Thoughts From Engineers: Precipitation Estimates That Make Us or Break Us
On the eve of the New Year, in a one-two move suggestive of a “prepper” mentality, the U.S. Congress passed two laws that address the issues of national resilience and disaster preparedness. Sponsors of the legislation noted that the vulnerable state of the country’s infrastructure combined with the frequency of recent extreme storms constituted the principal drivers behind passage of these two significant federal laws. The sweeping 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) set aside...
Transportation Troubleshooting: AASHTO Manual Will Create a One-Stop Shop for Transportation Operations
One of the things that keeps me excited about working in transportation is how rapidly the technological tools for moving people and goods are evolving. As I noted in my December 2022 column, “Mobility Marketplace Will Improve How We Use Transportation Systems,” smartphones have enabled an array of entirely new mobility services—from ride-hailing to real-time transit tracking and mobile fare payments—in just 15 years. Transportation operations technology also has changed dramatically in a rel...
Water Works: The Clean Water Act Turns 50: Where Do We Go From Here?
Oct. 18, 2022, marked 50 years since passage of the Clean Water Act (CWA) landmark legislation that established a goal of restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation’s waters. The CWA initially was focused on regulation of point sources, those discrete discharge points—mainly from industrial activities and wastewater treatment plants—that led to widespread water-quality issues by the late 1960s. Although we’re not done yet, we’ve made great progress re...
Code Update: Reapproval of ASTM C1776 Sets the Bar for Manufacture of Precast Concrete Modular Retaining Wall Units
In May 2022, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) published the reapproved ASTM C1776: “Standard Specification for Wet-Cast Precast Modular Retaining Wall Units.” ASTM C1776 specification sets the minimum criteria for materials, inspection, testing and certification of wet-cast precast concrete modular retaining wall blocks. The specification is organized into 17 sections: • Scope • Reference Documents • Terminology • Ordering Information • Materials and Man...
Infrastructure Outlook: How Technology Will Ensure $1.2 Trillion Worth of Infrastructure Projects
The United States currently ranks 13th in the world in overall quality of infrastructure. However, with the recent passing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the U.S. is poised to make a historic investment in improving the nation’s infrastructure. With an injection of $1.2 trillion into the country’s infrastructure systems during the next five years, it’s critical the funding is put to work in the most-effective manner possible. One key component in establishing maximum e...
ReEngineering the Engineer: Celebrate the Clever Things
I have worked my entire career at two small firms, and I really enjoy working on a diversity of projects. My previous firm, at that time, had a relatively small band of project types it worked on. When I started out on my own in 2004, my main goal was diversity. I’d been around long enough to see other firms (engineering and architectural) get hurt by lack of diversity when certain building types went out of favor. Although diversity requires different building types and materials, there is c...
Infrastructure Outlook: Mind the Gap, Your Drinking Water Depends on It
Fifty years after the Clean Water Act passed, the U.S. government has invested more than $1 trillion to try and combat water pollution. Now, nearly one year after passing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, improvements in U.S. water systems are as needed as ever. Approximately 95 million people still aren’t connected to a centralized treatment system, and 2.2 million people live without running water and indoor plumbing in their homes. These homes typically are clustered in rural or disadvant...
Transportation Troubleshooting: Mobility Marketplace Will Improve How We Use Transportation Systems
Transportation technology is changing so fast that it’s easy to forget how our choices have multiplied in the last 15 years. As recently as the mid-2000s, many of the services we take for granted today did not exist. These include ride-hailing services; city bike-share programs; dockless e-scooters; and smartphone apps to book, pay for and obtain real-time status updates for buses and light rail. In that time frame, advanced technology in passenger vehicles has evolved from primitive GPS navi...
Thoughts From Engineers: Where the Water Will Go
The local waterfront pub you’ve been in the habit of visiting for burgers and fries on Friday night is very likely to be flooded several times a year by the year 2050. Moreover, if past development patterns are anything to go by, this historic eatery probably will be in the same risky spot 10 years from now, albeit flood-weary and on shaky financial ground. Part of a long-lived and much-loved community—complete with housing, school and commercial districts—it has hung on for years despite a floo...
Executive Corner: Where Are A/E Values Heading?
With so much turmoil in the economy and stock market, many A/E business owners are probably wondering what this may mean for their own firm’s value. Interestingly, while the stock and debt markets are going through turmoil, many firms in the A/E industry—both publicly traded and privately held—continue making acquisitions, demonstrating revenue and backlog growth, and seeking to hire more employees. Furthermore, the future pipeline of projects from federal, state and local government agencies...
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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