Public Works articles from February 2004

Public Works archives from February 2004

Funding comes to another crossroads.(Letters)
February 1, 2004... There is considerable angst in our community over the current state of the federal highway reauthorization bill. We are now into the last days of an extension to TEA-21 that is set to expire at the end of February. Part of our collective...

Memo to Congress: pass a transportation bill.(Editorial Viewpoint)
February 1, 2004... The morning after President Bush's State of the Union address last month, I got a call from an industry consultant in Frederick, Md., a professional engineer named Bill Harris who runs his own transportation research firm. Some-what agitated,...

Unable to commit, divided Congress may extend deadline for TEA-21 reauthorization yet again.(Washington Report)
February 1, 2004... At press time, Congress had resumed 11th-hour deliberations on its delayed reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), the nation's key transportation funding framework. TEA-21 expired last Sept. 30, but...

USAID awards Bechtel $1.8 billion Iraq Infrastructure contract.(Washington Report)
February 1, 2004... The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) last month selected an engineering and construction team led by Bechtel National Inc. to manage the next $1.8 billion phase of rebuilding and rehabilitating wartorn Iraq's decimated...

Communities honked off at train horns.(Washington Report)
February 1, 2004... The Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is proposing a long-delayed rule to allow local communities to silence train horns at 150,000 railroad crossings. The interim rule sets standards that local...

EPA proposes cuts from power plants.(Washington Report)
February 1, 2004... The EPA now is accepting public comments on an interstate air quality proposal that would result in the deepest cuts in sulfur dioxide (S[O.sub.2]) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from power plants in more than a decade. Mean-while, the...

Homeland Security issues more grants for port security.(Washington Report)
February 1, 2004... The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is distributing $179 million in grants for dockside and perimeter security at ports and terminals. The department said the awards would enable security upgrades such as harbor patrol boats,...

National civic groups to promote sidewalks, bike paths.(Washington Report)
February 1, 2004... Six national civic groups are sharing a grant to help state and local leaders integrate exercise opportunities into their communities. The $1 million grant was from Active Living Leadership, a San Diego State University-based project supported...

Urban gas pipeline inspections to increase, intensify.(Washington Report)
February 1, 2004... The U.S. Department of Transportation is enforcing a new rule that tightens standards for natural gas transmission pipelines in urban areas. The regulation by the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) requires operators to...

Houston's new light-rail done in time for kickoff.(Engineering Notes)
February 1, 2004... Determined to be up and running in time for this month's Super Bowl, played Feb. 1 in Houston, the city's new downtown light-rail system last month officially began taking passengers. A 7 1/2 mile line known as METRORail, the new $324 million...

NTIS Engineering Village database launched.(Engineering Notes)
February 1, 2004... Elsevier Engineering Information, Amsterdam, Netherlands, has launched the U.S. National Technical Information Service (NTIS) database on Engineering Village 2, the Web-based discovery platform for the engineering community. The NTIS database...

Pedestrian bridge opens in Virginia.(Engineering Notes)
February 1, 2004... Construction has now been completed for a new pedestrian bridge to replace the existing asphalt walkway connecting the Partridge Road sidewalk and the Veterans Memorial Park in Prince William County, Va. The new bridge over CSX Rail Road was...

ESRI, Trimble announce grant winners.(Engineering Notes)
February 1, 2004... ESRI, a developer of geographic information system (GIS) software and spatial solutions for local government, Redlands, Calif., and Trimble, an innovator of global positioning system (GPS) technology, Sunnyvale, Calif., have announced the...

New NETZSCH brochure released.(Engineering Notes)
February 1, 2004... The Grinding & Dispersing Division of NETZSCH Inc., Exton, Pa., offers a new brochure highlighting the complete range of coarse to ultrafine particle size reduction equipment manufactured by NETZSCH. NETZSCH's experience with fine grinding and...

AWWA provides materials to quench Baghdad's thirst.(Engineering Notes)
February 1, 2004... The American Water Works Association (AWWA), Denver, is tapping into its reservoir of drinking water expertise to help rebuild Iraq's aging and wartorn water system. AWWA recently delivered to the Baghdad Water Authority thousands of dollars in...

Initial phase of Kansas City Scout project completed.(Engineering Notes)
February 1, 2004... Overland Park, Kan.-based Black & Veatch recently completed the initial phase of the Kansas City Scout advanced traffic management project, which monitors and manages approximately 75 miles of Kansas City's most congested freeways. Kansas City...

