October 2020 Trends
Western States Battling Wildfires Get Recovery Funds
In September 2020, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued two packets of “quick release” Emergency Relief (ER) funds to California and Oregon agencies to pay for repairs to transportation infrastructure damaged by wildfires raging across several western states.
The FHWA issued $5 million in ER funds to the Oregon Department of Transportation to cope with damage caused by several large wildfires that started earlier in the month.
Meanwhile, the FHWA issued $1.3 million in ER funds to help the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service repair several bridges and a section of trail damaged by wildfires in California’s Lassen National Forest.
On Sept. 15, 2020, Bentley Systems launched an initial public offering of 10,750,000 shares of its Class B common stock sold by existing stockholders of Bentley. Bentley applied to list its shares on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “BSY.”
Report: Interstate Highway System Facing Multiple Challenges
A new 43-page report indicates that the U.S. interstate highway system faces increasing congestion, unprecedented levels of travel—particularly by large trucks—and insufficient funding to make needed repairs and improvements.
“Restoring the Interstate Highway System: Meeting America’s Transportation Needs with a Reliable, Safe & Well-Maintained National Highway Network,” published by the nonprofit transportation research firm TRIP, found that pavements on 11 percent of interstate highways are in poor or mediocre condition, while 27 percent of interstate bridges are in need of repair or replacement.
In addition, TRIP’s analysis indicated that 47 percent of urban interstate highways are considered congested during peak hours.
Read the full report at bit.ly/33MgYZN.
The value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the engineering and construction sector worldwide fell from $45 billion in the first half of 2019 to $41 billion in the first half of 2020, according to figures from PwC. A similar trend was noticed for deal volume, with the first half of this year registering 1,017 deals compared to 1,221 deals in 2019.
Total M&A transaction values and volumes have been decreasing during the last two calendar years, said PwC, and the global COVID-19 pandemic, decreasing oil prices and geopolitical tensions contributed to continued contraction during the first half of 2020.
Civil engineering experienced a decline in both transaction value and volume. Construction went through a decline of 55 percent and 9 percent in terms of deal value and deal volume, respectively.
TOP Stories
The following are the top stories from the last few months (in terms of traffic) on the Informed Infrastructure website. This also reflects key coverage areas that are regularly refreshed online and via our weekly e-newsletter. Simply search key words on Informed Infrastructure online to find the full story.
Buildings
- Pandemic Preparedness: How Hospitals Can Adapt Buildings to Address Worst-Case Scenarios
- The Ritz-Carlton Residences Waikiki Beach, Phase 2 Recognized For Structural Excellence
- Nickel Institute Updates Technical Guides for Designers, Materials Specifiers, Architects and Engineers
- WorldGBC and GRESB Join Forces to Drive Net Zero Carbon Buildings
- Video: High-Accuracy 3D Modeling Inside the Great Pyramid
Transportation
- Siemens Mobility and Ondas Networks Bring Next-Gen Wireless Communications to North American Rail Market
- Transportation Leaders Across the Country Report 50-to-90% Reduction in Traffic and Revenues Due to COVID-19
- Acrow Bridges Installed During Replacement of Unionport Bridge in the Bronx, N.Y., Are First Hydraulically Driven Temporary Lift Bridges in the U.S.
- Responding to COVID-19: State DOTs Videos from the Frontlines
- Jacobs/Russell Team Joint Venture Selected for MARTA’s $3B Transit Expansion Program
Water
- Rinker Materials Directs Traffic at Hendricks Gateway Park
- Rice Engineers: Make Wastewater Drinkable Again
- Microvi MNE Outperforms Established Tertiary Ammonia Removal Process at Thames Water Wastewater Treatment Plant
- Stantec to Lead Major Wastewater Development Program in Egypt
- Contech Engineered Solutions Announces New Version of the Design Your Own Detention System Tool
Tools and Technology
- Virtual Surveyor Drone Surveying Software Simplifies Workflow for Earthworks Monitoring at Construction Sites
- HxGN Content Program Updates 3 Million Square Kilometers of Aerial Data in U.S., Europe in 2020
- Revit Software Users Can Now Link PDF and Microsoft Word Documents to Revit Files Thanks to Ideate Sticky
- Cityzenith Unveils New Highly-advanced Digital Twin Technology: SmartWorldPro2
- UCA Announces Website Resources for Underground Construction & Tunneling Workforce