In 1971, the year I was starting my career, the job market for civil engineers wasn’t very strong. I received one job offer and many letters stating the employer would keep my resume on file in case anything should turn up. Most of my colleagues from that…
Thoughts From Engineers: Gearing Up for Resilience
The United States continues to move forward with plans to rebuild the country’s infrastructure with allocations from the Bipartisan Infrastructure…
Executive Corner: The Impact on Valuation of Section 174 Changes (R&D Expense Deductibility)
Although the research and development (R&D) tax credit has existed since the 1980s, it’s only been during the last decade or so that evolution…
Transportation Troubleshooting: Coordinated and Adaptive Ramp Metering for Faster, Safer Highways
I doubt any driver likes being held back by a traffic signal while trying to enter a highway. But from a regional traffic-management perspective, there’s a lot to like about the potential to use ramp metering to improve traffic flow along congested highway…
Infrastructure Outlook: Real-Time Continuous Condition Monitoring Drives Safety and Environmental Integrity
Companies that build, operate or service large infrastructure installations such as dams, mines and transportation facilities must monitor the conditions within—and surrounding—those installations to look for signs of possible structural degradation or…
Infrastructure Outlook: How (And Why) Transport and Logistics Companies Can Use Technology To Achieve Net-Zero Goals
Freight transportation is one of the most-important cogs in today’s global economy. When the container ship Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal in 2021, global trade was disrupted on a massive scale. The delayed shipments caused by the Ever…
From the Editor: What Should We Do With Spaces Along Highways?
Environment California recently performed a study about using space along highways for solar-panel fields. California has been a leader in solar-energy production, and this report states that three counties could provide enough energy to power 270,000…
Executive Corner: Two Keys to a Successful A/E Practice: Financial Discipline and Strong Ownership Culture
Through the last 25 years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with hundreds of A/E and environmental consulting firms of all sizes across the United States and abroad. Of the firms that have enjoyed sustained growth and consistent profitability through…
Transportation Troubleshooting: How States Are Approaching Electric Vehicles and Highway Maintenance Funding
The way roads and highways are funded must change. Motor fuel tax revenues are declining due to the increasing fuel efficiency of vehicles, and this trend will accelerate as plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles (EVs) command a greater share of personal…
Thoughts From Engineers: Supreme Court Slices CWA’s Reach
I have never owned property disputed to contain wetlands or had my plans to develop a property blocked because of the presence of wetlands. No doubt, in such a situation I would have felt cheated of important rights, not unlike Michael and Chantell Sackett,…
