Public Works articles from April 2002

Public Works archives from April 2002

Students design appealing city of the future. (Editorial Viewpoint).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Students design appealing city of the future. A city of the future--"Apricus"--designed by students attending the Chippewa Middle School in St. Paul, Minnesota, has won the tenth annual National Engineers Week Future City Competition[TM]...

When will motorists learn? (Editorial Viewpoint).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... When will motorists learn? The Illinois Department of Transportation reported in early March that since December motorists have collided with 22 of its snowplows. Eleven of those crashes happened in a snowstorm that struck the first weekend in...

Disaster Response Network created. (Editorial Viewpoint).(World Economic Forum forms network for global disaster response)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Disaster response network created. The World Economic Forum (Geneva, Switzerland, www.weforum.org) announces the creation of the Disaster Response Network (DRN) to leverage the resources of engineering and transportation industry firms to help...

State and local governmental organizations were waging an all-out battle in Congress to restore federal funding for highway projects. (Washington Report).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... State and local governmental organizations were waging an all-out battle in Congress to restore federal funding for highway projects. A revenue-aligned budget authority (RABA) provision in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century...

The National League of Cities (NLC). (Washington Report).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The National League of Cities (NLC) said although the administration has proposed more funding for homeland security projects, the proposed 2003 budget would slash federal aid for local crime prevention, transportation, water infrastructure...

Christie Whitman, EPA administrator, has announced the lumber industry has agreed to a voluntary phase out of pressure-treated wood that contains arsenic. (Washington Report).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Christie Whitman, EPA administrator, has announced the lumber industry has agreed to a voluntary phase out of pressure-treated wood that contains arsenic. By December 31, 2003, the industry will shift to alternative preservatives for virtually...

Bills are pending in both houses of Congress to provide additional funding for the water infrastructure revolving loan funds. (Washington Report).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Bills are pending in both houses of Congress to provide additional funding for the water infrastructure revolving loan funds. Senator James Jeffords, Environment and Public Works Committee chairman, said, "The Water Investment Act of 2002 seeks...

Amtrak service needs to be restructured to improve passenger service throughout the U.S., the chairman of the Amtrak Reform Council (ARC) told a House subcommittee. (Washington Report).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Amtrak service needs to be restructured to improve passenger service throughout the U.S., the chairman of the Amtrak Reform Council (ARC) told a House subcommittee. Gil Charmichael told the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's railroad...

County to install stormwater treatment system on historic bridge. (Engineering Notes).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... County to install stormwater treatment system on historic bridge. Multnomah County, Oregon will install a stormwater filtration system on the Burnside Bridge to reduce the amount of pollutants flowing into the Willamette River. The CatchBasin...

Resident engineering inspection services contract signed. (Engineering Notes).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Resident engineering inspection services contract signed. The New York City Department of Design and Construction has awarded a $3.5-million contract to Tectonic Engineering Consultants P.C. (Mountainville, New York) to provide resident...

Consultant to develop flood control study. (Engineering Notes).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Consultant to develop flood control study. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection has selected Vollmer Associates (New York, New York) to perform a study and develop alternatives and recommendations to control/mitigate flooding...

Software to manage transportation department's business operations. (Engineering Notes).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Software to manage transportation department's business operations. Seattle Transportation (SeaTran) has chosen Hansen Information Technologies' (Sacramento, California) Public Works Solution to manage most of the department's business...

Winter maintenance: RWISs and anti-icing techniques.(road weather information system )
April 1, 2002... Conventional winter maintenance strategies involve waiting for the snow to start falling and then deploying plows and salt trucks to clear the pavement of snow and ice. These strategies produce safe travel conditions, but give the storm the...

They can live together: Manholes and Snowplows.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Over the years, Swatara Township, Pennsylvania has treated sanitary sewer covers in several ways to reduce or eliminate damage to its plows during snow removal operations. We have tried cold patch, ID2 hot mix, and 1/4-in. curbing mix with...

CIPP process reconstructs a giant sewer line and saves a Park. (cured-in-place pipes).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Tower Grove Park in St. Louis, Missouri is one of only four U.S. parks to be named a national historic landmark. Henry Shaw, the Victorian philanthropist who donated and helped design the park, took a deep personal interest in his 289-acre gift...

Indiana wedding season saved by CIPP.(cured-in-place pipe)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... With weddings scheduled on nearly every weekend between April and October, fixing the fast-deteriorating sewer system at popular Lakeside Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was not going to be easy. But the aging, two-ring brick sewer system--built...

Challenging project requires heavy-duty equipment to bore through.(analysis of Clare, Michigan pipeline project)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... A particularly tough bore of considerable length and size posed a challenge in a Clare, Michigan, pipeline project. The soil condition at the site was mostly coarse sand to a sandy clay mixture. The bore was planned to be 950 ft long and 20 to...

States focus on erosion control in construction and maintenance activities.(highway construction)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Triangular silt barriers, geotextile filter bags, and concrete blocks are just some of the products and ideas state highway agencies are using to better control soil erosion and sedimentation resulting from highway construction projects. ...

