Future Forward Interview: Can Cross-Laminated Timber Replace Concrete and Steel?
Casey Malmquist is CEO and president of SmartLam Technologies Group, the first commercial manufacturers of cross-laminated timber (CLT) in the United States. V1: Please provide a brief background of your education and career before SmartLam. Malmquist: I have a BS from Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, a degree in environmental studies. V1: Did you have any previous work experience before SmartLam? Malmquist: I have been a builder and developer in construction for 35 ye...
Change Leader Interview: Overcoming Budget Constraints at State DOTs
J.D. D’Arville is the GIS/LRS Data Management Administrator for the Alabama Department of Transportation (DOT), and John Russell is the surveying and mapping administrator for the Alabama DOT. V1: Can you briefly describe your professional background? D’Arville: I have roughly 27-and-a-half years with the Alabama Department of Transportation. I have a Bachelor of Science from Troy State University. I started out in the drill crew, and then came into the preliminary design section. From...
From the Editor: There’s No Replacement for ‘Learning by Doing’
I recently visited a job site of a friend of mine who is a construction manager. I met with him to discuss the use of emerging drone and reality-capture technologies, but I ended up tagging along as he crisscrossed the site, solving one problem after another. In one case, the footing for a wall wasn’t poured in the correct location, because the arc of the wall was “eyeballed in” in the CAD file. In another issue, a sewer was 12 feet from where it was supposed to be—the construction staking wa...
Vibration Control in Hospital Construction
A renovation of White Plains Hospital, a 123-year-old healthcare facility north of Manhattan, featured the construction of the new, steel-framed, six-story Center for Cancer Care. Long-span high-performing composite slabs were designed to support heavy booms over operating rooms and limit vibration that could adversely affect hospital occupants. Project Team Steel Decking Source: New Millennium Building Systems Architect of Record: Perkins Eastman Structural Engineer:...
Code Update: ACI 318: High-Strength Reinforcing Bars
AMY M.R. TRYGESTAD, P.E., F.ACI (above) The motivation for developing high-strength reinforcing bar (HSRB) is driven from the construction community. Design practitioners are looking for improved, efficient and sustainable design solutions, while contractors are looking to address rebar congestion and scheduling/cost issues related to reinforcing bars. HSRB is regarded as any reinforcing bar with a yield strength greater than 60,000 psi. The adoption of HSRB started when Grade 75 bars app...
Engineered Solutions: Barren Arkansas Roadside Springs to Life After Soil Amendments
After completing an open cut slope for a recent highway project, the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) encountered a difficult mitigation challenge: a soil bed totally unsuitable for organic growth. The highly acidic soil, composed primarily of clay, rejected initial attempts at sustainable vegetation and threatened to create a high erosion environment. Soil analysis confirmed the poor growth conditions. Clay content was measured at 50 percent; such high concentratio...
What Is the P3 Model? Can It Save Infrastructure?
Todd Danielson, the editorial director of Informed Infrastructure, spoke with several private-sector infrastructure executives to learn more about the public-private partnership (P3/PPP) model, how it works and if it can be part of the solution to the massive infrastructure problem in the United States and beyond. Danielson: What’s the status of infrastructure in the United States? Hopping: I think most of us agree, even Congress agrees across the aisle, that our infrastructur...
Drones Are Transforming Infrastructure Design
By Hugh McFall It’s increasingly common to hear the steady hum of a drone flying on a construction site. They’re being used to share progress updates, manage earthworks, perform cut-and-fills and much more. But there’s also an emerging use case for drones within the civil engineering space: as designers move from 2D toward 3D design and BIM workflows, the reality-capture data that drones provide are making a huge impact on their projects. In short, drones are the latest tool in the...
July – August 2017 TRENDS
In this section, Informed Infrastructure compiles infographics from trusted sources that reveal insight on infrastructure spending. We also compile some of the top infrastructure stories that shouldn’t be missed. For ongoing news coverage, turn to Informed Infrastructure online (www.informedinfrastructure.com), our Twitter feed (@IInfrastructure) and our weekly e-newsletter. NPG Report Focuses on U.S. Infrastructure and Population According to a new forum paper released by Neg...
Final Thoughts: Millennials Are ‘Engineering: The Next Generation’
Many members of my generation think we Baby Boomers are the greatest generation. After all, we protested against wars, fought for civil rights, and invented rock and roll. But we also produced this next generation of people. I am a Baby Boomer, and our generation currently is handing over the workplace to the Millennials. I recently heard that 1/3 of my generation already has retired, and the rest of us are not far behind. And because there are so many of us, there are going to be a lot of jo...
Video: Crashes Drop Measurably After Rural Road Safety Improvement Project on US 521 in Lancaster County
AdventHealth Weaverville Hospital
June Issue 2026
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