to the new William Halton Parkway extension to the public by 2025.

Throughout the US, the interest in creating more walkable communities is intensifying. Residents, including the increasing population of older adults, recognize the value of walking and biking for personal health and wellness, and see the larger community benefits of reducing emissions and improving air quality.

Contrast this intense interest with our vehicle-centric culture that enjoys the convenience and efficiency of fast-food drive-thru restaurants and coffee shops. While drive-thrus have been in our communities for a long time–the first drive-thru opened in Texas in 1921, but the trend picked up steam in the 1970s as McDonald’s opened its first drive-thru in 1975–the drive-thru has become standard practice for nearly every fast-food restaurant, but in many instances results in shrinking interior restaurant seating, or no seating, as national chains explore offering drive-thru service only.

While fast-food restaurants, the majority of which are owned by national chains, insist that drive-thrus are essential for business, they bring a host of safety challenges for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists, as well as increased emissions from idling vehicles. More land is consumed for vehicle stacking to keep waiting cars from extending into the roadway, as well as accommodating bypasses or “bailouts” to let drivers out of the queue, if needed.

Despite some communities prohibiting drive-thrus, it is clear that in most places communities are hesitant to discourage uses that the market demands. If drive-thrus are here to stay, how can communities address the land use conflicts that limit desired improvements to walkability? First, communities should recognize the impacts of auto-centric uses on walkability and then create and implement comprehensive land use policies and zoning regulations.

Of drive-thrus and downtowns

Revival of community downtown areas and the creation of new commercial corridors in suburban areas coincides with renewed interest in walkable communities. Long magnets for community engagement, downtowns and shopping districts generally feature a variety of shops and restaurants, some of which provide quick meals that can be satisfying alternatives to drive-thrus.

When a community resident or visitor has a meal at a local restaurant in a dynamic downtown or commercial district, they may engage with other local businesses and register the community as a place of interest for a future visit. Engagement with local restaurants and businesses help support vibrant and successful communities by ensuring the viability of local destinations for walking, shopping, and socializing. Drive-thru patrons tend to miss out on opportunities to experience the community and contribute to the local economy.

Revival of walkable communities

In general, communities have been planning for a more complete transportation network that accommodates pedestrians, cyclists and others for a number of years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, varying restrictions on travel and gathering in public places changed the ways in which we were able to get out of our homes and experience a sense of community. These restrictions motivated people to go out walking or biking in their neighborhoods, exposing many residents to the true pedestrian experience in their local communities for the first time. 

What many found was less than ideal. As we moved out of our neighborhoods and further into our communities, we found gaps in our sidewalk networks, unsafe road conditions for walkers and cyclists, and a lack of destinations to which we could walk. People started to find their regional shared use trails, but realized those trails were primarily accessible by driving to the trailheads.

These realizations may be the catalyst for the stronger demand for walkability that is happening in many communities, especially in suburban areas where people feel the limitations of the built environment. Since these communities were initially designed around the personal vehicle, creating non-motorized infrastructure took a back seat to maintaining and expanding our roadways.

While for some, walking and bicycle riding are forms of recreation, for others, they are modes of travel that support independence. According to AARP, by 2030, one in five persons in the US will be age 65 or older; by 2034, people over age 65 will outnumber children aged 17 or younger. This shift in demographics and an increase in the number of Americans living with disabilities also is fueling walkability movements. Walkable communities help ensure independence, especially when driving is no longer an option.

The ubiquitous drive-thru

Another impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was the rise in drive-thru and curbside pickup services. Across the US, orders at drive-thrus grew by 20 percent from February 2020 to February 2022, according to a study by the NPD Group, a global retail data company. Restaurant Business magazine called 2021 the “year of the drive-thru,” citing many food chains expanding and upgrading drive-thrus. Increasingly, fast-food restaurants are designed around drivers in vehicles rather than diners in a restaurant. Images of restaurant chains designing small buildings elevated above three or four drive-thru lanes are almost other-worldly. While a seeming feat of operational efficiency, there can be some significant downsides for a community.

Safety is a big concern for all users of the roadway–motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. The wide driveways built to accommodate traffic entering and exiting the drive-thru location can be approached from several different angles with vehicles moving simultaneously in different directions. Potential conflicts include rear-end crashes and crashes with pedestrians and cyclists who may be trying to navigate sidewalks (if provided) while dodging turning vehicles. 

Distracted drivers also contribute to unsafe traffic conditions when in line at the drive-thru. While waiting, drivers may become distracted with their phones. Or, once they receive their order, they may check it or dive into it without noticing how traffic has changed in just a few minutes. This compounds the pedestrian safety issue with distracted driving risks.

From a land use perspective, creating businesses to which one must drive contributes to traffic congestion and takes up land that could be used in a way that better serves the community. According to the US Department of Transportation, the average US household produces about 9.5 vehicle trips a day; half of which are within three miles from home. Enhanced non-motorized infrastructure and places to which people can walk can alleviate traffic congestion and improve safety. 

Zoning ordinances facilitate coexistence

When planning a walkable community, consider where goods and services are needed. Think about where residents live, including families with children, singles, and older adults. Armed with this information, evaluate the ways in which the proximity of vehicle-oriented businesses, including drive-thrus, will affect the residents and their access to community destinations that support independence and freedom of mobility, including shops, restaurants, coffee shops, playgrounds, libraries, etc. Updating zoning ordinances in these areas to limit the number of drive-thrus will support businesses that serve people within the walkable community.

Zoning standards for buildings and sites can be improved to promote walkability. For example, allowing buildings closer to the road improves the visibility of storefronts and enables pedestrians to see activity inside; moving vehicles to the back of buildings for access to drive-thrus and parking minimizes direct exposure to emissions for pedestrians and mitigates other safety risks.

Additional zoning standards could include:

• Moving vehicles away from view and screening drive-thru areas with building elements and landscaping to improve the pedestrian environment, making it more comfortable and pleasant for people to walk or ride
• Requiring outdoor seating that is attractive and protected from idling vehicles
• Limiting impervious surface coverage and increasing landscaping to reduce stormwater runoff  
• Improving landscape standards to promote lower maintenance plantings and requiring long-term maintenance
• Enable enhanced landscaping to serve as stormwater retention/detention areas, creating an attractive, inviting outdoor environment 
• Increasing standards for building materials and building design to reinforce a sense of permanence and quality for development in the community
• Requiring sidewalks with all new development 
• Requiring pavement markings and limited signage to direct pedestrians to logical and safe passages/crossings and alert drivers to where they should expect to see pedestrians
• Provide pedestrian connections to buildings–make them highly visible by making them obvious: putting them front and center, using bright pavement markings and lighting
• Share access and driveways–limit driveway access across sidewalks and trails to minimize interactions between cars and people

Effective zoning starts with good planning

Most municipalities evolved to serve the motorist first, the pedestrian and cyclist second and third. Our fast-paced, on-demand culture supports driving over walking, partly due to infrastructure shaped to serve vehicles and partly due to our societal need for speed.

With the rising demand for walkable communities, it is incumbent on municipalities to create zoning ordinances that support the changes sought by residents and business owners. A major step in creating walkable communities is to develop land-use policies and zoning standards to make our transportation networks safer for all, whether transportation is people-powered or vehicle-powered.

Trailblazing transit couple discusses what they’ve seen throughout their public and private transportation careers and how changing attitudes and technology are reshaping the industry.

Sit down to dinner with Jannet Walker-Ford and Nathaniel P. “Nat” Ford and you’ll see their connection to transportation progress and innovation in the United States is undeniable. From the integration of mobility technology, to leveraging autonomous vehicles for fleets, to transporting vaccines, to creating equitable access for underserved communities, this “power couple” is helping shape our nation’s mobility.   

The Fords have not only witnessed their share of advancement in transit throughout their impactful careers, but each has also played a significant role in the influence and expansion of the country’s transit network that has taken shape over the past two decades. 

Jannet is a senior vice president and transit and rail market leader for WSP USA, a leading engineering and professional services consultancy. In this role she is responsible for leading the strategy for growth and innovation and delivering technical project excellence in the transit, rail, mobility, freight, and intercity rail markets. She is the current chair of WTS International, an organization committed to advancing women in transportation; and also serves on the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA’s) Executive Committee.

Nat is CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA), the innovative regional public transportation provider and mobility integrator in Northeast Florida. He is a leading advocate for autonomous vehicles and others on how they can improve the quality of life for travelers throughout the nation. In 2022 he served as chair of the Transportation Research Board, a division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that promotes innovations, technology, and research in transportation. He is a former chair of APTA.

With their tireless commitment to transit, their pursuit of improved equity and an understanding of where public transportation is heading, one can imagine the ideas and perspectives shared during family dinners at the Ford household. 

Public and Private Collaboration

Jannet and Nat have experienced both the public and private sides of transportation over the course of their careers. Both agreed that when it comes to collaboration, the two sectors have come a long way. 

Nat: Early in my career, the public and private sectors largely operated in silos. There was truly no real collaboration in advancing policies or developing programs that advance the customer experience. However, that has changed and now both sectors work together constantly. Public-private partnerships, technology, alternative fuels, and other advancements have contributed to bringing the public and private sector together to collaborate. 

Jannet: During my tenure at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), I held roles of chief information officer and deputy CEO, where I led a transformation of the agencies’ business systems and the upgrade of the fare payment system to a regional payment system—the Breeze Card Systems, the first of its kind in North America. These programs required close and frequent engagement with the riding public, community, stakeholders, and other regional operators as well as a close partnership with the private sector. A trusted and collaborative relationship with the private sector was crucial in their successful implementations.

Nat: There is also collaboration in our shared industry-related trade associations such as the APTA; TRB; the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association and many others. I became chair of APTA around the time that Uber, Lyft, and other providers were using technology to provide “first- and last-mile” services. I challenged my colleagues to see these private sector companies not as competitors, but as allies, to help our systems grow and meet the needs and demands of our riders. Today, there are multiple partnerships across the industry. 

Jannet: All of this is being done to improve the customer experience and options to take them where they need to go and enjoy their quality of life.

Delivering on Promises

The US Bipartisan Infrastructure Act (BIL)—previously known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—as well as the more recent Inflation Reduction Act, are providing unprecedented levels of funding for transportation modernization, and expansion projects. Jannet and Nat explained why this is going to require a fresh look at how transportation has been historically funded and programmed.

Jannet: The future of transportation is complex, dynamic and exciting. We are in a state of rapid growth and continual transformation. Historical funding opportunities and federal programs are taking root, innovative technologies are becoming the norm and alternative fuel and energy sources are becoming more available. As we contend with the lingering effects of COVID-19 and workforce shortages, we are making vital policy decisions that will provide for safer, more sustainable, equitable, and accessible systems. 

Nat: In public transportation, funding historically has been earmarked for buses, trains, and infrastructure. In the 21st century, we must think beyond that and provide funding to enhance our role as mobility integrators that provide a variety of multimodal options that include walkability and cycling, greenspace, paths and trails, and transit-oriented development.

Jannet: The highlights from the BIL—now in into the second of the five-year funding of $1.2B—covers improvements in infrastructure such as:

• $66 billion in passenger and freight rail,
• $7.5 billion to build a national network of electric vehicle chargers, and
• $39 billion for transit and accessibility improvements.

With this investment in transportation and infrastructure, we have the crucial opportunity to provide systems designed with the kaleidoscope of riders and their diverse needs, safety and access, accommodations, and perspectives in mind. We will see a difference in the usage of those systems, ridership numbers will increase and communities will benefit from access to new and meaningful connections to places, jobs, healthcare, educational institutions, voting locations, resources, and opportunities that did not exist before.

Nat: Now it is our job as transportation professionals to make sure we deliver on the promises made. 

Driving Innovation and Technology

Jannet and Nat identified several challenges and opportunities awaiting the transportation sector.

Nat: The opportunities I see on the horizon for the industry are driven by innovation and technology. Both are powerful tools to address the priorities our customers demand. It helps us create integrated systems across all modes of transportation, putting the power at the fingertip of customers. It can support the dismantling of equity barriers and make sure there is more reliable access to services. It will provide more opportunities that help us deliver services that are environmentally friendly with more electric vehicles.

Jannet: When I think about the future of the industry, I see a focus on moving into new, smarter sources of energy, artificial intelligence, automation, and new mobility and technological infrastructure to support these innovations. 

Nat: A game-changer will be autonomous vehicle technology. Automation and all the opportunities in innovation and technology are helping us attract and retain a skilled workforce. It is also showing newer generations the amazing possibilities a career in the transportation industry can provide. Of course, all these opportunities lead to greater community services, enhancing the quality of life.

Jannet: We must address the availability of adequate operational and capital funding to meet the needs of our transportation systems and aging infrastructure. We need a skilled workforce that is more diverse and gender-balanced and ensure that equity in the planning, design and delivery of the projects addresses our most pressing infrastructure needs.

Equity Focus on Infrastructure

The Fords see critical opportunities for the private and public sectors to work together and solve some of the transportation industry’s biggest challenges.

Jannet: We all know the history of public transportation—including railroads, bridges, transit, and airports—and like the history of our country, it is complicated. Too often, decisions about where and how to build infrastructure disproportionately benefited some, while disenfranchising others. 

An equity focus on infrastructure is championed by the public sector and is currently—and should always be—a key consideration in public transportation and infrastructure improvements. But it is not just the federal administration and public institutions and agencies that are focusing on equity. More and more private sector entities are understanding how the history of their infrastructure and decision-making created unintentional consequences for communities throughout the United States. 

In cities, it was often Black and Brown communities who were devastated, while in more rural areas of the country it was often the lower income and Native communities who were disenfranchised. As transportation professionals we are charged with making important decisions that impact society. An equitable, diverse and inclusive group of stakeholder voices are vital for the road ahead. We can acknowledge past indiscretions that actively harmed communities, especially communities of color and other disadvantaged people, while choosing better alternatives that will actively help rectify the standing outcomes of these choices.

Nat: I have seen the benefits of public and private collaboration within my own agency. Forming public-private partnerships (P3s) to serve the public that are financially beneficial, sustainable, diverse, efficient, and safe has enabled the JTA to become a best-in-class transportation authority. 

P3s have been integral to the JTA’s success—from building a clean energy fueling station for public use and the JTA’s fleet of compressed natural gas vehicles, to deploying our Ultimate Urban Circulator driverless vehicles for Florida’s esteemed Mayo Clinic during the pandemic, to collaborating with microtransit services to provide first-and-last mile rides and door-to-door service. JTA has a successful track record of collaborating with the private sector.

Jannet: In order to be successful in meeting these challenges, the public and private sector will need to work collaboratively and expeditiously to plan, design, and implement projects that address these issues by leveraging the once-in-a-generation investment provided in the BIL. It is the responsibility of the public and private sector to collectively rise to the occasion and deliver on the promise of a more equitable infrastructure for the next generation.

Lasting, Positive Change

Jannet and Nat said that much of their success is attributed to aspects of transportation that bring them joy and satisfaction.

Nat: My most meaningful achievements have embraced innovations that lead to lasting, positive change. Every agency I have worked at I have had an opportunity to launch innovations that were the first of their kind. At MARTA it was the Breeze card; in San Francisco, it was the first real-time parking app; at the JTA it was the first system redesign in modern history with the route optimization initiative, and later, the U2C. I have always had a vision about how to improve transportation services and a vision about improving the quality of life in my community. 

Jannet: If I had a chance to meet my younger self, I would tell her that no one person knows everything—this is why you have teams. Many times we think we need to know every bullet point of a position or job description to do it well. We learn later in life that everyone “wings it” at some point. We learn by doing and the growth environment of interacting with our peers and learning your organizational culture and values. And that is OK.

Nat: I would tell my younger self to never forget the importance of relationships with people. The close personal and professional relationships I have formed during my 40-year career are ones I will always treasure.

So, what’s it like to work in the transit sector as a married couple? Come join them for dinner—a meal worth savoring. 

For several years, the United Kingdom’s National Highways and local authorities have been monitoring areas of ground movement within the embankments supporting the A595 roadway near Moresby Hall in Cumbria.

To address the deteriorating ground concerns, the National Highways developed a £16 million (approximately $20 million USD) improvement project. The goal was to rebuild the roadway embankments and integrate a new drainage system, thereby facilitating long-term improvements and reducing maintenance needs for the A595. 

Project Planning and Initial Phases

In 2022, Amey Highways (the project designer) and AE Yates Civil Engineering (the project contractor) collaborated with National Highways to begin planning an improvement project aimed at rebuilding the A595 embankments and drainage systems near Moresby Hall. The team worked closely with technical experts and material supplier, Greenfix. 

Two site enhancement locations were established, one on each side of the A595 roadway. 

Phase One: A micro-tunnelling technique was used to minimize disruption while two tunnels were installed under the embankment as part of the work to upgrade the drainage system along the A595.

Phase Two: Improvements to the A595 included restructuring embankments on both sides of the roadway. These embankments had an average length of approximately 140 meters (460 ft) long and up to 10 meters (33 ft) high.

Material Selection and Design Criteria

Given the height of the embankments, the project required a solution that could minimize settlement and mitigate the risk of overloading the newly installed drainage infrastructure below. A lightweight yet strong system that could also support a vegetated finish was essential. With these requirements in mind, the GEOWEB® Earth Retention System emerged as a viable choice due to its capability to withstand differential settlement without compromising structural integrity.

Following discussions with stakeholders and the technical team, it was decided that Presto Geosystems’ GEOWEB® Retaining Wall System, infilled with Leca® Lightweight Aggregate (LWA), would be employed to address the issues with the failing embankments. As part of this decision-making process, Presto Geosystems’ design engineering team conducted a complimentary project evaluation to provide further design assistance.

Product Features and Installation:
A Perfect Re-Pairing: GEOWEB Green Walls with Leca Lightweight Aggregate

The design engineers recommended that the GEOWEB System sections form the wall fascia with a minimum depth of three cells, thus creating a deep integrated section resistant to movement. Calculations were run to determine the factor of safety against sliding, overturning, and bearing capacity failure, and the wall design was deemed acceptable. 

The GEOWEB Reinforced Wall was designed to include the Greenfix 3PE geogrid for earth reinforcement, and the GEOWEB Wall green fascia was chosen to maintain a natural aesthetic when vegetated. Additionally, the patented ATRA® Wall Key was used to connect the GEOWEB sections at interleaf sections, and it was color-matched to the green fascia. 

The selected infill was the LECA® Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate (LWA) due to the much lower horizontal earth pressures it allows. Approximately 11,000 cubic meters (387,462 f³) of LWA was used to fill the GEOWEB Wall sections. Installation was designed for speed and ease, using materials that are both lightweight and easy to assemble.

Once infilled, the GEOWEB front panels were topped with topsoil and seed to create the required vegetated finish. Seed may also be mixed in with topsoil prior to infill, hydroseeding methods can be employed, or voluntary native vegetation can be used. The choice of plant species is not critical to the geocell’s functionality, so low-maintenance, native varieties are generally recommended. 

The GEOWEB Walls are both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly, requiring no maintenance for vegetation and capturing stormwater runoff. Horizontal terraces collect rainwater, minimizing runoff and erosion from the impervious roadway surface. Local grasses and flowering vegetation will help ensure easy growth with a natural look, especially when using the green ATRA Wall Key.

Performance and Sustainability

Presto Geosystems’ GEOWEB Geocells offer industry-leading durability, design flexibility, and performance. The high-density polyethylene (HDPE) material is environmentally safe and has undergone third-party testing for long-term stability against weathering and oxidation. The GEOWEB system’s design flexibility accommodates various wall types, infill options, and site conditions while its unique structure minimizes hydrostatic buildup and enhances stability.

The GEOWEB Retaining Walls are made from premium HDPE resin, designed to confine infill materials and resist environmental degradation. This HDPE material is chemically inert and has been proven not to leach harmful substances or microplastics.

Not only are the GEOWEB Walls quick and easy to install, but they also offer a more cost-effective and sustainable alternative to traditional MSE walls, such as masonry or gabion block walls. They excel in performance under differential settlement, seismic activity, and hydrostatic pressure—benefits not commonly found in traditional systems.

Project Results

Since its completion in early 2023, the A595 Moresby Hall project has achieved several noteworthy milestones. It is now the largest GEOWEB Retaining Wall installation in Europe. The success of this installation was enhanced by the combined use of GEOWEB Geocells and LECA® Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate (LWA) as infill material. Both materials contributed to a sustainable and cost-effective solution that optimized stability and minimized the risk of future landslides.

The project has also earned recognition from English Heritage for its cultural importance, especially in relation to 12th-century settlers in the region. With this state-of-the-art earth retention system in place, featuring both GEOWEB System and LECA technologies, these historically significant embankments will remain stable and secure for generations to come.

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Funded through HDR’s Fellowship Program, the work culminated in an economic method, called Social Equity Value Analysis, which better accounts for the value of projects to disadvantaged communities and people with lower incomes. The SEVA method was reviewed and endorsed by an advisory panel of leading subject matter experts including academics and federal, state and local agency economists and engineers.

“SEVA reveals a more complete measure of the value of projects in ways that a benefit-cost analysis cannot, especially for people with lower incomes,” Behr said. “The results add important new perspectives on projects for infrastructure owners and state and federal funding agencies, which aim to account for equity in implementation decisions.”

SEVA is a benefit-cost analysis weighted by the income differences of beneficiaries, a key feature of most measures of equity and distributive justice. The results of a SEVA can be presented in the same way as a BCA — with a comparison of benefits and costs. HDR is standardizing this approach in all of its economic analyses.

The SEVA approach is grounded in economic theory and consistent with U.S. federal BCA guidelines related to assessing the distribution of outcomes. The Office of Management and Budget recently issued draft revisions to its BCA guidelines and includes a discussion on implementing a distributional analysis in the same form as SEVA.

“Equity has become a cornerstone of planning and implementing new infrastructure projects, and today, federal funding depends on demonstrating equity considerations,” said Cathy LaFata, HDR’s transportation equity director. “SEVA can give owners greater insights on the equity implications underlying implementation decisions across a portfolio of project alternatives. For owners seeking to elevate equity in their planning criteria, SEVA is a defensible method that can provide a compelling rationale for funding a project that makes sense to implement.”

About HDR
For over a century, HDR has partnered with clients to shape communities and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Our expertise spans more than 12,000 employees in more than 200 locations around the world — and counting. Our engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services bring an impressive breadth of knowledge to every project. Our optimistic approach to finding innovative solutions defined our past and drives our future. 

To validate the approach, parties are working together with MnDOT, the lead state DOT on this effort, on a digital delivery proof of concept that should improve the digital collaboration across design and construction. By integrating and extending design and construction contract systems of record, Bentley, Infotech, and AASHTO will advance industry best practices for data federation, with data captured once and then seamlessly accessible across project delivery workflows. Bentley applications will be enabled to optimize for pay-item data during design and pre-construction processes, synchronizing digital twins for accurate and efficient construction deliverables. The integration of AASHTOWare Project and Infotech’s cloud technology with Bentley Infrastructure Cloud’s iTwin Platform to span OpenRoads, ProjectWise, and SYNCHRO will dramatically improve processes that to date have been manual, such as the entry of construction pay item summaries into plan sheets.  

Bentley, Infotech, and AASHTO will streamline digital delivery market offerings that demonstrate value and best practices for:

• on-demand pay item updates – to synchronize the official pay item list in AASHTOWare Project with design and construction artifacts, minimizing pay-item differences at plan turn-in for letting;
• automated quantities – to maximize pay item amounts extracted automatically from the design process, versus manually entered;
• predicted future costs – to minimize variations between official design-based estimates and actual construction costs; and
• automated funding categories – to maximize automatic extraction, for transfer to AASHTOWare Project, of financial responsibility allocations across agencies and partnering parties.

Dustin Parkman, Vice President, Transportation, at Bentley Systems, said, “This partnership with AASHTO and Infotech will help DOTs realize their project delivery digital transformation goals with automation between Bentley’s solutions and AASHTOWare Project. Data, which had been siloed, will be extensively and easily shared across the design and construction lifecycle.”

Chad Schafer, Infotech Chief Revenue Officer, said, “We understand the pain points that DOTs experience from disparate systems, and our work with Bentley is focused on the common goal of facilitating a connected environment that eliminates redundant data entry and reduces errors by bringing design and construction together. We look forward to partnering with Bentley to support agencies as they prioritize digital project delivery initiatives.”

Brian Korschgen, Product Director for AASHTOWare Project, AASHTO, said, “The collaboration between Bentley, Infotech, AASHTO, and MnDOT is a signal to state DOTs that data must flow from system to system efficiently without disruption. This is a great first step toward making that a reality for the industry.”

In a Sept. 30 grand opening event sponsored in part by HDR, the community celebrated the opening of its second BRT line. Service began Oct. 1.

The Mill Plain BRT Project is a $50 million project that runs approximately 10 miles along Mill Plain Boulevard between historic downtown Vancouver and the growing Columbia Tech Center in East Vancouver.

HDR has been with C-TRAN every step of the way, from planning through final design, helping C-TRAN to secure Federal Transit Administration Capital Investment Grant funding, and continuing into construction and implementation support.

“It is gratifying to see this project come to life,” said Tom Shook, HDR’s Oregon business development leader, who also led HDR’s design services on the project. “Through our design, we worked to ensure that the project served riders’ needs while staying on budget — and opening early.”

HDR has led many BRT planning, design and implementation projects across the U.S. and beyond. The firm has contributed to South Carolina’s first BRT system, an expansion of the successful Twin Cities BRT, and Albuquerque’s first urban transit system to use a dedicated guideway.

HDR’s experts have a thorough understanding of rapid transit system requirements, operations and administration; in-depth experience with transportation facility and corridor functional definition, site assessment and preliminary design; and a strong background in understanding the impact of transit initiatives on the customer.

About HDR
For over a century, HDR has partnered with clients to shape communities and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Our expertise spans more than 12,000 employees in more than 200 locations around the world — and counting. Our engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services bring an impressive breadth of knowledge to every project. Our optimistic approach to finding innovative solutions defined our past and drives our future. 

In this role, Berger will lead quality assurance, resource availability and development, as well as project delivery for HDR’s freight rail work. He will play a major role in hiring and coordinating with technical leaders to provide exceptional service to HDR freight rail clients. Berger has been with HDR for nearly a decade and will continue his work on major projects for clients as a senior project manager, working out of the firm’s office in Walnut Creek, California.

“After 10 years with HDR, I’m still amazed not only at the depth and breadth of our talent, but also our team’s dedication to helping our clients achieve their goals,” Berger said. “This role is fundamentally about enabling the entire HDR network to bring our collective knowledge, practical railroad experience, and skillsets that extend far beyond the railway industry to create lasting value for our clients.”

Berger has nearly 30 years of experience, including field and management positions with Class I railways. He brings expertise in a wide range of rail engineering disciplines, including project development and planning, track, signal, freight and passenger facilities, grade crossings, and third-party projects. He also understands the fundamental economic and competitive considerations that shape the rail industry.

“Buzz draws on his practical experience to think strategically, solve complex engineering and stakeholder challenges, and lead projects through all phases of the delivery process,” said Bill Hjelholt, HDR’s freight rail director. “Many of our clients already know him, trust him and appreciate his ability to find win-win solutions. He will be a great asset to our technical teams and clients globally in making freight rail projects come to life.”

Representatives from the finalists’ organizations will present their projects to a panel of independent judges to determine the winners and meet with global press and industry executives at the 2023 Year in Infrastructure and Going Digital Awards event, which will be held at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, October 11-12, 2023. Visit the site to learn how these extraordinary infrastructure projects are leveraging digital advancements to achieve unprecedented outcomes.

The United States projects named as finalists for the 2023 Going Digital Awards are:

Bridges and Tunnels

Digital Twins and Artificial Intelligence for Historic Robert Street Bridge Rehabilitation

Collins Engineers, Inc. – St. Paul, Minnesota, United States

This reinforced concrete arch bridge across the Mississippi River needed rehabilitation. MNDOT retained Collins Engineers to perform a detailed bridge inspection. Collins Engineers selected iTwin Capture and iTwin Experience to generate a digital twin of the bridge. The organization expects to save approximately 20% in rehabilitative construction costs.

Enterprise Engineering

CAD Assets to GIS – A CLIP Update

Phocaz, Inc. – Atlanta, Georgia, United States

To help Georgia DOT access asset data for 80,000 miles of road centerline, Phocaz leveraged ProjectWise to store and manage the roadway design files and iTwin to generate a cloud-based digital twin. The team also used artificial intelligence to automate and digitize the generation of characteristics and locations of highway assets, saving significant time and cost while providing more accurate results.

Roads and Highways

I-70 Floyd Hill to Veterans Memorial Tunnels Project

AtkinsRéalis – Idaho Springs, Colorado, United States

While designing roadway improvements along eight miles of the I-70 corridor, AtkinsRéalis faced site constraints, challenging topography, and a complex design. They utilized iTwin to create digital twins to gain visibility, Bentley’s open modeling applications to facilitate collaborative modeling and data management, and LumenRT for visualization, saving USD 1.2 million and 5,500 hours in coordination time.

Water and Wastewater

EchoWater Project

Project Controls Cubed LLC – Sacramento, California, United States

Among Sacramento’s largest public works projects, EchoWater will upgrade infrastructure to treat approximately 135 million gallons of wastewater per day, providing a safe, reliable water supply. Project Controls Cubed needed to design 22 individual projects for a sprawling complex for removing 99% of ammonia and 89% of nitrogen, presenting significant challenges. The team selected SYNCHRO and iTwin to develop construction solutions and a digital twin. Working in a connected digital visual environment helped EchoWater deliver the project USD 400 million under budget.  

EchoWater Project; Image courtesy of Project Controls Cubed LLC

To view the full list of awards finalists, visit https://yii.bentley.com/award-finalists.

Winners will be announced on Oct. 12, 2023.

“Cultivating and sustaining long-standing relationships with key clients like the FDOT is an effective way to bring our global expertise to the local communities in which we operate,” said Ian L. Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer, AtkinsRéalis. “These decades-long partnerships have been effective in transforming our client’s vision into reality, driving economies and enabling us to realize our purpose of engineering a better future for our planet and its people.” 

Under the five-year $26M US contract, AtkinsRéalis will provide a full complement of engineering services including project management, planning, design and right-of-way support. Operations, maintenance and construction support will be provided as needed. The Company will also assist FDOT with accelerated design and construction of several Central Florida projects within the state’s $4 billion US Moving Florida Forward program.  

FDOT’s District Five in Central Florida, where the work will be undertaken, covers nine counties and is home to over four million residents who travel an estimated 67.3 million roadway miles daily. The District is served by seven transit agencies, five rail lines, one deep-water port, 25 public use and 133 private use airports and is home to Space Florida, the state’s aerospace finance and development authority.   

“Our end-to-end services span the entire transport ecosystem, from railways to highways and from shipping ports to airports, making us a natural fit for the District’s varying needs,” said Steve Morriss, President, Engineering Services, U.S., AtkinsRéalis. “Florida has been home to our U.S. business since 1960 and it’s an honor to continue to help deliver safe and reliable transport infrastructure in our own back yard.” 

AtkinsRéalis has a strong reputation of providing GEC services to transportation authorities and state DOTs in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, New York, North Carolina and Texas.  

When it comes to designing transit and transportation solutions that reduce traffic congestion and improve on-time arrival rates, we seem to have a problem. It seems we are focused on all the wrong things. It’s not all about building a better vehicle, or the technology that is used inside the vehicle. And it’s definitely not about building bigger or more roads and bridges.

It’s about re-engineering the way in which cities move people around. This is important because personal vehicles, mass transit (buses, rail, etc.), ridesharing vehicles, commercial vehicles, emergency first responders, and pedestrians are all trying to get from point A to point B in the most efficient manner. 

Traffic solutions go beyond bigger roads

Better in-vehicle technology, faster cars, autonomous cars, and more roads will not solve our problem individually. The solution is bigger than each of these, and it must have the ability to singularly connect, monitor, and orchestrate everyone’s movements in a holistic, technology agnostic manner.

The journey begins with the traveler’s intent to get from point A to point B using the mode(s) that satisfy their needs for cost and convenience. An app from the service provider or a Mobility as a Service (MaaS) app for a multi-modal trip could be used to make the booking. A mobility service provider, such as a bus system, ride-hailing service, robotaxi, or other public or private providers, provides the journey.

When a journey is booked, the mobility service provider needs to decide which vehicle to send, when to send it, and what route it should take. To do so, the mobility service provider uses a cloud-based platform that assigns missions to vehicles’ self-driving technology or drivers’ vehicle receptors. These vehicles can be personal cars and trucks, ridesharing, emergency, buses, etc. This platform considers a variety of factors, and sends missions that minimize passenger wait times and deadheading for service providers while also meeting their requirements for vehicle utilization and passenger convenience.

Taking a control tower approach

It may be beneficial to think of this approach as a car-specific version of an air traffic control tower. Even though many different brands, sizes, and shapes of vehicles are used for air travel, air traffic control is still necessary to direct them safely from gate to gate both on the ground and in the air. Both scheduled and on-demand services are offered by commercial airlines and private aircraft, respectively. Air traffic controllers receive service requests from service providers with directions for the vehicles and pilots, including where to go, when they can go there, and which route to take. Service providers submit their reservations or flights with scheduled departure and arrival times.

On the ground, a similar cloud-based “control tower” technology platform can be used to systematically view each mobility provider (car, bus, rail, etc.) and assign signals to each so that they all move in constant harmony and rhythm with each other.

Key to this platform is the integration of traffic signals and intersections with the flow of traffic, which of course changes based on events, work hour vehicle demand, weather patterns (evacuations, etc.), and the prioritization of emergency response vehicles that need to move freely through certain corridors to get to an injured person or fire, for example. Much of this is already in use in several cities across the US, all driven by AI (artificial intelligence).

How AI improves the flow of traffic for everyone

AI promises to streamline traffic flow and reduce congestion for many of today’s busiest roadways and thoroughfares. Smart traffic light systems and the cloud technology platforms they operate on are now designed to manage and predict traffic more efficiently, which can save a lot of money and create more efficiencies not only for the cities themselves, but for individuals also. AI and machine learning today can process highly complex data and traffic trends and suggest optimum routing for drivers in real-time based on specific traffic conditions. By integrating everyone’s real-time routing information, cloud-based traffic management systems can now optimize traffic light timing to the true needs of traffic. 

Today’s recognition algorithms offer enhanced insight on the mix of density, traffic, and overall rate of flow. Furthermore, these optimized algorithms can leverage data points by region resulting in a streamline pattern to reduce traffic problems while redistributing flow more optimally. Municipal traffic management systems can then make better decision-making power, and the control system has a much higher degree of failure tolerance as was previously demonstrated in legacy hub-and-spoke systems. 

The combination of AI, machine learning, and cloud-based technology all have great potential to not only improve the throughput of signalized intersections but reimagine it all together. This advanced technology is already in use with transit agencies and emergency first responders where it is demonstrating a connected coordinated future between GPS, navigational apps, connected autos, and even taxi and ride-sharing services to efficiently combine mobility data into a traffic control system based on real-time data.

Timothy Menard is the Founder and CEO of LYT, provider of cloud-based open-architecture smart traffic solutions. LYT makes traffic lights smart by enabling them to see and respond to traffic. By doing so LYT can prioritize first responders and public transportation vehicles so they can get to their destinations faster and safer. The additional benefit is that it streamlines overall traffic flow helping to reduce congestion and emissions in high traffic areas. Learn more here.

Written in the names of streets and towns–scattered throughout the State of Ohio in aging ruins amongst rural communities–the reverberating waves of its past as a center for canal building can still be seen almost two centuries later.  Despite its current position squarely within the Midwestern United States, Ohio was a frontier territory at the start of the 19th century, becoming the 17th state admitted to the Union in 1803.  Settlers flocked to Ohio in droves–setting up farms, communities, and towns in places like the Cuyahoga and Ohio river valleys.  However, even with promises of rich land, Ohio was still a frontier, and many of its citizens found the years after its founding tremendously hard to scratch out a living.  In the years after its founding, much of Ohio was a hard place to live–made even harder by a distinct lack of access to wider networks of trade.  Although Ohioians had access to Lake Erie to the north and the Ohio River to the south, there wasn’t a reliable route connecting these to economic assets.

There had been plans to build a canal between Lake Erie and the Ohio River for some decades, but political entanglements slowed any of these plans from coming to fruition over the first two decades of Ohio’s existence.  This changed in 1825, however, with the completion of the nearby Erie Canal linking the Hudson River with Lake Erie at Buffalo as a new national transportation network began to take shape.  The completion of the Erie Canal dramatically shifted the economic fabric of what was then America’s Western frontier, connecting the Great Lakes with Eastern markets like New York City for the first time.  This shift set off a rush of canal construction, and plans were soon drawn up to build a canal from Lake Erie to the Ohio River.  Completed in sections from 1825 to the 1830s, the Ohio and Erie canal formed the superhighway of the age, transforming places like Cleveland, Akron, and Columbus into burgeoning economic powerhouses.  Its construction and economic flow also carved out a number of small communities along the route, places like Lockville, that existed to operate and maintain this vital network of infrastructure.