S.C. county mulls new product to bind its dirt roads.(Engineering Notes)
February 1, 2004... The rising cost of construction materials has South Carolina's Lexington County officials eyeing new technology to maintain its dirt roads, reports Aggregate Research Industries. One solution under consideration is a petroleum-based product...

New OSHA record requirements now in effect.(Engineering Notes)
February 1, 2004... Employers are reeling from the continuous changes to the 30-year-old Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) record-keeping rule. This regulation requires many employers with 11 or more employees to record workplace accidents and...

TBE Group.(Worth Telling)
February 1, 2004... TBE Group, a national consulting, design, and engineering firm in Clearwater, Fla., has appointed John Temple, P.E., vice president of TBE's Transportation Division. Temple is responsible for leading TBE's highway design, structures design,...

Glenn Schirmer has joined STV Inc., Chicago, as vice president/regional operations manager of the firm's Midwest region, including Chicago, St. Louis, and Kenosha, Wis.(Worth Telling)
February 1, 2004... Glenn Schirmer has joined STV Inc., Chicago, as vice president/regional operations manager of the firm's Midwest region, including Chicago, St. Louis, and Kenosha, Wis. He will be operating out of STV's Chicago office. STV is an engineering,...

Recognized as one of the pioneers in the concrete paving industry, Bob Priest was honored as winner of the American Concrete Pavement Association's (ACPA) Hartmann-Hirschmann Award.(Worth Telling)
February 1, 2004... Recognized as one of the pioneers in the concrete paving industry, Bob Priest was honored as winner of the American Concrete Pavement Association's (ACPA) Hartmann-Hirschmann Award. The award, presented in December in Scottsdale, Ariz., salutes...

MACTEC Engineering & Consulting.(Worth Telling)
February 1, 2004... MACTEC Engineering & Consulting, Alpharetta, Ga., has been awarded a $2.1 million contract from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division, to operate the state's ambient monitoring program. The company has...

Flowserve Flow Control.(Worth Telling)
February 1, 2004... Flowserve Flow Control, Raleigh, N.C., has announced that Constellation Energy Group has awarded the Raleigh Operations division Constellation's first "Outstanding Supplier Award." The award recognizes the Raleigh Operations overall level of...

World of Asphalt.(Worth Telling)
February 1, 2004... World of Asphalt will be held March 15-18, 2004, at the Nashville (Tenn.) Convention Center. The expanded conferences will feature industry-specific education of interest to a broad range of asphalt professionals. New in 2004 is the...

Troxler Electronic Laboratories Inc.(Worth Telling)
February 1, 2004... Troxler Electronic Laboratories Inc., Research Triangle Park, N.C., developer of test and measurement equipment for the highway construction industry, has appointed Richard J. (Rick) Marcotte to the newly created position of vice president of...

The National Concrete Bridge Council will host the 2004 Concrete Bridge Conference (CBC) May 17-18, 2004, in Charlotte, N.C.(Worth Telling)
February 1, 2004... The National Concrete Bridge Council will host the 2004 Concrete Bridge Conference (CBC) May 17-18, 2004, in Charlotte, N.C. The CBC has become the nation's premier venue for the exchange of ideas and information on all aspects of concrete...

An expert's tour: as the editor of CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION magazine, and a 20-year veteran of the concrete and masonry business, I have attended the World of Concrete many times. Whether you too are a veteran or if this is your first time, you're in for quite a treat.(World of Concrete)
February 1, 2004... In 2004, the World of Concrete (WOC) enters its 30th year of bringing attendees the latest equipment, educational sessions, and hands-on experience. This year's schedule boasts hundreds of can't-miss demonstrations, seminars, and other...

Buying time: from New York to Missouri, one specialty contractor is extending the life of aging roads, bridges, and even piers with a thin polymer broadcast overlay.(Concrete Bridge Repair)(Cover Story)
February 1, 2004... While New Yorkers still debate the ultimate fate of the 49-year-old Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River, state officials are relieved to know that they acted early enough to buy the time needed to properly weigh that decision. "No...

Can you fill forms without vibrating? Self-consolidating concrete is used for both its flowability and durability--and for its incredible ease of use.(Self-Consolidating Concrete)
February 1, 2004... A concrete that places itself? Self-consolidating concrete (SCC), or self-compacting concrete, as some prefer to call it, comes close to doing just that. Well-proportioned SCC can flow under its own weight through and around congested...

Rehabilitating our nation's bridges; maintaining bridges is no small task. Here's how we make decisions about repair and technology that will help them last longer.(Bridge Repair)
February 1, 2004... According to the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) National Bridge Inventory (NBI), 591,061 bridges in the United States are more than 20 feet long. Of this total, 360,446 (61 percent) are constructed of concrete and 194,827 are...

