Digital Twins: Cutting Through the Hype From Concept to Operations
A digital twin of a pump room and its operations dashboard. (KCI Technologies, Inc.) The Future, Now In a brand-new highrise office building in the heart of Chicago, a facility-maintenance manager gets a notice on her cellphone that a pump is operating outside its normal parameters. After reviewing the pump specs on the mobile dashboard, she notes a failure is imminent and shuts down the pump. Viewing a 3D model of the pump room, she notes the location, model number and warranty inform...
Video Interviews: 2021 IECA Award Winners
The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) announced winners or a variety of awards during the virtual IECA Annual Conference and Expo held in February 2021. The IECA awards program recognizes outstanding achievements in the erosion and sediment control and stormwater industries. This year’s awards recognized young professionals under 30 and under 40, sustained partners, outstanding professional, sustained contributor and the environmental excellence award. Todd Danielson, the ed...
Dream Team Turns Challenges into Assets at 110 N. Wacker Drive
Image Credit: Ulivieri Stainless-steel panels originally part of the Morton Salt Headquarters (top) were installed at the lower level of the new building (bottom).Goettsch Partners When the development team of Riverside Investment and Development (Riverside) and the Howard Hughes Corporation made the decision to build a trophy-class skyscraper on 110 N. Wacker Drive in Chicago, they knew they would face several challenges. They also knew just the team who could sol...
Identifying Problems with Post-Tension Concrete
Photos show debonded grout over an anchor pocket (top) as well as removed grout revealing corroded wedges and anchors due to water intrusion at the grout pocket (bottom). Post-tensioning is a technique for reinforcing concrete with steel cables typically referred to as tendons. Post-tensioning tendons, which are high-strength steel cables inside plastic sheathing, are positioned in the forms before the concrete is placed. After the concrete has gained strength and before service...
Alpine Engineering: Ramcharger 8 Continues a History of Chairlift Innovation
Big Sky Resort’s Ramcharger 8 is the first eight-seat chairlift in North America and one of the most technologically advanced chairlifts in the world. (Big Sky Resort) The most modern chairlift ever built in North America now is open at Montana’s Big Sky Resort. Montana’s Big Sky Resort, where wide-open spaces meet dramatic peaks to provide world-class ski experiences, is the second-largest ski resort in the United States by acreage. Opened in 1973 and founded by Montana n...
A Blueprint for Stormwater Mitigation: Coral Springs Proactively Addresses Multiple Concerns and Strategies
As the U.S. population mushrooms in some areas and development continues to create impervious surfaces, both factors put increased demand on stormwater infrastructure. With more-frequent and intense storms and snowmelt on top of flooding events, an increasing amount of runoff from impervious surfaces risks flooding of communities, stream erosion and water pollution. The U.S. stormwater infrastructure received a D grade in the newest American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE...
Biden kicks off effort to reshape U.S. economy with infrastructure package
(Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Wednesday will call for a dramatic and more permanent shift in the direction of the U.S. economy with a roughly $2 trillion package to invest in traditional projects like roads and bridges alongside tackling climate change and boosting human services like elder care. He also aims to put corporate America on the hook for the tab, which is expected to grow to a combined $4 trillion once he rolls out the second part of his economic plan in April. Coupled with...
Autodesk U.S. Construction Outlook 2021 Report Finds Commercial Bidding Activity Has Surpassed Pre-Pandemic Levels
Despite forecasted drop in non-residential spending for 2021, real-time bidding data from BuildingConnected suggests short-term relief is en route as delayed or rescheduled projects come back online SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Mar. 16, 2021 – Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today released the “Construction Outlook 2021: Risks & Opportunities” report, a new study that dives into macro industry trends across five areas including growth, health and construction safety, labor, supply chain and design....
Transportation Getting $100B From $1.9T COVID Package
The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan or ARP recently reconciled between the House of Representatives and the Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, allocates $100 billion to transportation. [Above photo of President Joe Biden signing the ARP into law. Photo via the White House.] According to funding breakdown issued by Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chair of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, the final version o...
ASCE: Investment Gap Up To $2.59 Trillion, Bold Action Needed; ASCE’s Infrastructure Report Card Gives U.S. ‘C-’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) today released the 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, its latest quadrennial assessment of the nation's infrastructure. The Report Card gives the U.S. an overall ‘C-’ grade and finds the country is spending just over half of what is required to support the backbone of the economy. The study evaluated 17 categories of infrastructure, with grades ranging from a ‘B’ for Rail to a ‘D-’ for Transit. For the first...
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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