From its construction in the 1820s and 30s to the ending of the American Civil War, canals defined the Ohio economic and social landscape.  However, as the 19th century moved forward, it soon became apparent that canals were no match for the emerging power of railroads, and many sections of the Ohio and Erie Canal began to fall into disuse and disrepair.  Further flooding in the early 20th century led to the canal’s total abandonment by 1913.  After their economic value dwindled to nothing and work ceased on their upkeep and maintenance, many of these canals and their locks fell into disrepair or were removed to make way for roads and trains.  Some few remain to this day, and have found a new life in the modern age.  While they no longer bear witness to the thrumming clamor of flowing goods, animals, and people, many still rest where they were first set in the Ohio soil.

These forgotten relics of our ever-developing understanding of infrastructure and mobility now sit quietly amidst the verdant Ohio countryside–in places like Lockville Canal Park, which sits just outside the town of Carroll.  Once a bustling place of commerce, Lockville is now an unincorporated community that houses a handful of neat little homes.  Just beyond these homes and the road is what remains of the Ohio & Erie Canal through this place.  The depression left where the canal once was is straddled by another relic of a similar tradition: the covered bridge.  On either side of the bridge’s red walls, some 50 yards in either direction, sit what remains of Lock South 11, Lock South 12, and Lock South 13.  Although worn and tumbled by the passage of time, massive slabs of native sandstone still tower over those who walk between them.  Although it didn’t cross the Ohio & Erie Canal until 1967 when it was moved there to prevent its destruction, the Hartman No. 2 Covered Bridge has formed a poetic relationship with its new setting–giving eager visitors solid footing with which to step into the region’s history.

Spanning over 3,500-feet across the Columbia River where it draws a border between Oregon and Washington, the bridge that now carries I-5 between Vancouver in Washington state and Portland in Oregon first opened to traffic in 1917.  This important piece of infrastructure was incorporated into the newly built Interstate-5, which ran roughly parallel to the West Coast of the United States.  Then a single bridge carrying two-way traffic, the structure was expanded in 1958 when a second twin bridge was built directly adjacent to the original structure.  With the twin bridge structure, each bridge was opened to one-way traffic–northbound traffic being run over the 1917 structure and southbound over the 1958 structure.  As a part of the Interstate Highway System, this transportation corridor expanded in importance and the bridge crossing the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington has come to represent a vital piece of infrastructure when speaking about the continued growth, economic success, and happiness of communities throughout the region.  

In existence for over a century, the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River has become outdated, leading to a number of significant problems that negatively impact those living in surrounding communities.  The lift bridge design is so outdated that there are less than 20 still in service throughout the United States.  Most significantly, perhaps, is the I-5 Bridge’s vulnerability to seismic activity.  The current structure is a lift bridge that rests on timber piles driven into a silty river, which makes it incredibly prone to serious structural damage in the event of an earthquake.  The most likely seismic threat to the structure is the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which is roughly 70 years overdue for a significant movement. 

Because of the bridge’s design–lack of shoulders, lifts, and closely spaced interchanges–it is currently one of the highest crash locations in Oregon’s interstate system, and averages 7-10 hours of congestion during the morning and evening commutes.  Congestion issues are further exacerbated by the bridge’s location between the Ports of Portland and Vancouver, which added over 13,500 trucks to the number of vehicles that crossed the bridge in 2019.  In this congestion, trucks are joined by a high number of motor vehicles as there are limited high capacity transit options between Portland and Vancouver.  The only alternative means of crossing the bridge is a small walking and biking path on either side of the bridge measuring 3.5-feet in width, which isn’t capable of safely supporting any meaningful amount of foot or bicycle traffic.

The push to replace this vital piece of infrastructure has been going on for over 25 years.  Hampered by the failure of efforts to update the structure in 2014 when the Washington State Legislature declined to take up the funding package, the bridge’s condition only continued to worsen.  The need to do something about this vulnerable piece of infrastructure was recognized in 2019 when Governor Kate Brown of Oregon and Governor Jay Inslee of Washington agreed to create the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBR).  The goal in creating the IBR program is to replace the Interstate Bridge over the Columbia River with a modern, seismically-resilient multimodal structure that improves mobility for people, goods, and services.  

Greg Johnson explains that equity and the climate are the forefront of the IBR program considerations.  Johnson is the IBR Program Administrator, having joined the project in July of 2020.  For Johnson and the IBR program, the first step to building equity into the program was understanding the history of major transportation construction and development in the region.  The construction of I-5 in the 1950s displaced a number of communities throughout the region, and the reverberating effects of displacing existing communities are still felt to this day.  Johnson says that one of their first acts was to hire a Principal Equity Officer whose main focuses are to assure their processes are appropriate and that the program is reaching out in appropriate ways to “amplify voices that have not been a part of projects like this [and] look at outcomes.”  This includes steps like reaching out to small, minority-, and women-owned businesses who have historically been excluded from similar building projects.  

More than most, Johnson knows the struggle of being displaced–having been displaced from his home at four years old by a Department of Transportation project–and recalls his father’s frustration at not being treated fairly in the process.  This experience informs Johnson’s approach to his work on the IBR program, driving him to always make sure people’s voices are being heard.The IBR program’s focus on equity also includes having a continued Community Advisory Group, which meets monthly to have “substantial conversations…to make sure that they understand where the project is and how their voices can help shape the project.”  By focusing on things like urban design as well as community and contractor outreach, Johnson says the goal is to let the community know that their voices are heard and reflected in the IBR program’s designs.  To engage the community in these processes, the IBR program has shown the community visualizations meant to increase the understanding for what they were proposing and what impacts it would have on the community.  Johnson believes this level of conversation allows people to get a better understanding of what the project will feel like in their community.  Another major area of focus for the IBR program is its sustainability and larger impact on the climate.  With an average of 7-10 hours of congestion during the morning and evening commutes, vehicles spent an outsized amount of time with their engines running and not moving, which significantly increases the amount of greenhouse gasses released into the region’s air and atmosphere.  To assess and improve the project from a sustainability perspective, the IBR program employs a Principal Climate Officer.

While the vision for a better future for this vital piece of infrastructure is taking shape through discussions about climate and community impact, the IBR program has been working to secure additional funding for the project.  According to Johnson, the first steps to completing the IBR project was securing funding and tolling rights from both Washington and Oregon, which was done earlier this year.  Recently, Washington State passed legislation giving the project $1 billion in 2022, with Oregon doing the same in June of this year.  Johnson says that an additional $1.3 billion is projected in the program’s financial plan.  While both legislatures have authorized tolling, the details of a formal plan have not been developed.  Johnson says the project is around 57 percent of the way towards their goal, and the remaining piece of the funding puzzle is to work with federal partners.   Johnson is confident that the project will be able to secure federal funding through a number of infrastructure grants that are coming out this year.  The program recently submitted its application to the FHWA for a $600 million mega grant, and will submit an application later this Fall for a $1 billion Bridge Investment Program grant.  The IBR program also plans to seek up to $1.2 billion from the FTA for a Capital Improvement Grant that will pay for transit investments.  This confidence stems in large part from the unique nature of the IBR project, which covers several areas of infrastructure and transportation including high capacity transit, freight considerations, and vehicles as well as bicycle and pedestrian traffic.  

As the IBR program continues to secure federal funding, the project moves closer and closer to its ultimate completion, which will significantly improve mobility in the region. Project construction is slated to begin in 2025.  

The Federal Highway Administration recently announced the allocation of $34 million in grant funding for state DOTs in 2023 to accelerate the use and deployment of Advanced Digital Construction Management Systems (ADCMS). ADCMS includes digital technologies and business processes that modernize how government agencies, engineering and construction firms, and other private companies work together to deliver infrastructure projects more efficiently and cost-effectively.   

The federal government’s commitment to construction technology with this funding, via FHWA’s Technology and Innovation Deployment Program, is creating a tipping point for widespread digital transformation among public transportation asset owners.

Digital project delivery—the process of digitizing all aspects of a construction project, from planning and design through completed construction and asset handover—creates numerous benefits for transportation asset owners. Examples of digital construction technologies range from a project management system to integrated hardware and software solutions such as GPS-enabled land surveying tools, machine-operated construction equipment, 3D models of construction projects, and centralized databases that allow everyone involved in a project to see asset data as it evolves in real time.  

Implementing digital technologies helps boost productivity, improve collaboration and interoperability, and reduce project delays and overruns throughout the construction process. Reducing reliance on paper documents also helps increase the timeliness and effectiveness of information sharing, so projects are much more likely to be completed on time and within budget, with much less waste and rework.

Creating Impact Beyond Construction

Advantages of digital construction technologies extend beyond the construction process. Once a construction project is completed, the asset owner can carry forward all the data collected during the planning, design, and construction of the asset, setting the owner up to manage, operate, and maintain the asset more efficiently for years or even decades into the future.

But owners cannot achieve these benefits with the methods and tools used in the past. Antiquated technology, legacy proprietary data formats, and analog processes have created silos of “dark data” that are inaccessible (digitally or timely) to teams across the asset lifecycle. According to Deloitte Consulting research, these bottlenecks lead to an incremental 8 percent in incurred CAPEX costs and 15 percent overrun in operational costs.

The ideal solution is to digitally transform how assets are designed, built, operated, and maintained through an asset lifecycle management platform. Asset owners will reduce data and productivity loss by connecting digital workflows across their design, project delivery, and asset management systems of record.

Benefits of Digital Innovation

Today’s challenging environment is driving change. Public agencies are sharing with us that they want to take a more holistic and proactive approach to asset management. They need a platform that can be used across all asset lifecycle phases—from planning and design to construction, operations, and maintenance. 

The opportunity to repair and replace infrastructure comes with the challenge of managing new and bigger capital improvement projects (CIPs). Having a comprehensive asset lifecycle management strategy in place—and digital workflows to support it—will help make the best use of public dollars. 

Adopting digital technology across the asset owner’s organization helps improve productivity, transparency, and outcomes. It helps program managers scale up to handle the massive increases in project loads that are coming—and it can help CIP teams handle the increase in work while boosting fund distribution transparency. Ultimately, technology solutions are the key to enhancing public confidence and trust by enabling owners to coordinate stakeholders and use reliable data to deliver successful projects.

Proven Successes Across the US

Several state agencies are already reaping the benefits of digital technologies for infrastructure projects and delivering more value to their constituents as a result.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is deploying new interoperable tools, workflows, and digital systems to connect people, platforms, and data in unprecedented ways throughout the entire state.

Working with Granite Construction, Caltrans recently completed the $158 million Cosumnes River Bridge Replacement project on State Route 99 in Sacramento County. This highly complex project required innovative technologies to coordinate multiple teams and minimize the impact on the public and the environment. Trimble provided a connected data environment for the design model data that both Caltrans and Granite could review, enabling both teams to optimize the design prior to construction. Caltrans calculated $12.4M in savings using this approach with the contractor.

In Minnesota, the $124 million Elk River project—a redesign and reconstruction of three miles of Highway 169 connecting to a new freeway system in Sherburne County—was MnDOT’s first fully digitally designed-delivered construction project. Using digital technologies, workers were able to reallocate 59 miles of utilities one year ahead of schedule and begin construction a year earlier than planned, which lowered project costs by $12 million. Additional digital workflows reduced the total estimated project costs even further—trimming $34 million from the originally budgeted $158 million project.

On the maintenance side of the asset lifecycle, digital workflows likewise lead to cost savings. The Idaho Transportation Department uses an automated maintenance and reporting system to improve its winter snow plow operations. With an advanced maintenance management system, they are able to achieve material savings of 10 percent which translates to approximately $600,000 per year. Additionally, automated processes reduce operator input time by approximately 7,500 labor hours per year, cut equipment costs through improved efficiencies, and result in consistent performance of snowplow operators across all highway sections.

Opportunities for More Digital Adoption

The ADCMS grants will create significant opportunities to expand state DOTs’ use of digital technologies, which also creates downstream benefits for local agencies that collaborate closely with their DOTs. We applaud the federal government’s support of technological advances by DOTs and remind DOT leaders that applications for these initial ADCMS awards are due August 28, 2023.

To help DOTs navigate the grant application process, Trimble is providing expertise and guidance in an on-demand webinar, Maximizing ADCMS Grant Funds for DOTs. Grant specialists and other experts are available to help agencies identify grant-eligible programs, submit grant applications and develop strategies for digital transformation. For details about available  support, please visit the ADCMS data sheet and/or contact Trimble’s team of specialists.  

Chris Bell serves as the Vice President of Industry Strategy for Trimble’s Owner and Public Sector. In more than 20 years of industry experience, he has developed unique expertise that combines insights from the fields of engineering and construction, project and program management, and software innovation to help organizations achieve strategic success through digital transformation. 

Cairo and its surrounding metropolitan area has seen a significant amount of change over the last two decades.  Where once there was little to break the seemingly endless sands that encompassed the city of Cairo, a series of new developments have been built to support the region’s shifting needs and population.  Places like the New Administrative Capital–which has been under construction since 2015–are being rapidly built and expanded.  To serve the needs of this shifting population, there are several large-scale transportation and infrastructure projects underway throughout Cairo and its surrounding areas with perhaps none bigger than the Cairo Monorail.  After reporting on the Cairo Monorail’s progress over the last several years, Civil+Structural Engineer Media recently had the opportunity to visit the project and experience firsthand the progress being made on this transformational transportation project.

The Cairo Monorail project began in 2020, and is a two-line monorail rapid transit system owned by the Egyptian National Authority of Tunnels (NAT).  To help see this vital project to fruition, NAT sought out Hill International to provide Project Management services on the Cairo Monorail.   The first line is the New Administrative Capital Monorail Transportation System or the East of Nile Line (EoN), which will connect the New Administrative Capital with East Cairo via a 54-km line housing 22 stations and a depot.  The second line will be the 6th of October City Monorail Transportation System or the West of Nile Line (WoN).  This line will be 42-km in length when completed and will house another 13 stations as well as a depot.  When completed, the Cairo Monorail will be the longest driverless monorail system in the world, and will represent the first public transportation links from the New Administrative Capital and the 6th of October City to the Cairo metropolitan area.  In addition, when completed, the Cairo Monorail will significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the region.

In an area famous for sand blowing with the wind, a monorail system represents an innovative solution that eliminates the problem of sand building up along the line.  The monorail system is elevated, with the track resting upon an elevated concrete guideway.  Three years after the project first began, this elevated concrete guideway is beginning to cast an impressive shadow upon the desert landscape as it is rapidly moving towards completion.  According to Waleed Abdel Fattah, President of Hill International’s MENA region, engineering works for the Cairo Monorail are nearing 90 percent completion.  What remains of the engineering work for the project includes the completion of formal submissions for System Assurance documentation, which Abdel Fattah says will be followed by as-built drawings as the project moves through the final construction phases.

East of the Nile (EoN), the project draws a distinctive line through the landscape.  Driving east from Cairo to the New Administrative Capital, the line’s elevated guideway is a source of constant activity, with workers and materials moving endlessly along its length.  On the EoN section, about three quarters of the overall civil engineering work has been completed with about ten percent of the concrete guideway left to finish.  Along the concrete guideway, the 22 stations along the EoN line are taking shape, with each one a beehive of metal framework and construction activity.  Abdel Fattah notes that the station work along this section is at about 45 percent.  Mechanical installation has been completed on half of the switches EoN, and the long spans along the line are “various stages of construction” according to Abdel Fattah.  Systems installations on EoN are currently about 40 percent complete, and the section’s emergency walkways and power rails are in an “advanced state of installation.” 

At the eastern end of the EoN line sits its depot, which, when completed, will serve as the center of control and maintenance for the line.  The EoN depot is quickly taking shape and is about 70 percent complete according to Abdel Fattah.  At the heart of this depot sits the control center for this section of the monorail system, and its completion will represent a significant step in bringing this crucial project to fruition.   Most crucially perhaps in all this progress, all 40 train sets for the EoN line have been delivered, and procurement is complete for all materials for signaling, communications, AFC, platform screen doors, and electromechanical (MEP) systems–putting the project in a tremendous position to push forward through the final steps in completing the EoN line.

West of the Nile (WoN), construction is approximately 52 percent complete–of which line segments are 60 percent complete and stations are about halfway complete.  Progress on the WoN section–particularly in 4 line segments and 5 stations–has been slightly delayed by problems with land acquisition, but Abdel Fattah says that these issues have largely been resolved and work has started in Line Segments 8-12 and on Stations 9-12.  The WoN section will also feature a depot, which is nearing 50 percent completion.  Furthermore, Abdel Fattah says that MEP and Power Supply systems are currently under installation with all the switches in the depot and two switches on the mainline installed.  For the WoN section, six trains have already been delivered in the depot, and nine more are on the way.  For the WoN line, the major challenge to overcome has been with land acquisition and the diversion of utilities, which delayed the beginning of construction on the main structural elements of the line segments and stations.  Abdel Fattah predicts that the next six months will involve a “painstaking phase of diversion of utilities in the Zone 4 area, which is also a highly populated area.”  To overcome these challenges, Hill International and NAT are making all efforts to expedite the diversion of utilities by constant engagement with the government bodies and companies that own these utilities.

As the Cairo Monorail system continues to take shape, static tests have already started in the EoN depot.  With substantial progress in the project’s construction, power cables are finally being installed to form the power ring main for the EoN line.  Abdel Fattah believes over the next six months that we will see the completion of works in all line segments EoN and in the 7 line segments WoN.  Additionally, Abdel Fattah is hopeful that power-on of the systems may happen in the next few weeks, depending on review of local electricity authorities.  After this step is completed, this will begin the formal start of the testing and commissioning phase for the EoN line.  For the WoN line, there is strong evidence to suggest that its depot will be completed within the next six months as well as the start of major installation activities up to Station 7.  Furthermore, for the WoN line, Abdel Fattah expects significant progress in Zone 4’s line segments and stations.

With significant milestones on the immediate horizon, there is reason to believe that this 97-km long system will be in operation in the near future.  Keep following Civil+Structural Engineer Magazine for more information on this transformative project in the near future.

“These emergency funds will help restore vital transportation links in the Cherokee National Forest that were damaged by last month’s floods,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Transportation is an essential part of disaster recovery, and these funds will help clear debris and reconstruct pavement so that emergency vehicles can access the area, and residents can access their homes.” 

“The Federal Highway Administration is working closely with the U.S. Forest Service to make repairs and re-establish transportation services in Cherokee National Forest,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “This funding is an initial down payment toward the cost of repairs to help authorities get the work done as quickly as possible.”

In August 2023, the transportation systems on the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee were affected by heavy rains and flooding. Many of the forest roads that are open to the public have been damaged and are impassable by standard passenger vehicles. The damage is so extensive that emergency vehicles and utility crews cannot make their way into the forest to make essential repairs. Furthermore, private homeowners on the Cherokee National Forest cannot access their property and are having difficulty evacuating the area.

FHWA’s Emergency Relief program provides funding to states, territories, Tribes, and Federal Land Management Agencies for highways and bridges damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic events. These “quick release” Emergency Relief funds are an initial resource installment to help restore essential transportation. Additional funds needed to repair damages in Cherokee National Forest will be supported by the Emergency Relief program through nationwide funding allocations. 

The FHWA Emergency Relief program complements the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law programs and provisions by encouraging agencies to identify and implement measures to incorporate resilience in the design, restoration, and repair of damaged infrastructure, so that it can better withstand future damage from climate change and future weather events.  

More information about FHWA’s Emergency Relief program can be found online at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/erelief.cfm. 

The Report found that damages to underground utilities, which pose severe risks to public safety and interrupt commerce, have trended upward over the last three years. Excavation activity continues to increase as states work to improve infrastructure, along with a significant influx of funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Three-year modeling from 2020-2022 reveals that damages per construction spending rose 12.35% and damages per 1,000 transmissions rose 9.34% between 2021 and 2022. A regression analysis of consistent 2020-2022 data which considered additional variables including weather, population and infrastructure density further confirms that damages were at best flat and likely increasing. 

The annual DIRT Report provides a comprehensive accounting and analysis of damages to buried infrastructure in the U.S. and Canada to help stakeholders understand the current damage landscape and the factors contributing to underground facility damages. As excavation activity continues to increase, the Report underscores the importance of addressing the ongoing causes of damages to vital facilities to drive these damage numbers down. 

The Report analyzed all 2022 data submitted voluntarily to DIRT by facility operators, utility locating companies, 811 centers, contractors, regulators and others from the U.S. and Canada and contextualized the data as part of a three-year trend analysis (2020-2022). Reflecting excavation/construction stakeholders’ increased engagement with damage prevention, that key group was the leading source of damage reports for the first time in 2022. 

The analysis of 2022 data indicates that a few persistent challenges are responsible for nearly 76% of damages that occur, including no notification to the 811 center; failure to pothole and/or maintain sufficient clearance; facilities not marked or marked inaccurately due to locator error; and other improper excavation practices. No-notification damages make up more than 25% of all damages, with 77% of no-notification damages attributed to professional excavators. Focusing industry efforts and outreach on these top challenges is key to making measurable progress in reducing damage and near-miss incidents. 

The Report urges stakeholders to commit to working within organizations and across stakeholder groups to generate new solutions to the persistent, systemic issues causing the majority of damages. Recommendations provided to address specific root cause groups included:

• No-Notification Root Cause: Focus excavator outreach on behavioral change—namely consistent and effective use of 811—and help restore excavator confidence in the system through improved locating processes. 
• Excavation Root Causes: Prioritize tolerance zone safety, address contracts to provide adequate compensation for potholing and provide excavators with access to map visualizations. 
• Locator Error Root Causes: Enhance facility maps to GIS-grade, address contract structures to emphasize timeliness and accuracy, and increase efficiency through effective use of the 811 system. 

The Report also provides recommendations to enhance reporting and analysis of damages to better understand and address trends, including the implementation of standardized data collection fields and the creation of damage prevention indices to gauge progress over time. Stakeholders are also encouraged to participate in the Damage Prevention Institute’s (DPI) accreditation and peer review processes to help develop the next generation of industry performance metrics. 

“Earlier this year, we challenged the industry with the ambitious goal of reducing damages by 50% over the next five years,” said CGA President and CEO Sarah Magruder Lyle. “The findings of the DIRT Report are critical to focusing the industry on key areas contributing to more than three-quarters of all damages to buried infrastructure. To make significant change and reverse damage rates, it’s critical that our industry rapidly adopts the recommendations outlined in this Report to target the most persistent challenges.”

To illustrate that the 50-in-5 challenge is achievable, the DIRT Report includes a case study from 811 Chicago, which reduced underground utility damages in the city by 50% over five years through collaboration and mapping efforts. The case study serves as a resource for other organizations to improve their processes and focus their investments on proven strategies that reduce damages so they can contribute to the 50-in-5 industry challenge. 

“We’d like to thank the dedicated damage prevention organizations that make the DIRT Report possible each year through their voluntary submission of damage and near-miss data,” said Louis Panzer, executive director of North Carolina 811 and CGA Data Reporting & Evaluation Committee co-chair. “The data makes it clear that we have areas we need to improve upon, but offers us a great direction forward to definitively reverse these concerning damage trends. With the new influx of data from excavators, as well as the monthly reporting required for Damage Prevention Institute participants, we can look forward to unprecedented insights that will help shape the future of damage prevention and drive industry progress.”

The complete DIRT Annual Report for 2022 is available for download at dirt.commongroundalliance.com, and stakeholders interested in submitting data to the 2023 Report or establishing a Virtual Private Dirt account should visit the DIRT site at www.cga-dirt.com.    

About Common Ground Alliance

CGA is a member-driven association of nearly 3,200 individuals, organizations, and sponsors in every facet of the underground utility industry. CGA has established itself as the preeminent source of damage prevention data and information in an effort to reduce damages to underground facilities in North America through shared responsibility among all stakeholders. For more information, visit CGA on the web at http://www.commongroundalliance.com.

Supporting the company’s vision of building a full-service infrastructure platform, Thomas will be responsible for strategy development, client relationship management, and key pursuits and partnerships, with a direct reporting line to the company’s Board Chair & CEO, Terry Ruhl. Additionally, Thomas will partner with Lochner’s Corporate Development team to identify, acquire, and integrate transit and rail companies into Lochner’s service portfolio.

“We are excited and honored to have Gary join our team,” said Ruhl. “He is one of the most respected and innovative leaders in the public transit sector in America. I look forward to working with Gary and Lochner’s Transit & Rail team to enhance our mission of improving public transportation in communities across the nation.”

A 2022 inductee of the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA’s) Hall of Fame, Thomas brings to Lochner more than four decades of transit leadership and engineering experience, including his 22 years with DART. Under his leadership, DART doubled its light rail system, twice, to become the longest in the U.S. at 93 miles. The agency has been recognized for innovation in developing a progressive clean fuels program for its bus fleet, advancing new models for local bus and paratransit services, and implementing customer-facing communications technology.

“Public transportation plays an indispensable role in our communities, promoting accessibility, reducing congestion, and minimizing our environmental footprint,” said Thomas. “I’m excited to be joining the Lochner team and expanding the Transit & Rail practice nationally to deliver solutions that connect people and places and enhance quality of life.”

With a life-long commitment to advancing the transit industry in America, Thomas is a past chair of APTA, Rail-Volution, and the SouthWest Transit Association. He also served on the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee, Transportation Cooperative Research Program, Texas Transportation Association, and the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority. As a Texas Tech Distinguished Alumni, Thomas earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Bachelor of Architecture degree from the university.

On October 16, 2023, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute will be inducting Thomas into the Texas Transportation Hall of Honor.

About Lochner

Founded in 1944, Lochner provides planning, environmental, design, construction engineering and inspection, right-of-way, and drainage services for surface transportation, aviation, and water clients across the United States. The company is ranked No.128 in Engineering News-Record’s list of the Top 500 Design Firms.

The holistic plan, which is expected to be finalized in late 2024, will outline recommendations for facilities, fixed-route services by fleet type, a replacement schedule and overall cost projections and proposed timelines.

“RTD remains focused on transitioning to a sustainable energy future,” said Debra A. Johnson, RTD general manager and chief executive officer. “The first step in that transition is to understand and consider all aspects of RTD’s system, including its facilities, infrastructure and transit service delivery model. This plan will guide RTD’s future decisions as the agency transitions to low/no emissions.”

WSP was selected from five qualified firms that submitted proposals to RTD.

WSP’s subject-matter expertise in this area will ensure RTD’s transition plan is not only comprehensive, but also specific to the agency’s needs and operating environment, and it aligns with the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“The Colorado Front Range is one of the toughest environments in which to develop and implement zero emissions strategies, with huge temperature swings along with ice and snow,” said Matt Sibul, senior vice president and Southwest district Transportation lead. “We are thrilled that RTD has chosen WSP as its trusted partner in this journey.”

WSP is partnering with the regional firm Felsburg, Holt and Ullevig (FHU) to develop the plan.  FHU and WSP teamed up to successfully deliver on the precursor to this project called “Reimagine RTD.”

WSP has begun to develop the transition plan. In conducting its work, WSP has committed to a 25 percent disadvantaged business enterprise participation goal, which further aligns with the agency’s commitment to the Strategic Priority of Community Value. The anticipated timeline for completing the full plan is the fourth quarter of 2024.

“This is a monumental and necessary step forward for RTD and the entire Denver metro region,” Johnson said. “RTD is not only planning for tomorrow, but for the tomorrows to come.” 

RTD’s first steps toward a low/no-emission bus fleet transition were taken in 2000 with the deployment of hybrid-electric buses using compressed natural gas along the 16th Street Mall. In 2008, a subfleet of hybrid diesel-electric fixed-route buses was introduced to the system.

Eventually, all previously used MallRide buses were replaced in 2017 by a fleet of 36 zero-emission battery electric buses. The agency has garnered operational knowledge through the deployment and maintenance of its low- and no-emission vehicles. This knowledge gained over the past two decades will support the development and eventual implementation of a comprehensive transition plan.

The Regional Transportation District develops, operates and maintains a public transportation system that meets the transit needs of close to three million people within an eight-county service area in the Denver Metro region.

About WSP in the U.S.
WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world’s leading engineering, environment and professional services firms. Recognized on Fast Company’s Brands that Matter List for 2022 as a top Community-Minded Business, WSP in the U.S. brings together engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals who are dedicated to collaborate in the best interests of serving local communities. WSP designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With approximately 16,000 employees in 300 offices across the U.S., WSP partners with its clients to help communities prosper. wsp.com

“As our industry’s marquee training and networking event, we are excited to bring together industry personnel from across the country,” says Steve Hoesing, ACPA Chairman of the Board from ACPA member company, County Materials. “Not only does the school continue to see growth in size, but it also continues to grow in quality and scope. This is setting up to be our most complete and robust Pipe School yet.”

Pipe School 2024 will offer attendees more than 70 courses over four days on topics such as resilience, sustainability, installation, inspection, repair, design, production, quality, and engineering. Additionally, there will be panel discussions, presentations on pressing transportation issues, and DOT leaders sharing case studies from across the country. A tour of Rinker Materials Grand Prairie plant is also available on Wednesday morning. During the school, attendees can network with the speakers, industry leaders, and other stakeholders to ensure they have vital information for their decision-making process. More than 15 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) are available to each attendee.

“Building off the growth and momentum of last year’s tremendous Pipe School, the 2024 event will be even more dynamic with new presentations, activities, and a special keynote speaker to be announced,” says Aimee Connerton, ACPA Education Committee Chair. “Every year we improve our offerings to ensure our attending members gain a deeper understanding of the product and the industry, but also to respond to broader audience needs. We welcome all industry personnel, including contractors, engineers, consultants, DOTs, and other transportation agencies, as we are confident they will gain knowledge and insights they cannot find anywhere else.”

This year, the ACPA will also host its first RCPix Photo Contest. The contest is open to anyone in the industry and allows participants to submit photos of concrete pipe or precast box culverts. Submitted photos are to include concrete pipe or box culverts at any point in the product life cycle and winners will be selected from a variety of different categories. Photos must be submitted by December 15th, 2023, and winners will be announced at the 2024 Pipe School. Visit pipeschool.org/photo to learn more.

Streaming Opportunities

The first day of the 2024 event will be available for streaming, an option previously only available to transportation agency professionals. Starting with the Opening Ceremonies, online participants will be able to hear the keynote speaker, along with a presentation from LinkedIn influencer, Don McNutt (known for his #McMinute), and an industry panel. Streaming on subsequent days will be made available in the Transportation Forum and only to transportation agency professionals (i.e. DOTs, municipalities, public works, etc.). The streaming option is free of charge.

The Transportation Forum will cover topics such as bridge replacements, deep fill boxes, fish passages, design and installation, and various industry panels all with transportation official presenters from around the country. The streaming option allows transportation professionals to engage virtually and have the exclusive option of attending Pipe School sessions online.

In conjunction with the Pipe School, the ACPA will host the 2024 Pipe Show, a three-day trade show that connects producers with vendors and partners. The show is open to all Pipe School attendees and takes place concurrently with Pipe School 2024 within the Embassy Suites from January 29th – January 31st. This year’s Pipe Show will conclude with a casino night for attendees.

For more information on Pipe School 2024, including how to register, visit pipeschool.org.

About the American Concrete Pipe Association
The American Concrete Pipe Association (ACPA) is the spokesperson for the concrete pipe industry in all matters affecting the industry’s welfare. ACPA members contribute to the improvement of our environment by producing quality concrete pipe, engineered to provide a lasting and economical solution to drainage and pollution problems. For more information, visit https://www.concretepipe.org/.

“By designing the bridge to accommodate ABC delivery, we achieved the dual objective of delivering a truly unique bridge while aligning with TxDOT’s mission to minimize closures and maintain highway mobility,” said Steve Knobbe, PE, HNTB North Texas office leader and senior vice president.

The 800,000-pound bridge was initially constructed off-site and then moved into position overnight using self-propelled modular transporters and a special system of hydraulic jacks and steel gantries. This process involved minimal disruption to highway traffic, ensuring that U.S. 75 was never entirely closed to travelers. By Sunday afternoon, the bridge was successfully placed, and all U.S. 75 lanes were reopened.

“The Northaven Trail Pedestrian Bridge represents a vital mobility solution that will greatly enrich the Dallas community for generations,” said Nathan Petter, PE, TxDOT Dallas County area engineer. “HNTB’s innovative network tied arch design not only exhibits remarkable efficiency but has also yielded a signature bridge, resembling a bicycle wheel, that the entire community can enjoy.”

The pedestrian bridge spans across the busy 8-lane U.S. 75 and rests between two highly used systems of local walking/biking trails. Nearly half a mile in length, the structure reduces barriers to alternative methods of transportation and offers a safe, new connection to regional recreational activities.

“What distinguishes this bridge is its S-curved deck and skewed supports, making it the only known network-tied arch bridge with these distinctive features,” said Kira Larson, PE, HNTB project manager, construction phase services. “It stands as an undeniable work of structural art, setting an extraordinary precedent for sophisticated design within the industry.”

HNTB served as the engineer-of-record and construction phase services provider on the project, which is expected to be fully open to the public later this fall.

The project was bid as a joint venture and awarded to Anlaan Corporation and C.A. Hull. Acrow provided two bridges to each of the partners. All four were designed to AASHTO HL-93 loading and all have an asphalt deck surface. The bridges rented to Anlaan measure 230 feet (70.1 m) and 150 feet (45.7 m) in length. The roadway width for the longer two-lane bridge is 30 feet (9.15 m); the shorter bridge is 18 feet (5.49 m) wide. The longer bridge was installed with a full cantilever launch and the other, a crane-assisted launch. Opened in June 2023, it is expected they will be in place until March 2024.

The bridges rented to C.A. Hull are 190 feet (57.9 m) and 150 feet (45.7 m) long. Each has a roadway width of 18 feet (5.49 m). The bridges were installed in the median of I-94 between the existing eastbound and westbound structures, which posed technical challenges, as did the design of earth retention to support the temporary foundations. The structures were opened in June 2023 and are expected to be in place until August 2024.

“Project owners and contractors are increasingly selecting detour bridges over other re-routing methods during construction projects,” said Abbey Smith, Acrow’s Great Lakes Regional Sales Manager. “In addition to making work sites safer, modular detour bridging helps minimize work zone impact on motorists and local businesses and keep projects on or ahead of schedule.”

“In addition to increasing safety and convenience for motorists, these critical infrastructure upgrades are integral to the economic health of the region and play an important role in ensuring our roads and bridges can be rapidly and cost-effectively rehabilitated,” said Mark Joosten, Acrow’s President and COO. “Available for rent or purchase, Acrow’s rugged detour bridges save time and money and enable Accelerated Bridge Construction for priority projects.”

About Acrow
Acrow has been serving the transportation and construction industries for more than 70 years with a wide range of modular steel bridging solutions for permanent, temporary, military and emergency use. Acrow’s extensive international presence includes leadership in the development and implementation of bridge infrastructure projects in over 150 countries across Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.acrow.com.

The James River Bridge is a single span bridge that crosses the James River in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. The project includes the detailed design and tender documents for a new single span New England Bulb Tee concrete girder bridge to cross over the James River, accommodating the required hydraulic opening. The existing bridge was a single lane steel truss bridge approximately 20 m in length.

COWI’s scope of work will inlcude detailed bridge design, tender documentation, design brief, post design services, and environmental permitting. COWI will develop the detailed design in accordance with CSA Standard CAN/CSA S6 – latest edition, Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (CHBDC). All construction and material specifications will be in accordance with NSDPW’s Standard Specifications.

Thomas Dahlgren, President, COWI in North America, said: “This project is a great win for COWI as we continue to secure more work while we build and strengthen our relationship with NSDPW and other clients and partners in Altantic Canada.”

SR 714 is an essential hurricane evacuation route, stretching from Kanner Highway to east of SE Dixie Highway and encompassing Martin County’s Witham Field Airport. It also includes five signalized intersections along SR 714 at Kanner Highway, Willoughby Boulevard, Monterey Extension Road, US 1, and Dixie Highway. The study aims to alleviate congestion while minimizing potential impacts on the environment and the community.

“Lochner is committed to enhancing safety along the State’s corridors in alignment with FDOT’s Target Zero initiative to improve how Florida connects, interacts, plans, designs, operates, and maintains its transportation system,” said Lochner’s Regional Manager and Vice President Don Skelton, PE. “We look forward to collaborating with FDOT and local stakeholders to develop safe and effective solutions for this critical multimodal intersection and railroad crossing.”

Currently, the crossing accommodates approximately 25 daily trains, with an additional 15 expected from the new inter-city Brightline rail route connecting Miami and West Palm Beach. The train volume significantly contributes to traffic congestion and poses safety concerns for travelers. Furthermore, the proximity of SR 714/Dixie Highway and SR 714/US 1 intersections compound the issue.

Under the contract, Lochner will develop study alternatives aimed at improving traffic flow, supporting transportation needs, enhancing multimodal connectivity, and reducing emergency evacuation and response times while adhering to the Target Zero safety initiative. Lochner will also strategize to minimize adverse effects on the natural, social, cultural, and physical environments. The study is expected to result in a Type II Categorical Exclusion classification. Given the project’s coastal location and its role as a hurricane evacuation route, resilience will be a critical consideration.

