Civil Engineering Magazine

An engineering firm has developed a sensor and assessment system that will enable building operators to quickly determine whether a building is safe for occupancy after an earthquake.

Hosting a lavish party for an organization from which you are seeking a contract may not just be unethical—it may be illegal.

William Howe did not invent the wooden truss bridge. But he may have perfected it.

Motivated to reconnect two communities devastated by the closure of the Lake Champlain Bridge, HNTB Corporation designed a replacement span within 10 weeks. The modified network tied-arch bridge, created for maximum constructability, features a center arch span that was built off-site, floated in, and lifted 75 ft into place. The new structure opened a little more than two years after the existing bridge had been closed, setting a precedent for accelerated bridge delivery.

Scheduled to begin full-scale operations this September, the 36 mgd Brightwater Treatment System is one of the most advanced in the nation. Upon completion, the $1.8-billion project, which also includes a 13 mi long conveyance system, will ensure that King County, Washington, is securely positioned to meet the needs of its residents and businesses and protect water quality well into the foreseeable future.

Recycled glass products are proving to be lightweight, environmentally sustainable alternatives to such traditional infrastructure materials as concrete and asphalt. The products are particularly suitable for sites with low bearing capacity. Some can be used as a base, whereas others can provide a surface layer for roads, bridges, sidewalks, and other facets of infrastructure.

The construction of a 70,000 sq ft extension to Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum brought both a modern aesthetic and much-needed additional space to the venue’s existing facilities for art and music. Previously crowded into the site’s signature building—a nearly 110-year-old structure patterned after a Venetian palace—the museum’s programs and functions have expanded into a new, steel-framed wing clad in glass and copper with a performance hall and a special exhibition gallery that seem to float in the air and an overall design that utilizes simple, smooth lines to mask complex engineering.

A recent court decision in favor of an engineering firm may have hinged on how quickly and professionally the firm addressed problems as they arose.