January 2006

Concrete is the material of choice for America’s roads, bridges, buildings, dams, and more. Yet, just like our cars, phones and computers, new advancements and technology have...

The American economy will probably scrape the bottom of the trough through 2012 before a substantial recovery finally sets in, said Ed Sullivan, chief economist of the Portland...

The Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, N.C., was named the eighth-busiest airport in the U.S. and the 24th-busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic...

Like many state highway agencies, the Oregon DOT has had recurring instances of transverse deck cracking in girder bridges. ODOT has conducted previous research on the cause and...

Three exits on South Carolina’s I-385—SC 308 (Exit 2), SC 49 (Exit 5) and State Road 23 (Metric Road, Exit 10)—that had been closed during the rehabilitation project were scheduled...

Eight Mile Road Bridge, a short-span concrete structure built in 1940, needed to be replaced in Hamilton County, near Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition to replacing the bridge deck...

Sustainable development—a construction concept that began by focusing on buildings—has expanded to other sectors, including road construction. At its core, sustainable development...

The Mississippi DOT knows it pays to be nice to politicians—and alligators. Still trying to recover from the wrath of Hurricane Katrina, the agency has been waiting patiently ...

Given my work over the last few years, I sense that many contractors are not well prepared to handle issues that arise during construction because they are using the same planning...

Home of the free Parents of McGovern Elementary School students in Medway, Mass., are raising a stink over Paul Trufant’s septic-sewage service. It isn’t Trufant’s line of work...

Dear ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to this international trade press conference! Many of you have already taken part for many years. Visiting bauma is a must for you. Together...

A traffic engineer should have caught my sister in the act 20 years ago. This way it would have been flushed out of the system by now and the Europeans could keep their flaunting...

Thank you so very much, ladies and gentlemen, for that warm welcome. I cannot tell you how pleased I am to be part of this 50th anniversary celebration. And I congratulate the...

Joining environmental sensitivity with innovation, the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) met the many challenges of constructing the new U.S. 20 Iowa River Bridge in Hardin...

Making miles of asphalt Asphalt Drum Mixers Inc. of Huntertown, Ind., manufactures a complete line of portable and stationary plants available in both counter-flow and parallel...

The development and deployment of high-performance steel (HPS) for highway bridges originated with a joint effort of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Navy and the...

Oriving into New Orleans from the southeast frequently involves traveling for more than five miles across Lake Pontchartrain on the I-10 twin span bridges. That was until Aug...

If the roads are to be paved with gold, you want to get it right the first time. The sub-base and base also must be prepared with utmost precision. Fortunately, the roads are...

The New Orleans area celebrated as the final two lanes (westbound structure) of the 5.4-mile I-10 Bridge over Lake Pontchartrain opened earlier than anticipated on Jan. 6. Nicknamed...

Earlier this year, for example, Illinois Tollway engineers researched the possibility of including relatively new cable median guard-rail systems on roadway projects already ...

When my grandfather passed away almost eight years ago, I went to hell and back. In March of 1998 the Great Lakes area was hammered with one of the most vicious snowstorms I ...

I wish a police officer would give me a sticker. No, not the kind that is slapped on the driver-side window ordering a tow to pick up an abandoned vehicle. I mean one of those...

Prestressed concrete evolved into a practical solution for the design and construction of highway bridges in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The development of prestressed technology...

In March of 2005, an inspection team led by Weidlinger Associates Inc. completed an in-depth inspection of the segmental portion of the Red River Bridge in Boyce, La., for the...

It has been several years since we’ve heard much from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) about “ergonomics”—the science of fitting the workplace to the ...

Beginning in Texas in 2003 and continuing around the country, the Accelerated Construction Technology Transfer (ACTT) program is transforming the way highways and bridges are...

Here’s a little known historical fact: The idea of “Work Zone Awareness Week” came from an assistant resident engineer in Virginia DOT’s (VDOT) Bristol District, named Allan ...

Regime change finally took hold in the transportation construction industry in 2005, and 2006 is the first full year under the new order. President George W. Bush on Aug. 10,...

our typical commute in 1906 would have been far different than it is today. For starters, you would not be traveling by automobile unless you were extremely wealthy. Instead,...