“After contacting several possible vendor partners, we focused on a locking device that not only would be very difficult to access but something that was unique,” said Darren Thai, an associate engineer with the City of San Jose’s Department of Transportation for the last seven years. He is a member of the ITS group, which is responsible for connecting the city with the latest network communication traffic technology including surveillance cameras and video detection.

“ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions – Critical Infrastructure (AAGS-CI) offered more than we asked for in terms of flexibility, plus the whole validity process and permission sets in the management software. We are definitely happy and impressed with how things have progressed.”

Following a half-day training session with AAGS-CI’s system integration partner, Western Pacific Signal, installation of the 75481 series traffic enclosure lock has begun on 2,000 cabinets as part of the department’s implementation plan.

New technology begins with Silicon Valley

Known as the capital of Silicon Valley, San Jose is a progressive city and the largest in northern California. For three years in the mid 1800s, it functioned as the state’s capital. Now it is home to over 6,000 technology companies, and more cutting edge developments originate there than anywhere else in the world.

Located on the southern edge of San Francisco Bay, San Jose has quickly grown to become the 12^th largest city in the United States with almost one million residents. It is also the fourth largest city in California with a land size of 180 square miles, including approximately 400 miles of city streets.

San Jose is regarded as one of the safest cities in North America, due in part to the efforts by the Department of Transportation. The organization employs more than 450 people to plan, develop, operate and maintain transportation facilities, services and related systems, including the city’s traffic infrastructure.

The installation program with AAGS-CI has roots dating back to the fall of 2021, but Thai said the process originated two years earlier through a program with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“As part of their initiative, we participated in a 2019 network penetration test to assess the nation’s and state of California’s transportation system against cybersecurity threats. As a result, we improved the firewalls and field network infrastructure,” acknowledged Thai.

“The one thing that really stuck out in the report,” he continued, “was the physical security of our signal and ITS cabinets. We now have more control over who has access to the cabinets with the AAGS-CI solution.”

Charting a new course in secure transportation measures

Since ITS cabinets are located on roadsides and highways, they are readily accessible and damage to them usually results in heavy financial and recovery losses. Thai said when the department began researching possible vendors, they learned of AAGS-CI by reading an article in the ITE Journal, the monthly publication of the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

“We reached out to AAGS-CI and began a six month test program with a few units. We initially deployed it in a closed environment before installing it in the field,” he said. “We learned about the software and added permissions so only specific users could access it during certain timeframes. It’s important to validate keys in case a worker lost them since our cabinets are regularly accessed by contractors.”

Hybrid lock technology delivers cost savings

Thai mentioned another important feature to the AAGS-CI solution is having both mechanical and electromechanical lock cylinders deployed at different access points throughout the city. This is a cost savings benefit for traffic cabinet security upgrades because typically, fewer than half of ITS cabinets are situated at high priority sites that require more expensive digital locks. The affordable high security mechanical locks fulfill security requirements for most other access points, offering significant savings over an all-digital locking system.

The electromechanical option of the 75481 series supports electronic access control, key tracking, and audit trails with ABLOY’s CLIQ Web Manager software. Access rights can be updated and lost keys can be deleted electronically. Both locks also come with a built-in dust cover that protects the cylinder from grime and moisture, a key feature given the city’s high traffic volume and weather conditions.

“We determined the most important thing was to secure our traffic signal cabinets because the expensive technology inside those enclosures requires regular servicing,” said Thai. “We use the ABLOY mechanical locks because they are very secure. CLIQ is pretty straightforward since it is web-based software. We can get pretty creative with setting the permissions and validity periods, and we are eager to see how it turns out.”  

The team at Western Pacific Signal assisted with training and software set-up before placement of the locks began throughout the city. Don Shupp founded the San Leandro-based company 25 years ago, and he and his brother, Danny, distribute a wide variety of products as a systems integrator in the Advanced Transport Systems arena to customers along the entire Pacific coast. They have supplied network field devices to the City of San Jose since 2002.

“They are a well-educated and sophisticated customer when it comes to cybersecurity, and they have invested in a lot of expensive, leading edge accessories and peripherals that are inside the traffic signal cabinet. San Jose is probably one of the more cutting edge municipalities in the western United States,” said Don Shupp.

“The average customer may invest between $20,000-$25,000 worth of equipment, but some of San Jose’s cabinets have twice that value. They recognized the increased risks and the potential losses of a cabinet break-in. They also understand the attributes of having more control over contractors working on those cabinets, and not needing the added expense of having a crew remove their padlocks in advance of the contractors doing their work. So they are open minded and willing to explore new technology.”

Thai said WPS’s experience has been invaluable to the City of San Jose.

“We have worked with them on other projects such as our battery back-up system, and they procured our network switches. Don and Danny are always willing to listen to our needs, and they’ll go out and secure those products for us.”

Early reports on installation of the AAGS-CI system are impressive. Thai said by the time it is completed, the replacement project will involve about 1,000 intersections.

“The installations are easy to do. It is a drop-in replacement for what we currently use, which was partly a selling point for this solution. We did not have to modify the cabinets in any way, and it takes about 10 minutes to remove the old lock and install the new one, which makes it very convenient.

“We have since realized there are actually more users than we originally thought,” continued Thai. “Having the audit trail capability helps so we know exactly which cabinets users are accessing at a specific time, so if something unexpected happens we can trace it back.

“We are always eager to see what’s new on the market,” summed up Thai. “Our group is dedicated to knowing about these new solutions and figuring out if it is suitable to our needs. It’s also very exciting to share knowledge with other cities on great alternatives to what you currently have, and these new technologies that work.”

About ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions

The ASSA ABLOY Group is the global leader in access solutions. Every day, we help billions of people experience a more open world. ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions is dedicated to reimagining how people move through their world. Our expertise in customer journey mapping, innovation, and service design leads to the invention of new security solutions that create value for our clients and exceptional experiences for end users. For more information, please visit www.assaabloyglobalsolutions.com

Heavy snowfall buildup on the Western Slope led to a higher-than-average spring runoff season, resulting in many rivers and creeks running higher and faster than usual. Such was the case with Bear Creek, whose rushing waters collapsed a culvert beneath SH 133, seven miles northeast of Paonia, causing the highway above to wash out, leaving a deep, impassable crevasse more than 20 feet across.

The region’s economy is transportation-dependent, consisting primarily of agriculture, mining and ranching. In addition, although sparsely populated, it is also heavily reliant on tourists drawn to the abundance of summer recreation opportunities as well as wineries, restaurants and shops. When SH 133 was closed in May, it caused an immediate impact to residents and businesses. Although some vehicles, including first responders, Somerset residents, and those making necessary deliveries were allowed to pass around the damage, the only available route for most travelers was a detour of some 200 miles (320 km), creating an urgent need to reopen the route.

The Colorado Department of Transportation put the job out for an emergency bid and Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction was awarded the contract. The Acrow-designed structure provided to the contractor is a heavy-duty Mabey Universal bridge with a length of 103.35 feet (31.5 m) and a curb-to-curb width of 30 feet (9.15 m) to enable two-way traffic. The bridge, which is designed to AASHTO HL-93 and has an anti-skid epoxy coated deck, was installed in two weeks. The bridge was rented to the contractor and will be in place until repairs are completed, now anticipated to be November 2023.

“Acrow’s robust Mabey Universal modular steel bridge was an ideal solution for this emergency project,” said Eugene Sobecki, Acrow’s Director National Sales & Military Business Development. “With unprecedented heavy-load capacity, the Mabey Universal is quickly assembled and installed to reconnect critical routes.”

Added Russ Parisi, Acrow’s Vice President, North America, “In the wake of emergencies, Acrow’s modular steel solutions can help expedite the reconnection of critical routes. Available for rent or purchase and in-stock for immediate delivery, Acrow’s components are easily transported to the most difficult locations, providing an economical and reliable solution to rapidly restore damaged infrastructure.”

About Acrow

Acrow has been serving the transportation and construction industries for more than 70 years with a wide range of modular steel bridging solutions for permanent, temporary, military and emergency use. Acrow’s extensive international presence includes leadership in the development and implementation of bridge infrastructure projects in over 150 countries across Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.acrow.com.

WSP, a leading engineering, environment and professional services consultancy, was the program management consultant for the $700 million project, which significantly improved passenger circulation and eased congestion at Penn Station.

“Penn Station was designed in the 1960s, when the total daily passenger volume was less than a third of the 600,000 daily commuters it sees today,” said Jefferson Ryscavage, project manager and WSP senior construction engineering manager. “That’s why this facility needed updates and improvements to address congestion in the station. Our team has provided valuable services, counsel and expertise since work began in 2019.”  

The project was designed to provide a more comfortable station experience for commuters. This began with the conclusion of the project’s first phase in 2020, when the new and iconic East End Gateway entrance at 33rd Street and 7th Avenue opened.

“The project used an innovative Developer/design-build approach that helped speed up construction.  The team overcame the obstacles related to the pandemic and continued to maintain and accelerate construction activities” said Garry Nunes, WSP senior vice president and program and construction services director.

The additions of three state-of-the-art escalators and a staircase at this new entrance doubled the ingress and egress capacity between the street level and Penn Station’s LIRR Concourse and improved passenger circulation to both the LIRR and New York City Transit’s 1/2/3 and A/C/E subway lines.

The second phase widened the 33rd Street Corridor from 30 to 57 feet and raised the ceiling height to 18 feet. New mechanical systems were installed for better air circulation and a larger fresh air volume, as well as a modern luminous ceiling with programmable, color-changing LEDs that complement the natural light introduced by the East End Gateway entrance.

Four elevators were replaced, and a new elevator entrance was added, along with new elevator communication systems and an intuitive wayfinding system.

The WSP team provided a complete suite of professional services to MTA C&D and the LIRR project management team, and overcame multiple challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, including safety concerns and delays in materials shipped from other countries.

About WSP in the U.S.
WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world’s leading engineering, environment and professional services firms. Recognized on Fast Company’s Brands that Matter List for 2022 as a top Community-Minded Business, WSP in the U.S. brings together engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals who are dedicated to collaborate in the best interests of serving local communities. WSP designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With approximately 16,000 employees in 300 offices across the U.S., WSP partners with its clients to help communities prosper. wsp.com

The project involves the replacement of the existing Highway 36 bridge over the reservoir and the work has been necessitated by the planned water level rise to increase the reservoir’s capacity. 

COWI’s scope of work will be preliminary engineering, detailed design, contract tendering, construction supervision including post construction and warranty inspection. 

The reservoir sits in Chin Coulee Provincial Recreation Area where boating, water skiing, and fishing are popular pursuits on the water and is vital to the local community. The reservoir is located in the middle of a region in Southern Alberta known for its agriculture and agri-food sector that is a key contributor to the local and provincial economy. 

By increasing the capacity of the reservoir, St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID) will be able to expand the area of land that can be irrigated and make the area more resilient to climate variability including both seasonal droughts and flooding. In doing so, the project will improve the lives of many farmers in the local community and improve the local economy and the billion-dollar agriculture industry in the area. 

Thomas Dahlgren, President, COWI in North America, said: “This project is a great win for COWI as we continue to build and strength our relationship with ATEC. The project is COWI in North America’s first major bridge replacement project within the South Region of ATEC’s organization and will allow COWI to further demonstrate to ATEC as an organization our strengths and ability to develop solutions to complex and unique project challenges.”

In her new role, Yockey will work closely with HDR’s Transportation Building Information Modeling Program Manager Alexa Mitchell and the digital delivery advisory team to guide local, state and national transportation agencies across the United States as they transition their organizations to reap the benefits of the latest digital design technology. Her work will include developing digital delivery standards, as well as strategic planning for enterprise implementation of digital delivery to national and state applied research projects related to digital delivery. 

“Each DOT has the thankless and unending challenge of maintaining thousands of miles of roadway and tens of thousands of associated assets, all of which are aging, while facing tight budgets and a shrinking workforce,” Yockey said. “Implementing digital delivery and information modeling is an opportunity to utilize a data-oriented process that provides time saving automations and better information hand-offs, freeing people to focus on problem solving instead of repetitive and redundant tasks.”

Yockey began her career as a structures engineer working on the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, followed by other bridge and culvert projects for state Departments of Transportation and local agencies. In recent years, she has focused on advancing public agency capabilities in computer-aided design, modeling and digital delivery for bridge design. 

HDR’s digital delivery advisory team has aided numerous clients shifting to digital-first processes, including The Federal Highway Administration, The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, state Departments of Transportation and local public agencies. 

“Marcia will be an invaluable national resource as we pursue new advisory opportunities in digital delivery,” Mitchell said. “Our clients are looking to our teams for guidance on how to leverage the latest modeling and design tools to advance their project delivery while minimizing risk across their organizations.”

“We are honored to be nominated in the Roads and Highways category as early adapters to digital planning, design, engineering and project delivery innovations in our industry,” said Steve Morriss, President, Engineering Services, U.S., Atkins. “Organizationally we are integrating digital expertise with our decades of engineering excellence to enhance project design, strengthen our approach and planning, and guide our creativity, so that we can deliver innovative solutions for our clients beyond their expectations.”

The Floyd Hill project has been highlighted by CDOT and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as improving the economies of Colorado and the Nation. Relieving an interstate bottleneck reduces travel times for commercial traffic, local residents and tourists driving to nearby ski resorts and other destinations. Safety throughout this corridor will be drastically improved by improving design speeds and increasing stopping sight distance on horizontal curves. The project adds a westbound tolled Express Lane, an eastbound auxiliary lane, new bridges, improved interchange and frontage road access, wildlife passageways under the roadway, two air quality monitoring stations and a full reconstruction of a nearby trail. Construction is underway with project completion expected in 2028.

The use of Bentley technology and visualization software helped the team develop solutions to handle many site-specific challenges and constraints. Leveraging digital tools made it possible to mitigate impacts to the surrounding natural environment, built environment, local residents and other stakeholders while also providing a more efficient and cost-effective design.

“Deploying Bentley’s digital tools enabled seamless communication and coordination with external subconsultants leading to a reduction of hours worked by more than 50,000 and project costs by more than $7 million, helping us deliver exceptional value to our client,” said Donna Huey, Chief Digital Officer, Engineering Services, U.S., Atkins. “We were also able to automate 3D engineered model creation, allowing our team to quickly publish visualizations and receive stakeholder input at a much earlier stage of the design process to ensure all concerns are accounted for and addressed in our design.”

Atkins is transforming the design, delivery and operation of infrastructure projects, thanks to the experts in our own business and across the SNC-Lavalin Group with its world-leading knowledge in design, engineering, project management, sustainability and digital-transformation. Our consultants, engineers, technologists and project managers have helped clients reshape the world, with new ways of designing and building that make the lived environment work better for everyone for more than eight decades.

About Atkins

Atkins (www.atkinsglobal.com) is one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management     consultancies, employing over 18,300 people across the UK, North America, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe. We build long-term trusted partnerships to create a world where lives are enriched through the implementation of our ideas. You can view Atkins’ recent projects here.

About SNC-Lavalin

Founded in 1911, SNC-Lavalin is a fully integrated professional services and project management company with offices around the world dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. We create sustainable solutions that connect people, technology and data to design, deliver and operate the most complex projects. We deploy global capabilities locally to our clients and deliver unique end-to-end services across the whole life cycle of an asset including consulting, advisory & environmental services, intelligent networks & cybersecurity, design & engineering, procurement, project & construction management, operations & maintenance, decommissioning and capital. – and delivered to clients in key strategic sectors such as Engineering Services, Nuclear, Operations & Maintenance and Capital. News and information are available at www.snclavalin.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

“Technicians found that the FRP deck was in optimal condition with minor maintenance needed for overlay cracking at the joints and connection holes,” says Scott Reeve, business development for CCG.  “It would have been nearly impossible to achieve a bridge that functioned to current safety standards yet maintained the bridge’s character and original metal latticework with a traditional concrete deck. A typical concrete deck weighs 100 pounds per square foot, creating a deadload a historic steel truss span can’t tolerate.  The FRP deck weighs just 25 pounds per square foot. A decade of use also demonstrates FRP’s ability to withstand the effects of a harsh environment and rigorous use.”

CCG prefabricates very large, corrosion-resistant panels at its Dayton, Ohio manufacturing facility. Constructing panels on CCG’s production floor allows the company to coordinate design and construction specifications upfront instead of at the job site. Installation is quicker, and overall costs reduced.

“The Rocks Village Bridge is a good example of CCG’s ability to fabricate very large FRP structures with high structural load requirements,” says Reeve. “The relative stiffness of our fiberglass material makes deflection the driving factor in deck sizing with FRP. Because of this unique element, FRP bridges and bridge decks are built to safety and strength factors much higher than that of conventional material. In short, it means our decks will never break.”

About CCG

Creative Composites Group (CCG) supplies innovative Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) products for major infrastructure markets. CCG has the design-build and structural fabrication expertise to provide engineered systems and OEM solutions. CCG’s combined team of engineers and technicians have been developing lightweight, durable, cost-effective FRP products for structurally demanding applications and corrosive environments for more than 50 years. Many of these products have paved the way for first-time use of engineered FRP composites for demanding infrastructure markets including: utility, rail,  bridges and waterfront applications because of FRP’s high-performance attributes. 

LAN has previously performed a comprehensive Arc Flash Study Program for more than 2,700 TxDOT facilities located in 250 of the 254 counties across the state of Texas and is pleased to provide TxDOT with the same quality service once more.

“LAN is proud to support TxDOT’s commitment to safety in all its locations by providing this critical analysis,” according to Vice President, Business Group Director for LAN Jeffrey R. ThomasPE, CEM, CEA, CHC.

The project’s scope of work will include a comprehensive Arc Flash Study and analysis of the primary electrical service and distribution system for most of the TxDOT facilities around the state. As part of this project, LAN will provide reports of findings and recommendations for corrective actions necessary to bring the facilities into compliance with current OSHA, NFPA and NEC standards. In the past, TxDOT has used this information to implement LAN’s recommendations. These recommendations include improvements to lower potential arc-flash incident energy levels, replace aged equipment and alert TxDOT of conditions of imminent failure. The improvements occur mainly when a facility does not have a discrete disconnecting means between a transformer and distribution panel.

Without a discrete disconnect, the distribution panel may have dangerous potential energy requiring a higher degree of protection than needed when a disconnect is provided.

Mendes serves HNTB clients as corporate president of infrastructure and mobility equity. She is responsible for shaping transportation and mobility equity policy through collaboration with federal, state and local agency leaders.

“I am honored to work with Secretary Buttigieg and other distinguished leaders on the Advisory Committee to support USDOT in advancing better, more inclusive infrastructure for all people,” said Mendes. “I look forward to working with these dedicated leaders to advance the potential and promise of unprecedented investment in our nation’s infrastructure to lift up all communities.” 

Originally initiated during the tenure of USDOT Secretary Anthony Foxx, the ACTE will be chaired by the former Secretary and brings together representatives from public agencies, private sector companies, professional associations, non-profits, academia and research. The USDOT received and reviewed more than 240 applications for membership to the ACTE. Mendes and the 23 other newly appointed members will each serve two-year terms.

With over 35 years of leadership and management expertise in transportation consulting, Mendes is a nationally recognized industry expert specializing in environmental justice, equity, the National Environmental Policy Act and transit. Since 2017, Mendes has been an adjunct professor at Rutgers University, teaching the National Transit Institute’s Advanced Environmental Justice seminar.

Mendes has served on boards and committees for several professional associations and non-profits including the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials; American Planning Association; the Institute of Transportation Engineers; the American Public Transportation Association; Transportation Research Board; and the non-profit Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution), which focuses on creating equitable and sustainable communities.

Currently, she serves as chair of the Advisory Council for the Equity in Infrastructure Project; chair of the APTA Awards Committee; and chair of the Mpact Board of Directors. She holds a seat on the inaugural Engineering Executive Council for Morgan State University’s Mitchell School of Engineering and is a member of the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Fine Arts Dean’s Council. Previous positions include serving as chair of APTA’s Legislative Committee; chair of APTA’s Policy and Planning Committee; on APTA’s Executive Committee; and on APTA’s Board of Directors. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

Mendes has received numerous awards for her professional contributions. These include the 2019 COMTO Executive of the Year, the American Transportation and Road Builders Association Ethel S. Birchland Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, the 2018 COMTO Shirley A. DeLibero Women Who Move the Nation Award, and the NTI 2017 Training Professional of the Year. In 2020, she became an HNTB Fellow, one of the firm’s highest honors recognizing technical excellence and innovation. Mendes was also the recipient of the 2021 Virginia Business Women in Leadership Award and the 2021 Women’s Transportation Seminar DC Chapter Rosa Parks Diversity Award.

Mendes holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Mount Holyoke College, and a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. She received a Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University in April 2021. She also received a certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business in May 2021.

Mendes is based in the firm’s Arlington office.

In partnership with Atlanta-based Fortune 500 and local disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) companies, strategy development and demonstration pilot sites will bring together a wide spectrum of partners. Two interactive pop-up sites along the Atlanta BeltLine will provide Atlantans with tech-driven experiences to help bridge the digital divide by providing free public Wi-Fi, an autonomous grocery store, information on BeltLine activities, smart trash cans, maps and more in the coming months. It’s part of a pilot project with Fortune 500 and local businesses to address urban issues such as access to food, technology and wellness.  

According to the Federal Communications Commission, approximately 19 million Americans—6 percent of the population—still lack access to fixed broadband service at threshold speeds. That number rises as high as 25-33 percent for people living in certain areas along the BeltLine as sourced through the American Community Survey. 

“The Atlanta BeltLine uses public infrastructure as a vehicle for catalyzing economic growth and development. This digital inclusion and smart cities initiative will play a major role in defining our legacy and impact as an organization as we seek to leverage our telecommunication infrastructure to open up new economic opportunities to residents, students, business owners, seniors and the community at-large,” said Clyde Higgs, President and CEO at Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. “The BeltLine itself is a testing ground for innovation. It’s a place where we can use technology to solve problems facing our communities that could be scaled city-wide and as a case study for cities across the country.”

This project will be enabled by eX² Technology’s early investment in a robust fiber optic network installed along the Atlanta BeltLine. The project will engage community feedback and data to help identify the types of technologies that might be considered for implementation on the BeltLine corridor and serve the adjacent residents, businesses and schools. The outcome of the initiative will be to develop a long-term approach to solving urban issues, to enhance the BeltLine user experience, and to create long-term funding sources as well.

Leading the strategy effort is Honeywell, a global leader in the smart cities space, and N-Ovate Business Solutions, a metro Atlanta-based innovation firm focused on creating strategy around digital transformation, data modernization, and cybersecurity. They will seek to identify and collect data to better understand the digital divide in adjacent neighborhoods and how technology could help solve those issues. They will help develop recommendations for addressing the technology gaps that were exacerbated for local residents and business owners, especially on the south and west sides of the Atlanta BeltLine loop, during the pandemic.

The Rocket Community Fund, the philanthropic partner of Rocket Companies, is providing financial support for the development of the strategy and additional resources to support the initiative.

Pop-Up Sites Showcase Innovative Technology

Atlanta BeltLine and eX² Technology will transform two areas along the BeltLine into smart city pop-ups, showcasing pilot technologies. This demonstration project will garner additional community engagement and usage data to inform future BeltLine strategies. Sites on the Southside and Eastside Trails will feature high-speed internet powered by ABI’s fiber network. Moreover, each of the pilot areas will house a Nourish + Bloom Market, a Black-owned autonomous grocery store; a Rove IQ interactive wayfinding kiosk; a Big Belly smart waste bin; and, adjacent to the corridor, a Blink Electrical Vehicle (EV) charging station, among others. Georgia Green Energy Services, a local certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Small Business Enterprise (SBE) will deploy and manage the electrical needs at both sites. A steering committee of industry experts is helping to provide further insight and opportunities to inform the project. Microsoft is also sharing a fellow with the BeltLine to support this initiative through Georgia Tech.

The BeltLine’s smart cities demonstration sites also will feature the first U.S. deployment of the Honeywell City Suite, an artificial intelligence-enabled IoT platform serving over 75 cities globally and improving the lives of over 100 million people worldwide. The sites’ technology will be integrated and driven by Honeywell’s City Suite Software, acting like the central hub of the project, which seamlessly aggregates information from multiple city systems including environment, emergency services, safety and security, and utilities, among other areas – in a single, unified view. Through the Honeywell platform, the BeltLine can collect information to make data-driven decisions through analytic technology to improve trail services, enhance the user experience, and monitor the flow of disposable and recyclable materials, supporting a more resilient BeltLine and sustainable environment.

eX² Technology designed and installed a 15.7-mile multi-duct, fiber optic network on the Atlanta BeltLine in 2021 to create a new funding source through the sale of fiber to support the long-term economic viability of the BeltLine and enable high-speed technology on the corridor. eX² Technology manages and maintains the communications system as well as serves as the BeltLine’s exclusive commercialization partner. “Our dark fiber commercialization efforts have supported the development of this Smart City Pilot as well as promoted economic development and digital inclusivity,” said Jay Jorgensen, Chief Operating Officer at eX² Technology. “Our company has a long history of partnering with communities and organizations like the BeltLine and bringing multiple partners together to develop innovative, technology-rich programs. We continue to seek additional partners who want to establish their services within the Atlanta market and have worked with the Atlanta BeltLine to reduce the price of the dark fiber to further promote new partnerships.”

For Honeywell, this initiative offers a chance to showcase its technology in an area where it has a major corporate presence.  “Our Atlanta office is just one mile from the Atlanta BeltLine, so we are not only professionally invested in the success of the BeltLine but also personally as many of our employees use the BeltLine every day,” said Matthew Britt, General Manager, Smart and Sustainable Cities, Honeywell. “We’re looking forward to growing our relationship with the eX² team and are thrilled that our first project together is supporting the Atlanta BeltLine’s mission of improving social equity along the corridor and improving the community long term.”

As a leader in the digital equity space, the Rocket Community Fund is committed to ensuring their efforts are moving the needle across the country to bridge the digital divide. “At the Rocket Community Fund, we firmly believe that digital connectivity is foundational to success in every aspect of life,” said Rob Lockett, Team Leader, National Housing Stability at the Rocket Community Fund. “We’re thrilled to partner once again with the Atlanta BeltLine team to transform the way residents and visitors at the BeltLine connect digitally with employment, education, healthcare, and community.”

The Rocket Community Fund’s commitment expands its partnership with the BeltLine. Previous collaborations focused on affordable housing providing residents with direct connections to key housing stability resources and funding for the Legacy Resident Retention Program.

The Atlanta BeltLine has more dark fiber available and is looking for additional service providers who can provide technology to end users. For more information, please visit https://ex2technology.com/atlantabeltlinefiber.

As Derq became one of the new 25 organizations across the public and private sectors to be recognized by the USDOT in taking action to reverse the crisis that is killing more than 40,000 people on American roads each year, there are now more than 100 Allies in Action who are committed to taking specific, tangible steps to actively reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on America’s roads and streets, expand the adoption of a Safe System Approach and a Zero Fatalities vision across the nation, and transform how we as a nation think about road safety. 

The USDOT launched the National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS) in 2022 in response to the crisis of roadway deaths in America, which had been steadily rising since 2010 before they surged in 2020. While the last four quarters have shown small decreases in traffic fatalities, according to preliminary data, Derq will now be able to work directly with the USDOT and other Allies in Action to share progress, review case studies of notable practices, and even encourage new commitments to continue identifying opportunities to improve safety on a national scale.  

Derq’s “Real-Time Perception and Connectivity AI Platform” addresses the burning needs in driver, pedestrian and cyclist safety, where accurate and reliable detection of traffic violations, pedestrian compliance issues, and road-user conflict (near-miss) data is of the utmost importance for transportation agencies and city officials to enable up-to-date analysis of safety issues.  

Through Derq’s “Automated Safety Performance Monitoring” solution, the company is committed to working with cities, communities, and even road owners and operators to seamlessly integrate its technology with new or existing road infrastructure to support improved road monitoring with enhanced safety measures. The technology provides real-time predictive alerts for road users, connects directly with traffic controller systems, and provides an understanding of danger zones in traffic systems where repeated events occur.  

Additionally, Derq will provide local and state agencies with a safety scoring framework, developed using data from existing traffic cameras and signal controllers, to better understand where safety issues are happening in real-time. The company will also continue to educate agencies about safety technology and how to obtain additional funding to implement these technologies at scale though industry conference presentations and webinars, like the one it facilitated with ITS America in June 2023. 

“Derq’s number one priority every single day is to eliminate all road fatalities and we are incredibly honored to align our mission with the U.S. DOT and the National Road Safety Strategy in the continued nationwide efforts of moving toward Vision Zero,” said Dr. Georges Aoude, CEO and Co-Founder of Derq. “We are committed to growing our partnerships with agencies across the nation to leverage our technological solutions in creating safer and smarter roads for all.” 

For more information on Derq’s commitment to action and to view the other Allies in Action, please visit www.transportation.gov/nrss/allies-in-action. 

About Derq 

Derq is an award-winning MIT-spinoff powering the future of roads for safer and more efficient movement of road users and autonomous vehicles. Through its proprietary and patented technology, Derq provides cities and fleets with an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that powers advanced analytics and connected & autonomous vehicle (CAV) applications to help them improve road safety and better manage traffic. Derq has been recognized as an industry leader by the WEF and has received a number of awards including the 2022 Global ITS Innovation Award, AI company of the year at SXSW 2019, and Top Road Safety Innovator for Vision Zero in 2020 by Together for Safer Roads. For more information, please visit www.derq.com or contact info@derq.com. Derq is a trademark of Derq Inc.

About the National Roadway Safety Strategy  

The Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS) outlines the Department’s comprehensive approach to reversing the rise in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on the nation’s highways, roads, and streets. The NRSS follows through on the Department’s commitment to safety through priority actions that target the most significant and urgent problems in roadway safety. The NRSS’s Call to Action invites every organization and individual to participate in taking part and sharing how they will actively reduce deaths and injuries on America’s Roadways, expand adoption of the NRSS’s 5-pronged Safe System approach and a zero fatalities vision, and transform how we as a national think about road safety. More information on the NRSS and voluntary commitments from early adopters can be found here.

Founded in 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah, by CEO Mark Pittman, Blyncsy applies computer vision and artificial intelligence in analyzing commonly available imagery to identify maintenance issues on roadway networks. Pittman originally conceived the idea for the company while stuck at a traffic light, believing there had to be ways to combine “real-time” condition data and innovative technologies to help DoTs become more efficient. 

Blyncsy’s disruptive AI services replace costly and slow manual data collection efforts, reducing the need for personnel or specialized vehicles or hardware in the field and improving transportation owner-operators’ awareness and timely mitigation of road conditions. Blyncsy detects over 50 different roadway safety issues, including the actual location of active construction work zones.

Pittman said, “Blyncsy is committed to applying the latest AI and machine learning techniques to benefit transportation networks. This alignment with Bentley will only strengthen the value to our users and together we will provide even deeper asset analytics to transportation owners, to support the drivers of today and tomorrow.”

“Safety is our first priority, and operational efficiency is a high number 2. We depend on real-time data, like the information we receive from Blyncsy, to proactively manage the highway system to be as safe and reliable as possible,” said Hawaii Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen. “HDOT embraces technology that enables us to run in the most productive manner possible. Blyncsy gets us weekly reports with graphics and photos detailing guardrail, roadway, and vegetation conditions that provide more tools to allow us to prioritize our resources to address the needs of the system.”

Bentley’s iTwin Ventures managing executive, Mike Schellhase, said, “Blyncsy came to our attention for potential participation in a successive VC investment round. But we were so convinced of the significance of their breakthrough that we undertook its outright acquisition, in order to scale it rapidly and pervasively. We expect investments in widespread asset analytics to accelerate leveraging infrastructure digital twins.”

Blyncsy will adopt Bentley’s iTwin Platform for immersive integration with infrastructure owners’ engineering and simulation models, and Bentley will incorporate and bring to market Blyncsy’s AI services within its emerging mobility digital twin offerings.

The acquisition was supported for Blyncsy by Ignatious Growth Capital and Advisory. Blyncsy’s investors included: Peterson Ventures, Doug Wells, Elemental Excelerator, Park City Angel Network, OakHouse Partners, and CEAS Investments.

Northbound I-75 traffic will be switched to the new DiSalle Bridge next week, putting the interstate in its final traffic configuration and capping the massive investment project.

“Northwest Ohio is a transportation powerhouse in the state and the main artery is I-75,” said Governor Mike DeWine. “The investment we’ve made here and all along the I-75 corridor, from the Ohio River to the Port of Toledo, is key to Ohio’s local economy and the nation’s economy.” 

I-75 is a vital freight route that connects Canada to Miami, Florida. Originally constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, sections of the interstate began reaching capacity in the 1980s. As the infrastructure continued to age, it was clear that additional investment and capacity was needed to keep pace with Ohio’s growing economy.

The first projects began in 2012 and have continued for just over a decade. They include:

• Allen County: Reconstruction of just over nine miles of existing pavement on I-75 from Fourth Street to State Route 81, completed in 2016.
• Toledo: Rehabilitation of I-75 from I-475 to Dorr Street, completed in 2016.
• Hancock and Wood counties: Reconstruction and addition of a third lane of nearly 32 miles of I-75, completed in 2017.

• Lucas County: Reconstruction and addition of a third lane on I-75 from Interstate 475 to Interstate 280, completed in 2019.
• Hancock County: Reconstruction and addition of a third lane of five miles of I-75, completed in 2020.
• Wood and Lucas counties: Reconstruction and addition of a third lane from Wales Road to Dorr Street. The project will complete in fall 2023.

These projects included the reconstruction and redesign of many ramps and bridges; community branding and refreshed entryways into cities and villages throughout the I-75 corridor.

“We extend our appreciation for the patience of the citizens of Ohio who have endured the orange barrels, narrow lanes, slow traffic, dust, and noise of these projects. It is through these inconveniences that we stand here today to celebrate the end result,” said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks.

Freight traffic on the corridor is expected to increase significantly with the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge linking Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan in 2025. Ohio exporters sell more goods to Canada than to our next nine largest foreign markets combined.

“I am proud of the hard work our team at ODOT has put into keeping our transportation network positioned for the future,” said ODOT District 2 Deputy Director Patrick McColley.

“From the designers to the project managers and communications staff, everyone has played a key role in getting us to completion,” said ODOT District 1 Deputy Director Chris Hughes.

Across the state, the I-75 corridor averages more than 68,000 vehicles a day, including 14,400 trucks.

The civil engineering and infrastructure specialist secured its place on the framework under Lot 2, Water-clean and Waste Infrastructure, of the West Midlands Metro Framework agreement for the Provision of Diversionary Utilities Works for Metro Extensions and any Major Highways Schemes.

Barhale will be one of four suppliers awarded to Lot 2 of the framework for advanced utility diversions across the WMCA. The others are J McCann, M&A Doocey Civil Engineering Ltd and IES Utilities Group.

James Ingamells, regional director for Barhale, believes that the award reflects the strength of the business’s track-record and deep connections across the West Midlands.

“We are very pleased to secure our place on the WMCA framework,” he said. “We are very proud of our roots in the region and our forty-plus years heritage operating from our headquarters in Walsall.

“In that time, we have had the opportunity to work with many of the region’s statutory undertakers, key stakeholder groups, alliance project teams, suppliers, and sub-contractors.

“We enjoy an ongoing relationship with the major water companies, Severn Trent and South Staffs, and have been involved with previous phases of the Midlands Metro Alliance, the team responsible for delivering the region transformative new transit system.

“Having recently completed a mineshaft cap at Sandwell and the infilling of Wolverhampton’s Craddock Street Subway, we are also looking forward to working closely with more of the West Midlands’ local authorities.

“Most importantly, the award will give us the opportunity to extend our engagement with the community both in terms of employment through Barhale and our construction supplies to fabrication business BCS and also in terms of our community outreach and engagement work.”

The agreement runs for four years with an option to extend to a maximum of a further four years. 

“This is one of the inherent attributes of HDPE pipe,” stated Camille George Rubeiz, P.E., F. ASCE, co-chair, HDPE Municipal Advisory Board, and senior director of engineering for the Plastics Pipe Institute’s (PPI) Municipal & Industrial Division.  “As well as being corrosion proof, it is flexible and ductile to go through a special die on the job site that makes it possible to be pulled inside a host pipe even when the pipe is not round.  In this case, the ovality would have no affect during installation and the HDPE pipe would form a tight compression fit within the old ductile iron pipe.”  PPI is the major North American association representing the plastic pipe industry.

More than 8,700 feet of 36-inch ductile iron sewer force main was replaced with HDPE     PE 4710, DR 21 pipe using Murphy’s CompressionFit method, patent pending.  The new pipe has a 100-psi operating and a 200-psi surge pressure rating, and is rated as a Class 6 solution in accordance with ASTM F3508.  The sewer force main traversed under three city parks, along Covell Lake, through major commercial districts and under state highway SD 115.  It was made and provided by WL Plastics (Fort Worth, TX), a member company of PPI.

Opened in 1985, the Sioux Falls system treats some 18 million gallons of wastewater daily.  There are 900 miles of pipe in the system that conveys the wastewater to the city’s treatment plant.  There is a $215 million expansion plan underway that will increase the facility’s capacity by 50 percent when completed in 2025. 

