SANDBOx MOVING DAYS ACCELERATING INNOVATION ROOM TO ...
CONTENTS
•
Civil Engineering
F E AT U R E S
Sandbox
D E PA R T M E N T S
Civil Engineering News • 20
B y B rett A. S chock , p . e ., env sp , m . asce n Is it too great a leap of engineering futurism to envision a self-sustaining, fully functioning colony on Mars? Perhaps not. Software developers use the term “sandbox” to denote a boundary-free experimental environment, and in many ways it would seem appropriate to think of such a Martian colony as a sandbox for civil engineering.
EXPANDING AN ICON An expansion of the Philadelphia Museum of Art will include new underground galleries encompassing 55,000 sq ft.
48
CONNECTING CANALS Engineers are designing a 107 km long canal that will connect waterways in France with those in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Moving Days B y R obert L. R eid n The relocation of two buildings of historical importance in Chicago was anything but a stroll down the street, even though the distance involved was just one block. The effort required extensive planning, careful coordination, and precise engineering to ensure that the project team made all the right moves.
58
Accelerating Innovation B y J ay L anders n The Federal Highway Administration’s Every Day Counts initiative is succeeding not only in introducing and tracking the effectiveness of new technologies and processes in the transportation industry but also in inspiring a broader culture of innovation within the field.
66
STANDING TALL A proposed vertical city will rise from the water in a coastal setting, providing space for as many as 25,000 residents.
48
CHECKING TUNNELS The Federal Highway Administration is establishing a national inventory of tunnels that, like its inventory of bridges, will help standardize inspections.
Room to Move
TURNING CORNERS Both Paris and Jerusalem are planning new urban towers, both of them triangular.
B y J oe S chrank , p . e ., m . asce , B en M atthews , p . e ., G abe M c C lain , and P atrick P orzillo , p . e . n Freight rail operator csx is striving to increase the productivity of its lines by improving access for trains carrying freight containers stacked two high. As part of this initiative, the Harpers Ferry rail tunnel, constructed in Maryland in 1894 across the Potomac River from that historic town in West Virginia, has recently been expanded and enhanced.
CLEARING STREAMS A new study shows that burying too much streamflow within a watershed results in unhealthy levels of nitrates. But solutions are available.
72
TAKING THE HEAT A new facility in Hawai’i is testing a process that uses differences in water temperature to generate electricity.
[4] C i v i l E n g i n e e r i n g o c t o b e r 2 0 1 5
N A S A / J P L - C A LT E C H / M S S S
O n the C over : A false-color image of a landslide in the Mars canyon Noctis Labyrinthus combines frames taken in the daytime at visible wavelengths with ones captured at night at infrared wavelengths. The camera was the Thermal Emission Imaging System aboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Mars Odyssey orbiter. (Image by nasa/jplCaltech/University of Arizona/ hi-rise. See page 48.)
HANDLING THE FLOODS The 9.7 billion gal Thornton Composite Reservoir will begin storing floodwater in Chicago this fall, helping the city meet its goals for controlling combined sewer overflows.
october 2015
C i v i l E n g i n e e r i n g [5]
Civil Eng ineering President’s Note • 12
This year asce expanded its global reach, launched the Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute, established the Infrastructure Resilience Division, and raised public awareness of infrastructure issues in many ways.
34
Policy Briefing • 16
As Congress prepares to revisit the issue of reauthorizing the surface transportation program, a report spells out the importance of transportation construction to the U.S. economy.
58
Seven Questions • 18
An interview with Dave Francis, a vice president and the corporate director of human resources for Dewberry, of Fairfax, Virginia, on performance appraisals in engineering
WOLFE HOUSE & BUILDING MOVERS, LLC
Technology • 38
Researchers are testing traffic control systems that quickly respond to changing traffic patterns, and engineers in Australia are integrating decades’ worth of data on the design and operation of the Sydney Opera House into a building information model that will confer benefits for years to come.
A Question of Ethics • 40
The president of an engineering firm is expelled from asce upon being convicted of bribing a city’s mayor.
the world’s growing cities; the importance of steel in building America; and the beauty, mystery, and political and social importance of the world’s glaciers.
42 History Lesson • 42
Poland’s earliest notable river crossing was built in Warsaw in 1573, but the country’s contributions to bridge engineering did not end there. In more recent times, Poland birthed the first iron bridge on the European mainland, the first welded roadway bridge in the world, and continental Europe’s first longspan lattice truss bridge, parts of which miraculously survived World War II.
The Law • 88
Editor’s Note • 47
Proving copyright infringement of an architect’s building design is a difficult and uncertain proposition.
