Tag: Infrastructure: Page 32

Roadbuilding

Oregon DOT starts second year of U.S. 26 Mount Hood Safety Project with blasting

A blasting near Government Camp, Ore., April 21 began the second year of work on the Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) Mount Hood Safety Project, an effort designed to limit falling rock issues along an 8-mile area of U.S. 26. Work first began last year and will carry on from April to October this year, […]

April 27, 2015

Roadbuilding

TRB webinar to focus on protecting transportation infrastructure from hackers, data loss

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is hosting a webinar to review ways to protect transportation infrastructure from cyber “incidents” May 13, 2-4 p.m. eastern. The program will review materials recently developed by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). “Cyber incidents (intentional and unintentional) may likely occur in transportation systems due to the increasing convergence and […]

April 27, 2015

Roadbuilding

Washington state will have $1.8 billion backlog of pavement preservation projects by 2025, report finds

In its recent report on Washington’s transportation challenges, The Road Improvement Program says the state needs $2.8 billion for pavement preservation from now until 2025, but that only $1 billion will be available. As a result, the condition of state-maintained roads would decline drastically.   “Making needed improvements to Washington’s transportation system could provide a significant boost to […]

April 24, 2015

Roadbuilding

Illinois DOT launches month-long infrastructure needs listening tour

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has teamed up with the Illinois Capital Development Board (ICDB) to tour the state with a series of listening sessions to gather a list of infrastructure needs to present recommendations to Gov. Bruce Rauner later this year. Updated schedules for the month-long tour are available at www.idot.illinois.gov. “With a […]

April 24, 2015

Roadbuilding

Did Seattle’s SR 99 tunnel really require Big Bertha? Indeco argues breakers are the answer

Tunnel boring machines such as Big Bertha, the 7,000-ton machine sidelined after a massive fail under the streets of Seattle, shouldn’t always be considered the most efficient option for creating big dig projects, says a new publication produced by Italian hammer manufacturer Indeco and released at the Intermat construction equipment trade show this week. […]

April 23, 2015

Roadbuilding

Bipartisan highway bill would tie federal gas tax to inflation, create transportation commission

A bipartisan group of representatives have introduced a long-term bill for funding infrastructure that would tie the gas tax to inflation and create a bipartisan, bicameral Transportation Commission to provide long-term funding of the Highway Trust Fund. The Highway Trust Fund (HTF), which provides the bulk of road and bridge project budgets, will dry up […]

April 20, 2015

Roadbuilding

ARTBA Highway Trust Fund campaign urges social media, phone calls, and email efforts to reach Congress

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) has launched a digital media campaign designed to “amplify the voices of the transportation design and construction industry” via social media, phone calls, and email to urge Congress to act on the continued funding of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). Two bipartisan bills designed to address HTF […]

April 20, 2015

Roadbuilding

Water main damaged by Big Bertha repair excavation could cost WSDOT $4 million

Four months after crews temporarily stopped excavation on a repair pit for the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine due to ground sinkage, Seattle officials have now identified a major repair needed on a water main damaged by the sinking. Back in December, excavation stopped on the repair pit through which Big Bertha’s massive cutterhead was recently lifted as officials suspected groundwater pumping […]

April 14, 2015

Roadbuilding

New Improve Detroit app allows residents to quickly file detailed infrastructure issue reports

The city of Detroit is turning its citizens into infrastructure watchdogs with the new Improve Detroit app. The app, available for both Android and iOS, can be used to report issues such as potholes and water main breaks directly to the city. “The new Improve Detroit app is like having City Hall on your phone,” said […]

April 14, 2015

Roadbuilding

Potholes plague Oklahoma highways, patching material use up drastically

Like many states across the country, Oklahoma’s highways were covered with potholes as a result of heavy rain and snow coupled with freezes and thaws throughout the winter and into early spring. As a result, Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) expenditures for patches increased dramatically. The department reports that in a 12-day period after the […]

April 10, 2015

Roadbuilding

TRB staff members move into technical, strategic initiative roles

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies has moved several staff members into new positions to support its Strategic Initiatives and Technical Activities programs. Mark Norman will become the director of Program Development and Strategic Initiatives. For 15 years he had served as the director of TRB’s Technical Activities Division, a role that Dr. […]

April 8, 2015

Roadbuilding

Water shortage in California the result of 40 years of delusional infrastructure neglect

California’s water shortage looms large in the headlines this spring. What few are talking about, however, is that the shortage is entirely man made. While the shortage is being blamed on global warming, big developers and big agriculture, it’s really the fault of big-headed people with a small vision of the future. These dire circumstances […]

April 7, 2015