“One of the questions we were asked was ‘Can a 36-inch ductile iron sewer force main with severe ovality be replaced with HDPE pipe using CompressionFit?’”, said HDPE pipe industry expert and consultant Harvey Svetlik, P.E.  “The answer was an unequitable ‘yes’.  Matter of fact, some other recent projects saw 54-inch diameter pipe with a three-inch wall thickness installed using the CompressionFit method.  One of the principal things that this technology does is that it preserves the flow rate of the existing host pipeline and seals over holes and leaks, so you have a dual-wall composite pipeline.  And the thicker HDPE pipe provides structural integrity.”

Svetlik has more than 40 years of experience in the plastic pipe industry, specializing in polyethylene pipes and fittings.  He is the inventor of the MJ Adapter, also known as the Harvey Adapter.  An active member of PPI for 30 years, he is the author of numerous PPI technical notes, developer of ASTM/AWWA standards, and an inventor who holds 16 patents.

One of the most recent ASTM standards authored by Svetlik is ASTM F3508 for the installation of compressed fit shape memory polymer pipe.  “ASTM F3508 codifies the specification of the material to use and deals with the shape memory characteristics of the material such as high-density polyethylene. 

“With the CompressionFit technology, instead of elongating a rubber band and letting it recover as is done with Swagelining, they basically do a lot more of radial compression.  Instead of stretching it and thinning the wall, they downsize it and radially thicken the wall, such that when it goes into place it enlarges in diameter, and the radial wall thickness stands as it expands out, like rolling out pie dough.”

The developer of CompressionFit is Murphy Pipeline Contractors (Jacksonville, FL).  “Most cities cannot afford to relocate and replace a 16-inch diameter or larger pipeline within their vast utility network,” said Todd Grafenauer, education director for Murphy.  “The result of the CompressionFit HDPE pipe lining technology is that a new HDPE pipe will be ‘compressive fit’ inside the existing host pipe.  This lining offers remarkable value over other construction methods such as an increased flow rate over sliplining, we do an average pull distance of 2,000 feet with more than a 90 percent reduction in excavation and there’s no new easement documentation needed.  Plus, we simply follow the existing pipe path using GIS maps.”  Murphy is a member company of PPI and also part of the association’s Municipal Advisory Board (MAB).

Governed by ASTM F3508, the CompressionFit HDPE pipe lining technology specifies an HDPE pipe with an outside diameter larger in size than the inside of the host pipe to be renewed.  After the HDPE is butt fused to correspond to the pull distance, the pipe is pulled through a reduction die immediately before entering the host pipe.  This reduces the HDPE pipe temporarily below the inside diameter of the host pipe allowing it to be inserted.

While the towing load keeps the HDPE under tension during the pull, the pipe remains in its reduced size.  The HDPE remains fully elastic throughout the reduction and installation process. After installation, the pulling load is removed.  The HDPE pipe expands until it is halted by the inside diameter of the host pipe.  The effectively natural ‘tight’ or ‘compression fit’ is accepted as exchanging an existing failing pipeline with a composite pipe in its place.

“One of the things about the ASTM F3508,” Svetlik explained, “is that it can be utilized not only for municipalities for gravity flow, but even more ideally for pressure pipes for water pipeline replacement, or force main replacement.”

More information can be found at www.plasticpipe.org/municpalindustrial

The investment will allow Transcend to continue to expand its customer base, which already includes many of the leading infrastructure players in the world such as Arcadis, Black and Veatch, Brookfield Asset Management, Anglian Water, Xylem, and Veolia. In less than two years, designs generated through Transcend’s software have already positively impacted the lives of over 100M people in 65 countries around the globe.

Transcend’s market-leading generative design software, the Transcend Design Generator (TDG), fully automates the conceptual and preliminary design of critical infrastructure assets, enabling asset owners to reduce design costs and timelines and prioritizes the incorporation of innovative and sustainable technologies. TDG integrates process, mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering calculations and decisions to automatically generate complete and accurate preliminary engineering designs for a variety of water and power infrastructure projects. The outputs include 3D Building Information Modeling (BIM) models, carbon footprint estimates, equipment lists, operating and capital expenditure calculations, and many others.

“Autodesk feels strongly that new and better ways of designing and making can lead to a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable world for all. So we appreciate how Transcend is applying generative and outcome-based design to accelerate development of sustainable critical infrastructure,” said Theo Agelopoulos, Vice President of AEC Design Strategy at Autodesk. “This investment and our collaboration with Transcend will help make advanced technologies more accessible to a wide range of asset owners, engineering firms, and equipment suppliers, enabling them to achieve better outcomes faster.”

Transcend will use the investment to accelerate its go-to-market strategy and product roadmap, further establishing its market leadership in generative design software for critical infrastructure.

“We look forward to this next phase of growth as we continue our mission to help engineers, utilities, and technology suppliers design innovative and sustainable critical infrastructure,” said Ari Raivetz, Founder and CEO of Transcend. “Autodesk’s commitment to our business as part of this Series B is a clear indicator that the world is moving towards the automation of preliminary design activities to develop resilient infrastructure for the future. That is good news for everyone, because we must move faster to build the next generation of green infrastructure if we are going to solve the climate crisis.”

Autodesk customers and other users working with TDG can automatically generate complete, accurate preliminary designs for a variety of water and wastewater treatment facilities and electrical substations including editable design documents that are native to Autodesk products including AutoCAD®, and Revit®.

“This investment is not only a catalyst for the growth of our business, but a catalyst for our customers as well. We will continue investing heavily in product features that our users can leverage to build a better world for all of us to live in,” said Adam Tank, Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer at Transcend.

To learn more about Transcend, visit transcendinfra.com.

About Transcend

Transcend is a B2B Software-as-a-Service company focused on design and engineering automation for critical infrastructure. Their flagship product, the Transcend Design Generator (“TDG”), integrates process, mechanical, structural, electrical, civil, and architectural design disciplines into a hosted cloud-based software and generative design platform that permits users to input data and automatically generate a preliminary engineering design for critical infrastructure projects and vertical assets, including automatic generation of a wide variety of engineering documents and files. For more information, visit them at https://transcendinfra.com/, or follow them on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/transcend-infra

Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, AutoCAD and Revit are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (Metro) I-5 North County Enhancement Project (I-5 NCEP) is an ambitious undertaking that will ease congestion, improve safety, and accommodate booming growth along the 14-mile corridor between State Route 14 in Santa Clarita and Parker Road in Castaic.  The project broke ground in December of 2021, and is currently slated for completion in late Summer 2026.  The steps of this project include:

• Installing Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) improvements including count stations, closed-circuit television (CCTV), and ramp metering to nine on-ramps.
• Addition of one HOV lane in each direction along the I-5 between the SR14 and Parker Road interchange.
• Extending a northbound truck lane along I-5 from SR14 to Calgrove Boulevard, a southbound truck lane from Calgrove Boulevard to SR-14, and new/extended auxiliary lanes between
  interchanges at six locations.
• Reconstructing the Weldon Canyon overcrossing.
• Widening seven existing bridge structures between SR-14
  and Parker Road.
• Building retaining walls, sound walls, and a new concrete median barrier and guardrails.

Project management firm Hill International (Hill) has played a crucial role in supporting Metro constructing this ambitious project.  For Metro, the volume of traffic along the project corridor and its vital connection to the highway for residents and businesses in the North County necessitated a unique approach in order to manage the project successfully.  In this, Metro selected a construction services support team led by Hill International.  To help facilitate the project, Hill established a local field office for Metro that houses a team of roughly 50 consultants, Metro employees, and CalTrans oversight staff who work as an integrated project team.  

Hill team leader and Senior Construction Engineer, David Tiberi, notes the principal challenges that arise from this project’s important location. The 14-mile-long Project cuts through a hilly area and supports a heavy traffic volume, including truck traffic. Changes in elevation mean that the Project must contend with cuts and fills as well as a bridge replacement, seven bridge widenings, and 43 new retaining walls. Furthermore, in many areas, the spaces surrounding the construction zone are considered Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) and are off limits for construction access. This culmination of factors, according to Tiberi, has resulted in extremely tight working conditions. Accessing the work areas, especially the median, requires much of the work to take place at night, when traffic is reduced and therefore Caltrans allows lane closures.   Lane closures enable access for the slow-moving dump trucks and concrete trucks that need to merge from the work zone into traffic. Another feature of I-5 NCEP that further supports its description as ambitious is its installation of ITS improvements to enhance connectivity for the transmission of traffic data from the area to the Caltrans District 7 Traffic Management Center (TMC) in Los Angeles.

To achieve the project goals, Tiberi notes the importance of the multidisciplinary team, which is overseen by CalTrans.  This multidisciplinary team works out of the field office established by Hill in March of 2021, which has been crucial when contending with challenges to mobilization brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.  This field office is fully operational 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, which helps align with the construction schedule, including substantial night shift work.  Technical experts in roadway and structure construction, environmental regulations, survey, project controls, risk management, and safety are all supporting the Project through the field office.  Another feature of Hill’s field office that has been effective at minimizing delays was the establishment of a CalTrans certified testing lab.  With no operating material testing lab specializing in highway construction within 40 miles of the project, Tiberi says that it was clear they needed their own lab to be able to test concrete, asphalt, and aggregates as well as perform batch plant inspection.  This lab allows the project team to provide material testing turn-around times needed to keep pace with the work.  The location of Hill’s field office, as well as the building of a testing lab, have allowed this multidisciplinary team to respond to the project’s unique challenges. 

With such an impact on the surrounding communities and businesses, Tiberi emphasizes the importance of keeping the public informed about upcoming construction work.  For I-5 NCEP, Metro has led the project’s outreach efforts.  These public outreach efforts are supported by Hill’s staff conducting community meetings, issuing construction alerts, and giving presentations to local elected officials at various public meetings.  Tiberi says that this ability to communicate information has allowed teams working on the project to communicate important safety and detour information that in many cases has minimized negative impacts and delays.  The I-5 NCEP is a major part of Metro’s long-term plans to make travel throughout the region safer, faster, easier, and more sustainable.  While the project is still years away from substantial completion in 2026, Tiberi says the project team is in a constant process of building upon lessons being learned, which is further supported by its collaborative, multidisciplinary nature.  As I-5 NCEP continues to be built, this ability to learn from challenges while adapting and overcoming will be crucial in maintaining the necessary pace of work.

LUKE CAROTHERS is the Editor of Civil + Structural Engineer Magazine. If you want us to cover your project or feature an article, he can be reached at lcarothers@zweiggroup.com.

Key to the expansion of the rail service is the construction of bridges along the train lines. Brightline and contractor Granite Construction turned to the expertise of PERI USA for a rentable formwork solution for three bridges between Orlando and Cocoa.  

Delivering Efficiency 

Developing a solution for bridge decks on steel girders led the engineering team to select PERI’s VARIOKIT system with GT 24 Girders to support the deck with large bracket spacing. PERI’s engineered solution delivered an efficient and lean system, striking a balance between hanger capacity, bracket spacing, and hanger rod loading to provide the optimal system.  

In addition to being efficient in operation, the crew could preassemble all equipment on the ground, reducing crew time in the air and making the site safer.  

VARIOKIT offers standardized components for a wide range of civil engineering that can be combined with PERI formwork for a customized, economical bridge formwork solution. With fitting pin connections and simple adaptation spindles, operations are accelerated, and assembly time is minimized. VARIOKIT is highly efficient due to rentable components and statically optimized planning processes.   

GT 24 girders are versatile lattice girders with high load-bearing capacity and rigidity, therefore reducing material usage and workload. They also provide an option that reduces the need to buy and later dispose of dimensional lumber. The girders are compatible with other PERI products and feature latticework construction, allowing for easy connection of site accessories.   

Beyond formwork solutions, PERI USA provided engineering support and site tech to the project team to ensure the system was implemented properly and performed in the most efficient manner.    

All Aboard 

After six months of construction, bridges 6 and 8 opened in the spring of 2022. Bridge 22 opened in the fall of 2022.

From New York to San Diego and from Nashville to Seattle, the United States has more than 500 commercial airports carrying more than 850 million passengers annually. To accommodate the vast number of travelers, the US Air Traffic Organization (ATO) provides service to more than 45,000 flights across the country every single day (according to the Federal Aviation Administration) with the responsibility of overseeing the largest number of air passengers in the world. Just this past June, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recorded its highest number ever of passengers screened in just one day at more than 2.8 million.

To keep up with steady demand, most commercial airports in the US need to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year — resulting in non-stop wear and tear at these critical transportation hubs. How then do construction providers implement plans to update and replace important infrastructure upgrade improvements and required upgrades by the FAA, TSA, and airlines without impacting 24/7 operations or passenger experiences? And what are the latest trends and lessons learned in airport infrastructure work that can help airports continue to succeed—and thrive—in their continuously evolving landscapes? 

Challenges & Opportunities: from Design & Planning to Construction & Completion 

When it comes to everything from design and planning to construction and completion, big challenges mean big opportunities. At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac), US-based, top-20 builder, developer, and engineering services provider, Mortenson has been involved in multiple successful airport improvement projects ranging from system updates and upgrades as well as the creation of emergency power supply sources that are all required to keep SeaTac up and running in daily operation. 

Upgrading Aging Electrical Infrastructure in a 24-7-365 Environment: SeaTac’s Low Voltage Upgrade Project

As an example of a critical infrastructure project in Seattle, the Port of Seattle selected Mortenson for GCCM services for two important projects–SeaTac’s Low Voltage Upgrade project and the Alternate Utility Facility. 

Valued at $80 million, the Low Voltage Upgrade project upgrades and replaces the aging electrical infrastructure at SeaTac’s main terminal, encompassing buildings, additions, renovations and improvements dating back to the airport’s original construction in 1949. 

The elements of the project are especially staggering in the busy airport environment and include replacing one of five power entrance switchgear line-ups; replacing 378 service panels and their feeders; building 14 new electrical rooms; making major modifications to another 15 electrical rooms; and finding feeder routing paths and device mounting locations in an extremely congested facility. 

As part of the project’s scope, which is currently underway, Mortenson is investigating the existing condition and layout of the electrical systems in the main terminal; designing cost-effective replacement solutions that minimize the shutdown impact on end-users and passenger experience; and implementing the upgrades to provide a safer, more robust, and more reliable electrical system for this critical public facility. 

Mortenson places a heavy emphasis on planning to proactively address these challenges. Working together with its electrical contractor, Casne Engineering, Mortenson proposed a three-year pre-construction period to ensure a successful project outcome—including advising the design team on all aspects of the construction; assisting in identifying and obtaining space for new equipment and rooms; implementing circuit tracing to create accurate electrical as-built drawings of the entire main terminal building; and working with tenants and airport management to determine phasing and necessary interactions to facilitate construction. 

Technology has also been an exceptional tool in the project team’s arsenal. For example, to better understand the impacts of its work, the team took three-dimensional (3D) scans of particularly congested areas and created 3D models to create accurate construction documents to minimize impacts on airport tenants and visitors. Because the Main Terminal Low Voltage Upgrade project involves more than 2,100 power shutdowns, Mortenson’s due diligence and integrated communications ensure that no shutdowns come as a surprise to airport operations or passengers throughout the course of the project. Through proactive cooperation from all parties—including the owner—the team performs the work in a carefully sequenced and well-communicated manner.

Mortenson also uses target value delivery (TVD), as a management practice throughout all phases of design and construction to deliver projects within a fixed budget, while meeting the operational needs and values of the client. Using TVD, Mortenson was able to break project budgets into smaller buckets to help allocate cost and design to each element – making it easier to analyze where savings opportunities and over-run risks exist. The program also provides the working team with ownership over individual scopes, which creates accountability. 

By resolving numerous unanticipated issues through these communications Mortenson was able to bring the final contract price down five percent less than the original target (a welcome surprise to the client and a great accomplishment in the current market). 

Providing a Reliable Source of Back-Up Power: SeaTac’s Alternative Utility Facility

Mortenson was also the design-builder for the new Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Alternate Utility Facility (AUF). The facility provides a reliable source of back-up power to run everything from runway lights, communication between ground and air, fuel pumps, and maintaining the arrival and departure schedule.

Located on an approximately one-acre site at the Seattle Tacoma International Airport near the Port of Seattle’s South Main Substation, the AUF project’s primary focus was to provide a power source for the entire airport in the event of a catastrophic loss of power from the local utility. Special consideration was given to ensure that the facility could operate if any single device were to fail. The facility was designed to withstand major earthquakes and lightning events. 

The project team worked diligently with the Port of Seattle to identify economies of scale during the design phase that allowed the team to fully build out this critical facility within budget while also expanding the scope to include ten generators instead of eight. Relocation of an employee parking lot and bus staging facility was also necessary for the construction of the project. By scheduling the relocations during slow periods and diligently communicating the impacts of revised routings, Mortenson informed dislocated users well in advance while mitigating impacts to essential airport personnel. 

As a result, the successfully completed project—including a control building, a medium voltage (MV) switchgear building, and MV automatic transfer switching building on a separate secure campus connected to SETAC’s South Main Substation by MV underground ducts—can supply 30 megawatts (MWe) of power via ten (10) 3 MWe diesel generators. The AUF is also capable of soft parallel with the upstream power supplier (Puget Sound Energy) in order to transition to and from the normal power provider, as well as provide power during an unexpected loss of normal utility power.  

Understanding the Inner Workings of a 24-7 Environment to Deliver Reliable, Innovative Solutions

Completing critical infrastructure improvements requires a deep understanding of the inner workings of a global, 24/7 environment, and the ability to deliver reliable, innovative solutions in extremely sensitive environments. Just as important is extensive engagement with all stakeholders during the design phase to understand their processes and constraints. The use of next-generation technology, such as 3D modeling, to understand the impact of work on areas that cannot be interrupted and detect inefficiencies and clashes before construction starts is also key to success.

At Mortenson, we continue to learn invaluable lessons through our ongoing work at SeaTac (and beyond) and look forward to continuing to make sure the built airport environment has a lasting positive impact—while striving to make projects even better than imagined. 

Steve Larson is a Senior Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing (MEP) Design Phase Manager at Mortenson Seattle. With more than 40 years of dedicated MEP experience, he is deeply familiar with complex facilities and expansive mechanical, electrical, and building systems required for their efficient operation. As a strong proponent of the value that can be gained through design-build, Steve has been a project team member for several Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) national award-winning projects. His commitment to pre-planning and extensive communication in maintaining high-quality installations is invaluable to all stakeholders throughout projects. You can reach him by email or phone at 425-895-9000 or steve.larson@mortenson.com. 

While contractors are often part of the innovation process as they help project owners improve their workflows, update their equipment, or construct entirely new facilities, they aren’t typically supporting the build out of test facilities intended to develop revolutionary technology that one day will push the boundaries of hypersonic flight. 

But that’s exactly what Colorado-based contractor, Industrial Constructors/Managers, Inc. (ICM), was hired to do in the summer of 2019 for Reaction Engines, a privately-held technology company that’s developing thermal management systems and novel propulsion solutions for the defense and commercial high-speed flight sector, as well as for aviation, automotive, and energy sectors in the US and UK.

ICM, which specializes in industrial construction, was hired to install additional ground support equipment at Reaction Engines’ new testing facility located in Watkins, Colorado. The equipment was required to enable expanded testing of Reaction’s high-tech precooler technology, a microtube heat exchanger which delivers world-leading heat transfer capabilities at low weight and compact size. This technology enhances the performance, efficiency, and sustainability of existing and future jet engine technology, along with applications in automotive, aerospace, energy, and industrial processes. 

Testing For Success

Reaction’s precooler technology is unique because it quenches the large volume of engine inlet air down from 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit to ambient temperatures in less than a 20th of a second – a world first – using a microtube heat exchanger, which consists of thousands of thin-walled tubes. With cool air available to the engine, much higher speeds can be unlocked while continuing to use tried and true engine materials that are available today.

When first testing the precooler technology, Reaction Engines used gaseous helium as the coolant fluid, achieving validation of the precooler technology at Mach 5 inlet temperatures, which is approximately 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. Further testing began in 2022, exploring and expanding the available precooler operating envelope that could be utilized to achieve high-speed flight, while concurrently capturing performance of the precooler using a liquid coolant.  

As a result of the 2022 test campaign, the Reaction Engines team achieved 10 megawatts of heat transfer, an amount three times higher than the heat transferred in the 2019 tests. While this was great news, it also proved that Reaction’s test facility needed the addition of a new liquid coolant system to handle the huge thermal load. Reaction Engines called on ICM to handle construction, assembly, welding, and inspection of the new system, which was designed by the Reaction Engines team. 

Building The New Liquid Coolant System

ICM’s installation of the new liquid coolant system included major hardware build and placement and the installation of interconnecting high pressure/high temperature piping constructed of heavy wall stainless and exotic materials. ICM then supported the proof pressure test of the new build, followed by the precision cleaning of the new installation to ensure that no foreign object debris would adversely impact the tests. 

To complete the project, ICM successfully supported the commissioning phase for the new installation, ensuring that all hardware would provide the required performance during precooler testing. 

“We had an initial blueprint of what would be required for the project, but given the uniqueness  of the technology, the R&D nature of the project, and the real-time availability of equipment and materials in the post-COVID environment, workflow flexibility was essential,” said Jamie Hodges, executive vice president of ICM. “The project required a lot of flexibility, collaboration and teamwork on the fly. Fortunately, ICM ‘loves a challenge,’ and this project definitely lived up to that motto.” 

ICM completed construction of the new liquid coolant system in May 2022. Four pipefitters were regularly on site, with seven pipefitters used during the peak of construction. 

The way of the future

“Rocket science” technology development projects like this are critical since they can lead to vastly improved speeds and fuel efficiency for new jet engines supporting commercial, military and space flights – a feat that could positively impact millions of people. 

As a result of installing the new liquid coolant system, Reaction Engines has been able to expand the operational envelope of its heat exchanger technology, further validating its unique offering to the aerospace industry and beyond. 

Clint Thurston is a Project Manager at Industrial Contractors/Managers, Inc (ICM), a Colorado-based industrial contractor specializing in steel and concrete structures, heavy moving and rigging, machinery installation, modification and maintenance, and more. 

The history of railroad construction has no shortage of stunning and defining feats that can be attributed to our insatiable need to expand and conquer new frontiers.  During the latter part of the 19th century, this need came to fruition in a massive expansion of railroads, particularly along the Western frontier.  Although the “West” is typically portrayed culturally as a product of places like Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, the western border of the United States also represented the western border of Arkansas in 1880.  The first railroad didn’t enter Northwest Arkansas until May of 1881 when the first passenger train arrived in Rogers.  Part of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad (Frisco), the proposed line between Monett, Missouri and Fort Smith, Arkansas would further advance the company’s transcontinental dreams.  Construction on this new line began in the last months of 1880, progressing rapidly south into Northwest Arkansas.  

One month later, in June of 1881, the first train arrived in Fayetteville.  It was greeted by throngs of cheering spectators–and even a brass band–at Fayetteville’s Dickson Street Station.  For the spectators that day, and for countless others throughout the region, the coming of the railroad represented a new horizon of possibilities.  After being devastated by frequent clashes during the American Civil War, Northwest Arkansas lagged behind adjacent regions in terms of its economic and cultural development.  Thus, after failed attempts to do so prior, the coming of the Frisco Railroad to Northwest Arkansas generated a shockwave of excitement through the region.  This excitement was palpable–after all, estimations were that the line connecting the region to Fort Smith would be finished before the year was out.  Railroad and construction officials estimated that trains would be running through Fort Smith and into Texas before the end of 1881.  

Despite the significant challenges that stood between Fayetteville and Fort Smith, construction company press releases were confident in this timeline, and, as work began on extending the roadbed south of Fayetteville, crews also began carving out a 1,600-foot tunnel beneath the Ozark divide.  Challenges in the tunnel’s construction led to the first delay in the project as the end of 1881 would yield little luck for the crews.  South of the Ozark divide and the town of Winslow, the Frisco line would run into another engineering challenge that increased construction costs and led to dangerous working conditions.  After tunneling 1,600-feet through the Ozark divide, crews would then have to construct three trestle bridges of significant size.  The first of these trestle bridges, which sits about a mile south of the Winslow tunnel, sits 117-feet above the stream below.  This massive trestle bridge along with the other two, which are each shorter than the last from North to South, formed a section of railway that sits at an average incline of 113-feet per mile.

Despite predictions that the line would be completed by the end of 1881, challenges with tunnel construction and disease soon took their toll.  By the last months of 1881, work was faltering on the tunnel, and a decision had to be made about the continuation of the project.  In November 1881, the decision was made to double the workforce for the tunnel and construct a temporary “shoofly” railroad.  This temporary zigzag railroad was a unique innovation not necessarily in concept, but in the tremendous skill in which it took to create.  This treacherous section of railroad took only a few months to complete, and allowed work to continue south of the tunnel where the three massive trestle bridges were being erected.  Although challenges in the tunnel’s construction extended the initial deadline, the construction of this temporary railroad minimized the overall impact.

Despite persistent challenges in tunneling, the temporary railroad meant that work could continue on the vital structures further south.  While the tunnel itself posed unique challenges, the ability to adapt work meant that the three massive trestle bridges were finished at nearly the same time as the tunnel.  The Frisco line through Northwest Arkansas was open and running services by August of 1882.  Although initial predictions failed to account for the challenges in tunnel construction, the ability to adapt and overcome was a large reason for the continuation of construction.  With the Frisco line open, Northwest Arkansas entered into an era of prosperity in which the railroad provided a crucial link in expanding industry and commerce.

In many cases, the GEOWEB Geocells offer a flexible, durable, and environmentally responsible alternative to traditional construction materials that can accommodate a wide range of infill materials, including soil, aggregate, or concrete, to establish hard or soft armor, as necessary, for protection as well as aesthetics. As we explore the capabilities of the GEOWEB Geocells, we will find that this solution not only addresses some of today’s most pressing infrastructure challenges but also paves the way toward a more resilient and sustainable future.

Improving Bridge Resilience with the GEOWEB Geocells at the I-90 Mississippi River Bridge

Bridge stability relies heavily on the long-term integrity of its abutments. Any vulnerability or weakness in these components can lead to structural failure with a potentially disastrous outcome. Therefore, prioritizing the design and construction of resilient abutments is crucial to ensure the stability and longevity of bridges.

In 2013, the I-90 Mississippi River Bridge, or the Dresbach Bridge, underwent a significant reconstruction project led by SRF Consultants. The aim was to replace the old bridge on the Wisconsin/Minnesota border and improve the interchange between Highway 61/14 and I-90 to enhance traffic safety and provide better access for motorists.

The GEOWEB System played a crucial role in two different applications. The GEOWEB sections (4-inch-depth, mid-sized cell) were utilized on slopes directly beneath the bridges and around structural supports, ranging from 2H:1V to 1.5H:1V, with heights up to 45 feet. These sections, filled with aggregate, were custom-produced in a tan color selected to blend in with the local aggregate color, improving visual aesthetics. Standard black GEOWEB sections  (6-inch-depth, mid-sized cell) were used around the bridge abutments on slopes varying from 2.5H:1V to 3.5H:1V, reaching heights of up to 48 feet. These sections were filled with topsoil and covered with an erosion control blanket to support vegetation.

To secure the GEOWEB sections to the slopes, 18″ ATRA® Anchors were employed, with the anchor pattern adjusted to suit different slope characteristics, section depth, and infill material. The Presto Geosystems engineering team provided calculations and recommendations for anchor spacing in each of the 11 application areas.

The implementation of the GEOWEB Soil Stabilization System in the Dresbach Bridge project was completed in the fall of 2016. This versatile system continues to provide robust slope protection, offering benefits for both aesthetics and long term project resilience. The Dresbach Bridge project serves as a testament to the versatility and effectiveness of the GEOWEB System in achieving slope stabilization and erosion control objectives around a vital piece of US transportation infrastructure.

Fortifying the Roadway Embankment along River Road in Lewiston, Maine

Roadway embankments are another critical component of transportation infrastructure that face similar challenges. Erosion, washouts, and landslides can all lead to road failure, posing significant safety risks and disruptive repair costs. To protect against these risks, the GEOWEB Soil Stabilization System adds a valuable layer of protection. The three-dimensional honeycomb-like structure confines infill materials and protects slopes from sheet flow runoff, washouts, and shallow translational failures that can occur during and following major storm events. 

River Road in Lewiston, Maine, faced a similar challenge due to its steep 1:1 slope and heavy traffic, including constant truck flow. To ensure the long-term safety and integrity of the road, the River Road Reconstruction project was initiated, which included pavement reconstruction, shoulder widening, and construction of a stabilized vegetated slope, among other upgrades.

One significant hurdle was constructing a 45-degree vegetated slope, with the risk of erosion heightened during spring seasons due to rainfall and snowmelt. To maintain the slope’s stability and the road’s integrity, the GEOWEB Vegetated Slope Protection System was chosen for soil stabilization and erosion control.

The system’s installation process utilized geogrid lifts for enhanced slope stabilization. The 3D cellular GEOWEB system, combined with a tendon system, held the topsoil in place on the steep slope, enabling sustainable vegetation growth and mitigating severe erosion risk.

The GEOWEB system was filled with rocks at the slope’s toe for a strong foundation, with larger rocks on top for added support. Moving upwards, cells were filled with topsoil and covered with a turf reinforcement mat to promote grass growth, demonstrating the pivotal role of the GEOWEB geocells in providing stability, soil confinement, and vegetation support.

A Step Forward in Sustainable Infrastructure

In the face of modern infrastructure challenges, civil engineers need solutions that are not only resilient but also sustainable. GEOWEB Geocells provide a dynamic response to these demands. They offer significant benefits in terms of durability, adaptability, and environmental consciousness, making them an optimal choice for modern bridge and roadway embankment projects.

The previously signalized intersection at US Route 15/17/29 and Business US Route 15/17/29 in Fauquier County, Virginia, experienced a high volume of crashes, caused traffic delays for a growing community, and did not provide accommodations for pedestrian or bicycle traffic. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) selected design-build contractor Shirley Contracting Company, LLC (Shirley) and design service firm Dewberry to design and construct a solution that would alleviate the cumbersome congestion and safety concerns. With Lord Fairfax Drive to the east and Business US Route 15/17/29 to the west, the $19.7-million design-build project kicked off in 2018 and opened to traffic in 2020. 

The design team used Bentley’s OpenRoads technology in all aspects of the project, which allowed for real-world contextualization of the project site and elements in a 3D deliverable. The software was used to develop a 3D model for the construction phase of the project, and the team harnessed its capabilities during the design-build procurement and final design development phases. This included quickly developing limits of construction and quantities estimates for Shirley during the development of the requests for proposal (RFP) concept, and analyzing a multi-stage traffic control diversion with grade changes
of up to 30 feet. 

Challenges and Sustainability

While every design-build and complex transportation project comes with its own unique challenges, learning a new technology presents a major obstacle for this project. The team attended forums and training sessions on 3D deliverables to better understand how the use of this technology would impact the project, VDOT, and its stakeholders. 

In addition to utilizing new technology, the Warrenton Southern Interchange project involved positive sustainable impacts. In designing the interchange, we provided enhancements that allowed for removal of extraneous existing pavement to maintain a phosphorus removal requirement of less than 10 pounds per year. This included reducing the proposed pavements, maximizing the use of existing pavements, and relocating the proposed park-and-ride lot within the existing roadway. Our unique design concept also reduced disturbance to forested areas by approximately 85,000 square feet when compared to the RFP design. 

This project was located within the Journey Through Hallowed Ground (JTHG) National Heritage Area. As part of their mission to preserve the cultural landscape of this region, the Living Legacy Project aims to honor fallen soldiers of the American Civil War by planting one tree for each of the 620,000 soldiers who gave their lives. Our design was able to provide 70,000 feet of landscaping, developed by our landscape architects in accordance with the Living Legacy Project’s tree palette for the project’s character zone. 

Providing these sustainable enhancements had its challenges, requiring coordination with the town of Warrenton, VDOT, and the JTHG to determine a cohesive final design that met the desires of each stakeholder. In the end, everyone’s objectives were met through innovative design concepts and approaches. 

Breakthroughs and Awards

Shortly after the Warrenton Southern Interchange project was complete, VDOT requested that Dewberry participate in the Industry 3D Task Force. In this, our engineers worked with VDOT to offer their perspectives on Virginia’s expectations of their consultants. Through many correspondences, Dewberry helped define what 3D deliverables and model management will look like in Virginia for years to come.

In addition, the project was used as an example of innovation within the design-build process during the University of Virginia’s 2018 session of the Transportation Project Management Institute and selected for a Merit Award at the Virginia American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Engineering Excellence Awards in 2022. 

Inclusive of the time taken to master the new software, the design team achieved plan approval within 12 months of notice to proceed. This success continued through construction as the team received the highest Construction Quality Control Program (CQIP) score at the time (94.38 on a 100 point scale), and a Design-Builder Performance Evaluation (DBPE) of a 4.0. Additionally, the project has provided the firm exciting new opportunities for growth in the region. 

Carl is a senior associate and roadway department manager for Dewberry’s mid-Atlantic transportation group. He has been a full-time employee since January 2009 and is currently licensed in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Carl was selected as one of ENR’s Mid-Atlantic Top Young Professionals in 2021. 

Carl Kaczmarek is a senior associate and roadway department manager for Dewberry’s mid-Atlantic transportation group. He has been a full-time employee since January 2009 and is currently licensed in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Carl was selected as one of ENR’s Mid-Atlantic Top Young Professionals in 2021. 

The smart building market continues to grow, with expectations that it will be a $304.3 billion market by 2032, reports Market.US. Yet once in operation, many building owners find these investments don’t live up to their promise. Instead, smart building sensors become one more burden to maintain. This difference between expectation and a positive ROI often lies in the implementation of smart building technology. 

A smart building isn’t the result of installing more sensors and adding more intelligent systems. It’s the result of a strategy that begins with understanding the desired user experiences, is followed by choosing the right technology to deliver those experiences, and ends with delivering that experience through a platform that integrates building systems. With the right systems and appropriate integration, systems are ultimately easier for owners to use and maintain. The right systems integrated with the right software can aggregate data that helps building owners make more informed decisions. Engineers can help achieve this level of system interoperability by bringing technology infrastructure earlier into design conversations.

Define system integration based on end-user experience 

MEP systems are often at the center of smart building performance, which makes it critical that engineers be involved in early discussions on integration. However, these discussions should focus less on specific systems and more on the experience the building owner wants to create for building occupants. This big picture perspective can help identify the appropriate technologies to install, and the level of integration required to achieve the targeted end-user experience. 

The SPIRE Smart Buildings Program by UL, an independent assessment and rating program for smart buildings, identifies six key building experiences enhanced by smart systems:

Power and energy: In addition to tracking and analyzing energy use, integrated systems support grid interoperability and help manage distributed energy resources.

Health and wellbeing: These systems manage indoor air quality and thermal comfort, control light and noise, ensure potable water, and reduce odors. 

Life safety and property security: Integrated systems can enhance situational awareness and emergency communications. 

Connectivity: In addition to ensuring accessibility, integrated systems can bolster security, extend coverage, and operate more resiliently.

Cybersecurity: Integrated systems can more proactively identify threats and protect, detect, respond, and speed recovery. Good cybersecurity hygiene is a must for hyper connected buildings.

Sustainability: This goal becomes much easier to achieve with systems that ensure metrics established by leading global sustainability programs are being met.

Improvements in any one of these areas can lower a building’s operating costs, among other benefits. However, performance can degrade over time. This is particularly true of complex systems that may require ongoing monitoring or add to maintenance demands. This performance drop can be prevented with a more holistic approach to smart building design. 

When design teams plan systems based on use cases for each type of building user, they can reduce the potential for system and infrastructure duplication. This can actually reduce complexity and cost and  makes it easier to maintain system performance over the life of the building. However, the deeper the integration required, the more complex this work becomes. It is here where smart building goals tend to lose momentum.

A smarter strategy for achieving smart buildings

When great technology is poorly installed and maintained, it contributes to the perception that there’s a problem with the technology itself. An experienced smart building design partner can help overcome this perception and ensure owner-defined benefits are achieved. These experts can help identify opportunities to maximize system value. They can also work with the design team to create the technical documentation required to define how these systems must connect. 

In an ideal situation, project partners would hire a smart building design specialist known as a Master Service Provider (MSP) to write Division 25 documentation, which clearly specifies the level of integration required between every piece of smart hardware and software to be installed in a facility. This documentation would include details on systems from life safety to lighting control, irrigation control, building automation, audio-visual systems, and security systems, as well as details on low voltage network cabling. This document would also explain how these systems interact with one another. 

The next critical step is to encourage owners to move away from a traditional design-bid-build approach. The integration of smart building systems and installation of low voltage systems requires specialized skill. Because smart buildings use materials that may be different from what contractors are familiar with, it can be beneficial to require early involvement from qualified systems integrators and electrical contractors. This can secure more appropriate bids that ensure owner investments are going where they can provide the most amount of value. 

An MSP can work with a general contractor to find and vet a Master Service Integrator (MSI) with the skill sets needed to achieve your defined level of integration. A certified MSI with experience installing low voltage networks can ensure you deliver the high-end integrated experience owners expect.

