Beyond a Book Depository: Commack Public Library Reopens Following $8.3 Million Renovation
The renovated and expanded library features a two-story-high aluminum-andglass storefront entrance vestibule with an aluminum sunshade. The beloved, 41-year-old Commack Public Library in Commack, N.Y., reopened following an $8.3 million renovation and expansion by general contractor Stalco Construction and Beatty Harvey Coco Architects (BHC). The renovation was financed through a voter-approved $7.8 million bond issue, with an additional $500,000 from the library’s capital im...
Thoughts From Engineers: Robot Engineers? You May Lose Your White-Collar Job to a Robot Sooner than You Think
According to the International Data Corp. (IDC), a global provider of market intelligence and analysis, big changes in the U.S. workforce will happen quickly and at a scale you never would have expected. The report, “IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Robotics 2017 Predictions,” outlines several jarring projections: By 2019, a hefty 35 percent of industries in health, commercial goods and utilities will use robotic automation in their operations. Nearly 40 percent of robots currently in use will be conn...
Are Your Construction Projects Under Control? Five Steps for Modernizing Cost and Schedule Management
“Incompetency at every level.” Definitely not the type of expression that should be associated with a $9 billion project. But that’s the case with the now cancelled construction of the two nuclear reactors in South Carolina of which the political, social and economic effects will be felt long after the last workers leave the now-defunct site. This situation led many to use the all-too-familiar phrases: “Haven’t we been here before?” closely followed by “Why haven’t we learnt from thes...
Change Leader: Modular Structures May Revolutionize Construction
These profiles are based on interviews, and the opinions and statements are those of the subject and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by this publication. GrowthPoint Structures hopes to transition building to a factory-based modular model, moving the construction process from onsite to a production line, similar to Henry Ford’s automotive revolution. The company recently completed a 140,000-square-foot facility in Carson, Calif., which aims to rapidly decrease the time and c...
Engineered Solutions: Precast Concrete Highway Slabs Expedite Caltrans Project
Precast concrete highway pavement slabs are increasing in popularity for rapid highway construction. This is, in part, the result of many state departments of transportation recognizing the efficiency of the precast slab method and selecting it for use on an increasing number of state projects. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), for example, has specified precast concrete pavement slabs for one of the largest projects of this type in North America: the Pavement and Slab R...
Code Update: Exploring New Concrete Connection Developments
Author’s Note: This is a highly condensed summary of a full paper, with many details and references, that can be read in its entirety on the Informed Infrastructure Web site at informedinfrastructure.com/36533/concrete-connections. Table 1. Approvals of Concrete Connections Table 2. Checklist for Cast-In Anchors Building codes in the United States have long acknowledged the need for regulators to allow for alternative materials. Yet the codes don’t provide much beyond...
Thoughts From Engineers: Leadership Resolutions for 2018
So ... how are you doing on your New Year (professional) resolutions? This is only relevant, of course, if you actually set some. Perhaps you’re not necessarily making a resolution as much as you’re committed to business initiatives outlined in your strategic plan. Maybe you just have new goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) you’ll be measured against in this first quarter. Essentially, these are all the same engagement in change that will benefit you and the organization. At one time...
A+ Infrastructure Begins Below the Surface
During summer 2008, the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) funded construction of a seven-mile segment of the northbound lanes of Interstate 25, extending from the Colorado state line to Cheyenne in southeast Wyoming. The soft, aged soils beneath the road segment on this project were stabilized with geogrid, providing a construction platform so strong that the WYDOT eliminated the requirement for a spreader to be used on the concrete surface, which saved time and money. The resulting p...
Engineered Solutions: New Tool Enables Asset Protection and Reduced Cost Through Corrosion Management
Corrosion is a naturally occurring phenomenon commonly defined as the deterioration of a substance (usually a metal) or its properties because of a reaction with the environment. Like other natural hazards such as earthquakes or severe weather disturbances, corrosion can cause dangerous and expensive damage to the world’s infrastructure, including bridges, highways, buildings, pipelines, tanks, and water and wastewater systems. Unlike weather-related disasters, however, corrosion can be controll...
Executive Corner: Five Takeaways on 2017 A/E M&A Activity
With the country in transition, settling into the dynamics and drama of a new administration, the underlying positive momentum of the U.S. economy and A/E industry has certainly been significant. At a macro level, we’ve seen this unfold with a soaring stock market, back-to-back quarters of 3-percent-plus GDP growth and a plunging unemployment rate. And although unleashing a major U.S. infrastructure package wasn’t in the political cards this year, A/E executives seemed not to notice. Backlogs...
Video: Crashes Drop Measurably After Rural Road Safety Improvement Project on US 521 in Lancaster County
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June Issue 2026
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