What stops folks cold from pursuing GIS?
April 1, 2002... Denise Dodd, the information systems director in Waterford Township, Michigan, remembers when a township-wide GIS was just a dream in 1987. "We got department heads together and started putting money away in the kitty, knowing that someday...

South Florida county uses GIS to prepare for floods.(Pinellas County, geographic information systems)
April 1, 2002... Pinellas County, Florida, is located in a part of the world bedeviled by water worries. Water has either drenched Pinellas without mercy or vanished entirely. For most of the 20th century, the county, like much of South Florida, battled floods...

Upgraded disinfection system boosts: WasteWater facility safety and performance.(Fox River Water Pollution Control Center)
April 1, 2002... Brookfield, Wisconsin, faced a substantial challenge during a recent expansion of its Fox River Water Pollution Control Center, requiring leading technologies and a clear view of process control and system integration. An important component of...

Seattle's trailblazing: LED-Signal project.(light-emitting diode)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Seattle, Washington, is home to the largest collection of historic traffic signals in the United States--close to 80 signals. All began as four-way, non-adjustable, aluminum stoplights manufactured in the 1940s and 1950s by such firms as...

City combats damage to city streets caused by utility cuts.
April 1, 2002... Not only does street utility work cause traffic delays, dust, and noise, its damage remains long after the excavation is backfilled and the construction crew has left the site. Even with the most experienced and conscientious construction crew,...

Buyers' Guide. (Pumps).
April 1, 2002... Buyers' Guide Pumps Pumps, Pumps, Dewatering & Pumps, Company Centrifugal Trash Grinder ABS Pumps, Inc. ...

How three cities gear up to fight snow. (PW update: equipment).
April 1, 2002... How three cities gear up to fight snow. In Rochester, NewYork, they're ready for the big one. "The driving factor in snow removal is your response time," says Rick Saltrelli, the city's director of operations, Department of Environmental...

Automatic GPS integrity monitoring. (Equipment & Services).(Advertisement)
April 1, 2002... CheckMate automatic integrity monitoring is now available with System 500 Series GPS surveying receivers. With CheckMate, the System 500 continually calculates two separate sets of RTK ambiguities. By comparing the two, the system ensures that...

Software extension offers seamless positioning power. (Equipment & Services).(Advertisement)
April 1, 2002... GPScorrect[TM] software extension enables the seamless integration of Trimble's GPS Pathfinder[R] receivers directly with ESRI's ArcPad 6.0 mobile GIS software, which operates on windows CE and Pocket PC devices. GPScorrect is described as the...

GPS surveying system. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The ProMark2[TM] GPS surveying system is an entry-level unit that provides centimeter-level accuracy plus real-time navigation tools for jobsite location and point reconnaissance. Simply enter the coordinates and ProMark2 can navigate users to...

Data collection with GPS. (Equipment & Services).(Advertisement)
April 1, 2002... This firm has put its CG-FieldPlus and CG-GPS software on one handheld data collector, allowing users to seamlessly move back and forth between conventional data collection and using GPS data. Features include real-time GPS, status report...

GPS surveying software. (Equipment & Services).(Advertisement)
April 1, 2002... TurboSurvey[R] Software 2 (TSS2) is a complete GPS surveying software package designed for your processing and network adjustment needs. The software package is entirely streamlined for the surveyor's ease of use and productivity. All of the...

Locus GPS surveying system. (Equipment & Services).(Advertisement)
April 1, 2002... The Locus system "combines simplicity, affordability, reliability, and accuracy," and is said to be ideal for a variety of tough surveying applications. Locus performs both static and kinematic surveys, making it suitable for boundary and...

Data collection system. (Equipment & Services).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The GF-105 Series data collector has FieldWorker software running on Compaq iPAQ3150 hardware. FieldWorker GPS software collects NMEA GPS data in your choice of three ways to collect a single position and there are two averaging options. It can...

Self-leveling laser. (Equipment & Services).(Advertisement)
April 1, 2002... The RL-H3C is a fully automatic, self-leveling laser designed for elevation and machine control applications. With 600-rpm rotation speed and accuracy of +/-15 arc seconds, the RL-H3C provides time savings and jobsite performance not possible...

Dual wall PE pipe. (Equipment & Services).(Advertisement)
April 1, 2002... EcoFirst[TM] pipe is a heavy-duty, dual wall pipe that uses post-industrial recycled polyethylene. "For nonpressure drainage applications that have a non-AASHTO requirement for environmental sensitivity paired with uncompromising performance,...

Dry prime pumps. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The Enviroprime [TM] system is designed for use with this firm's dry prime, compressor-assisted pumps in both the multi-purpose trash pump and the wet prime open trash sewage pump. The system prevents blow-by--sewage, debris, and...

Improved motor graders. (Equipment & Services).(Advertisement)
April 1, 2002... New C-Series motor graders are larger, more stable machines with increased weight compared to previous models and deliver "unmatched traction on slopes and in wet conditions." Significant enhancements were made to the powertrain to provide...

Safety and security barriers. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... These portable safety barriers for routing or channeling vehicular and pedestrian traffic are made of high strength, tough polyethylene. Two people can set up 200 ft of barrier in under 30 minutes. When empty the barriers weigh 120 lb; when...