In addition, these complex system designs may require advanced coordination with code officials. For example, electrical designers may need to coordinate with code officials before designing to switch to low-voltage DC power. 

Obstacles to smarter buildings 

System duplication, increased costs, and poor performance are typical results when upfront integration is omitted. This was the result for a Texas utility that made the decision to invest in a low voltage lighting system. The owner’s goal was to reduce its energy usage and gain the ability to connect lighting to building systems such as window shade controls, among others. During this journey, it encountered a great deal of frustration as the contractors hired for the project lacked experience with smart lighting systems and how to navigate the complexities of integrating lighting with other building systems.

Low voltage Power over Ethernet (PoE) lighting systems are gaining traction but, as this utility learned, still remain somewhat misunderstood. These systems reduce energy usage by eliminating the power loss that occurs at every LED lighting fixture where AC power is converted back to DC.  The systems also extend the life of LED fixtures. When done well, low voltage systems also lower initial construction costs by shifting lighting to a PoE system that uses Category 6 cable, rather than more expensive line voltage electrical wiring. 

Shifting lighting systems to low voltage networks opens the possibility to use the lighting system as a hub for a Building Internet of Things (BIoT) network because PoE cabling can work double duty as a data connection system. This can provide powerful, cost-effective opportunities to integrate a wide range of systems. However, in this particular case, some of the infrastructure needed to support traditional line voltage lighting solutions remained in place, inflating the overall cost of the project. 

Problems mounted during the installation phase. Following the traditional design-bid-build process, the approved smart lighting network design moved to the general contractor, who hired an electrical contractor without experience installing low voltage systems. Because a year and a half had passed between design and installation, technology had changed. The outdated equipment installed by the electrical contractor led to months of connectivity issues, until the hardware could be replaced and the system reprogrammed.  

Stronger advanced coordination between the architect, engineer, and smart building network designer might have prevented these issues. An integrated design-build team could have the conversations early about the need to use a qualified and experienced smart lighting network installer. Without an integrated team, the smart building integrations were bound to fail. 

A smarter strategy for achieving smart buildings

It’s tempting to believe that more systems lead to smarter buildings. The truth is that an overabundance of complex systems can have the opposite effect. Without effective system integration, more systems can overwhelm building owners and managers. A truly smart building uses less infrastructure to connect more critical building systems together in a single view of system operation. 

While these integrated systems may shift portions of the electrical design that engineers are used to overseeing, it’s a shift that allows all parties to increase the value they provide to clients. Stronger integration helps all systems perform better.

ABOUT DREW DEATHERAGE, ESS/RTPM

Drew has spent more than 25 years innovating in the telecommunications and security industries. He works tirelessly for clients, identifying and tapping into emerging trends to design solutions that solve critical challenges. His experience with network infrastructure, physical and electronic security, and specialized low-voltage systems enables him to expertly advise on risk mitigation, lifecycle management, and master planning.

Of the top 30 most populous cities, Fort Worth is the fastest growing, at 4.1 percent population growth since 2020 and the largest numeric population gain of any US city in 2022, according to the US Census Bureau. With that, there are many City of Fort Worth, TxDOT and developer-driven projects under way to meet population demands and improve the city’s infrastructure. Located on the Northside of Fort Worth, Alliance Town Center, a new shopping, entertainment, and residential development, is an example of the outward expansion spurred by the population boom. This growth created the need for expanded infrastructure and was the driver behind the 2018 City Bond for Streets and Mobility Improvements.

In order to handle the expected traffic flow in the rapidly growing Alliance Town Center area, the City determined that the two mile span of Harmon Road (a main thoroughfare in the vicinity) between US287 and Golden Triangle Blvd needed to be expanded from a two-lane roadway to a four-lane road with turn lanes and three integral roundabouts at major intersections with 10-foot-wide shared use sidewalks. Initially, the project was intended to be a public hard bid traditional selection, however after partnering with McCarthy Building Companies on a major infrastructure project (Hemphill Street Connector) near downtown that successfully demonstrated the benefits of Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) delivery method, the City decided to use CMAR for the Harmon Road project procurement – awarding the work to McCarthy Building Companies’ Southern Region Civil Business Unit. 

Stakeholder and Construction 

CMAR delivery enables the owner, contractor, and engineer to align and work in partnership from early engagement through construction delivery, providing the best outcome for the client, community, and stakeholders. The first significant challenge of the project was sequencing construction to best fit the project constraints while taking into consideration stakeholders along the project corridor (developers, residents, businesses) as well as City Council directives on closing major and minor intersections. The main planning focal points were the phasing of roundabouts at Presidio Vista, Heritage Trace, and Golden Triangle intersections along with two water main tie-ins during the low demand season. The team worked together to prepare their approach to the critical intersections and tie-ins for key stakeholder and City Council approval–providing numerous phasing options with timelines and cost analysis for performing the roundabouts in complete closures, half closures, and quarters. Each sequence ranged from three months out to more than nine months. Stakeholders advised the team to proceed with a variety of closures subject to traffic detour impacts. Presidio Vista was to be constructed in halves, Heritage Trace in thirds (the west half as a full roadway closure and the east half split into two quarter closures) and lastly Golden Triangle in halves. 

Knowing the sequence required for each roundabout, the team created a detailed eight-phased plan. The existing roadway alignment provided a unique obstacle to the eight phases. The roadway from US287 to Heritage Trace existed on the future southbound lanes and the roadway from Heritage Trace north to Golden Triangle was on the future northbound lanes, causing a switch over at the Heritage Trace intersection. The crews had green fields alongside the existing roadways to begin construction without impacting normal traffic flows. Working both northbound and southbound lanes simultaneously, the project was able to progress the critical path through the roundabouts and utility tie-ins. 

With each roundabout being completed in its own phase, Golden Triangle Boulevard brought the team the second substantial challenge in overall sequencing and planning – two main transmission waterlines servicing countless residents would need to be tied-in under a 48-hour shutdown window. Construction started March of 2021 and was to be completed by early summer of 2023 – leaving the team with one low demand season, December 1^st to March 1^st.

Shortly after the notice to proceed was issued in March of 2021, three winter snowstorms within a two-week period crippled Texas roadways and electricity grid, shutting down supplier businesses and deliveries which multiplied pandemic-related supply issues. The storm caused unexpected timeline delays, greatly increasing lead times on various materials. The critical path of the project started in Phase 1 which was driven by the installation of various large storm drainage box culverts. Due to the storm impacts, the original material delivery was pushed out by a minimum of 11 weeks.

The project team was able to mitigate critical impacts to the overall project schedule by shifting phases and working on the Heritage roundabout which had minimal storm piping. This allowed the overall sequencing to change but still maintain the optimal window for the Golden Triangle utility tie-in. 

Water Works

The construction of Golden Triangle’s two main water transmission lines – Water Line A (24-inch water main) and Water Line B (36-inch water main) was a critical operation due to the complexities presented by the intersection itself. The two water mains had to be connected by a 36-inch butterfly valve inside a cast-in-place concrete vault – in the middle of an active intersection. Due to the Project’s phasing constraints, the operation was broken into two subparts to ensure traffic continued to flow smoothly along Harmon Road. Phase A constructed the Water Line A segment along Harmon Road from north to south splitting the existing intersection in half at the vault. Sequentially, Phase B constructed  Water Line B from the vault westbound along  Golden Triangle Boulevard. The team excavated, laid pipe, and constructed the vault for Phase A over a month starting in September of 2022. Quickly, the team swapped traffic control to construct the Phase B segment. It was critical that both phases be completed for the low-demand season due to one 48-hour window being allotted for the tie-in of both mainlines. 

Due to Water Line A tie-in point to Line B laying under existing pavement higher than the future roadway cut, the team had to excavate from existing ground 19-feet down to make the tie-in at the center of the future roundabout. This alone added a safety challenge and encompassed daily verification that the excavation remained sound,  verification of elevations at the current roadway, and addition of concrete traffic barriers (CTB) and asphalt to allow the public to commute past the work area with a buffer layer. At the time of the tie-in, all locations were excavated and ready to go once the city shut down the valves. Three different crews rotated between each tie-in location cutting, laying, and welding in the new pipe. The lines were pressurized and active under the 48-hour window, making this a pivotal moment for the Harmon Road Project’s overall success.  

CMAR – A Group Effort for Best Outcomes

As the project progressed over the next year, the crowded corridor continued to acquire new stakeholders and third-party developments performing their own construction work alongside the Harmon Road Project. Numerous developments–fire stations, expansions of apartment complexes, fast food franchises, and more–began construction and or entered a design phase while the Harmon Road Project pushed onward towards substantial completion. 

Coordination with franchise utilities became essential to ensure the project was able to continue without impacting the critical path. The entire team had a part in the coordination from synchronizing designs with new developers, to working with utility franchises to ensure no damage was done to the newly constructed roadway, along with working together to sequence their scopes prior to placing final pavement. Each party had a unique approach to accommodate what best worked for their project–from site walks to weekly calls for status updates, to helping excavate or holding back a pour to ensure the teams–both Harmon Road and the third parties could perform the necessary work needed to sustain the growth occurring along the roadway. 

Throughout the project, the construction team was able to work through ambiguities and challenges because of the teams collaboration and risk mitigation strategies within CMAR delivery method: 

• coordinating multiple stakeholders, businesses, and residents 
• mitigating unknown and/or unforeseen conditions 
• maneuvering through a highly phased project 
• leading the success of both public and private development alongside franchise utility relocations adjacent to the work 
• supporting the community through ongoing communication efforts
• McCarthy mitigating risks via allowances and contingencies and led as a partner and advocate to City of Fort Worth due to the project conditions
• continual communication efforts with the client and engineering team.

While overcoming the many unique challenges of this project, the team completed it on schedule with over half a million dollars in shared savings and unspent budgets. 

Riley Seahorn, Assoc. DBIA, is a project manager with McCarthy Building Companies Southern Region.

Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) issues a report card that grades America’s infrastructure. In the latest edition, the nation scored a C- on the overall assessment, indicating that while overall these systems are in fair condition, they exhibit deficiencies and increasing vulnerabilities. Roads, in particular, scored a D on the report, meaning they are, by and large, below standard and approaching the end of their service life. In an explanation of the grade, ASCE states that 43 percent of public roadways are in poor or mediocre condition. 

As the nation looks for ways to improve this assessment for the 2025 report card, it is important for repairs and rehabilitation projects to consider long-term resiliency as an essential feature. In doing so, these improvements will not only raise the grade in the short-term but also create infrastructure that will remain fit for the future with minimal maintenance. One way to bolster the overall resilience of a roadway is to assess the stability and quality of soil beneath it. 

Lightweight aggregates made from expanded shale, clay or slate (ESCS) can improve soil conditions to help roadways and bridges remain structurally viable for years to come. Likewise, ESCS can positively impact adjacent infrastructure systems that also need improvement such as energy and water (drinking, waste and storm), both of which were graded to be at risk for failure. As such, this material can be one of many “strategic investments” recommended to improve the
nation’s infrastructure.

Lightweight aggregates improve soil conditions

ESCS lightweight aggregates are produced by heating the raw materials in a rotary kiln to temperatures over 1000 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, air bubbles form and remain as the aggregate cools to create a network of unconnected voids. These voids reduce the weight of ESCS to approximately one-half of other common fills. They also contribute to a predictably high internal friction angle, which can reduce lateral loads by more than one-half. Further, because ESCS is free draining, it can withstand erosion caused by flooding or excessive rainfall. Combined, these qualities help soft soils become more stable so they can withstand live loads without settling.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) understood these benefits when it started improvements to the I-295 to ROUTE 42 to I-76 direct connection in Camden County. The site needed a backfill that would minimize settlement and reduce loads in embankment areas and behind mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls. Further, the material used was needed to meet the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) requirements for flood hazard areas as well as freshwater and tidal wetlands. ESCS helped stabilize the soil. It is also free draining and chemically inert, so it helped this project improve soil conditions while minimizing the environmental impact of the project.

Similarly, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) used ESCS to improve two bridge approaches by utilizing the soil stabilization capabilities of ESCS. The projects needed to improve the load bearing capabilities of the alluvial muck and loose, silty fine to coarse sand to ensure the project would stay structurally viable for future use. Because ESCS reduced the lateral forces acting on the embankments and the overall vertical loads on the soft soils beneath, it improved the bridge approaches’ ability to resist settling.

Increases MSE wall performance

Stabilizing poor soils is just one aspect of road improvement. ESCS can also improve the ability of MSE walls to maintain steep slopes. It does so by reducing the weight of backfill from approximately 100 pounds per cubic foot (pcf) to between 55 and 60 pcf, compacted, and by increasing the internal stability/shear strength of the soil to be between 40 and 46 degrees (compared to gravel’s 33 to 40 degrees).

These qualities helped reduce the lateral load forces exerted on MSE walls in a Connecticut section of I-95. One goal for this project was to increase the load accommodations from 40,000 vehicles per day from its original 1958 design to its current capacity—an excess of 140,000 vehicles per day. By utilizing over 100,000 cubic yards of ESCS, this rehabilitation project helped create a resilient section of a well-traveled portion of the interstate without having to build additional support systems for the MSE structures.

However, soil stabilization and improving the structural performance of MSE walls are not mutually exclusive. To alleviate congestion at an interchange between I-10, Bluebonnet Boulevard and Siegen Lane, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LaDOTD) sought to create a robust and intricate interchange. While an MSE retaining wall seemed to be a promising solution, the project’s geotechnical consultant discovered that due to the low bearing capacity of the area soils, the critical height for these walls would be around 22 feet.

Building above this height with normal weight backfill would result in unacceptable settlements—a major challenge given some of the proposed walls approached heights of nearly 40 feet. ESCS lightweight aggregate reduced the structure’s vertical pressure on the soil, allowing the walls to reach the proposed heights without substantial risk. 

Reduced pressure on buried pipelines

In addition to contributing to resilient roadways, ESCS can also benefit adjacent infrastructure systems including water, sewage and gas pipelines. When looking at these systems alone, ESCS can be a cost-effective alternative to expensive pile and cradle systems as well as sideline risks of conventional fills sloughing off and allowing pipelines to settle and crack. The key to the benefits is the material’s lightweight nature as it reduces pressure on the pipes and the materials under them.

As such, ESCS lightweight aggregate can be a solution for road rehabilitation projects that sit on top of underground pipelines. For example, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) constructed 3 new lanes along the southbound US Highway 31 in central Indiana. While the task was simple on the surface, the Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Company had buried gas lines approximately 33 feet below the project site. To help alleviate increased vertical load issues, INDOT replaced the in-place soil with ESCS lightweight aggregate.

Likewise, designers of a major interchange in Birmingham, Ala., used ESCS to reduce the weight exerted on a buried concrete box culvert. This drainage system is 20 feet underground and needed a significant amount of fill materials to bring it up to grade. Due to ESCS lightweight aggregates’ density and high angle of internal friction, the material significantly reduced the vertical pressure the nearly 2,500-foot drainage system would need to withstand, alleviating concerns that the project may crack the culvert.

Looking below to improve the surface

While most people’s experience of roads ends with the pavement that touches their vehicle’s tires, a key consideration for long-term resiliency is what’s under the street. The soil beneath the nation’s roads should resist settling due to increased traffic loads, higher water handling demands resulting from the increased frequency of severe weather events and other causes of settlement. Because ESCS lightweight aggregates weigh nearly half as much as conventional fills and have a high angle of internal friction, they can reduce vertical and lateral pressures to enhance the stability of soils and MSE walls. Further, because it is chemically inert and free draining, this material can withstand the demands of projects in areas prone to flooding and heavy rainfall.

As the referenced case studies demonstrate, the benefits of ESCS are not merely theoretical. Departments of Transportation across the country have been using this material for years because it provides long-term value to infrastructure projects. As the industry nears the next ASCE report card, ESCS could be an efficient means for improving the nation’s grade in road, water and energy infrastructure.

Jody Wall, P.E., LEED AP has been involved in many lightweight innovations since joining Stalite 23 years ago. Jody served as Chairman of the Board of the Expanded Shale Clay and Slate Association, Chairman of ASTM Subcommittee C9.21, Chairman of the National Concrete Masonry Association- Acceptable Workmanship Committee and Chairman of Board of Directors of the Southeast Concrete Masonry Association. Jody’s areas of interest include energy efficiency, structural design and production optimization.

The US underground construction industry is booming. 

Back in November 2021, President Biden signed into law a new $1.2tn (£895bn) infrastructure bill that has uplifted the prospects of construction players across the country. Described as a “once-in-a-generation” initiative, the bill helps to pave the way for a variety of ambitious projects.

Chief among these is the new railroad tunnel set to be built under the Hudson River that will connect New York and New Jersey as part of Amtrack’s Gateway Program, while the bill has also renewed talk of connecting New York and Boston with a high-speed, 16-mile
railroad tunnel. 

However, there are many similar flagship projects scattered across several states that are also coming to fruition.

The $6 billion Second Avenue Subway Phase II project is also currently underway in New York, while Baltimore is set to benefit from both the $6 billion Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel Replacement and $10 billion Superconducting Maglev Project – Northeast Corridor project. Meanwhile, over on the West Coast, the $5.5 billion Silicon Valley Santa Clara Extension and $12-15 billion BART 2nd Transbay Tube continue to capture headlines in California, while Texas is set to benefit from its own $1.7 billion D2 Subway in Dallas. 

With that said, not all underground structures currently being built in the US are designed for large scale transportation purposes.

The state of Washington is coming under pressure to address the impacts that man made structures are having on several endangered species of salmon, paving the way for the construction of several small tunnels that provide the fish free passage to migrate to the sea and back inland to spawn.

Back in California, meanwhile, to address the threat of tree branches falling on power lines and creating forest fires, Pacific Gas and Electric has outlined plans to bury 10,000 miles of distribution and transmission lines in California at a cost of $15-30 billion. 

Taking a new approach to underground construction

In every one of these projects, the sums involved are astronomical–and that presents a significant opportunity for innovation and
industry disruption. 

For well over a century, approaches to underground construction have broadly remained the same, involving the use of tunnel boring machines (TBMs). However, this conventional practice of excavation and building comes with risk, complexity and cost, as well as a heavy carbon footprint.

If we consider Pacific Gas and Electric’s own commitment, burying lines underground currently costs $1 million per mile – this is significantly more costly than hanging lines overhead, and only increases further in more difficult terrain, such as mountainous areas. 

Finding ways in which to make the United States’ many new underground construction projects more affordable is therefore vital. 

Thankfully, technological advances promise to make the construction, extension, repair, and maintenance of underground structures significantly faster, cheaper, safer, less disruptive, and more environmentally friendly.  

Indeed, one method involves the use of swarm robotics and in-situ construction to offer the underground construction industry more options besides the traditional processes. 

This new method is described as follows. First, pilot bores are drilled and lined, and robots sent inside to inspect the geology. Core samples are taken, and the geology is scanned using ground penetrating radar (GPR). The result is a near perfect understanding of the entire tunnel length’s geology.

Using this data, a virtual model of the tunnel structure is developed: the digital twin. With AI and machine learning, the optimum build schedule can be designed to create a sound structure in the geology.

Once the structure profile is defined, a swarm of inexpensive bots is sent into the grid of lined bores to visit planned locations in order to drill and deploy chemistry according to the AI-generated design. Thousands of robots will be used, all controlled using swarm technology to 3D print the tunnel in much the same way that bees build a hive or termites build a mound.

The ‘bots carve precise chambers in the geology and these voids are then filled with suitable construction material. The cast, in-situ blocks interlock to create a permanent structure, block by block. The initial survey robots come back to inspect the construction, ensuring that the chemical has spread evenly and precisely matches the
digital twin design.

After a full structural inspection and geophysical scan has been completed, the underground space is then excavated, with no human underground intervention required at any point. In this sense, where the traditional method entails digging a hole and then building the structure, this approach sees the structure built first and the
hole dug afterwards.

The interior walls are prepared for final use, leaving a smart structure that can be monitored and maintained throughout its life.

The many merits of novel methods

Not only is this ultra-high-tech in-situ construction approach scalable, making it suitable for small- and large-scale projects alike, but it also offers several major advantages. 

Costs are far lower than alternative building methods because construction takes place across the entire structure at the same time, dramatically enhancing productivity and reducing project  times.

Here, the use of robots is also key. Operating in parallel, they ensure many processes are performed simultaneously working throughout the structure all at the same time. This means that the duration of construction is determined by the number of bots deployed rather than by the length and difficulty of work alone. If projects need to be completed at speed, more bots can be deployed to
accelerate the process.

This construction method typically uses less energy, materials, and water, too, while waste and pollution are equally minimized. And that also goes for repair and remediation works. In addition, worksites are smaller, while the spoil from the tunnel interior is uncontaminated and therefore easier to use locally without processing.

Project risk is also reduced, and safety greatly enhanced. Until now, understanding ground conditions ahead of major works in detail has been extremely difficult, yet not knowing what you’re dealing with until you start digging can present major problems. This innovative approach provides geological certainty. 

It’s also an ideal solution when direct access from above ground isn’t possible or desirable for a new build or repair, such as in urban and highly built-up areas. The robots access the structure remotely so that critical infrastructure such as roads or railways do not necessarily have to be closed during work. 

Where sensors are installed in the ground during construction, ongoing monitoring and repairs can be achieved via a live digital twin, enabling the robots to continuously gather data sets and enhance their understanding. Not only does this enable better asset lifecycle management, but also enhances the swarm of robot’s ability to make decisions in every other project undertaken thereafter. 

Real-world applications of innovative underground construction technologies

Moving away from conventional construction methods, innovative processes such as these will only serve to enhance project sustainability, lower costs, reduce time to complete, and mitigate key risks – advantages that are key at a time the demands on underground transport and facilities infrastructure continue to grow.

In my view, the future of underground construction will be driven by swarm robotics. But exactly how far along this journey are we at this present moment?

At hyperTunnel, we’ve created a dedicated test facility in Basingstoke (UK) that is running robots on a 24/7 basis to continuously perform accelerated life-cycle tests to observe AI system responses and tolerance testing.

Such progress has led to several key successes, propelling our ability to support real-world projects.

In late 2022, the world’s first entirely robot-constructed underground structure – a six meter-long, two meter-high and two meter-wide ‘pedestrian-scale’ tunnel – was developed at our R&D facility as part of a project for UK rail infrastructure owner and operator Network Rail. We are now currently surveying a site for Network Rail to populate a digital twin in planning for some repair works. 

Further, the European Innovation Council (EIC), Europe’s flagship innovation program, has also backed the technology with €1.88 million in funding through its Accelerator scheme, while financial investment from VINCI – a global leader in concessions, energy and construction businesses has also been received. hyperTunnel has also received a grant through Innovate UK– at the Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) in Wales.

Looking ahead, hyperTunnel is currently engaged with numerous construction companies in the US, as well as in Canada, India, Japan, the Middle East, and of course Europe and the UK. With an eye to the US specifically, the merits of more effective underground construction methods will only continue to be amplified as urban populations grow, demands on transport infrastructure heighten, environmental challenges expand, and the ability to overcome geological challenges becomes clearer.

Be it speed, safety, sustainability, or cost– the potential benefits are already huge, and continually growing. Indeed, without question, the time has come to turn attention to the next generation of
underground construction.

As the world faces increasingly frequent and intense natural disasters, ensuring the nation’s infrastructure is built to last has never been more important.  Natural disasters often occur concurrently or in rapid succession, making a multi-hazard approach essential.  By considering various types of disasters during the design and construction phase, infrastructure can be better prepared to withstand multiple threats, ensuring the safety of communities.  Additionally, selecting the right materials throughout the project is pivotal in enabling structures to withstand whatever Mother Nature may bring. 

Steel Hollow Structural Sections (HSS) emerge as a standout choice for fortifying infrastructure against natural disasters.  With their exceptional strength, ability to withstand substantial forces, inherent fire resistance, and corrosion-resistant options, HSS offer reliable protection for structures required to endure and recover from the impacts of natural disasters involving wind, flooding, fire, and seismic activity.  

Beyond their strength, HSS also contributes to sustainable and resilient practices.  Their use supports the circular economy, reduces strain on supply chains and conserves finite resources. This article will delve into the critical role that steel, particularly Hollow Structural Sections, play in fortifying infrastructure from damage due to natural disasters like hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes and other extreme environmental events.  It will also explore the broader significance of steel in sustainable building practices, highlighting the interplay between resilience and sustainability in infrastructure development.

The state of our nation’s infrastructure

One-third of the continental United States is considered a “hazard hotspot”, yet nearly 60 percent of structures in the United States are located in these hotspots.  Approximately  1.5 million buildings are located in hotspots with two or more hazards, leaving them vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters including floods, wildfires, tornadoes, earthquakes and hurricanes, according to a study from the American Geophysical Union.  Development in these areas continues to grow.    

In its most recent assessment of the nation’s bridges, the American Society of Civil Engineers found more than 46,000, or 7.5 percent, are structurally deficient. The collapse of the I-95 bridge in Philadelphia in June 2023 disrupted travel for an estimated 160,000 drivers per day, including 14,000 commercial trucks. Structural failures in the nation’s bridges also come with a higher cost: the deadliest bridge collapse in modern US history killed 46 people.

The cost to repair or replace outdated bridges in the U.S. is an estimated $125 billion. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law designates $40 billion toward bridge repair and reconstruction – the largest single investment in bridges since the Eisenhower era, yet not nearly enough to cover the needed repairs.

Based on data from insurance and property claim services, state agencies, the US. Army Corps of Engineers, and FEMA, damages due to weather and climate disasters in the US exceeded $165 billion in 2022 alone.   

Future-proofing buildings

While the use of Hollow Structural Sections won’t immunize a building or bridge from damage due to natural disasters, HSS do possess the highest strength-to-weight ratio of traditional construction materials and efficiently fortify against natural disasters.  The adaptability of HSS also allows for easier modifications and retrofits, catering to changing infrastructure needs. Retrofitting existing structures to meet updated codes is critical to improving community resilience. 

As structural engineers continue to focus on operational and embodied carbon, resilient building designs and products have become an integral part of any project’s effort to reduce emissions and future-proof its design. The U.S. Green Building Council’s RELi (Resilience and Environmental Leadership) standards emphasize integrating resilience measures into infrastructure projects, particularly in the face of natural disasters and climate change impacts.   These standards incorporate hazard mitigation, adaptive design, and community engagement, enabling infrastructure to better withstand and recover from natural disasters and climate change impacts, ensuring the safety and well-being of communities.  Furthermore, the RELi standards encourage the use of sustainable materials and environmentally sensitive design practices, promoting long-term sustainability and reducing the environmental impact of infrastructure projects.   By combining resilience and long-term sustainability, steel and HSS provide a holistic solution to infrastructure development that prioritizes both the immediate and long-term needs of communities in the face of natural disasters and environmental challenges.  

The benefits of HSS in construction and engineering

HSS possesses inherent properties that contribute to resilience throughout a structure’s life cycle.

Hazard preparedness and mitigation

The use of HSS is an ideal structural solution due to its strength and durability, helping withstand substantial forces and extreme environmental events.  HSS, along with other steel structural products, reduce concerns related to fire resistance, as steel is non-combustible, and can be coated or painted to protect against water damage, corrosion, and normal wear and tear – factors that can have a greater impact on the strength and durability of other building materials.

If damaged, HSS can be repaired using a method called hot bending, which involves using a direct flame or furnace to make the metal pliable, then bending the member to the desired radius. This method is commonly used to straighten bridge girders after structural damage occurs, reducing repair time, minimizing demands on strained supply chains, and reducing material sent to landfills. 

Sustainability and life cycle impact reductions

Structural steel production in the United States relies predominantly on electric arc furnaces (EAF).  These furnaces offer significant advantages over alternative methods for melting and refining steel.  Notably, EAFs are renowned for their superior efficiency, allowing for a more sustainable and resource-conscious manufacturing process.  By emphasizing the utilization of electric arc furnaces, the United States is taking significant strides toward a more sustainable steel industry.  This approach not only helps preserve natural resources, but also contributes to the global effort of mitigating climate change.

One of the most notable benefits of using electric arc furnaces is their significant contribution to recycling efforts.  Structural steel produced using electric arc furnaces boasts an impressive average recycled content of 93 percent. By utilizing scrap steel as their primary input, EAFs help reduce the dependence on raw materials extracted from the earth. 

Unlike concrete and wood, steel is also infinitely recyclable.  Once steel has outlived its initial life purpose, it can be fully recycled and transformed into other steel products repeatedly, without impacting its strength and durability.  In fact, 98% of structural steel is recycled at the end of its initial life. 

Steel is the most recycled material by weight in the world, significantly reducing the energy and carbon associated with creating virgin steel products from iron ore.  Additionally, due to their light weight relative to their high capacity, the use of Hollow Structural Sections can result in lighter buildings, with smaller foundations, as well as more efficient transportation.   These are just some of the reasons steel and HSS should be considered when designing for sustainability.

As the engineering industry embraces more sustainable standards and building practices, resilient building materials play an integral role. The use of HSS offers hazard preparedness, mitigation, and sustainability throughout the life cycle, delivering a holistic, sustainable solution through infrastructure that’s built to last.

Holly Schaubert, PE, serves as the HSS Director for Steel Tube Institute (STI). With an extensive 19 year career, including 16 years dedicated to the steel sector, Holly possesses a wealth of practical knowledge in the construction industry.  Prior to her role at STI, Holly held key positions in engineering, business development and leadership across 3 Nucor companies: Verco Decking, Nucor Building Systems and Vulcraft.   Holly is a graduate of Cornell University, where she earned both Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

In a time when business operations need to be optimized to meet the challenging conditions caused by supply chain upheavals, geopolitical conflicts, and environmental threats, more and more industries are turning to new digital solutions.      

It is clear that the practices of yesterday are not going to solve today’s problems. Innovation has always been a part of the construction industry, and digitalization represents another of these opportunities. 

The key now is to remove the obstacles to adoption for construction companies, such as digital literacy and ease of integration, to empower construction firms to embrace digital solutions and see the benefits from increased time efficiency, reduced resource waste, and perhaps most significantly, reduced carbon emissions thanks to a more streamlined workflow. 

Adopting technology in road construction and the place of 3D machine control 

In order for technology to be adopted by contractors, it must be effortless and impactful. This means it should be easy to introduce and scale and get the job done in less time, to a higher standard, and with the lowest risk to all parties. In the road construction industry, the implementation of 3D machine control systems is an innovation with the potential to meet these requirements. 

3D machine control systems in paving applications might also be referred to as “Stringless Paving”. Going “stringless” has the benefits of lower cost and time requirements, as well as improved safety of the road construction job site. On some projects where there is limited space, in tunnels or city centers, for example, 3D technology for paving is already a legal requirement. Unlike in the past when road paving teams had to wait for surveyors to scrutinize the project, now 3D project files can be prepared upfront in the office ready for on-site use thanks to digital machine control systems. The workflow from earthmoving to paving application is therefore seamless, the project time is reduced and the overall costs are lowered. 

To enjoy the full benefits of 3D machine control technology in road construction, the digital solutions should be integrated throughout each step of the project. This starts with preparing an even ground using 3D solutions, ensuring a correct slope and grade for CCR (cement concrete road) or CTB (cement treated base) pavements. This will save the more expensive hot mix asphalt or concrete in the later processes, economizing on resources and money. The best method to harness maximum benefit from 3D machine control solutions is therefore to apply it from the bottom up to see how the benefits and savings accrued from one stage can be applied to the next.

Overcoming the key obstacles and implementing digital solutions that work

Introducing new technology into a business can feel like a daunting process, especially when it requires change across a workflow. That’s not to say 3D machine control systems are something to be avoided or wary of. They simply need to be carefully considered to ensure the right technology partners are chosen to ensure that the best digital solutions are applied. 

Before any new tech can be put into action, construction companies must first consider several points: how the new technology might be integrated with existing systems, how it will be used and accepted by their employees, how it fits in with the long-term strategy and workflow of the company, and also how efficiently the technology can be deployed. Four key aspects impact the construction industry’s adoption of digital technology:

1. Workforce acceptance 

New technology transforms processes, but it also greatly impacts people. While it will be easy for some people to adapt to and to adopt digital technologies, it is not always the case across the whole workforce. It’s crucial to choose a technology provider who will help train employees so that they accept and, importantly, enjoy using the new technology. With the right training and as more tech is used, the barriers to adoption among the workforce will naturally start to decrease, allowing easier adoption of new technologies in the future.

2. Strategy is priority

Digitization is not often an immediate solution to a short-term problem. It is vital for construction companies to consider how prepared they are to change their workflow. Optimizing entire fleets with 3D machine control systems, for example, is a long-term strategy that affects the entire road construction workflow and requires serious strategic consideration.

3. IT Integration

The complexity and variety of data formats and interfaces can pose challenges when planning to start or expand technology investment. On top of this, there can be added confusion with the different data formats road contractors use stringline models and others opt for terrain models. Choosing a technology partner who can integrate their IT into either model is therefore essential when changing to 3D technology.

4. Deployment efforts

Once the appropriate tech solution is identified and the IT can be properly integrated into the company’s processes, the next step is deployment. During road construction projects, and construction projects more broadly, the aim is always to complete the job well, and to complete it the first time. Therefore, how intuitive the technology is to deploy and manage is essential. Making sure it is easy helps foster workplace acceptance, facilitates compatibility with existing and future investments, lowers complexity for all stakeholders, and ultimately means it is faster to deploy.  

How successful 3D machine control technology will be for a business is more than just a matter of making the right single purchase. It is a strategic, multi-level decision that involves choosing a technology partner that can support the product, the people and the overall digital transformation. Once a team becomes acclimatized to 3D technology and the management understands that its use requires change to the entire workflow to harness all the benefits, 3D machine control technology acceptance is no longer an issue. Instead, it slots easily into a company’s long-term plans and strategy for enhanced work processes. 

From inefficiency to sustainability  

Sustainability is more than just a buzzword of the 21st century, for every industry it is an actionable priority. Overcapacity, inefficient processes and methodologies are hampering the construction industry and contributing to the 39 percent of global C02 emissions generated by the industry. However, there is a silver lining. Technology-enabled workflows not only reduce waste by optimizing the quantity of material used during a project, but they also help to ensure that machines and other equipment do the work right the first time. This means more time, fuel, and machine hours are saved, capacity is enhanced and efficiency is guaranteed.  

Beyond this, there is also great potential for road construction to be an example of the circular economy if machine control technology is widely and properly implemented. This technology helps to control the amount milled, and reduce the amount of new hot mix asphalt or concrete material made, the production of which requires a significant amount of energy and natural resources. Saved resources can then be used in future paving projects and the new pavement volume can be reduced with the help of 3D technology. This material saving potential using 3D technology can help the construction industry reduce its carbon dioxide footprint.

The process of digitization may feel like a daunting one. There are certainly obstacles construction companies must first surmount before it invests in new technology such as 3D machine control systems. However, construction technology manufacturers know that effortlessness and impactfulness are paramount for contractors, and develop their technologies so as to deliver on these requirements. Technology partners will help along the way to ensure that any new tech can be properly integrated into the work systems and any training required for personnel will take place. The benefits of investing in machine control systems for the road construction industry go beyond improving quality and saving time, to minimizing waste and improving the overall sustainability of the industry.  

Tommi Kauppinen has more than 25 years of experience in the Machine Control business. Mr Kauppinen holds a degree in automation engineering as well as a few patents relating to positioning and awareness related solutions.  He has been involved with several start-up companies as a founder and held senior strategic roles within large publicly traded global companies. 

He currently holds the position of Vice President Heavy Construction, Machine Control Field Solutions.

Hexagon

Hexagon is a global leader in digital reality solutions, combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies. We are putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, quality and safety across industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, public sector, and mobility applications.   
 
Our technologies are shaping production and people related ecosystems to become increasingly connected and autonomous – ensuring a scalable, sustainable future.  
 
Hexagon’s Geosystems division provides a comprehensive portfolio of digital solutions that capture, measure, and visualize the physical world and enable data-driven transformation across industry ecosystems. 

Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) has approximately 24,000 employees in 50 countries and net sales of approximately 5.2bn EUR. Learn more at hexagon.com and follow us @HexagonAB.

Tommi Kauppinen is Vice President of Heavy Construction, Machine Control Field Solutions, Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon. Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) has approximately 24,000 employees in 50 countries and net sales of approximately 5.2bn EUR. Learn more at hexagon.com and follow us @HexagonAB.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) trolley routes 101 and 102, sometimes called the Media-Sharon Hill line, are light rail lines serving portions of Delaware County. The Suburban Transit Division of SEPTA operates the lines, and for years they were faced with a massive challenge: a large dip in the road between stations led to constant flooding of the 102 line, which frequently resulted in a necessary closure of the trolley line, with passengers moved to buses to complete their journey. 

The constant flooding, caused by stormwater runoff throughout the valley area, was more than an inconvenience: it became a transportation hazard. 

Project contractor The Walsh Group, incorporated in 1949 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, offers customers services from 20 regional offices across the country, to include Pennsylvania. One of the largest and most-respected general contracting groups in the US., the Walsh Group also handles construction management and design/build work in the building, civil, and transportation sectors. 

With years of experience using precast solutions for stormwater management, Walsh was brought in to research the problem and find a solution. 