To boldly go
Books • 80
We review books on the mind-set unique to engineers; how to better manage the natural environment within
M E T R O P O L I TA N W AT E R R E C L A M AT I O N D I S T R I C T O F G R E AT E R C H I C A G O , TOP; WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, MIDDLE; IMAGE PROVIDED BY GEHRY P A R T N E R S , L L P, R I G H T
20 [6] C i v i l E n g i n e e r i n g o c t o b e r 2 0 1 5
october 2015
C i v i l E n g i n e e r i n g [7]
•
Civil Engineering
F E AT U R E S
Sandbox
D E PA R T M E N T S
Civil Engineering News • 20
B y B rett A. S chock , p . e ., env sp , m . asce n Is it too great a leap of engineering futurism to envision a self-sustaining, fully functioning colony on Mars? Perhaps not. Software developers use the term “sandbox” to denote a boundary-free experimental environment, and in many ways it would seem appropriate to think of such a Martian colony as a sandbox for civil engineering.
EXPANDING AN ICON An expansion of the Philadelphia Museum of Art will include new underground galleries encompassing 55,000 sq ft.
48
CONNECTING CANALS Engineers are designing a 107 km long canal that will connect waterways in France with those in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Moving Days B y R obert L. R eid n The relocation of two buildings of historical importance in Chicago was anything but a stroll down the street, even though the distance involved was just one block. The effort required extensive planning, careful coordination, and precise engineering to ensure that the project team made all the right moves.
58
Accelerating Innovation B y J ay L anders n The Federal Highway Administration’s Every Day Counts initiative is succeeding not only in introducing and tracking the effectiveness of new technologies and processes in the transportation industry but also in inspiring a broader culture of innovation within the field.
66
STANDING TALL A proposed vertical city will rise from the water in a coastal setting, providing space for as many as 25,000 residents.
48
CHECKING TUNNELS The Federal Highway Administration is establishing a national inventory of tunnels that, like its inventory of bridges, will help standardize inspections.
Room to Move
TURNING CORNERS Both Paris and Jerusalem are planning new urban towers, both of them triangular.
B y J oe S chrank , p . e ., m . asce , B en M atthews , p . e ., G abe M c C lain , and P atrick P orzillo , p . e . n Freight rail operator csx is striving to increase the productivity of its lines by improving access for trains carrying freight containers stacked two high. As part of this initiative, the Harpers Ferry rail tunnel, constructed in Maryland in 1894 across the Potomac River from that historic town in West Virginia, has recently been expanded and enhanced.
CLEARING STREAMS A new study shows that burying too much streamflow within a watershed results in unhealthy levels of nitrates. But solutions are available.
72
TAKING THE HEAT A new facility in Hawai’i is testing a process that uses differences in water temperature to generate electricity.
[4] C i v i l E n g i n e e r i n g o c t o b e r 2 0 1 5
N A S A / J P L - C A LT E C H / M S S S
O n the C over : A false-color image of a landslide in the Mars canyon Noctis Labyrinthus combines frames taken in the daytime at visible wavelengths with ones captured at night at infrared wavelengths. The camera was the Thermal Emission Imaging System aboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Mars Odyssey orbiter. (Image by nasa/jplCaltech/University of Arizona/ hi-rise. See page 48.)
HANDLING THE FLOODS The 9.7 billion gal Thornton Composite Reservoir will begin storing floodwater in Chicago this fall, helping the city meet its goals for controlling combined sewer overflows.
october 2015
C i v i l E n g i n e e r i n g [5]
Civil Eng ineering President’s Note • 12
This year asce expanded its global reach, launched the Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute, established the Infrastructure Resilience Division, and raised public awareness of infrastructure issues in many ways.
34
Policy Briefing • 16
As Congress prepares to revisit the issue of reauthorizing the surface transportation program, a report spells out the importance of transportation construction to the U.S. economy.
58
Seven Questions • 18
An interview with Dave Francis, a vice president and the corporate director of human resources for Dewberry, of Fairfax, Virginia, on performance appraisals in engineering
WOLFE HOUSE & BUILDING MOVERS, LLC
Technology • 38
Researchers are testing traffic control systems that quickly respond to changing traffic patterns, and engineers in Australia are integrating decades’ worth of data on the design and operation of the Sydney Opera House into a building information model that will confer benefits for years to come.
A Question of Ethics • 40
The president of an engineering firm is expelled from asce upon being convicted of bribing a city’s mayor.
the world’s growing cities; the importance of steel in building America; and the beauty, mystery, and political and social importance of the world’s glaciers.
42 History Lesson • 42
Poland’s earliest notable river crossing was built in Warsaw in 1573, but the country’s contributions to bridge engineering did not end there. In more recent times, Poland birthed the first iron bridge on the European mainland, the first welded roadway bridge in the world, and continental Europe’s first longspan lattice truss bridge, parts of which miraculously survived World War II.
The Law • 88
Editor’s Note • 47
Proving copyright infringement of an architect’s building design is a difficult and uncertain proposition.
To boldly go
Books • 80
We review books on the mind-set unique to engineers; how to better manage the natural environment within
M E T R O P O L I TA N W AT E R R E C L A M AT I O N D I S T R I C T O F G R E AT E R C H I C A G O , TOP; WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, MIDDLE; IMAGE PROVIDED BY GEHRY P A R T N E R S , L L P, R I G H T
20 [6] C i v i l E n g i n e e r i n g o c t o b e r 2 0 1 5
october 2015
C i v i l E n g i n e e r i n g [7]
