Code Update: Change to ACI 318-19 Sets Lower Shear Capacities for Many Concrete Structures
In January 2020, the American Concrete Institute (ACI) published the second printing of ACI 318-19: “Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete.” ACI 318-19 code sets the minimum criteria for materials, design and detailing of structural concrete buildings and, where applicable, non-building structures. The code is organized into 10 parts: 1. General 2. Loads and Analysis 3. Members 4. Joints, Connections and Anchors 5. Resistance 6. Materials and Durability 7. St...
From the Editor: Will Politics Erode Infrastructure Standards?
My wife and I are planning a road trip from the Midwest to the East Coast. Since we now own an electric vehicle that comes with free charging at certain stations, our road trip will have zero emissions and no fuel costs. Some things are taken for granted when traveling from one place to the next. Some consistency in products and environment is easier to deal with and also convenient. That’s one of the major advantages of commercial chain stores; you pretty much know what to expect from a cert...
ReEngineering the Engineer: Getting Started on the Right Foot(ing)
As a young engineer, starting on a project always seemed daunting. I’d receive plans and elevations (or a 3D model) from the architect or MEP engineers that typically didn’t have much detailed information. I may have been to a couple preliminary meetings discussing the project, but it rarely felt like enough. If the other designers are worth their salt, however, that early information can hold clues to the project’s major elements and help us get started on the right foot. Designs are alwa...
Executive Corner: Focus On Three Key Areas to Prepare for the Future
As A&E firms are planning the remainder of 2022 and beyond, it’s critical to be informed on today’s industry trends. As growing pipelines and increased revenue projections increase across the industry, firms are focusing on their people, their technology and how these can work better together. For this installment of “Executive Corner,” Russ Ryan, principal at Rusk O’Brien Gido + Partners (email: [email protected]), interviewed Bret Tushaus, vice president of product management at Deltek (e...
Thoughts From Engineers: The Supreme Court Kicks the Climate ‘Ball’ Back to Congress
Many predicted in the days leading up to the release of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision in West Virginia v. EPA that something “big” was about to happen. In any other decade, I think the decision would’ve been characterized as “business as usual,” but times are different now. In this particularly tense political climate, stakes are high. The ramifications of this SCOTUS decision in late June 2022 have been widely discussed, and much more analysis will undoubtedly be fort...
Aligning the Lines: Surveying and Scanning Combine to Build New Zealand’s First Underground Railway
The survey team was instrumental to building the initial 50-m-long tunnel portal for the TBM and then ensuring it stayed on the right path during boring. What often gets lost in the gloss of large construction projects are the small, precise elements that lead to the high-profile finish––the nitty-gritty details surveyors meticulously measure, set out and measure again to ensure buildings are straight, floors are level, tunnels are the right shape, and railway lines are correctly alig...
Future Proof: Geofoam Pre-Games Construction Challenges as Airports Expand
For Salt Lake City and Denver airports, general contractors Ralph L. Wadsworth and GH Phipps (left and right, respectively) worked with Atlas Molded Products to develop precise configuration plans for geofoam blocks, which were installed by hand during construction. Ask any construction professional about their work and most will say they enjoy that every day is a little different. Even after more than 37 years of hands-on experience, Matt Outsen, who specializes in complex concret...
Better Gardiner: Two Deteriorating Bridges Rapidly Replaced
(Image Credit - MaineImaging.com) Gardiner, Maine, is a small city (population less than 6,000) in Kennebec County. Founded in 1754 on the banks of the Kennebec River near the furthest point upriver that deep-draft vessels can reach, it’s a nationally accredited Main Street America community, and was initially famous for cutting, warehousing and shipping pristine Kennebec ice throughout the United States and internationally. A perfect storm of quaint, in other words, and the quaint ex...
The Proper Tools Help Ohio Contractor Prevent Ditch Bank Erosion
Werk-Brau buckets and attachments are used all over the world, but when the project is in your own hometown … well that hits a little differently. So when The Weber Company of Archbold, Ohio, recently embarked on a project to control erosion along a drainage ditch that ran through nearby Findlay, Ohio, Werk-Brau employees were proud to see their handiwork used to improve their local community. The drainage ditch in question, the Dalzell Ditch, is roughly three miles long and winds its way thr...
Collaborating for Success: Q&A with the Moynihan Phase 2 Quality Team for New York’s New Moynihan Station
A Q&A with Nagesh Goel, President, AEIS; John Carlson, Technical Manager and Project Manager, AEIS; and Dan Gorman, Quality Manager, Skanska Having opened last year, the historic James A. Farley Post Office Building’s redevelopment into the Moynihan Train Hall has created a new 255,000-square-foot station for Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak passengers, representing the busiest rail station in the country. The $1.6 billion project transforms the 100-plus-year-old block-long property into a mo...
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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