The Dirt on ESCS Lightweight Aggregate for Stormwater Management
A photo illustrates stormwater-management construction in progress, including the lightweight aggregate subbase, perforated pipe (bedded in lightweight aggregate), and placement of the geogrid capped with the vegetative filter media. (Expanded Shale, Clay and Slate Institute) Stormwater management is a large and ever-increasing priority in environmental and civil engineering, particularly as the United States continues to experience record-breaking precipitation events across the cou...
Dueling Dinosaurs: Floor Reinforcement Needed for Monumental Exhibit
Buried side by side during the Late Cretaceous period on a subtropical coastal plain in what’s now Montana, the Dueling Dinosaurs are among the most complete skeletons ever discovered of two iconic dinosaurs. Montana’s Hell Creek Formation, a barren, rocky landscape of sandstone, shale and clay, is an unforgiving land, but the area has produced some of the most important dinosaur specimens ever discovered. One of its most famous discoveries is the “Dueling Dinosaurs,” a spectacularly pr...
New Water Resource Recovery Facility for ‘Beer City USA‘
A Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) conditioning system recovers and conditions methane to pipeline-quality natural gas used by the city of Grand Rapids’ public transportation system and the city’s natural-gas-powered vehicles. With more than 40 breweries, the city of Grand Rapids, Mich., often has been called “Beer City USA.” While that distinction put Grand Rapids on the map for locals and tourists alike, it also created a unique wastewater stream that drove the city to open a...
Panel Highlights: Infrastructure in the Spotlight
On Nov. 7, 2022, Informed Infrastructure Editorial Director Todd Danielson moderated a panel, “Spotlight Live: Delivering on America’s Infrastructure Promise,” featured at the annual Trimble Dimensions conference in Las Vegas. The session explored methods and technologies that are transforming transportation infrastructure projects—from digital as-builts for maintaining up-to-date records of assets to collaboration methods that connect stakeholders to a single source of truth. The panelists w...
On the Front Lines of Standardizing Digital Delivery for Bridge Design
An illustration shows how a specific bridge entity (in this case a steel girder) is categorized and which properties are identified by following the information delivery manual. In June 2022, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) took a significant step toward a future in which infrastructure is designed and constructed entirely from digital models. AASHTO’s Committee on Bridges and Structures unanimously adopted the “Information Delivery Manual...
Drones Becoming Integral for Infrastructure Projects
Trevor Byrd, LSIT, Anderson Engineering survey party chief, uses a drone to inspect a bridge over the Spring River in Carthage, Mo. (American Public Works Association) Ed Bartels, P.E., L.S., assistant county engineer for Johnson County, Iowa, calls himself a “drone evangelist,” employing them in a powerful toolkit that includes AutoCAD and GIS. “We’ve always tried to leverage technology here at the county,” he says. “Like everybody, we don’t have enough money for all the work we wou...
Association Update: Steel Tube Institute Hires New Director
On Oct. 14, 2022, Informed Infrastructure Editorial Director Todd Danielson interviewed Holly Schaubert, P.E., Institute Director: HSS for the Steel Tube Institute (STI). The Steel Tube Institute was formed in 1930 when a group of manufacturers joined forces to advance the steel industry. Today it is the leading technical resource in North America for steel tube products. STI is dedicated to advancing the growth and competitiveness of North America’s steel tubular products. Its strength is br...
Can BIM Enable Successful Green Retrofits of Existing Buildings?
A graphic shows the “digital glue” toward net-zero. By Shivani S. Soni and Geoffrey A. Tears BIM! Sustainability! Net-zero! Lifecycle Carbon! Green Retrofit! All previously thought to just be buzzwords, these terms are gaining more traction in the AECO industry as it starts to update older buildings and build more-efficient ones. In 2008, the UK passed “The Climate Change Act” establishing emission-reduction goals that now are law. The UK is the first nation to set a binding mit...
Michigan DOT To Develop Electrified Road
An electric bus and truck are being charged on an electrified road in Sweden as part of the Smartroad Gotland Project, which aims to build knowledge and create possibilities for a large-scale development of electric roads throughout the country. A consortium of companies has been selected to build the first wireless in-road charging system in the United States. The transportation sector generates the largest share of carbon dioxide emissions in the United State...
Under Pressure: As Water Main Breaks Cause Havoc, A New Approach Is Welcome
In New England, winter is followed by “mud season.” In California, the drier months are “wildfire season.” For water utilities, the coming of fall means it’s “water main break season.” Unfortunately, this season often seems to last all year. According to the American Water Works Association (AWWA), there are about 240,000 water main breaks in the United States every year. On the whole, the nation’s 1 million miles of water mains are successful in delivering a safe, reliable water supply to ho...
Video: New Roundabout Under Construction at McIver and Old Florence Roads in Darlington County
Promenade at The Point
June Issue 2026
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