In an area fraught with constant flooding, it was clear a strong stormwater management plan would be needed to move the project forward. The stormwater would need to be pumped out of the area quickly before flooding could occur, and the solution installation would need to be timed carefully between not only the rain, but to least affect riders of the SEPTA 102 line. 

Thanks to H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress, the SEPTA 102 line project, along with multiple other projects in the area, fell under the necessary parameters to obtain Federal funding for a stormwater management solution. 

Project Challenges

The challenges faced from the start were daunting: the stormwater management solution would need to be installed at night and over a weekend to minimize impact to the riding public, and the local trolley line would need to be put out of service in order for construction to occur. 

Coordinating all necessary integral players – from the construction team to the power company – took exceptional detailed work and no mistakes could be made. 

Stormwater Management Solution

The solution researched and chosen by The Walsh Group was to install a three-sided precast chamber that would allow gathering stormwater to be filtered into a pumphouse. A channel would bring water into the pumphouse from three directions, to include being funneled uphill and downhill from the chamber to the pumphouse. From the pumphouse, the stormwater would be evacuated into a chamber safely away from the trolley tracks. This action would relieve the previously flooded area and no longer affect the SEPTA line 102 from running on schedule. 

Several of the existing challenges remained in place throughout the construction process: on multiple occasions, a crew was in place ready to begin work following a scheduled short-term SEPTA line shutdown, only to discover with hours notice that the planned line outage had been delayed. Additionally, the crane necessary for lifting and installing the precast channel would need to be positioned next to a high-voltage power line, which resulted in the local power company being brought into the project to de-energize the line when needed. 

Over the course of two weekend SEPTA line 102 shutdowns, the three-sided channel installation was completed successfully in the spring of 2023. 

Following years and multiple construction projects together, The Walsh Group selected Oldcastle Infrastructure to provide the stormwater management solutions to the SEPTA 102 line flooding project. The companies worked closely together to ensure all challenges were met and the project was completed successfully. 

Products from Oldcastle Infrastructure chosen for this stormwater management project went above and beyond a typical box culvert project to include a three-sided precast channel and additional products used at multiple elevations to follow the contour of the valley. Perpendicular to the precast channel was a four-sided box that was installed in a pumphouse. The pumphouse structure was constructed on-site by Walsh as opposed to the culverts being constructed off-site and delivered to the location. 

A vital element of the selection of precast (vs. cast-in-place) concrete is the variables – especially the weather – are removed, as precast is typically poured in a controlled environment. 

One final important step during and after the stormwater solution installation was the placement and tensioning of multiple poly-strand steel cables throughout the floor of the structure to unify the channels and maintain elevation during any future acts of nature. 

Results

As a result of the infrastructure stormwater management solution installed next to the SEPTA 102 line, the trolley is now able to run as it should, delivering riders where they need to be on time. All elements of the construction are doing their jobs, and the line no longer floods following heavy rains. 

“The standard plans, developed by the Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance, will greatly enhance our ability to specify steel bridges for future short span projects,” said Joseph Neeley, district one design section head at the West Virginia Department of Transportation. “With over 7,000 bridges to maintain in West Virginia, we anticipate that these plans will help to create a more cost-effective and efficient infrastructure system within our state.”

The plans were developed by Karl Barth, Ph.D., co-director of the SSSBA Bridge Technology Center and associate professor at West Virginia University and Gregory Michaelson, Ph.D., P.E., co-director of the SSSBA Bridge Technology Center and associate dean and professor at Marshall University, in a collaborative effort with the West Virginia Department of Transportation.

Dan Snyder, SSSBA director and vice president, construction program for the American Iron and Steel Institute commented: “We provide this complimentary service to state DOTs interested in developing state-specific standard bridge plans that conform to both AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) and owner-specified criteria. This service is available to states across the nation.”

He noted that the SSSBA has developed standards for the Ohio DOT and is currently working on plans for New York and Tennessee. He anticipates more states taking advantage of the complimentary service as funding for off-system bridges becomes available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and demand increases for resilient, cost-effective short span bridge solutions.

More information on SSSBA’s complimentary service is available by downloading the document “Automated Production of Robust Owner-Specific Steel Bridge Design Details.” Additional information on the WVDOT plans is available here.  

The Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance (SSSBA) is a group of bridge and buried soil steel structure industry leaders who have joined together to provide educational information on the design and construction of short span steel bridges in installations up to 140 feet in length. For more news or information, visit www.shortspansteelbridges.org or follow us on Twitter (@ShortSpanSteel), Facebook and LinkedIn.

The Arizona Department of Transportation managed construction of the $38 million drainage system on behalf of the Maricopa Association of Governments, the Valley’s metropolitan planning organization. Crews installed new pipelines for the gravity controlled system and built large stormwater retention basins near Thunderbird Road.

The new system also allowed ADOT to remove outdated pump stations, installed back in 1964, near lower-lying underpasses carrying Peoria Avenue and Cactus, Thunderbird and Greenway roads beneath I-17. Those underpasses have been subject to flooding during periods of heavy rain, and the new drainage system is designed to limit such events. 

Primary work on the new system started in spring 2020. Construction involved extensive trench work as well as tunneling under I-17 for some pipeline installation. Angled pipelines will now move stormwater into retention basins or the Arizona Canal Diversion Channel north of Dunlap Avenue.

Although the upgrades are designed to reduce the potential for flooding, a large amount of rain in a short period of time can tax any drainage system, be it on state highways or local roads. Drivers should proceed with caution when storms hit and avoid driving into areas with standing or moving water. 

ADOT plans and constructs new freeways, additional lanes and other improvements in the Phoenix area as part of the Regional Transportation Plan for the Maricopa County region. Most projects are funded in part by Proposition 400, a dedicated sales tax approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004.

Real-time highway conditions are available on ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov and by calling 511. Information about highway conditions also is available through ADOT’s Twitter feed, @ArizonaDOT.

Compared to conventional aircraft that are powered solely by internal combustion engines, an electric aircraft’s propulsion system is either partly or entirely powered by an electric motor. This means that electric aviation has the potential for zero-emission flights with significantly reduced noise levels and, potentially, lower operating costs.

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) combines these technologies with new ways to offer air travel and to provide air traffic management into a safe and efficient aviation system for transporting passengers and cargo within urban and suburban areas, as well as between cities and airports.

Gaël Le Bris, WSP USA vice president for aviation planning and senior technical principal, has been at the forefront of electric aviation and AAM as a viable transportation option, helping aviation stakeholders evaluate and implement the latest technologies in electric air travel, assessing new opportunities and solutions for transporting travelers quickly and sustainably.

“Our focus is on assisting aviation facility operators, local governments, and other stakeholders to get ready for the next step in aerial innovation with realistic plans to enable air mobility for all and to incorporate these technologies for the benefit of our communities,” Le Bris said.

Latest Guidance

One of the latest steps WSP has taken in this field is the development of the Transportation Research Board Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Research Report 243, dubbed Urban Air Mobility: An Airport Perspective. Released in February 2023, this report is a comprehensive examination of the emergence of Urban Air Mobility (UAM), particularly the industry’s impacts and emerging opportunities for airports.

This report also follows up another study that WSP developed last year, which was ACRP Research Report 236: Preparing Your Airport for Electric Aircraft and Hydrogen Technologies. This served as the first practice-ready guidance document to airport practitioners on the matter for the TRB, a division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

“These are the first-ever guidebooks on the planning, design and operational aspects of advanced air mobility and electric aviation for airports and vertiports that are accessible to the aviation community,” Le Bris said. 

Delivering the Vertiport Infrastructure

AAM will leverage both existing and new assets to provide on-demand and scheduled aviation services. This could involve turning general aviation airports into community mobility hubs for vertical and short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) aircraft, and adapting rooftops and parking lots to accommodate vertiports. These facilities will have to be connected with ground transportation networks to provide first- and last-mile solutions.

According to Le Bris, vertiport development is an ongoing conversation that sits at the intersection of several different disciplines, from aircraft design to flight operations to urban planning and more, with a strong community engagement component.

“You also have a myriad of different emerging aviation stakeholders,” Le Bris said. “For instance, utility and hydrogen providers will need to join long-term aviation planning efforts. Also, many aircraft manufacturing startups that are coming into this field are not necessarily familiar and integrated with the mechanisms that have taken decades to develop with fixed-wing commercial aircraft to ensure successful aircraft/airport compatibility.”

One facet of this conversation is about micro-weather forecasting. This is about predicting small-scale inclement weather situations, such as winds around high-rise buildings, and the technology being developed in this field will be crucial for small electric aircraft that will operate in the lower airspace with potential influence from “urban canyons” effects. 

“With the perspective of higher-intensity operations at small facilities accommodating VTOL passenger aircraft, we need to develop ways to make these operations robust and bring the right information to the pilots to assist them with tactical and real-time decision-making,” Le Bris said. Artificial intelligence and advance sensor technologies are being developed as a tool towards micro-forecasting as the vertiport conversation continues among stakeholders and the Federal Aviation Administration in terms of regulatory policies. 

Electric charging and hydrogen infrastructure systems are currently not eligible for traditional federal grant programs such as AIP (Airport Improvement Program) or VALE (Voluntary Airport Low Emissions), and the implementation of electric aircraft will impact traditional airport fuel revenue streams as well. Discussions are being held under the leadership of the U.S. Department of Transportation to identify policy needs.

Current Projects

There are more than 100 electric aircraft projects in development, many of them being designed for intra-city air taxi services and regional aviation. Some projects feature large uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) for emergency and medical services as well as freight transportation. In addition, smaller UAS (sUAS), also known as drones, already provide a broad range of services from aerial surveys to last-mile small freight deliveries for parcels, food and medication.

Due to the limits of current battery technologies and the use cases under consideration, most electric passenger aircraft designs are for smaller vehicles, with two-to-six-passenger capacity for on-demand or commuter services. Most have VTOL capabilities, or at least STOL capabilities. Some projects also expand the electric aircraft concept to larger regional aircraft with more conventional capabilities (or CTOL) with 19 to 30 passengers and more. Progress in batteries and fuel cell technologies are expected to help expand the range and capabilities of these vehicles.

Earlier this year, WSP delivered the new master plan for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. This included a proposed redevelopment of the existing vertiport facility to accommodate the next generation of electric VTOL aircraft and provide connectivity with other modes on the ground. 

WSP included provisions for a vertiport in the recently completed San Antonio International Airport Master Plan and is also finishing the master plan update for the Philadelphia International Airport that will have provisions for a vertiport in the immediate vicinity of the passenger terminal area, Le Bris said. 

“Our vertiport approach in the Philadelphia International Airport master plan update is to leverage future plans for a consolidated rental car parking garage and ground transportation center. Its rooftop can provide an ideal location for a scalable vertiport that can be sized depending on the reality of the future market,” Le Bris said. 

Optimization 

Early applications of electric aircraft may impact smaller airports and existing heliports first. As new vertiports are built, the AAM network will grow between these different facilities to bring air mobility services as close as possible to consumers and their final destination.

There is an opportunity to optimize the use of underutilized general aviation airports, especially at the early stage of AAM, and to enhance mobility options at the local level. For travelers taking a flight to a farther destination and using AAM to reach a larger airport from their neighborhood, electric aircraft should be a fast and convenient operation enabling them to literally fly directly and over traffic congestion.

Airport operators should assess this emerging demand and determine the best way to address it. For capacity, safety and security considerations, many commercial service airports accommodating eVTOL for on-demand mobility might want to consider a “landside” vertiport, which would be separate from their main passenger terminal complex.

Such vertiports could be conveniently located on top of their parking garage or consolidated rental car facility, while lower-volume airports and facilities served by regional air mobility connecting may elect to use their existing airfield and terminal apron.

Scenarios

For Le Bris and his team, part of the planning process for these projects is to build different planning scenarios for these emerging technologies, as opposed to more traditional forecasting methods. 

“Scenario building is kind of an art requiring a deep qualitative understanding of the market dynamic and the way aircraft are used to respond to it, compared to traditional forecasting which is more data-centric and model-focused,” Le Bris said. “For most aviation planning projects, historical data are typically available to create robust projections to the future. However, the history of AAM has yet to be written. Also, there is still uncertainty on the operating cost of these machines with, for instance, ongoing discussions about the FAA certification pathway for these products. Ultimately, costs will influence air fares that will drive the demand along with availability.”

“In order to address these challenges, we derive realistic scenarios from both local and national factors. Most importantly, we make our solutions scalable along with demand-based triggers and recommendations on how to implement them,” Le Bris added. “We don’t pretend to have a crystal ball on what can’t be reasonably predicted today, but our clients instead receive robust playbooks with scalable concepts that are based on reasonable market realities.” 

The recent Infrastructure Bill has ushered in a wave of mega infrastructure, including nine nationally significant projects. Whilst this is all well and good, it comes at a time when labor shortages are escalating, construction costs are rising, and the climate crisis is heating up. It’s squeezing margins tighter than ever before. This means contractors cannot afford to waste a single resource, especially through wholly avoidable rework. With hundreds of billions of dollars at stake and Net Zero emission goals on the line, it’s an issue we can’t ignore. 

To try and combat these issues, many leaders are turning to digital technologies to drive up quality, accuracy, and efficiency, making on-site operations slicker, safer and smarter. For example, recent advances in cutting-edge innovations like digital twins, Computer Vision (CV), and Engineering Grade Augmented Reality^TM are changing the game, offering new ways to manage projects, build with greater accuracy and ultimately reduce costs and waste on even the most complex projects. They are gradually making errors and reworking a problem of the past. 

The question is, how much of an impact are these technologies having in the drive to reduce errors, and can the industry survive without them? 

Digital design 

Since the introduction of Building Information Modelling (BIM), construction has drawn more and more on Computer Aided Designs (CAD). In fact, a recent Dodge Construction Network report found that BIM is now used by around 80 percent of civil engineers. As part of this new digital normal, project teams can now also lean on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and increasingly advanced IoT-enabled hardware to view and interact with 3D design models like never before. 

This uptick in digital adoption is supercharging modern construction methods and creating a new breed of surveyors and engineers that are supported by the accuracy software and digitally-enabled hardware provides. Taking human error out of the equation is a critical step in eliminating rework. 

Sticking to the plan

Digital technology is also improving construction efficiency by syncing up project management workflows with digital models. For instance, computer Vision is automating quality control, realigning construction with designs by identifying defects and eliminating human error in real time. Meanwhile, digital twins can peer into the future and predict errors by simulating scenarios using highly accurate 3D models and structure replicas. Backed by AI-enhanced sensors, these living, breathing design assets mold to reflect real-world changes and autonomously update. 

In parallel, Augmented Reality (AR) is another game-changing innovation that allows construction crews to view and position holograms of 3D design models to real-world structures and proactively identify errors. The latest Engineering Grade AR can place models to within 3-5 millimeter accuracy, giving rise to a new standard of engineering that ensures structures are built right, first time. Design models are coming to life through the lens of digital technologies with the underpinning initiative being to eliminate reactive error detection. 

Outdated surveying techniques like laser scanning that are carried out after works are completed can take weeks to produce outdated, inaccurate results. By the time this data is available, the damage is done. 

It’s not just humans doing the work today either. Drones and robotics are supporting field crews by taking on repetitive tasks and literally reaching new heights to monitor structures with state-of-the-art infrared and RGB cameras. 

Sewing virtual threads 

The digitalization of construction is building an information superhighway between the office and construction crews in the field. Advances in technologies like AR and CV are upgrading monitoring capabilities and creating greater synergies between BIM and the real world, and this cohesion is reducing miscommunication. This seamless real-time integration of fieldwork with back-of-office systems ensures the most up-to-date design models are being used on site, and that any changes are instantly recognized. The result – reduced instances of error and rework, saving on costs and waste. 

Digital information is more accurate, easily distributed, and can be stored safely in data clouds. It can be easily shared and accessed at the click of a button, reducing the need for transcribing scribbled notes and working off paper 2D paper designs. This saves contractors more time to focus on quality and delivering projects on time. 

The benefits of this highly accurate information are two-fold as it also means we can analyze data like material and energy costs to inform project cost analysis, address mistakes for future operations, and inspire the research and development of more advanced digital technologies. 

A not-so-distant future 

We are seeing the rippling effects of the global move to industry 4.0 reshaping construction and advanced technology is helping to secure a financially stable and greener future for the industry. This futuristic age will be catalyzed by interoperable cloud management platforms and greater data analytics along with a new type of fully managed service provided by the leading technology providers.

Rework is still a major challenge in construction, however, thanks to innovations in digital technology and the superhuman accuracy they are enabling, the end for rework is in sight. Leading general contractors are already adopting technologies like Augmented Reality and seeing the returns, reporting as much as 9x return on investment in some cases. As the industry regains its feet after the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict, the confidence to invest in new technology will grow and we will soon see a new digital-first approach to building emerge as the standard. 

It’s an exciting time for the sector and what we are seeing today is only the beginning. Those who keep a sharp eye on changes coming down the track will be set to lead in years to come. Those blind to innovation will surely fall behind. 

David Mitchell, Founder & CEO, XYZ Reality

About the author 

David Mitchell is the Founder & CEO of construction technology company, XYZ Reality, the company behind the Atom – the world’s most accurate Engineering Grade Augmented Reality (AR) headset. Before founding XYZ Reality, David worked as a digital construction manager on some of Europe’s largest projects including: The Shard, Battersea power station and hyper-scale data centres. David is a leading expert in digital construction and has been recognised for his innovation in this space.

Although the world’s first remote-piloted car was debuted by General Motors at the 1939 World’s Fair,  the first autonomous (self-driving) car prototypes were not introduced until the 1980s after nearly 30 years of testing.  The idea of a self-driving car perhaps began with General Motors’ demonstration in 1939, but it would take another 14 years before serious testing began on a truly automated system.  In 1953, RCA Labs became the first to successfully demonstrate the viability of a self-driving car when they did so using a miniature car guided and controlled by wires on a laboratory floor.  With the system’s viability established, RCA Laboratories worked with the State of Nebraska to construct a full-size test system just outside of Lincoln.

This proposed test system consisted of a series of circuits buried along stretches of pavement, paired with a series of lights on the edges of the roads.  By sending impulses from the circuits to the car, the test was able to successfully control the direction, speed, and velocity of the car.  Despite the demonstrated success of this automated system, further development was hampered due to the cost of installing the necessary support infrastructure.  While RCA Labs’ autonomous system proved a novel approach when applied to vehicle piloting and infrastructure, it is framed on technological advancements that had been applied to railroads for decades at that point.  A century earlier, railroads played a massive role in expanding the United States to its current size.  

With a network of railroads as the fuel source, the United States expanded rapidly during the Industrial Revolution and continued to do so through the end of the 19th century.  The presence of railroads grew in tandem with the United States’ growing population and territory, and, by the 1870s, railroads were beginning to experience challenges stemming from this rapid expansion.  Running on fixed rails, trains are particularly susceptible to collisions and delays, and the process of railroad signaling was adopted at its creation to control the movement of traffic.  However, traditional hand signaling was proving antiquated by the 1870s and new systems were developed to allow this network of railroads to continue supporting this period of American growth.  

One of the first automated systems to be developed–automatic block systems for railroad signaling–was introduced in 1872.  With signals placed on trains, a train’s movement would short-circuit the electric current supply and de-energize the relay.  Using this system, railroads were able to greatly reduce collisions and delays by only allowing one train per block at a time.  When automatic systems for railroad signaling were introduced, they solved a massive problem that was hampering the reliability to railroad networks.  In the subsequent decades, railroads continued to expand, snaking out to every corner of the United States.  This twisted, dense network of passenger and freight rail, intercity lines, companies, and subsidiaries relied heavily upon simple advancements in automation technology as automated signaling systems continued to improve.  By the 1920s, advancements in automation allowed for various experiments into creating the world’s first driverless train.  And, again, despite similar viability testing, it would be decades before the first fully automated trains would be introduced to the public.  More so, these early tests of automated train systems provided the initial framework for our first attempts at self-driving cars.

The parallelled histories of car and railroad automation provide important insights into the effect that the current push towards AI and automation will have on the development of technology in the future.  Americans demonstrated a preference for the freedom and luxuries that automobile travel affords as our vast network of railroad infrastructure was slowly replaced with roads and highways.  This recently renewed push towards automated driving systems has historical similarities to the environment that brought about the first automated train testing, suggesting that technologies currently being applied to self-driving cars may have reverbating effects in technological advancements yet unknown.

Andrei Șueran founded Graphein nine years ago on a leap of faith with his business partner Eurgen Ursu.  While Șueran says that simply starting a business in itself is an adventure, starting Graphein was even more of a fraught road.  This is because pitching Graphein meant pitching new technologies and solutions to a market that he says favors “the good old ways.”  Despite the challenges, Șueran and Ursu made a bet when they founded the company, but, so far, they’ve played their cards right.  Based in Romania, Graphein is a service integrator for the construction industry–supporting engineering, surveying, 3D scanning and modeling, and building behavior monitoring–and an Autodesk partner.  Șueran says that he and Ursu take pride in that they’ve managed to gather people within Graphein that are able to both “deliver jaw-dropping results” and maintain an open culture filled with passionate individuals.  According to Șueran, this ability to recruit and retain top-level talent, that are also amazing individuals, has led to a pleasant working environment and a great reputation with clients. 

Șueran is, at his core, a geodetic engineer–”always and forever” in his words.  He never envisioned taking on the role of an entrepreneur.  However, Șueran believes that becoming an entrepreneur came into his life in a “natural manner”, having stemmed from a long lasting desire to improve and innovate his field of work.  His movement into entrepreneurship has allowed him to do just that, and, since founding Graphein, he has been able to get more involved with the process of product development.  This includes working more in the testing phase and contributing input to the process.  

Șueran believes that one of the most common needs across the construction industry is the ability to optimize and speed up processes without compromising the quality of work.  Șueran also believes that drones have and will continue to play a massive role in providing this service for the construction industry. For many companies in the construction industry, the deployment of drones has resulted in massing time-savings while also producing “top-notch” results.  An extended result of the effect drone deployment has had on the AEC industry is that companies are able to get involved in more projects.  Șueran extends this, believing that drones have also increased companies’ abilities to engage in projects with various degrees of difficulty.  These positive results mean that the construction industry has gained a high level of trust in the technology, but still other technologies that have the same potential to shape the industry are still in the process of earning this trust.  As the benefits of these technologies are demonstrated, Șueran believes that, like drones, people will begin relying on them more.  Șueran notes that there have been projects brought to fruition solely by using drone surveying.  In the example of drones, this wider adoption of the technology has led to a new market filled with “high quality products.”  

To highlight just how much drones and drone technology have shaped the construction industry, he points to an ambitious project that involves building a highway that connects the cities of Sibiu and Pitești in Romania. This massive project consists of 7 tunnels, 24 bridges, and 18 viaducts.  In the process of constructing this important piece of infrastructure, Graphein and the other project teams relied on TOPODRONE products like LiDAR ULTRA and AQUAMAPPER.  According to Șueran, the project has put his team to the test because of its location in an “unfriendly landform,” which consists of densely wooded areas and significant elevation changes.  Șueran says the project has put his team and equipment to the test, but, by relying on the best products, these difficulties are surmountable.  To overcome the challenges posed by terrain, Graphein’s team has been deploying TOPODRONE’s LiDAR ULTRA on board a DJI Matrice 300 drone to capture laser scanning from an altitude of 100-120 meters.  Using this technology, he says they were able to capture an area of densely-wooded terrain 32-km lengthwise by 400 meters wide with only 14 drone flights.

The highway construction project from Sibiu to Pitești also contains an added wrinkle that, according to Șueran, proved to be the biggest challenge.  Part of this difficult terrain scanning included mapping under the 6 river crossings on the project.  To achieve this, Șueran and his team relied on TOPODRONE’s AQUAMAPPER–a device for airborne bathymetric surveying– which was then only recently out of development.  He says that, despite the potential difficulties posed by this underwater mapping, AQUAMAPPER has vastly improved the performance of the bathymetric surveying for the project.  What is perhaps more remarkable is that, despite the terrain challenges stemming from water, trees, and topography, surveying for the project lasted less than 10 days.  Șueran points out that drones played a significant role in shaping the project, and the time they saved is a testament to how much drone technology has advanced in the construction industry.  By relying on tools like those developed by TOPODRONE, Șueran believes that more projects like the one in Romania will see immensely positive results.

Mobility projects currently in development have many common components including bus rapid transit, light rail and active transportation. New forms of technology are recurring features in multimodal mobility planning documents. On-demand transit software, assistive technologies for trip planning, intelligent transportation systems and enhanced intersection signalization are components that are included in upcoming projects.

Federal money has been programmed to usher in a new vision of transportation in America. An annual sum of $100 million will be awarded through the federal government’s Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) program to pilot smart technologies. That funding is scheduled to last through 2026 and the program will begin allocating funding for projects in 2023 within the coming weeks.

The 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act includes billions more for public transit, passenger and freight rail and mobility in general. Millions of that sum will support efforts to innovate mobility in northern Texas. Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) secured two earmarks to help spearhead regional mobility innovations. An earmark of $2.82 million will allow DART to upgrade the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system that it relies on to manage passenger rail services — one of the foundations of regional mobility in the area. Another $2.5 million earmarked for DART will help fund a proposed intermodal transit hub along the transit system’s Silver Line. Plans for the intermodal hub will be designed to improve regional mobility by featuring on-demand transit service, which provides passengers with a solution to “last mile” gaps between DART stations and their final destinations.

Mobility innovations are a staple of regional transportation planning in the state of Virginia. A $96 million project in Arlington County will create a second entrance to the East Falls Church Metrorail Station as a springboard for much broader multimodal improvements. The project will expand the number of buses in service, create a network of multiuse trails connecting to the station and improve signalization at nearby intersections. The technology components will include new automation systems for several of the county’s most congested intersections. Equipment installations could begin as early as 2023.  

A project in the city of Alexandria, Va., has allocated $6.2 million for mobility technology  and $145 million for construction. Technology enhancements will include real-time informational signs at bus stops, transit speed enhancements and a new fare collection system. During the construction phase, which could begin in late 2023, the city will expand its existing bus garage. This project will allow the city to manage an expanding fleet of electric buses more efficiently.

In San Rafael, Calif., a $60 million project will be launched to relocate the city’s transit center. This is necessary to address forecasted challenges to pedestrian safety and traffic congestion. The San Rafael Transit Center’s current location prohibits any possibility of expanding mobility services. A much larger facility with enough room to accommodate future expansions of the district’s bus fleet is required. The new transit center will also deliver bike parking, bike storage, new ADA-compliant restrooms, new cyclist paths and designated ride-share and shuttle access points.

Officials in Princeton, N.J., have announced a $190 million project with a $100 million allocation for transitway improvements to one of Princeton’s prominent transportation corridors. The project will target the city’s Dinky Corridor and enhancements will include mobility hubs with technology improvements as well as active transportation components. These improvements will include technology that provides real-time information services, EV charging stations and improved stormwater management infrastructure.

An underground bus hub is proposed for Charlotte, N.C., and the project’s cost has been placed at $89 million. City officials approved the underground bus hub to replace an outdated transit center that will present challenges to local mobility. The new facility will allow the local transit system to shift its focus to a major economic development district in the city. The sub-surface hub proposed for the Uptown district will be integrated into plans for street-level retail offerings and provide more advanced passenger safety features.

These types of projects are in planning stages throughout the country. They are a result of massive funding available to improve mobility, provide more safety and support technology enhancements for transit operations throughout America.

Currently under construction in Egypt is a two-line monorail rapid transit system, which, when completed, will be the longest driverless monorail system in the world.  The completion of the Cairo Monorail will create the first public transportation links from the New Administrative Capital and 6th of October City to the Cairo metropolitan area, facilitating the movement of residents and visitors of Greater Cairo and reducing the usage of private cars, leading to a reduction in CO2 emissions.  The Cairo Monorail project is poised to dramatically shift transportation in the region in a way that is fast, safe, and environmentally friendly.  

Construction on the project began in September of 2020.  When completed, the Cairo Monorail system will consist of two lines.  The first line–the New Administrative Capital Monorail Transportation System (East)–consists of 22 stations and one depot across an approximately 54-km length and will connect the New Administrative City with East Cairo.  The second line–the 6th of October City Monorail Transportation System(West)–consists of 13 stations and one depot and will connect 6th of October City with Giza.  According to Waleed Abdel-Fattah, President of MENA region for Hill International, there has been significant progress on the civil works and construction for both lines–approximately 70 percent for the East line and 50 percent for the West line.  

With the groundwork laid, the project is now focused on completing the 35 stations as well as the depot facilities.  This includes installing mechanical and electrical systems for the stations and facilities.  Abdel-Fattah says that, for these systems, the large majority of the necessary equipment has been delivered, which means progress is being made towards the installation of traction power and wayside equipment along the lines.  Additionally, more than 43 trains have already been delivered and are awaiting final assembly and commissioning.  Adbel-Fattah notes that the overall progress on installing these systems is approximately 37 percent.

Now, coming out of Cairo from the East, progress on the monorail system is visible.  With the majority of civil work–outside of the stations–being completed, the system is coming to life with columns and beams extending skyward and systems ready to be installed.  Abdel-Fattah says that, with work progressing on the stations and systems installations, testing and commissioning will soon begin for the project, which puts the project “in a good place” with the stations being the only remaining hurdle.  However, in getting to this point, the project has had to contend with issues stemming from current economic conditions regarding Egyptian currency, etc.  Despite these potential challenges, Abdel-Fattah points out that the decision to import equipment prior to installation has paid dividends when compared to other projects in the region.  By procuring the necessary equipment early in the process, the project was able to avoid any significant challenges stemming from economic issues.  

In addition to serving as the Project Manager for the Cairo Monorail project, Hill International also handled reviewing the design.  According to Abdel-Fattah, building such an ambitious project has not been without its challenges, and, as the project manager, Hill International has had to rely on their extensive experience in the region to manage and sequence the work on the Cairo Monorail project.  In a crowded and often congested place like Cairo, the movement of materials can often pose a significant logistical challenge.  To overcome these logistical challenges, Hill International’s team relied on a process of inspection and coordination between project teams and shareholders.  This included using smart project controls and management for monitoring and reporting.  Additionally, with a project length of nearly 100-km, Abdel-Fattah points out that staffing has been a consistent point of emphasis for the project.  This requires allocating staffing in a way that works in conjunction with the logistical planning of materials, ensuring that the right staff is available at the right place and time.

With the final hurdles being planned for and overcome, the Cairo Monorail project is set to transform public transit in the region and provide a benchmark for further monorail development through the region and neighboring countries.  Requiring a very small footprint and able to negotiate congested urban areas with an alignment that “minimizes costly land [taking] and disruption to traffic” compared to traditional rail-based transit solutions, Abdel-Fattah believes that there is a significant opportunity for further monorail development across Egypt and other major cities across Africa and the Middle East.  Abdel-Fatah further believes that this potential expansion of monorail projects throughout the region will not only provide socioeconomic benefits such as increased mobility, but it will also stimulate the Real Estate sector.  With the potential of Transit Oriented Development (TOD), the completion of the Cairo Monorail System and further development represents a “huge potential to increase the density of mixed-use developments in close proximity to transit stations.”  This will both increase ridership and revenue for the monorail system as well as raising property values along the corridor.

The funding program will continue through 2026. FHWA will issue a call for projects for FY 2024-2026. For those projects, up to $17 million will be available in each fiscal year.

In FHWA’s announcement of the grant opportunities, the agency highlighted potential projects “with a focus on the integration of information from design to construction to asset management.” In addition, the agency encouraged state DOTs to work with local governments, tribes and private industry in the development of grant-eligible projects.

Trimble, a leading provider of advanced digital construction and asset lifecycle management technologies, will host a webinar on July 18, 2023 at 2 pm Eastern, for potential grant applicants to learn how the private sector can support the development of a competitive application.

In the webinar, a panel of experts in public grant funding, digital technologies, and infrastructure management will provide an overview of the new grant program, recommended proposal language and tips for ensuring interoperability and equity within submissions. Designed to maximize the benefits from funding opportunities, the Trimble team will focus on the following goals:

• Supporting states in implementing technology to maximize interoperability, boost productivity, and reduce project delays and overruns throughout the construction lifecycle
• Reducing reliance on paper documents to increase the timeliness and effectiveness of information sharing
• Helping state and local governments adopt tools that help them integrate technology into contracts and weigh the costs of digitization more effectively
• Reducing the environmental impact of construction projects

Trimble offers expertise and proven experience to help government agencies and other asset owners identify grant-eligible programs, submit grant applications, and develop strategies for digital transformation. For more details about Trimble’s ADCMS webinar and ongoing support, please visit the online ADCMS data sheet and/or contact Trimble’s team of specialists.  

HDOT has the responsibility to plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain state facilities in all modes of transportation, including air, water, and land. The agency was formed shortly after Hawaii became a state in 1959 and is comprised of three modal divisions (airports, harbors, and highways) and a support services division. The DOT currently manages eleven commercial service airports, four general aviation airports, ten commercial harbors, and thousands of highway lane miles, all spread across the state’s six major islands.

“Hawaii’s unique geography and multimodal approach to transportation requires careful planning and selection of the right projects to meet their residents’ infrastructure needs,” said Balaji Sreenivasan, CEO and founder of Aurigo Software. “Our team is delighted to partner with the state to streamline how projects are evaluated and funded, leading to more reliable multiyear forecasts, and reduced financial risk for their statewide program. We’re thrilled to contribute to their mission and support a safer, more connected future in Hawaii.”

Aurigo’s Masterworks will allow HDOT to create capital projects, prioritize them, and estimate their costs. Funding across different sources will be set up and tracked, providing the agency with a robust and flexible way to associate, update, and combine funds on projects when needed. The system will also automate the obligation and reimbursement process for federal funds, integrating with the Federal Highway Administration’s Financial Management Information System (FMIS).

Additionally, the system will integrate with HDOT’s existing technology stack, including design software provided by Autodesk, to create a comprehensive digital lifecycle management solution for the plan-build environment. Pre-configured application interfaces will allow HDOT to transfer data between different phases on a project, providing a single source of truth across the entire lifecycle.

According to the state’s most recent transportation plan, HDOT intends to deliver capital improvements totaling over $1.4 billion in 2024 to Hawaii’s highways, airports, and harbors. The highway system provides mobility for over 1.4 million Hawaii residents—including a civilian labor force of approximately 680,000 people—over 8 million visitors, and over 32 million tons of freight each year. Masterworks will allow state planners to conduct what-if analysis on proposed plans to help identify optimal project combinations based on available funding and strategic priority.

“Hawaii DOT is excited to implement Aurigo’s Masterworks platform to support our strategic goals of improved safety, resiliency, and economic vitality,” said Ed Sniffen, Director of the Hawaii Department of Transportation. “Modernizing our capital planning operations will speed up approval times and help deliver the infrastructure Hawaiians need now and in the future.”

Hawaii joins several other states using Masterworks to modernize their capital programs, including Utah, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Iowa. The company has seen expanding interest in its capital planning capabilities as major public agencies take advantage of funding from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in November 2021.

With the new capabilities, infrastructure professionals can fully automate embodied carbon calculation reports and impact analyses by taking advantage of iTwin Experience, enabling them to explore multiple design choices faster and eliminate manual data exports and normalization.

In 2022, Bentley developed an integration service in the iTwin Platform to automate the process of generating embodied carbon reports for infrastructure projects via One Click LCA and EC3. Reports are initiated using the iTwin Platform and then viewed in One Click LCA or EC3. Now, iTwin Experience provides a ready-to-go, bi-directional integration with EC3, enabling carbon assessments to be visualized in a digital twin without the need to write code. iTwin Experience exports a data model to EC3, a free tool for which users need to be separately registered, which performs the embodied carbon calculations and returns results that iTwin Experience seamlessly reads and visualizes.   

Organizations that want to include carbon assessment workflows in their infrastructure projects without developing proprietary iTwin-powered apps will benefit from the newly available carbon calculation capabilities in iTwin Experience. The capabilities also unlock the integration of carbon assessment workflows with other Bentley products and solutions for designing and managing infrastructure projects.

The capabilities are being released in Preview and will be available for a restricted number of partners and early adopters.

Kaustubh Page, Director of Product Management with Bentley Systems, said, “Lifecycle assessments, environmental footprint analyses, and reports are becoming standard requirements for infrastructure projects worldwide. Designers and environmental engineers spend critical time generating environmental assessments or reports. Because the required data needed to be manually exported from multiple design authoring tools and then aggregated and verified, generating these environmental assessments has been a time-consuming and potentially error-prone process. With these new capabilities built into iTwin Experience, it is feasible to transform what is typically a six-month process into a six-minute workflow. Our goal is for iTwin Experience users to spend their valuable time on designing, optimizing, and making better decisions, faster – not exporting, aggregating, and validating data.”

Rodrigo Fernandes, Director of ES(D)G with Bentley Systems, said, “We want to enable users to implement carbon analysis and optimization as a natural, repeatable, and standardized procedure, as part of managing every type of infrastructure project, anywhere in the world. The sooner that carbon assessment is integrated into an infrastructure project, the bigger the carbon reduction opportunities will be. This announcement is focused on embodied carbon, particularly relevant in the early project stages, but iTwin Experience unleashes opportunities for telling the whole ‘carbon story’ of an infrastructure project and asset. We are genuinely unlocking environmental footprint assessments powered by infrastructure digital twins.”