Snowblowers for skid-steers. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... As a work tool for skid-steer loaders, these snowblowers operate on standard flow hydraulics and are designed for removing snow from streets, parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks. Its impeller is engineered to balance power and torque...

Hose pump for sewage treatment. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The SPX hose pump for tough sewage treatment applications is said to be ideal for cost-effective transfer and metering of lime slurry as the pump's only replacement part, the hose, does not wear due to abrasion. The SPX features a smooth,...

Document storage. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Retrieve blueprints, maps, schematics, artwork, or film with Easi File, a convenient, efficient vertical filing system. The system allows for the full view of documents while sorting for retrieval or replacement and accommodates storage of both...

HydraSaw pavement saws. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... HydraSaws use hydraulic direct-drive power to maintain constant cutting speeds and torque without excessive noise, vibration, or exhaust fumes. They are virtually maintenance free and can operate from an RGC [R] HydraPak or other compatible...

Stop Rust and corrosion. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Black-Max [TM] Cathodic Rust Arrestor is designed for use on deicing equipment, such as spreaders, as well as bridge decks. Black-Max encapsulates rusty surfaces, stopping rust in its tracks. It transforms rust into a black, protective polymer...

Improved litter pickup. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The mobile 101-D vacuum litter collection vehicle now boasts a 15-ft wanderhose for litter retrieval in hard-to-reach areas such as tree wells, telephone booths, bus shelters, and stairways. This retractable hose extension stores easily into...

WaterCAD[R] 5.0 released. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... "WaterCAD 5.0 promises to deliver a rapid return on investment to water authorities and consultants with its unique combination of cutting-edge hydraulics, system diagnostic tools, geographic information management, and energy cost analysis...

Hot water pressure washers. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... TVT Series electric-powered, hot water pressure washers have a cleaning range of up to 4.2 gpm and 3,000 psi of pressure. There are 12 models, six with a belt-drive high-pressure pump and six with a direct-drive or direct-coupled pump. There...

New endwall solution. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Compared to traditional endwall solutions, the new polyethylene EndWall from Hancor is said to install in one-half the time. With a total unit weight of less than 100 lb, it is lighter and easier to move, and there is no need for cutting,...

Powerful skid-steer. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The 280 skid-steer features a 90-hp turbocharged engine, rated operating capacity of 3,200 lb, and 11,600 lb of bucket breakout force. The new 280 has a servo-controlled, hydrostatic four-wheel drive transmission, and an optional two-speed...

Mini excavator. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The 21.4-hp diesel-powered ViO 27 mini excavator features true zero-tail swing and left and right boom swing, allowing the unit to operate close in and track adjacent to walls. Its standard quick coupler system allows the operator to change...

COGO package for ArcGIS. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... IcoMap, a COGO package with special parcel mapping technology, is now available as an extension to ArcGIS. Useful for creating and maintaining the parcel layer, IcoMap features Text-to-Vector [R] technology, which converts scanned legal...

Excavator 4 in 1 bucket. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The 4 in 1 bucket provides clamping action for picking up debris, and can be used as both a conventional digging bucket and a grapple. Models are available from backhoes to 30ton excavators. Hinge points are assembled with case hardened pins...

Brush chippers. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The BC1400 brush chipper is powered by a 122-hp Caterpillar engine. Its SmartFeed[TM] sensing control system monitors rpm and automatically stops or reverses the feed rollers if the engine loses rpm. If the rollers stop and the drum does not...

Obstacle detection system. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... This company announces its newest product: the EagleEye[TM] obstacle detection system. The EagleEye uses ultrasonic sensors to detect objects within 10 ft of the side or rear of large vehicles, giving the driver an extra "set of eyes" to help...

Earth anchor system for parks. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The AMU system anchors a wide variety of parks and recreation amenities including benches, tables, playground equipment, and toilets. The system consists of an earth anchor attached to a threaded rod. The anchor is first driven into the ground...

Maneuverable tandem rollers. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The Rammax T-Series tandem vibratory rollers are built for the 2- to 4-ton weight class. The units offer double drum drive and vibration for use on asphalt and soil/gravel sub-bases. The rollers are available with drum widths from 36 to 52 in....

Sludge level detector. (Equipment & Services).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The portable Sludge Gun[R] quickly locates the sludge bed in clarifiers and settling tanks. A probe that uses bursts of infrared light is lowered into the liquid to differentiate between liquid and sludge. A pitch horn on the butt of the gun...

Worth telling.(multiple business and industry news briefs)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... * Yvette M. Williams has been named director of business development for Jackson and Tull Chartered Engineers (Falls Church, Virginia). * Iowa Mold Tooling Company, Inc. (Garner, Iowa) has acquired Stedt Hydraulic Crane Corporation...

Legal aspects.(highway safety; Dallas Texas vs. Kenny Crawford)
April 1, 2002... Determining waivers of immunity. The Court of Appeals of the Fifth District of Texas at Dallas heard the case of The City of Mesquite, Texas, Appellant, vs. Kenny Crawford, Appellee. The city appealed the trial court's order denying its plea to...