Mix design meets demanding road repair criteria; West Virginia officials took part in a fast-track repair project to accommodate local motorists.(Concrete Construction)
February 1, 2004... By the end of 2002, several stretches of the I-77/I-64 West Virginia Turnpike in and around Beckley, W.Va., were in need of replacement. The West Virginia Turnpike Authority wanted a fast-track repair to minimize inconvenience to motorists. ...

San Diego battles corrosion in concrete tanks; an ambitious concrete rehabilitation program at San Diego's Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant promises long-term protection for aging sedimentation tanks--and helps the city meet GASB 34 requirements.(Concrete Repair & Maintenance)
February 1, 2004... In the early 1990s, the San Diego Metropolitan Wastewater Department (MWWD), like other municipal utilities across the United States, found itself with a serious corrosion problem--specifically, in the concrete sedimentation tanks at the city's...

Electrodialysis, softening systems flow in harmony; one Iowa city is using an electrodialysis reversal water treatment to handle its robust growth.(Water Treatment)
February 1, 2004... Fairfield is a vibrant rural community located in the southeastern region of Iowa. Known for its stable, growing economy and solid economic base of light manufacturing and service businesses, Fairfield also boasts an unusually eclectic mix of...

Still expanding, L.A.'s plant upgrades: enhancements made to Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant will benefit Santa Monica Bay for decades to come.(Wastewater Treatment)
February 1, 2004... Not far from the Los Angeles International Airport sits the mammoth, 55-year-old Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant, one of the nation's largest. Originally built for secondary treatment in 1949, the facility now serves some 4 million area...

Protests finally yield a fragrant solution; a coastal community on Long Island has snuffed out odor problems that had plagued its residents and frustrated local officials since the 1970s.(Wastewater Treatment)
February 1, 2004... After three contentious, odor-filled decades, residents of the coastal Long Island, N.Y., communities of Seaford and Wantagh last year finally welcomed the much-maligned Cedar Creek Water Pollution Control Plant as a true neighbor. Their warm...

Water reuse supports growth in Georgia; a new water reuse plant could serve as a model for other facilities that need to accommodate the surge in Atlanta's population and the state's zero-discharge requirements.(Wastewater Reclamation)
February 1, 2004... Only a short time before, the irrigation water drenching the 18-hole links at the Bentwater Golf Course, and the greens at the Governor's Towne Club Course, in Paulding County, Ga., had been wastewater from the adjacent residential...

'New age' strategy: embracing the need to lead.(PW Update: Management)
February 1, 2004... On Jan. 22, Luthy, president of The Futures Corp., Boise, Idaho, and American Public Works Association (APWA) president Dwayne Kalynchuck co-hosted a live, 2-hour Web broadcast on "Leadership in the New Age of Public Works." The article below...

CSI's MasterFormat 04 will embrace more of industry.(PW Update: Information Technology)
February 1, 2004... When the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) established the MasterFormat Expansion Task Team in April 2001, it seemed clear that technical advancements in the industry with regard to both practices and products, and greater emphasis on...

You pick the winners.(Most Innovative Products)
February 1, 2004... The debut of Hanley Wood's Most Innovative Products competition was a resounding success at last year's World of Concrete 2003. This unique competition--really two competitions--allowed a panel of experts and attendants at the show a chance to...

Iowa Mold Tooling Co.(Featuring: Truck Accessories)
February 1, 2004... The company has added two truck-mounted articulating cranes to its line of material handling products. Designed for 2 to 8 hydraulic extensions, both models have a horizontal reach of 67.6 feet and vertical reach of 77 feet. The 52/380 can lift...

Knaack.(Featuring: Truck Accessories)
February 1, 2004... The Weather Guard Model 1200 Aluminum Truck Rack mounts on the top of bed rails with low-profile mounting rails. The unit's cross sections feature triple wall reinforcing for extra strength, and the front and rear mounting rails are easy to...

System one.(Featuring: Truck Accessories)
February 1, 2004... The Heavy Work Contractor Package for the I.T.S. series truck rack includes a variety of the company's aluminum racking components, including Pick-Up Truss for front-to-rear stability, Pick-Up Trak that distributes weight and protects side...

Reading body works.(Featuring: Truck Accessories)
February 1, 2004... The company has improved its steel storage underboxes, including eliminating rub rails in favor of flanged partitions to eliminate some of the solid welding; the new partitions are tack welded and caulked for added strength and durability. The...