Mark Tablante, Design Technology Director with Burns & MacDonnell, said, “Electrification is a critical component to meeting the world’s decarbonization goals. There is a tremendous amount of capital investment needed in electric T&D infrastructure and a carbon-efficient design makes the most of every dollar spent to further decarbonization. Tracking and reporting on progress toward utilities’ net zero goals is important to not only their shareholders, but for the future of our world. Burns & McDonnell is working with Bentley to test their new iTwin-powered carbon reporting capabilities for the electric utility industry. Our sustainability engineers and environmental group are proud to work with our clients and technology partners to help develop vendor agnostic solutions for a brighter future. We look forward to integrating these services and continuing helping our clients track carbon and reach their net zero goals.”

Registration for the 2023 ASCEND event is open now. Journalists from around the world are invited to cover 2023 ASCEND; press passes are available for credentialed media by request.

Powered by AIAA, 2023 ASCEND will dedicate three days to sharing broad, bold ideas and perspectives as the nexus for addressing the most important opportunities and challenges that come with increased activity in space today:

• Space and Sustainability: Discovering ideas to protect Earth from environmental impact and advance space-based sensing tech, clean energy, asteroid mitigation, and more
• Space Exploration and Infrastructure: Building the necessary infrastructure to support human presence in low Earth orbit, cislunar space, and beyond – from habitats and life-support systems to reliable communication networks and propulsion technologies
• Space Security and Protection: Exploring mission cybersecurity, policy partnerships, detection, and new technologies for space asset protection
• Space Traffic Management: Collaborating on efficient space traffic management to mitigate collision risks and safeguard valuable resources
• Expanding and Evolving the Space Economy: Shaping the expanding space economy including emerging markets and investment approaches with a forecast value of $1 trillion by 2040 – from low Earth orbit to cislunar space
• Education, Outreach, and Workforce: Focusing on workforce challenges, diversity, and education in the commercial space industry

Industry thought leaders, government officials, and space luminaries will be announced as keynote speakers and members of thought-provoking panels in the coming weeks. The 2023 ASCEND program will cut across civil, commercial, and national security space sectors, along with adjacent industries. Through dialogue and attendee collaboration, ASCEND will advance the strategic planning, innovation, scientific exploration, and effective regulations and standards needed to help preserve space for future generations.

In addition to the initial agenda announced today, hundreds of technical papers and collaborative sessions are scheduled, featuring expert researchers and innovators that anchor the event with the long-term thinking required to build a sustainable off-world future.

In its fourth year, ASCEND continues to offer the unique attendee experiences that it’s become known for:  

• A collaborative event experience with technical exchanges, debates, workshops, and interactive sessions designed to lead to outcomes
• One all-access ticket to attend all sessions, enjoy meals, and benefit from networking events
• A new dynamic event app providing attendees with schedule information at their fingertips
• The return of the Engagement Zone – a central location filled with exhibits showcasing the latest space technologies, interactive displays, and a comfortable space for checking email or relaxing between sessions

“We are eagerly anticipating thousands of diverse dreamers and doers coming to 2023 ASCEND where they will share their visions for space in the next few decades. ASCEND is the unique event where they get to connect with the key players who can help them bring those visions to life,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA executive director. “The multifaceted program at 2023 ASCEND is going to deliver an action-packed experience for the community that will help forge a sustainable off-world future for all.”

Washington, D.C. – June 22, 2023 – National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) today announced the Your Voice, Your Action = Youth Infrastructure Safety Contest, which encourages young people to identify a problem in their neighborhood that affects pedestrian safety and propose a solution to fix it. The contest, which is open to young people in the United States age 15 to 29, was developed by NOYS in partnership with Bentley Systems, Incorporated, (Nasdaq: BSY), the infrastructure engineering software company.

The Your Voice, Your Action = Youth Infrastructure Safety Contest aims to give young people in the United States a voice by hearing their opinions on what infrastructure improvements are needed in their neighborhoods to support safe walking, cycling, and equitable use of street spaces for all road users. The contest will be their space to assess the state of the local infrastructure and propose design alternatives, and justify how their proposal will lead to a more secure, environmentally friendly transportation system for all road users.

Jacob Smith, Executive Director of NOYS, said, “Young people have the creativity, expertise and lived experience to propose infrastructure solutions that are directly impacting them. I’m pleased to partner with Bentley Education to center the voices of a generation that is being disproportionately impacted by poor infrastructure across the country.” 

The contest incorporates a learning, ideation and design and visualization component. Participants attend master classes from Bentley experts to develop and strengthen their computer aided design (CAD) skills using Bentley’s MicroStation. The participants are invited to submit their ideas to improve pedestrian safety within their community either through video, song, poster, collage, film, or any other creative expression to describe their views.

Zeljko Djuretic, head of Education with Bentley Systems, said, “We are excited to be continuing our partnership with NOYS to empower youth in promoting a safer pedestrian infrastructure. What is amazing about this contest is that it puts power to improve infrastructure into the hands of future generations and helps them understand how they could go about doing so in real terms. At Bentley we’re no strangers to the power that infrastructure has to shape our world. Through initiatives like this contest, our aim is to equip youth with digital skills, nurturing their creativity and enabling them to take impactful actions.”

A $1,500 prize will be awarded to the winner by a panel of expert judges. Additionally, each participant will receive a certificate of training from Bentley Systems following their successful completion of activities.

Those who are interested in participating in the challenge should register and submit their projects before December 31, 2023. To register and learn more about the submissions, judging criteria, and other information, click here.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (JUNE 22, 2023) — Superior Construction, an American family-owned infrastructure contractor, is proud to announce its Wekiva Parkway Section 6 project has received the Outstanding Major Project Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida (ACEC Florida). WGI, Inc. was the lead designer for the project, supported by Finley Engineering (now COWI) for the segmental portion of the project. The Outstanding Project Awards, which recognize ACEC-Florida members’ outstanding roadway and bridge design and construction achievements, were presented at the organization’s 2023 transportation conference in Orlando. 

Built across a federally designated Wild and Scenic River, Wekiva Parkway Section 6 is an iconic $243 million design-build project near Sorrento, Florida. Though the project itself stretches across Lake and Seminole Counties, its most prominent feature, the Wekiva River Crossing, comprises three cast-in-place segmental bridges (370,172 square feet of bridge deck) that carry the Wekiva Parkway (SR 429) and a service road/shared use path over the picturesque and pristine Wekiva River, seamlessly blending in with the natural landscape.

“The Wekiva River Crossing showcased groundbreaking advancements in bridge engineering, as its three signature bridges were built using top-down balanced cantilever construction to minimize environmental impacts by eliminating work in the water,” said Superior COO Pete Kelley, who served on the Wekiva Parkway Section 6 executive committee. “From the engineering of precision-cast segments to the use of state-of-the-art construction robotics, this project pushed the boundaries of what is achievable in the segmental bridge industry. We’re truly proud to have been a part of this project.”

Beyond increasing the Wekiva Parkway’s capacity by extending its new four-lane toll road 6.85 miles, the team prioritized environmental conservation and ecological protection, implementing measures to minimize its impact on the delicate ecosystem. The project improved safety, maintained wildlife habitat connectivity, reduced vehicle-wildlife conflicts, and provided locals with improved recreational opportunities, including biking and jogging trails. 

Nominations for ACEC Florida’s Outstanding Project Awards were submitted from each of FDOT’s seven districts, Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise and the Central Office. They were evaluated by an awards committee comprised of ACEC Florida and FDOT representatives. This year, the committee chose just seven winners for this prestigious award. 

Formerly known as the AASHTO TRAC Contest, the AASHTO Bridge Challenge is a national competition designed to promote an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through hands-on, real-world applications. It also provides a unique opportunity for students to gain confidence in their speaking skills in front of a large audience, which included departments of transportation, engineering consulting firms, AASHTO government officials, parents, teachers, and students.  Also sponsoring the event were Michael Baker International, TopoDOT, HDR, HNTB, Headlight, and Houseman & Associates.

For the first time in three years since the pandemic, students from around the United States were able to compete in person in the bridge design contest, with the finalists winning the opportunity to join the AASHTO community at the Spring Meeting in Seattle.

Students from 19 states across the U.S., from seventh to 12^th grades, designed and built innovative bridges using Bentley applications, including MicroStation and ContextCapture to design the models. Eighteen teams were selected for the finals by a panel of judges, who rated each team’s design and portfolio. During the finals on May 16, the teams gave presentations and then had their bridges tested for strength-to-weight ratio until each bridge failed, in some cases spectacularly, under pressure. The team receiving the most points from the judges was selected as the national winner in their grade categories.

The winning team for the 11^th and 12^th grades, 906 Bridge Co. from Negaunee High School in Negaunee, Michigan, has participated in the program for several years under the guidance of teacher/advisor Kevin Bell. In addition to designing a deck arch truss bridge with Bentley’s MicroStation, they also flew a drone and used ContextCapture to create a reality model of their bridge.

Dustin Parkman, Bentley’s Vice President of Transportation, said, “The role of civil engineers is critical to transportation infrastructure. The hands-on experience of the AASHTO STEM Solutions program introduces students to civil engineering concepts and processes, inspiring them to imagine a future career in engineering. I’m proud that AASHTO, Bentley, our co-sponsors, and the DOTs can provide this opportunity for the students to learn such valuable skills and spark an interest in a future career in civil engineering.”

Julia Smith, AASHTO STEM Solutions program manager, said, “AASHTO designed the program for use in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classes to introduce students to transportation and civil engineering. America’s transportation industry has a huge demand for well-qualified civil engineers. AASHTO’s goal is to get middle and high school students exposed to and excited about a career in civil engineering. We see the STEM Solutions program as an investment in today’s youth, to ensure that America has the highly skilled workforce it’s going to need for years to come.”

Congratulations to all the students, teachers, sponsors, and departments of transportation who made this year’s competition a success.

To learn more and become involved with the program, visit transportation.org/stem-outreach.

Just east of the small city of Nacogdoches, an aging bridge on State Highway 21 over the Carrizo Creek was slated for replacement. The route is used by both commercial and non-commercial traffic, including the many tourists drawn to the year-round historical, cultural and natural attractions in the area. When planning for the project began, keeping the same horizontal alignment of the existing roadway was considered a priority, and maintaining two lanes of traffic on the Texas DOT-designated Hurricane Evacuation Route was a legal mandate.

As a result, phased construction was not regarded as a viable option. With this method, possible intermittent lane closures could reduce traffic to a single lane, and keeping the alignment would have required adding a large shoulder to the old bridge to handle the two lanes of traffic in the subsequent phase. Building the new bridge adjacent to the existing bridge was also discounted, as it would change the alignment and create adverse right-of-way impacts.  Based on the success of prior projects within the district that had successfully utilized temporary detour bridges, the Lufkin District of Texas DOT ultimately decided to use a temporary detour bridge as it would offer an economical way to address these concerns, while reducing construction time and providing a safe and reliable detour route for travelers and a safer environment for workers.

The project contractor, Drewery Construction Co., Inc., selected a single-span Acrow 700XS bridge with an overall length of 130 feet and a roadway width of 24 feet to accommodate two lanes of traffic. The modular steel structure was assembled on site beginning in September 2022 and installed in October using a full cantilever launch with an 80-foot launching nose. The temporary bridge will be in use until completion of the new bridge, now anticipated to be September 2023.

In addition to the clear safety benefits, Acrow’s modular bridges can help keep projects on or ahead of schedule. Providing a predictable, reliable detour route mitigates many of the economic costs associated with long-term construction including vehicle and freight delays as well as burdens to local businesses and inconvenience to the local community.

“Our versatile modular bridges provide a good solution for state DOTs and contractors needing reliable, cost-effective detour solutions,” said Acrow’s Director National Sales & Military Business Development, Eugene Sobecki. “The use of prefabricated bridging systems has grown significantly in recent years as government agencies continue to adopt Accelerated Bridge Construction methods over phased construction to significantly minimize work zone impacts and reduce costs.”

“Bridge rehabilitation and replacement projects are becoming more common as U.S. transportation infrastructure ages,” added Bill Killeen, Acrow’s CEO. “In addition to increasing safety for motorists, these urgently needed projects are integral to the economic health of the region and well-being of residents. Continued investment in critical transportation infrastructure through projects such as these plays an important role in ensuring our roads and bridges can meet the demands of today and tomorrow.”

Stantec, a global leader in design and engineering, has hired Paula Gartner to lead its transportation business in the Gulf Coast region. Gartner brings more than 30 years of engineering consulting experience to the role. She will be responsible for managing and growing Stantec’s transportation business in the region, including two of the firm’s largest infrastructure growth markets in Texas and Florida.

Gartner has led transportation, energy, water, planning, buildings, survey, utility coordination, and site civil teams in small and global firms across multiple states. She has led operations and business development, acquisition integrations, and reorganization efforts while building inclusive teams that serve both clients and communities.

“Paula brings a strong engineering consulting background to the region, and she will provide the leadership needed to deliver strong results for our clients,” said Dave Sauve, Transportation Business Line leader for Stantec in North America. “Texas and Florida represent particularly strong growth markets for us, and Paula’s oversight and technical expertise will allow us to increase our presence in this important geography.”

Gartner’s project work has spanned community development and transportation projects, including the first recycling center in Boulder County, Colorado, a master planned community in Reno, Nevada, Indianapolis International Airport landside projects, a new Flex Lab at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and multiple reconstructions of urban highways through downtown Indianapolis. In California, Gartner was part of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) project, a 16-mile, six-station extension of the existing transit system.

“Throughout my career I’ve been driven by a passion for the built environment, earning clients’ trust, and developing high-energy teams,” said Gartner. “I firmly believe that collaboration and a ‘stronger together’ mindset makes good teams great. I look forward to bringing everything I can offer to Stantec and our clients.”

Gartner is a graduate of the University of Vermont and Vermont Technical College, as well as earning a certificate from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She holds professional engineering licenses in multiple States, and is a LEED accredited professional. She has held numerous board positions, most recently focusing on policy boards in San Francisco and the Bay area, including the Bay Area Council, Bay Planning Coalition and East Bay Leadership Council.

Learn more about Transportation at Stantec.

HDR’s latest Experts Talk interview features Principal Consultant Brian Blanchard, who has more than 40 years of experience in the transportation industry, including more than three decades in leadership positions at the Florida Department of Transportation, last serving as assistant secretary. He shares why staff augmentation is needed now more than ever, the benefits it can bring, contract considerations and what to expect when adding embedded consultant staff. Republication of the article or separate interviews with Brian are available on request.

“In many cases, private consultants offer specialized expertise that cannot be found at public agencies,” Blanchard said. “These insights can be particularly valuable on projects dealing with emerging technology, sustainability, broadband, new alternative delivery methods or other areas where agencies may not have a long history, but which are major focuses of current federal funding.”

HDR’s Experts Talk interview series shines a light on various aspects of transportation infrastructure design and delivery. Each subject matter expert offers unique expertise and insights about new and ongoing trends, emerging technologies and the human side of infrastructure.

“With COWI, Ramboll and Asplan Viak we have a highly competent and enthusiastic team ready to start on this important phase together with Bybanen Utbygging”, says Terje Simmenes, Project Director, Bergen Light Rail Construction and Development.

The light rail to Åsane will contribute to green mobility and boost the quality of life in the second largest city in Norway. According to estimates, around 60,000 people will use the light rail every day in 2040. It will follow Bryggen right at the centre of Bergen. In addition to being an ambitious light rail project, it is indeed an immensely sustainable urban development project. A new bicycle path and a rock tunnel expansion are also part of the project.

“This is a key project in terms of securing seamless and sustainable mobility in Bergen. This is a true dream project. We are proud to be entrusted with this important phase of the Bergen Light Rail, working with such a strong team. This will also make one of the most beautiful cities in the world even greener,” says Birgit Farstad Larsen, Executive Vice President, COWI.

FACTS

• The zoning plan for phase 5 of the Bergen Light Rail was adopted on 31 May 2023.
• On 5 June 2023, the partnership consisting of COWI, Asplan Viak and Rambøll signed the consultancy contract with Bergen Light Rail Construction and Development.
• The contract sum is approx. NOK 1.1 billion.
• The project involves rail alignment, a bicycle path and a tunnel expansion.
• The light rail alignment covers a section of 12.7 kilometres and 14 stops.
• The bicycle alignment is around 13 kilometres long.
• The extension of the Fløyfjell Tunnel is around three kilometres long, bringing the new total tunnel length to around 5.5 kilometres.
• The UNESCO world heritage site Bryggen, the old Hanseatic wharf in Bergen, has been a place of trade for a thousand years.

Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design and engineering, received three Engineering Excellence Awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) for its Bridging Kentucky program, US 60 Spottsville Bridge replacement, and Flood Predictor technology. The awards were presented during ACEC’s annual gala in Washington, D.C. on June 13.

The ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards honors the year’s most outstanding engineering accomplishments, recognizing engineering firms for projects demonstrating exceptional innovation, complexity, achievement, and value. Projects across the nation are rated on uniqueness and innovative applications; future value to the engineering profession; perception by the public; social, economic, and sustainable development considerations; complexity; and successful fulfillment of client/owner’s needs.

Bridging Kentucky program

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet established the Bridging Kentucky program as a response to the state’s aging bridge infrastructure and limited funding. The program has assessed hundreds of deficient bridges and has utilized cost-effective and timely solutions to meet critical community structure needs. The project development process was streamlined, which decreased the timeline from four years down to 18 months. Creative engineering solutions also decreased project costs by 42 percent.

“Bridging Kentucky has been vital to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s efforts to meet the infrastructure needs statewide”, said Michael Perry, vice president of transportation at Stantec. “Repairing and replacing almost 400 bridges with cost-effective solutions allowed the program to successfully connect more communities across the commonwealth. Bridging Kentucky also created the foundation for the current statewide bridge delivery project.”

US 60 Spottsville Bridge Replacement

Built in 1931, the Spottsville Bridge over the Green River provides connectivity between Owensboro and Henderson. Stantec served as prime consultant and bridge designer on the US 60 Spottsville Bridge replacement in Henderson County, Kentucky. The bridge is heavily traveled by commercial semi-trucks, farm equipment, and barges along the waterway below. The bridge struggled to keep up with modern-day needs, as pier locations were challenging for barge traffic, and a lack of shoulders on the roadway contributed to a high crash rate. Stantec designed a modified Warren truss bridge, extending the bridge deck length to accommodate new piers located out of the water, thereby improving river navigation. Recognizing and meeting the needs of the community, the new bridge was designed to accommodate modern farm machinery and large trucks in the rural farming community. 

Flood Predictor

Last year, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Department (TN ECD), in partnership with Stantec, integrated a new decision-support technology to strengthen its resiliency efforts against flooding statewide. Flood Predictor, a proprietary product developed by Stantec, is a machine learning flood-risk technology informed by more than 30,000 hours of engineered flood modeling. This data provides Tennessee communities with high-quality flood predictions to support disaster planning and hazard mitigation.

Flood Predictor is a Stantec.io digital product that delivers rapid probabilistic flood predictions. As a result, Flood Predictor gives state and local officials the ability to efficiently analyze regional flood risks in near real-time without the need for complex hydrology and hydraulic modeling, which often can take months to deliver.

“Flood Predictor utilizes the latest machine-learning technology combined with traditional modeling and engineering studies to provide real-time, reliable information to decision makers,” said Jeff Albee, vice president and director of digital solutions at Stantec. “This data allows leaders to understand an area’s current flooding risks based on statistical simulations and gives valuable time for action.”

Learn more about Stantec’s Bridges & Structures services here.

Learn more about Stantec.io here.

The scope of work included demolition of an existing concrete relieving platform, dry excavation, combi-wall bulkhead installation, construction of the new wharf which included wharf piling, mechanical and hydraulic dredging, mudline/shoreline protection system, and mooring and breasting system, plus the rehabilitation of the existing Berth 7 fender system. McCarthy self-performed all aspects of the project except for hydraulic dredging, electrical and crane rail installation.

Over 1,400 steel piles were installed on this project. The new berth also had to be constructed without disrupting access to Berth 7, requiring careful coordination while vessels were docked. McCarthy also worked to protect the shoreline, using a grout-filled mattress system in lieu of the originally designed 30-inch riprap, thereby preventing future maintenance dredging obstructions.

For one of the unique aspects of the project, McCarthy built a roll on/roll off (RORO) dock structure which allows for vehicles and large equipment to unload and load from a vessel to the wharf. This structure can be adapted to become a ship-to-shore crane rail berth when post-Panamex gantry cranes are installed. This flexibility ensures the new dock has the ability to meet the diverse needs of Port Freeport.

“McCarthy has extensive experience in building and rehabilitating port and marine projects on the Texas coast, and this project once again allowed our team to showcase our expertise,” said Fitz O’Donnell, senior vice president of operations for McCarthy. “We were honored to work with Port Freeport on such an important project as they work to support commerce in the region.”

Berth 8 was dredged to minus 51 feet, matching the depth of the Freeport Harbor Channel Improvement Project, allowing it to handle newer, larger container vessels transiting the expanded Panama Canal. 

Port Freeport is ranked nationally 6th in chemicals, 19th in total tonnage, and 26th in containers. The Freeport Harbor Channel serves Alliera, Atlantic Container Lines, AMPORTS, BASF, Chiquita Fresh N.A., Dole Fresh Fruit, The Dow Chemical Company, Enterprise Products Partners, ExxonMobil, Freeport LNG, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Glovis, Grimaldi Lines, Hoegh Autoliners, Kirby Marine, Liberty Global Logistics, Mammoet, MEGlobal, NYK RORO, Oceanus Line, Phillips 66, Riviana Foods, Inc., Sallaum Lines, Tenaris, U.S Department of Energy, Volkswagen Group of America, and Vulcan Materials Company.

McCarthy has worked at various ports along the Gulf Coast for more than 30 years. McCarthy’s experience in marine construction spans a diverse array of project types including petrochemical liquid terminal facilities, bulk cargo handling terminals, to deep water container terminals and ship docks. McCarthy undertakes complex projects for public clients such as Port Freeport, Port Beaumont and Port Houston, as well as private mid-stream clients and is partner of choice for EPC firms servicing oil and gas and petrochemical clients.

McCarthy Completes Largest Public Port Project on Texas Coast – Port Freeport Berth 8

The majority of EV infrastructure work in the United States will come from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program, a 5-year US $5 billion investment within the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. All State plans for using NEVI funding have been submitted and approved, so the next stage will be plan implementation. 

“This is a major milestone in EV adoption in the US, and States are looking for assistance in setting up their programs,” said Eric Plapper, EV Infrastructure Lead at Stantec. “Stantec has the planning, project management, and technical expertise that States need for a successful program, and I’m thrilled to be joining the firm at this critical time.” 

While NEVI is the immediate major trend in EV infrastructure, policy, planning, and infrastructure work will be part of the equation, as will transitioning fleets to EV. Community charging plans will also be an important next step for municipalities. Future work will include developing plans that enable charging at home and at work, during the day or overnight. While EV adoption in the US grew to 5% of all light vehicle sales in 2022, uneven charging distribution, charging time, and range anxiety continue to be challenges to advancing adoption, all of which have wider infrastructure implications. EV implementation plans will make sure EV technology is reliable and convenient, and will be key to the technology’s widespread adoption. 

A certified planner with a Masters in City and Regional Planning from Ohio State University, Eric has a deep understanding of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program from leading key tasks for NEVI plans in Florida and North Dakota, as well as advising on plans in several others. Additionally, he has helped clients secure nearly $80 million in grant funding, including the successful Smart City Challenge application in Columbus, Ohio which sought smart mobility solutions to improve accessibility to medical services in the Linden community. 

“EV adoption is the most exciting moment in transportation in a hundred years, and Eric is the right person to coordinate our efforts,” said Kate Jack, Smart(ER) Mobility sector leader, Stantec. “His unique set of skills and experience will help bring our full expertise to bear on client challenges and help form impactful community solutions.” 

Stantec has been active in dozens of EV-related projects across North America and globally, including the Automated Circulator and Connected Pedestrian Safety Program (GoMed) in Las Vegas, and numerous Zero Emission Vehicle planning projects, particularly in the transit space. Some recent project wins include an EV Strategic Plan in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and EVSE charging, design, development and servicing in West Hartford. 

Learn more about Electric Vehicle Infrastructure at Stantec. 

“Every day counts in this urgent reconstruction project, and the quick-release funding is an important step to help PennDOT rebuild the collapsed portion of I-95,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “We will continue to use every federal resource we can to help Pennsylvania restore this key artery quickly and safely.”

Over the last several days, Secretary Buttigieg, Under Secretary for Transportation Carlos Monje and Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt have visited the site to view the damage and meet with state and local officials and labor leaders.

“The I-95 corridor is a vital connection for people and goods traveling along the East Coast, and we are working hand in hand with state and local officials to make the necessary repairs,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “We know thousands of people and businesses rely on this interstate every day, which is why we are providing this quick release funding to ensure PennDOT can reopen this section of I-95 as quickly as possible.”

The funding will be used towards maintaining emergency operations and detour routes for a structure that normally carries about 160,000 vehicles on average each day, the demolition of damaged structures, and emergency repairs to restore essential traffic. PennDOT can also proceed with preliminary engineering, surveys and design as part of plans to perform the permanent restoration work and rebuild that section of I-95.

On June 11, a tanker truck exiting the interstate crashed and exploded under Interstate-95 in Philadelphia. The northbound bridge collapsed and the southbound bridge was severely compromised. The entire section will need to be replaced.

FHWA’s Emergency Relief program provides funding to States, territories, Tribes, and Federal Land Management Agencies for highways and bridges damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic external events. These “quick release” Emergency Relief funds are an initial installment of funds to help restore essential transportation. Additional funds needed to repair the damage to I-95 in Pennsylvania will continue to be supported by the Emergency Relief program.

More information about FHWA’s Emergency Relief program can be found online at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/erelief.cfm.

The project was honored at the 57th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala (EEA)—a national juried competition awards ceremony sponsored by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).

Hosted by noted comedian Ross Shafer, Tuesday night’s EEA Gala honored 179 outstanding engineering achievements from the U.S. and worldwide.

Designed by HNTB of Los Angeles, the Sixth Street Viaduct is a 3,500-foot tied arch bridge locally called the “Ribbon of Light.” The structure re-establishes a critical thoroughfare between L.A.’s historic Boyle Heights on the east side with the Downtown Arts District on the west. 

Paying homage to the original double-arched 1932-era predecessor closed for demolition in 2016, the new viaduct features ten pairs of sculptural 30-and 60-foot concrete arches. Each arch is supported by an innovative seismic isolation system designed to withstand a 1,000-year seismic event. It also is the largest bridge project in the history of Los Angeles.

The project will also include a new 12-acre public park running below the bridge, accessible by multiple stairways and a monumental helical bike ramp currently under construction.

The project joins a prestigious list of recent Grand Conceptor Award winners, including the Moynihan Train Hall (New York, NY, 2022), Copperhill Watershed Restoration (Ducktown, Tennessee, 2020); and the SR 520 Floating Bridge Replacement (Seattle, 2017). 

Other 2023 Engineering Excellence Award Winners are:

2023 GRAND AWARDS 

• Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge Project, Washington, DC, AECOM
• I-74 Corridor over the Mississippi River, Bettendorf and Davenport, IA and Moline and Rock Island, IL,  Benesch & Modjeski and Masters
• Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal, North Charleston, SC, HDR
• Clear Creek Canyon Park, Gateway Segment; Golden, CO; Muller Engineering
• PAE Living Building, Portland, OR, PAE
• Delta’s New Terminal C at LaGuardia Airport, Queens, NY, STV/Satterfield & Pontikes (Joint Venture)
• Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA, Thornton Tomasetti

2023 HONOR AWARDS

• NASA Langley Measurement Systems Laboratory, Hampton, VA, AECOM
• Jane Byrne Interchange, Chicago, IL, AECOM & TranSystems (Joint Venture)
• City Walk BHAM, Birmingham, AL, Barge Design Solutions
• Towerside District Stormwater Management System, Minneapolis, MN, Barr Engineering
• I-295 over Veranda Street Bridge Replacement, Portland, ME, HNTB
• Reconstruction and Rehabilitation at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, Brooklyn to Staten Island, NY, HNTB, WSP USA (Joint Venture)
• City of Billings Nutrient Improvements, Billings, MT, HDR
• I-579 Urban Open Space Cap, Pittsburgh, PA, HDR
• SEA International Arrivals Facility, Seattle, WA, KPFF
• Chatham Park Water Recovery Center, Pittsboro, NC, McKim & Creed
• 100 Vandam Street, New York, NY, Severud Associates
• Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, Councelor, NM, Souder, Miller & Associates
• Bridging Kentucky, Frankfort, KY, Stantec, Qk4 and AECOM
• Seapoint Industrial Terminal Complex, Savannah, GA,Terracon
• Merchants Bridge Main Span Trusses & East Approach, St. Louis, MO,TranSystems
• 66 Hudson Boulevard – The Spiral, New York, NY, WSP USA

Commenting on Turk’s appointment, Gewalt Hamilton Associates President Todd Gordon said, “We are thrilled to welcome Matt Turk to our team as the Director of Transportation Services. His dedicated track record in transportation engineering and his proven ability to lead complex projects make him the ideal candidate for this crucial role. We look forward to working together and achieving new milestones in transportation infrastructure under his leadership.” 

Throughout his career, Turk has passionately excelled in numerous aspects of transportation engineering, including Phase I conceptual engineering and planning, Phase II final design engineering, and Design-Build proposal phase engineering. His comprehensive skillset and proficiency in these areas make him an invaluable asset to GHA and its clients. 

With more than 15 years of project experience, Turk has been involved in several high-profile projects across various disciplines, successfully leading their implementation and delivery. Notably, he played a pivotal role in spearheading multiple projects within the Central Tri-State Corridor Program, including crossroad bridge improvements, interim improvements to facilitate traffic staging during construction, and a pedestrian underpass within the Village of Western Springs. Turk’s expertise was also instrumental in delivering roadway improvements such as the US Route 30 at IL Route 50 traffic signal modernization project for the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Arlington Heights Road Reconstruction project for Lake County Division of Transportation. 

Additionally, Turk has leveraged his rail design and transit planning experience to deliver projects for Metra and CDOT, including a Metra bridge replacement near the Northbrook Station and Chicago Union Station Master Planning for CDOT. 

As the Director of Transportation Services, Turk will oversee and guide the strategic direction of GHA’s transportation projects, ensuring the delivery of innovative solutions that address the evolving needs of clients and communities alike with integrity. His extensive knowledge and leadership acumen will enable GHA to continue its commitment to excellence and client satisfaction, while providing a personal approach to civil engineering. 

Turk expressed his enthusiasm for joining GHA, stating, “I am excited for the opportunity to be a part of Gewalt Hamilton Associates, a renowned firm known for its dedication to delivering exceptional transportation solutions. I look forward to leveraging my expertise and passion for innovation to collaborate with the talented team at GHA to provide outstanding service to our clients and implement impactful transportation infrastructure improvements within their communities.” 

Gewalt Hamilton Associates Inc. (GHA) is a Professional Engineering and Land Surveying firm licensed and registered in the State of Illinois. For more than 40 years, GHA has been providing civil engineering and related services to municipal governments, townships, county and state agencies, school districts, park districts, colleges and universities, and private organizations. 

“Infrastructure Engineers is a well-respected firm with cultural values that align with ours and we are pleased to welcome their employees and customers to Bowman,” said Gary Bowman, Chairman and CEO of Bowman. “The firm’s focus on public sector infrastructure design and its depth of experience in construction management consulting are extremely complementary to our long-term growth and diversification initiatives. We are excited to be expanding our presence in California and believe this acquisition presents immediate opportunities across our platform for expanded services, revenue synergies, and work sharing efficiencies.” 

“Bowman is a natural fit for our firm and we’re all excited to get started,” said Sid Mousavi, President of Infrastructure Engineers. “We have a depth of experience with public sector infrastructure that will provide Bowman a solid foundation from which to grow that market nationally. We believe strongly that both our clients and our employees will benefit greatly from the extensive network of resources and professional development programs Bowman has access to across the country. We are looking forward to being a contributor to the next chapter of the Bowman story.”

Financed with a combination of cash, seller notes, and equity, the acquisition falls within previously discussed target multiple and operating metric ranges and is expected to be immediately accretive. The Company anticipates the acquisition will initially contribute approximately $10 million of annualized net service billing. More detailed information on M&A activities, pipeline, and guidance updates are provided in connection with scheduled quarterly and annual communications.

The project will add at least nine new segments of double track along the 83-mile FrontRunner commuter rail system and update signaling systems throughout the corridor. When complete, the project is expected to improve the frequency of the system’s peak hour service from 30 minutes to 15 minutes, increase overall service capacity by 55% and enhance reliability.

HDR will manage the overall scope, schedule and cost of the project in coordination with UDOT and the Utah Transit Authority. This includes assistance in the selection of a project delivery method, environmental documentation, federal grant support, project controls implementation, risk analysis, public outreach, preliminary engineering design, design review and more.

The current FrontRunner system, extending from Ogden to Provo, has 61 miles of single track and 22 miles of double track. Northbound and southbound trains share the same track along most of the corridor, so any disruption can cause cascading delays. The Strategic Double Track project will roughly double the amount of double track, allowing for more frequent trains and more reliable service. As part of the project, UTA will also purchase 10 more train sets to accommodate the expanded capacity.

“The FrontRunner serves as one of the most critical elements of Utah’s transit system, and this important expansion will provide exciting new mobility options to the state’s rapidly expanding population,” said Senior Project Manager Mark Fuhrmann, who is leading HDR’s team on the project. “HDR’s experts have supported agencies across North America in completing similar double track projects, and I look forward to the day when we add the FrontRunner to that growing list of success stories.”

The 2023 America’s Transportation Awards named the effort Best Use of Technology and Innovation, Medium Project, for the Western region. The competition is sponsored by AASHTO, an association representing highway and transportation departments nationwide, as well as AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 

“We’re grateful to see the Pinto Creek Bridge replacement honored among projects throughout the West, but we’re even prouder of what this improvement has accomplished for those who rely on this critical route for passenger and commercial traffic,” said Greg Byres, ADOT State Engineer and Deputy Director for Transportation. “ADOT engineers and the contractor used innovative design and construction approaches to create a safer and more reliable US 60 for decades to come.”

Completed in 2022, the $25.3 million project built the new bridge next to the one it replaced, with traffic continuing to use the old bridge until the new bridge opened. 

Among other innovative approaches used:

• ADOT used a bid-alternative method for design, which allowed the contractor to determine economical and supportive foundation systems for each of the bridge’s three piers while taking into account the mountainous terrain.
• To create retaining wall structures up to 30 feet high, ADOT engineers developed design standards and specifications for a micro-pile foundation system using high-strength, small-diameter steel rods.
• A temporary access road was built to the floor of the steep canyon to provide access for heavy equipment, including a 400-ton crane that placed girders atop the piers, the tallest of which is 138 feet. 
• ADOT partnered with Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix to temporarily remove and then return hedgehog cactuses unique to the project site.

You can view photos of the completed bridge at flic.kr/s/aHBqjzWgRb. Carrying two lanes of traffic, the bridge is 695.5 feet long, has 10-foot-wide shoulders and can carry heavier loads than its predecessor, which was 72 years old.

The award was presented last week at the annual meeting of WASHTO, which represents departments of transportation in the West. 

Sustainability drives the design of this new metro line, which aims to reduce the overall carbon footprint by 50% compared with the city’s existing lines, while prioritising the passenger experience and safety to enhance sustainable mobility across the city of Copenhagen.

In the first phase, the joint venture will develop the concept design and carry out an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to assess the possible effects of the development on residents’ health, examining noise pollution and vibration, and any likely impacts on local biodiversity – land, soil, water, air – and, the city’s cultural heritage.

The proposed engineering and architectural design for the M5 design consists of 10 stations running from Copenhagen Central Station via Islands Brygge, Amagerbrogade and Refshaleøen all the way to Lynetteholm and Østerport, as well as a bifurcation chamber to prepare for a potential Øresund metro line. The infrastructure will also safeguard a possible future extension of the line to close the ring between Østerport and Copenhagen Central.

The EIA will consider all relevant environmental aspects of the chosen alignment, stations, and reasonable alternatives, advising on utility relocation and the design of civil works. Once the concept design is completed, the team will develop the reference design and follow the project through the procurement process alongside Metroselskabet.

The new M5 metro line will serve existing areas of the capital as well as new districts, also helping to relieve congestion on the M1/M2 harbour crossing and provide sustainable mobility connection into the emerging urban districts of Kløverparken, Refshaleøen and Lynetteholm.

“We are thrilled and privileged to be part of the M5 team to jointly develop Copenhagen’s next metro line for the city’s many residents. The project is highly ambitious when it comes to its vision for sustainability, and innovation and digitalisation will be core elements as we design new solutions without compromising the customer experience or safety. We want to significantly reduce the carbon footprint and set new standards for tomorrow’s metros,” says Flemming Billeskov Nissen, Project Director at COWI.