Rhino Linings.(Featuring: Truck Accessories)
February 1, 2004... Rhino Shine Ultra can be used to renew the look of sprayed-on polyurethane bed liners, which may oxidize over time from sun exposure. The product erases oxidation and adds shine and color while retaining the original liner's skid-free surface....

Standard Hamilton Co. Inc.(Featuring: Truck Accessories)
February 1, 2004... The Dump-Pro insert enables users to change a pickup truck to a dump truck in minutes, courtesy of the quick-change feature. The dump body is constructed of industrial-weight polyethylene, and the drive system uses a winch rather than costly...

Wacker.(Featuring: Truck Accessories)
February 1, 2004... The company's Magic breaker series consists of two demolition hammers and three rotary hammers. The EH 9BL (3/4 inch hex) and EH 9BLM (SDS max) demo hammers are light-weight, and they produce 14 pounds per blow of impact energy at a rate of up...

Trak Engineering Inc.(Featuring: Truck Accessories)
February 1, 2004... The Fuel Sentry is a fuel island-mounted cabinet with a microcomputer, pump control interfaces, power supply, communication electronics, heaters, and other elements to provide a single control point. The self-contained unit holds enough memory...

Genie industries.(Featuring: Truck Accessories)
February 1, 2004... This company has re-engineered its S-40 and S-45 self-propelled telescopic booms. The new joystick controls incorporate fewer moving parts than previous models, reportedly providing increased reliability. The controls can be programmed with a...

CD-ROM-drainage systems.(Products for Pros: SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2004... ADS offers a design tool for creating complete drainage systems for school site development. The CD-ROM utilizes a dynamic rendering to show where and how drainage products are used, and provides insertable CADBlocks for use in all design...

Stormwater treatment systems.(Products for Pros: SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2004... The BaySaver[R] separation system makes meeting stormwater treatment regulations convenient and cost effective. BaySaver[R] is installed under impervious areas making it an excellent choice for retrofit projects. BaySaver[R] collects and stores...

Pipe In-Service report.(Products for Pros: SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2004... Condition Investigations of HDPE Pipe In-Service in the United States" is a report done for the American Concrete Pipe Association by Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., Northbrook, Illinois, that looks at HDPE culvert and cross drain...

Liquid-applied liners.(Products for Pros: SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2004... With these liquid-applied lines, "problems in tanks and ground storage vessels are a thing of the past. Nothing extends the life of you water-works structures better." Designed for direct contact with potable water, the system is a cold-applied...

HYDRA-TAG system for fire hydrants.(Products for Pros: SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2004... Assured Flow's HYDRA-TAG is a custom tagging system for hydrants. This durable identification system is made from corrosion resistant brass. Steel stamps are available for custom numbering or lettering. The HYDRA-TAG attaches securely to bolts...

BEBO Concrete Arch System.(Products for Pros: SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2004... With spans of 12 feet to 84 feet, the BEBO Concrete Arch System is one of the largest precast concrete arch systems in the world. The BEBO system is a combination of precast arch elements, spandrels, wingwalls and cast-in-place concrete...

HL130M Dri-Prime[R].(Products for Pros: SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2004... The latest addition to the Godwin Dri-Prime family of portable rental pumps is the 6-x 4-inch HL130M single stage pumpset capable of handling heads to 600 feet. The unit handles flows to 1,300 gpm and solids to 1-3/8 inches in diameter. All...

Trenchless clean-out system.(Products for Pros: SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2004... The VAC-A-TEE[TM] trenchless cleanout system's benefits and features include quick clean-out installation, no damaged utilities/landscaping, remotely installed, no spoils to remove, quick and easy process, no service interruption, and minimal...

Truck mounted loader.(Products for Pros: SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2004... Versatility is the key to truck mounted loaders. One man with this truck can do the work that would have required two men, two trucks, a trailer and a front loader. Whether its sweeper dumps, utility cut spoils, gutter cleaning, park clean up,...

Pipe clamps.(Products for Pros: SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2004... These easily installed adjustable clamping pipe brackets are made of non-corrosive 11 gauge 304 stainless. They securely attach pipes to manhole walls and other surfaces with no protruding hardware and are fully adjustable to fit irregular...

Court orders Chicago to rework flawed set-asides.(Legal Aspects)
February 1, 2004... After 8 years of legal wrangling over the use of minority set-asides in public contracting, a lawsuit brought by the Builders Association of Greater Chicago (BAGC) has resulted in a federal court order striking down the city's 18-year-old...