“The new M5 metro line will set new climate standards and contribute to a greener future for Copenhagen. We look forward to working with our partners on this visionary project, which builds on our expertise in the design and development of sustainable transport systems in Copenhagen, to design a stunning, efficient, and safe passenger experience that will take the world’s best metro to the next level,” says Alison Norrish, Project Director at Arup.

Bentley Systems’ Rodrigo Fernandes, Empowering Sustainable Development Goals (ES(D)G) Director, will participate in an expert panel discussion at Environment Analyst’s Global Business Summit in Chicago, Illinois. He will specifically focus on how organizations involved in infrastructure can successfully integrate sustainability and resilience into their development and project delivery. Fernandes will also highlight the latest news about Bentley’s product strategy for supporting carbon footprint reporting and optimization in infrastructure projects.

In a rapidly evolving landscape, the Global Business Summit provides an opportunity to come together with over 150 sustainability consulting leaders, clients, and stakeholders to explore how sustainability and ESG drivers are impacting the North American market. Attendees will learn how to respond to these drivers, as well as how to develop strategies to fully integrate ESG within the corporate business framework and showcase real action.

Who:

The following people will be presenting alongside Fernandes at the expert panel discussion:

• Hollie Schmidt, Director, Resilient + Sustainability Business Advisory, Jacobs
• Lauren Swan, Vice President, Director of Resilience and Sustainable Development, AECOM
• Joyce Coffee, President, Climate Resilience Consulting
• Michael Johnsen, Senior Advisor for Climate and Sustainability, Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation

When:

The Global Business Summit runs from June 27 to June 28, 2023. Fernandes will be a panelist at the following event:

Wednesday, June 28, 11:15 a.m.

Expert Panel Discussion: Successfully Integrating Sustainability and Resilience into Infrastructure Development and Project Delivery

Moderator: Susan Reisbord, EVP environmental services, Stantec

Where:

Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel

221 N Columbus Drive

Chicago, IL 60601

Media Interviews

Rodrigo Fernandes and Kaustubh Page, Bentley’s director of product management, will be available for one-on-one interviews during the event, as well as virtually after the event—particularly to discuss the latest news on Bentley’s product strategy and solutions for carbon footprint reporting and optimization. To request an interview, please contact Michaela Romero at Michaela.Romero@bentley.com or +33 188463963.

The $85M design-build project for the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA), included converting six miles of a two-lane road into a four-lane divided highway, greatly reducing traffic congestion, and providing enhanced safety for motorists. Three existing bridge structures were replaced, as well as 4,500 SF of stream relocation of multiple tributaries to the Middle Patuxent River, including the relocation of the river itself.

Greg Andricos, President and COO of Wagman Heavy Civil states, “Through collaboration with MDOT SHA and our project partners, the project team delivered a high-quality project, on time and under budget, while greatly increasing Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) firm participation. I commend the team on their hard work, innovation, and dedication.”

The mission of CMAA is to promote the construction management profession and its use of qualified construction managers on projects and programs. For more information on CMAA, visit their website.

Wagman is a multi-faceted construction firm with major operations in heavy civil, general construction, and geotechnical construction services. Founded in 1902, Wagman is a fourth generation, family-owned company with offices in Pennsylvania and Virginia and is headquartered in York, PA. As a heavy civil contractor, Wagman is a nationally recognized leader within the industry. Wagman’s core competencies include: design-build, infrastructure, marine construction, modified concrete, grooving and grinding, and geotechnical construction services. For more information about Wagman, please visit www.wagman.com.

As the most abundantly used construction material in the world, concrete is a major contributor of greenhouse gases. An industry leader in sustainability, Central Concrete was the first North American building material producer to provide Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for concrete in order to quantify and demonstrate the reduction of embodied carbon in its production. They are now focused on reducing the emissions associated with the transportation of the material by addressing their concrete mixing trucks, which are among the heaviest vehicles on the road.

One of the main benefits of concrete is that it is ordered on demand throughout the construction process, but that requires trucks to frequently travel and transport it from the production plant to the job site. Concrete trucks are often the heaviest vehicles on the road and require more fuel, leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions. They are also difficult to transition to ZEVs due to their small market size, legal weight restrictions, and high energy demand.

“Central Concrete has been a national leader in sustainability by delivering low-carbon concrete. Our partnership with Central Concrete and Momentum is a substantial step forward in decarbonizing hard-to-abate heavy-duty fleet vehicles both in California and within the concrete industry,” said Raphael Sperry, an Associate Principal in Arup’s San Francisco office. 

To address these barriers, Arup, Central Concrete, and Momentum researched different hydrogen and battery electric ZEV technologies to gauge market readiness, clarify the implications of the fleet transition on operations, and better understand the potential costs. After extensive research informed by community and stakeholder engagement sessions, the team found that converting Central Concrete’s fleet of concrete mixer trucks to Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) would be the best option. This is primarily due to hydrogen fuel’s light weight and lower cost, as well as the fact that it can be stored and dispensed on-site or delivered by mobile fueling, allowing Central Concrete to limit disruption of its current fueling practices. In addition, hydrogen fuel cells create zero local emissions, which leads to cleaner air and eliminates carbon emissions when supplied by green hydrogen sources.

“Developing zero-emission solutions for concrete mixer trucks demonstrates a viable pathway for transitioning very heavy-duty vehicles to hydrogen or electric in the years ahead,” said John Friedrich, Strategist with Momentum. “We’re hopeful that the results of this Blueprint collaboration with Central Concrete and Momentum will be utilized and replicated by the concrete industry throughout California and the United States.”

Arup and Momentum are also currently supporting several additional CEC Blueprint grant teams across a variety of use cases, including retail truck fueling station operators, port operators, ferry operators, logistics and food distribution companies, airports, and local governments. With the support from CEC Blueprint grants, Arup, Momentum, and their partners will continue to develop actionable and scalable transitions for fleets that will lead to positive outcomes for communities and fleet operators throughout California and the country.

The iTwin Activate program supports startups in scoping and building industry relevant solutions by leveraging or interoperating with Bentley technology through program and co-development funding, solutions architecture support, and access to Bentley executives for commercial insights. Tom Kurke, Bentley’s Vice President of iTwin Ventures, said, “Our first cohort was a small, invitation-only group of four startups focused on the electric grid industry. We were excited to see the innovative solutions that the startups built incorporating our technology. The projects serve as powerful examples of new capabilities that arise from these collaborations, and in some cases we are already seeing our shared users benefit from these new tools and the efficiencies they unlock.”

iTwin Activate Cohort #1 – Grid supported four startups: Spatial Data.AI, Virtual Technology Simplified, Rebase Energy, and SurPlus Maps.

Spatial Data AI’s solution automates the processing of LiDAR data from point clouds into ready-to-use vector formats, including SPIDAcalc models and various other CAD formats. This project focused on building a connector to Bentley’s pole analysis solution (SPIDAcalc). Spatial Data founder Doug Culbert said, “Participating in the iTwin Activate program supported the automated development of a design-centric digital twin for electrical distribution and telecommunications companies. The outcome of this initiative advanced our technical solution and expanded our service offerings in these markets. Spatial Data would like to thank the Bentley team for this accelerator program and is excited to continue co-developing products and services, enabling digital transformations across the infrastructure sector.”

Virtual Technology Simplified (VTS) enables tablet and phone data capture of utility assets and developed a data mobility and visualization solution on the iTwin Platform. John Chwalibog, founder and CEO of VTS, said, “For us at VTS, two things particularly jumped out. One was that the VTS development team had access to Bentley’s team of SME’s who could help us identify problems and collaborate with us to find solutions to any technical issues that came up throughout the project. Second was the team of people that came together over the course of the cohort. They were able to address the challenges all startups face when going from startup to funded company. We would highly recommend the program to other startups in the geospatial community as the experience was extremely positive for the entire VTS team.”

iTwin Activate Cohort #2 will focus on solutions for Infrastructure Internet of Things (IIoT) use cases and is open for all interested parties to apply. Cory Baldwin, Bentley’s Vice President of Infrastructure IoT, described his goals for this cohort. “We are excited to work with startups in the IoT space and build technology and partnerships together to solve the needs of the infrastructure sector. We are particularly interested in working with teams focused on creating predictive analytics or deriving insights from the sensor data federated in the iTwin Platform, as well as those creating novel sensors or sensing technologies that can be brought into our digital twin ecosystem as part of a software-led motion.”

If you are a team building infrastructure IoT solutions and would like to be considered for participation in the iTwin Activate Cohort #2, we encourage you to apply at https://bentleyitwinventures.com/itwinactivate/. Applications will be open through June 16, 2023, and we anticipate notifying participants of their application status by June 23, 2023. We expect to announce iTwin Activate Cohort #3, focusing on generative artificial intelligence for infrastructure use cases, in summer of 2023.

For more information about the program, please visit, iTwin Activate.

The Marine Corps is considering a possible replacement for the currently fielded Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR), a ground transport logistics vehicle that the Marine Corps considers its “workhorse.” It performs vital logistical functions between its light and heavy vehicle fleet.

“This work aligns with CTC’s mission to provide our Department of Defense clients with advanced technologies to meet their needs; in this case, to bring vision to next generation platforms,” said Edward J. Sheehan, Jr., CTC President and CEO.

The NG-MTT will leverage new designs and concepts considering advanced technologies and approaches. Some capabilities anticipated include a smaller and lighter platform, hybrid electric drive, an open systems architecture for future upgrades, and others.

“CTC brings a wealth of knowledge and resources to this project, including our work with hybrid electric vehicles and energy storage, lightweighting, and survivability technologies,” said Dan Markiewicz, CTC Senior Director and Program Manager for this effort.

The BIL established the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Formula Program to make surface transportation and its users more resilient to natural hazards and weather events. To fulfill this purpose, the BIL requires each state to use a portion of PROTECT funding for resilience-related planning activities, such as developing a Resilience Improvement Plan. By developing this Plan and incorporating it into the state’s long-range transportation plan, Kansas will be eligible to reduce its federal/state cost share from 80/20 to 90/10, keeping an additional $7.2 million in the state. Through this process, Kansas and its communities will be prepared for the continued operation and rapid recovery of surface transportation systems.

“The Resilience Improvement Plan development process, which includes a vulnerability assessment, will be a great opportunity to get all of our partners in infrastructure together to determine critical investments that will keep Kansas going during catastrophic events,” said David Schwartz, KDOT project manager for the Resilience Improvement Plan. “Being able to leverage federal dollars is a huge incentive to take a hard look at our systems.”

Stantec, with partners PEC and Hg Consult, Inc., will develop a public engagement approach that reaches a wide variety of audiences through scalable public webinars and meetings, a project website, social media content, and a survey of key stakeholders. Stantec will also conduct a risk-based vulnerability assessment using GIS with a 100-meter grid to identify assets in the state’s multi-modal transportation system that are vulnerable to natural hazards, particularly those influenced by climate change.

“Whether a spring tornado, summer flood, fall prairie fire, or winter ice storm, Kansans are predisposed to be resilient by the climate in which they live,” said Rebecca Leitschuh, project manager at Stantec. “While we can’t predict the weather, we can help better prepare communities across the state for natural hazards through the development of this Resilience Improvement Plan. Our two-phased approach includes a risk-based assessment and an implementation plan that is meaningful, understandable, actionable, and replicable.”

Stantec’s North American Funding Program (NAFP) team closely monitors state and federal funding policies to develop targeted funding strategies to complete projects. The team’s approach will align the vulnerability assessment and Resilience Improvement Plan with PROTECT requirements and make recommendations on funding sources that might be available for the prioritized projects.

The final Plan will be a visually rich document that includes vulnerability methodology, project prioritization criteria, and fact sheet for each prioritized resilience improvement project. It is expected to be complete by June 2024.

This project marks the sixth year that OSI has worked with the USMA cadets to design and construct a trail bridge at a New York State Park. The bridge was constructed as part of a senior-year capstone project by cadets, who receive hands-on design and construction experience as they pursue degrees in Civil Engineering and train for their military careers.

The new bridge spans an agricultural drainage ditch, allowing trail users to safely cross when seasonally wet and muddy conditions are present without causing landscape erosion or damage, in an area of the park known as Schunnemunk Meadows. The project will support year-round, multi-use recreational access on the future Schunnemunk Meadows trail, including hiking, walking, running, cycling, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing.

Located within the viewshed of the historic Moodna Viaduct, Schunnemunk Meadows was permanently protected by OSI in 2015, and transferred to OPRHP in 2018 as an addition to Schunnemunk State Park, with OSI managing the land through 2028. Over the past two decades, OSI has protected more than 3,300 acres to create and expand Schunnemunk State Park, for public benefit and enjoyment.

“We are thrilled to support the cadets in enhancing Schunnemunk State Park, a landscape OSI has worked to create, expand, and improve for more than 20 years,” said Peter Karis, OSI’s vice president of parks and stewardship. “We value our relationship with West Point. Parks benefit from the active involvement and participation of our future Army leaders. It is extremely gratifying to work with dedicated students at this formative part of their education and the start of their careers.”

State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said, “State Parks is proud of this collaboration at Schunnemunk State Park – for how it was designed and constructed and how it will aid visitors in Schunnemunk Meadows. It’s a perfect example of both identifying and solving a problem that makes safety a top priority. We commend OSI, PIPC and thank West Point cadets for honoring New York State with their expertise.”

Professor Led Klosky, who advised the cadet team along with Lt. Col. Adrian Biggerstaff and Dr. Gary Jordan, was very pleased with the outcome of the project, “These bridge projects provide a unique opportunity to train cadets in design, construction, project management, and team building, essential skills for an officer in the U.S. Army, while at the same time challenging them with building in remote conditions. This year’s team can be really proud of what they’ve accomplished; the Schunnemunk Meadow Bridge is beautiful, functional, and will last for many years to come.”

Cadet Alex Cummings, a member of the bridge team, was deeply impacted by the work, “Designing and building this bridge alongside my peers with the mentorship of our advisors has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my cadet career. Our team was able to apply multiple aspects of our Civil Engineering education to solve a real-world problem and develop a landmark for the local community that complements the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape. I look forward to hiking the Schunnemunk Meadows Trail and visiting the bridge our team built in the coming years.”

Each bridge built by cadets has a distinct style reflecting the needs of the terrain and the design process of the cadets in collaboration with project collaborators. This year, the cadets designed and constructed a 26-foot-long steel cantilevered suspension bridge inspired by the striking Moodna Viaduct and the adjacent Schunnemunk Mountain. The bridge’s asymmetrical design also incorporates a prominent “A” for “Army” into the upright superstructure, while honoring elements of the monumental sculptures at nearby Storm King Art Center.

With private support, OSI was able to provide more than $15,000 for bridge materials and site preparation. OSI also led the process to obtain environmental clearances from state agencies, including an archaeological investigation and noise impact assessment for bald eagles as part of the project’s review. In total, OSI has contributed more than $65,000 in support for these pedestrian bridges over the past six years.

PIPC supplied additional onsite coordination and equipment, and Schunnemunk State Park staff assisted with transportation of materials.

OSI’s Karis added, “This is an amazing relationship with real outcomes that the public can feel good about. Each project produces something special and unique, and each class of cadets is creating a legacy that improves New York’s state parks for everyone.”

This year, after seeing the cadets’ impressive engineering work firsthand, John Bernauer, President of Industrial Services Enterprises, donated $9,000 worth of steel for the Schunnemunk Meadows bridge project.

“I was happy to help the Cadets with their Capstone Project of designing, engineering, and fabricating the Schunnemunk Meadows Bridge. It is always important to give back to the community,” John Bernauer said. “With the cadet’s engineering design and drawings along with my resources through work, I was able to help the cadets secure material, assist in the fabrication of the raw steel, and deliver the material to the project site. The cadets finished the fabrication and erected the bridge by hand and did a great job.”

The project was also supported by a $15,000 grant from the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District (OCSWCD).

Kevin Sumner, OCSWCD’s conservation district manager said, “OCSWCD was pleased that New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) entrusted us with the administration of Environmental Benefit Project funds. The Orange County Land Trust and the Moodna Creek Watershed Intermunicipal Council helped us identify projects that would benefit the Moodna Watershed. The Schunnemunk Meadows Cadet Bridge was a great choice for use of this funding.”

The Schunnemunk Meadows bridge project is part of a larger effort led by OSI to build a formal shared-use trail network in the area. After decades of OSI’s work to create and expand the Schunnemunk State Park, OSI is partnering with OPRHP to build a gentle 2.4-mile loop trail through Schunnemunk Meadows that will connect the Otterkill Road Trailhead to the future Schunnemunk Rail Trail.

The overall cost of OSI’s efforts to bring the primary segments of the Schunnemunk Meadows Trail as well extensive improvements to the Otterkill Road Trailhead to fruition are approximately $1.8 million, launched with leadership support from Lucy Waletzky. Earlier this year, OSI was awarded a $500,000 New York State Environmental Protection Fund challenge grant. The organization has launched a campaign to raise the remaining $400,000.

The vision to create the Schunnemunk Meadows Trail was outlined as a top priority project in OSI’s Highlands West Trail Connectivity Plan, an OSI-created plan which establishes a vision for an interconnected trail system spanning more than 93,000 acres of protected land in the region.

The Schunnemunk Meadows Trail will expand recreational opportunities for the public and further establish Schunnemunk State Park as a destination easily accessible from the New York metropolitan area. The Schunnemunk Meadows Trail project is anticipated to be completed by fall 2025.

OSI’s ongoing connection with West Point has yielded six trail bridges. Previous projects have been completed at Harriman State Park, and four bridge replacements were completed along the School Mountain Road section of the Hubbard Perkins Loop Trail at Fahnestock State Park.

Kings Cross Station became the largest railway station in Britain when it opened in 1852, and today, it remains one of England’s most important historic buildings. The area surrounding the station has a deep history and, despite its decline following World War II, is once again a London hot spot. 

Over the last 15 years, the Kings Cross neighborhood has undergone an urban transformation. New residential apartments, offices and retail shops, built in and around the area’s historical buildings, have drawn Londoners to a part of the city they used to avoid. 

Global engineering firm Arup has been heavily involved in the transformation of the historic neighborhood, most recently designing the structural elements for Kings Cross R8, two 13-story buildings that combine affordable housing with rental space for small businesses. 

Kings Cross R8 is adjacent to three brick tunnels that serve as the conduit for every train entering and leaving King’s Cross Station. The tunnels were constructed in the 1700s and are sensitive to movement, requiring each design milestone for anything constructed within a certain proximity to the station to get approval by London’s rail network operator. 

Taking time to complete the approval processes could have knocked the project off schedule, but Arup found a way to keep it moving using parametric modeling and BIM. 

Accelerating Design and Embodied Carbon Calculations 

Using the integration between Tekla Structures and Grasshopper, Arup could continue structural work at pace while design-milestone approvals were coordinated in parallel. 

“We had to produce a number of drawings for the network-rail approval process,” said Gordon Clannachan, senior structural engineer and project lead at Arup. “Although these needed to be done at an earlier stage than we would typically do on projects, they allowed the client to fast-track the approvals process prior to the main contractor starting on-site.” 

Parametric design, also called computational and algorithmic design, is guided by a set of interconnected variables, functions, and rules that generate or control the design output to a parametric BIM solution. Based on the parameters the engineer defines, the effects of any change to the design are automatically populated throughout the model. For example, Grasshopper takes the inputs, completes the calculations and produces an output that is applied to the Tekla Structures model. This gives engineers a tremendous productivity advantage by eliminating the time-consuming process of manually applying changes across the model. 

With parametric design at the heart of the project’s workflows, Arup could push and pull data and geometry to and from Tekla Structures, improving the efficiency of everyday tasks. “Using Tekla to automate the model was essential for this work. As the design scheme evolved, we were able to respond very quickly,” he says. 

The value of parametric design is perhaps most keenly felt during the structural analysis. With a manual workflow, determining the most efficient design is ordinarily an incredibly time-consuming process that involves manually changing each variable, running an analysis, noting the results and then repeating it an indefinite number of times. Incorporating parametric design into the workflow transforms this process. In the case of R8, Arup engineers created a script that automated the calculation of loads bearing down on the concrete columns and walls. This helped optimize the design and reduce the amount of concrete in the building’s foundations. 

Arup also used the Tekla-Grasshopper integration to develop scripts for calculating the embodied carbon footprint of structural elements. Arup built the carbon factors into the Grasshopper script and parametrically linked the data. They then used Tekla Structures to create templates to export the embodied carbon of every element by material and various embodied-carbon stages. 

“We have a responsibility to take ownership of the embodied carbon in the structures we design and to use our influence to reduce the carbon impact of our projects,” said Clannachan. “If you really want to influence carbon-related decisions, then you need to automate these calculations.” 

The calculations were reported against targets set for 2030 and beyond. 

Bringing Technology, People, and Data Together 

Connecting the right people to the right data at the right time was essential for keeping the project on schedule. The architecture team, coordinated their work using Trimble Connect, a cloud-based common data environment (CDE) and collaboration platform. The 3D models were uploaded to the platform shared across stakeholders for coordination, clash detection and recording comments, tracking related work and closing out completed tasks. 

“Email exchange isn’t the best way to track model comments, so we kept everything in Trimble Connect,” said Clannachan. “It’s really good to collaborate in a 3D environment so that nothing slips through the net. Trimble Connect also produces fantastic, colorized images for embodied carbon reporting.” 

Making Parametric Design Accessible 

Although parametric modeling may seem complex, direct links between BIM software and visual programming tools, such as Grasshopper, make it possible for structural engineers like Arup to leverage parametric workflows without prior programming knowledge. 

“I always try to look for ways to do each project better than the one before, rather than just defaulting to repeating the same methods,” said Clannachan. “Pushing automation into our workflows makes us more efficient in how we deliver projects and respond to changes. The structural team believed in what we were doing and put a lot of hard work into developing these tools, which we can now use on the next project.” 

With dynamic automation, increased accuracy and rapid iterations, the benefits of parametric design are undeniable. While it can be used for any project large or small, it’s especially advantageous in complex structures with unconventional architecture. Using parametric design takes the modeling process to the next level and makes it possible to streamline work, create high-quality designs, and deliver successful projects. 

Much of the initial attention from infrastructure funding was focused on broadband and electric vehicle deployment. But now, other funding sources are getting lots of attention and bridge repair and replacement is occurring throughout the country. 

The bipartisan infrastructure bill provided $5 billion per year until 2026 just for bridges. That funding is encouraging state and local officials to reimagine how they deliver bridge projects. 

In 2021, it was reported that U.S. bridges had accrued a $125 billion backlog of critical maintenance needs. That was because 42 percent of them had been in service for more than 50 years. The same report found that it could possibly take 50 years to complete the backlog of critical bridge maintenance projects that would be required. That sobering news most likely encouraged elected officials to prioritize expediency related to repairing or replacing bridges in America. 

State transportation departments are now promoting design/build approaches to rehabilitating and replacing bridges because of delivery speed. This past summer, the state transportation departments for Ohio and Kentucky agreed to partner on the $2.8 billion design/build improvement of an interstate bridge between the two states. Earlier in 2022, the state of Missouri established a firm precedent for design/ build delivery of historic bridge projects. The Missouri Department of Transportation requested proposals for the design/build of its $243 million Chester Bridge project and a contract to a design/build team could be awarded as early as March 2023. 

A $75 million bridge project in Washington’s Clark County will call for a design/build team to replace the East Fork Lewis River bridge. Proposals will be requested in March of 2023. Despite being categorized as structurally deficient, the steel truss bridge services 38,000 vehicles—including nearly 7,000 large commercial freight vehicles—daily. The bridge was constructed in 1936 and mounting maintenance costs and disruptions to service have heightened the need to replace the structure. 

Historic bridge projects are being reimagined not only because of available funding but also because of incredible new technological developments. Accelerated Bridge Construction is changing how state transportation departments plan, design, and construct bridges without interrupting traffic. 

In Cape Cod, Massachusetts, an accelerated bridge is projected to cost more than $1 billion. Construction is forecasted for 2026.The Cape Cod peninsula juts into the Atlantic Ocean and its connectivity to mainland Massachusetts depends almost entirely on two bridges that were built in 1935. Those bridges—the Sagamore and the Bourne—are no longer capable of meeting modern transportation demands. The project will include prefabricating and building components off-site as the existing bridge is removed. 

A $400 million project in New York, slated to launch in 2023, will replace a bridge that has served as a lynchpin for rail travel along what has been one of the country’s most heavily used transportation corridors for over a century. The environmental review period has ended and the final design work for replacing the Livingston Avenue Bridge will proceed. Currently, the bridge’s deterioration has caused trains to cross in single-file and at speeds no greater than 15 miles per hour. 

A $1.8 billion bridge project has been announced for Connecticut. The plan is to select a contracting partner in 2023 for work on the Connecticut River Bridge. Within Connecticut, almost all passenger rail and freight services inevitably converge on the Connecticut River Bridge. The 115-year-old structure represents a critical juncture along Amtrak’s widely used Northeast Corridor as it supports freight trains and forms a foundational segment of passenger rail service. The proposed replacement will entail a two-track movable bridge structure with electrification and resilience components that include new tracks, improved signaling, sustainable power supplies, enhanced communication systems, and other security features. 

The Federal Lands Highway Program has become yet another source of funding for bridges. As an example of this program, an allocation of 

$25 million has been announced to repair and preserve Gardner River High Bridge, located in the Wyoming-based portion of Yellowstone National Park. This bridge was built in 1939 and federal funding will be available for a project launch in late 2023 or early 2024. Another $13.1 million allocation will support a project to replace the Sun River Bridge in Montana’s Lewis and Clark County. The project will focus on a 105-year-old, 225-foot-long, single lane, structurally deficient bridge that has historically provided access to numerous state and federal public lands. 

These projects are just a small sampling of the type of upcoming opportunities that will be available in 2023 and 2024. A lack of funding has held public officials back from addressing critical infrastructure needs in past years, but that obstacle has been removed. Not only is funding available, new technology and construction methods are being embraced because of the speed and sustainability that they offer. America is moving quickly now to enhance its infrastructure, and bridge repair is at the top of the priority list. 

Now is the time for interested contractors to approach public owners to ask for more detailed information about projects of interest. Planning documents, design outlines, and cost projections are available for the asking. The public at large and especially the citizens who travel across the bridges are the primary benefactors, but many regions will also benefit from job creation and economic vitality. America’s global competitiveness will be enhanced, and taxpayers will benefit because the country’s infrastructure assets will be upgraded and preserved for another century if this type of work continues. 

In the fall of 2021, President Biden and Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, earmarking the largest investment in the nation’s highways and bridges in more than a generation. Representing $1.2 trillion in expenditures, the law is aimed at repairing 65,000 miles of roads and 1,500 bridges. 

One year later, the Administration has announced projects including highway and rail upgrades, supply chain enhancements, water treatment plant expansions, network improvements, and more. 

Building and rehabilitating these critical infrastructure assets requires the hiring and training of thousands of workers at a time when the U.S. economy is dealing with an acute shortage of skilled workers. In fact, research indicated a shortage of about 650,000 skilled workers nationwide in 2022. While local communities, contractors, construction companies, and others welcome the influx of job opportunities driven by the investment in infrastructure, the paradigm shift ushers in another important consideration: Worker safety on the jobsite. 

Does the hiring of unskilled workers to fill the void increase the possibility of injuries on the job? 

How can construction companies ensure all their employees are operating in a safe environment, whether it is building a massive bridge across a major waterway or performing necessary repairs to an interstate that represents a vital artery to commerce?

Time to Form Up

When it comes to concrete construction, selecting the right formwork correlates directly with a greater degree of safety on any jobsite for anyone charged with climbing, assembling and installing equipment, and pouring the concrete. The sourcing of that formwork requires careful consideration and meticulous planning, something that must occur well before a shovel goes into the ground or heavy equipment is delivered to the site. 

Among the key considerations:

• Ease of installation: How difficult is it to install and operate the formwork necessary to complete the job? Is the formwork engineered such that one or only a handful of workers can cycle it or set it for the next function, or does it require a large crew, increasing the
possibility of accidents?

• Safe cycling: Can crews managing the formwork on the job strike it from the top, rather than having to disassemble it from the underneath? If so, this also reduces the possibility of accidents.

• System weight: Is the system easier to handle and lighter than the others? Safety risks tend to increase when lifting higher loads. Lighter systems can reduce safety risk and simultaneously reduce costs. 

The VARIOKIT Pier System (VPS) from PERI puts safety at the forefront when it comes to building bridge columns and caps. The two configurations—VARIOKIT Speed Stage (VSS) and VARIOKIT Speed Column (VSC)—also empower contractors to achieve optimal construction progress.

VPS enables teams to operate at the highest safety level from the commencement of operations. The complete platform and access safety is pre-assembled on the ground before lifting and installation of the cap system, providing a wide and safe workspace for rebar and
cap formwork installation.

When using the highly flexible PERI UP scaffolding system with PERI VPS, the working platforms can be completely installed within a matter of hours, eliminating time spent creating job-built
walkways and handrails. 

In addition, the VARIOKIT Speed Stage (VSS) always allows direct access to the reinforcement at the highest safety level. The side formwork is independent from the rest of the system, which allows for high flexibility on the type of side formwork to use and the ability to cycle the side formwork the day after pouring. 

Securing the Climb 

On a job site that requires workers to perform their work in an elevated position on a structure, safety is critical. How do you prevent falls and minimize environmental factors that can lead to unsafe conditions? 

PERI RCS Max Rail Climbing System combines the advantages of different climbing systems in a modular system and is used as climbing formwork as well as a climbing protection panel. Through the rail and shoe guided climbing, the units are securely connected to any structure. This makes the climbing procedure faster and safer, even in windy 

Along the Texas Gulf Coast, the construction and expansion of ports is a continually-active process. As one of the busiest corridors in the world for shipping, ports along the Texas Gulf Coast are actively working to update infrastructure and facilities to support a massive flow of traffic. McCarthy Building Companies has worked with a number of ports along the Texas Gulf Coast to do just this. McCarthy has continually worked with Port Houston for 30 years, and is currently undertaking projects for Port Freeport as well as demolishing and constructing a strategically important dock for Port Beaumont.

Over their decades in working with ports along the Texas Gulf Coast, McCarthy has been in a constant state of innovation in construction, and has developed technologies that help make projects safer while saving time and money. Their most recent development in this regard is certainly lacking in size, but that hasn’t stopped it from making a big impact on projects in the short time it has been deployed. McCarthy has recently started using a five-foot-long by three-foot-wide unpiloted survey vessel (USV) to assist with their port projects. Using sonar technology, the USV collects data on the seafloor and finds obstructions within the work area. The USV is also equipped with a sound velocity probe that reports the density, salinity, temperature, and conductivity of the water—all of which impact how fast sound waves travel through water, making data it collects more accurate.

Sarah Johnson, senior field engineer for McCarthy’s Marine Business Unit, says that the deciding factor for obtaining the USV was their project at the Port of Beaumont. In 2012, a wharf at the port failed due to an issue with the corrosion of steel piles. As such, a large part of McCarthy’s work at the Port of Beaumont has been demolishing the failed piles and concrete structures then subsequently installing new piles that will resist corrosion. Much of this demolition work is underwater, which is complicated by incredibly murky water that affords at most six inches of visibility. With the complications of access and visibility impairing safety and slowing progress, McCarthy’s team turned to the USV.

Prior to deploying the USV at the Port of Beaumont, divers on the project faced significant challenges and dangers from lack of visibility. According to Adeel Malik, vice president of estimating for McCarthy’s Marine Business Unit, the decision to use the USV at the Port of Beaumont stemmed from a need to map out the collapsed structure that lies beneath the water, adding that the decision to do so has had a significant impact from a safety perspective. The USV utilizes sonar and GPS for depth and horizontal positioning. When deployed, the USV is piloted around the work area and sends back a color map that indicates noticeable obstructions as well as differences in elevation. Additionally, the vessel produces a side scan sonar, which represents the area in more detail. Once the survey is complete, the data is post- processed to produce a detailed map of the space beneath the water.

At the Port of Beaumont, the ability to map beneath the water has proven especially useful as the age of the structure means that there aren’t accurate drawings from the original early-1900s structure. Without the USV, this made locating sections of the collapsed wharf exceedingly difficult. However, the USV’s accuracy has allowed McCarthy’s team to locate obstructions within inches, according to Johnson. After obstructions are identified, a crane operator is given the location directly via GPS, and the obstruction is removed in just a few hours. Malik points out that the USV has cut a significant amount of time out of the project as it eliminates the need to wait for dive teams to carry out their operations. Malik further adds that the USV is crucial in that it gives McCarthy’s teams the ability to assess problems and develop solutions in a much quicker manner, and the ability to connect the vessel’s data with GPS positioning means that work is much more accurate.

This USV technology has also shown additional capabilities outside of locating underwater obstructions. At the nearby Port of Freeport, the vessel was used to record underwater slope depth for toe trenching. Its deployment at Freeport verified slopes were at the correct location and angle, which ensured that ship propellers wouldn’t make contact with the ground. Johnson believes that, while early in its usage, the USV has potential to impact several areas of water-based infrastructure. One example is the work around existing and new pump stations. Many of these projects require extensive survey work, and Malik believes that USV technology can provide an accurate and quick solution to the surveying required—whether it is identifying underwater obstructions or verifying previous survey data. When it comes to surveying around pump stations and levees, Malik further points out that the development of this technology and its potential coincides with a 2018 bill that allocates $5 billion for flood protection in the state of Texas. With more work around flood protection infrastructure, USV technology has significant potential to positively shape the future of water-based projects in the AEC industry.

McCarthy Building Companies has long been involved in shaping port infrastructure along the Texas Gulf Coast. Likewise, the work they are doing now is laying the groundwork for port infrastructure projects in the future. In particular, the deployment of technologies like the USV are instrumental in shaping the way projects will look for years to come. Deploying technologies like the USV that introduce a vast shift in worker safety, efficiency, and accuracy is demonstrative of a commitment toward shaping a better work environment in the AEC industry.

As lead designer of the station, Arup provided structural, mechanical, engineering, plumbing, civil, and geotechnical engineering as well as information technology and communications, sustainability, and security consulting in support of Potomac Yard Constructors, the Halmar-Schiavone Joint Venture, and WMATA. 

Previously the largest railyard on the Eastern seaboard, Potomac Yard has undergone redevelopment over the last few decades. The addition of the new station, which is located between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the City of Alexandria, will be key to catalyzing the development of the surrounding area into a walkable urban hub. Bordered on one side by wetlands and on the other by freight rail tracks, the station is connected to the adjacent neighborhood by a pedestrian bridge at the north end of the station.  Arup designed the bridge to provide foot and cycle access over the freight rail corridor to the station pavilions, linking in with the adjacent Mount Vernon Trail and promoting sustainable mobility over car traffic. The team also oriented the south entrance pavilion to be more accessible for the sight-impaired traveling to and from the National Industries for the Blind, located across Potomac Avenue from the station. In the coming years, the station is expected to generate billions of dollars in new private sector investments, eventually supporting 26,000 new jobs and drawing 13,000 new residents to the burgeoning mixed-use community.

“Providing a critical link between the City of Alexandria’s rapidly developing neighborhoods and industry and the larger Washington DC area, the new Potomac Yard Metrorail Station exemplifies the importance of rail transit for thriving communities and sustainable development,” said Stephen Lasser, Principal and Project Manager, Arup.

An early adopter of the LEED for Transit Stations pilot program, the station is targeting Gold level certification. Arup provided guidance for the pathway to LEED, advising on aspects from site selection to materials and resources. During construction, Arup worked closely with the construction teams to drive a 70% diversion rate of waste hauling to landfill — a less common practice for infrastructure projects in the US. Now open, the station’s design aims to create a quality experience for travelers, serving to visually connect to and reference the scenic preserved wetlands bordering the east side of the site. The station includes natural design materials like stone, large windows for quality views of the surrounding environment, and biophilic façade artwork presented by the WMATA Art in Transit program.

Part of WMATA’s continued regional ridership expansion efforts, the Potomac Yard Metrorail Station demonstrates the vitality of rail transit for commuters. The new station fosters sustainability, both through its thoughtful design and its encouragement of high-density urban growth and low-carbon travel. 

The GEC role involves operating as an extension of, and in complete coordination with, the Authority’s Board of Directors and staff with respect to projects which now or in the future are studied, constructed, or operated by the NET RMA.

“Lochner is excited to support the NET RMA in their mission to implement infrastructure solutions that will enhance the quality of life and the economic environment in North East Texas,” said Senior Vice President and South Central Regional Manager Phil Russell. “Our experience with tolling agencies across the country will prove beneficial as we partner to accelerate the development of the Authority’s priority programs.”

Since 2004, the NET RMA has worked to enhance mobility and make North East Texas an even better place in which to live, work, and raise families. In conjunction with its 14 member counties, the Authority works to advance transportation initiatives and educate the public on the benefits of toll roads for delivering infrastructure projects faster than traditionally funded projects.

Lochner recently expanded its Texas-based team of professionals with the acquisition of K Friese + Associates. Founded in 2003 by Karen A. Friese, PE, KFA is a trusted civil engineering consultancy providing water/wastewater, drainage, transportation, aviation, and municipal services to a diverse range of public sector clients in large and small communities throughout the State.