December 2019 Vol. 74 No. 12
Features
The Gathering Place is a $400 million project that transformed Tulsa’s Arkansas River waterfront into a dynamic, interactive environment. Key to its development was the construction of underground stormwater system with more than four miles of pipe and 750 domed chambers to manage stormwater flow into the river.
Teamwork among organizations with multiple skills and specialties is credited with rehabilitating a vital 1.5-mile-long segment of the sanitary sewer system serving two Denver, Colo., suburbs.
Editor's Log
One might think that the state of New York as a whole is solidly against the use of natural gas for its heating and related energy needs in any way, shape or form – just like their governor. Curiously, just the opposite is true.
Newsline
A contractor who prosecutors said pushed his crews to work faster on a behind-schedule project has been convicted of manslaughter in the deaths of two workers in a 2016 Boston-area trench collapse.
Making good on plans to streamline its product and services portfolio after acquiring Charles Machine Works, The Toro Company has shed CMW’s pre-owned construction equipment business by selling MTI Equipment back to its founders.
A jury returned a verdict in favor of Weldbend and Boltex on all counts in a lawsuit by the American carbon steel flange manufacturers against a Spanish company, Ulma Forja – part of the Mondragon Corp. – and its U.S. subsidiary, Ulma Piping.
Rhode Island public utilities regulators say a natural gas outage that affected more than 7,000 customers last winter was caused by low pressure in a pipeline.
National Grid said it is confident it will be able to address concerns over gas supplies raised by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who threatened to revoke the British firm’s license to operate if it failed to supply gas to more than 1,100 customers.
A car in Louisiana was swallowed by a sinkhole when the roadway collapsed, injuring the occupants of the car.
The U.S.Supreme Court seems uncertain about how to decide a Hawaii case that may determine if a sewage treatment plant needs a federal permit to send treated wastewater deep underground.
The $78 million Southwestern Parkway Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Basin project receiving the Best in Engineering Design Award and a National Award of Excellence (water/wastewater).
American Water, the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company, and its charitable foundation announced a $40,000 donation to the Center for Aquatic Sciences in support of its Community and Urban Science Enrichment (CAUSE) summer camp program.
The federal government is providing money for a project to upgrade aging sewer infrastructure in one of Maine’s coastal communities.
The Environmental Protection Agency has invited New Orleans to apply for up to $111 million in loans. The money could help the city’s Sewerage and Water Board meet a 2025 federal court deadline for completing that restoration.
A gas main upgrade project from Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) has been named as Project of the Year by the Project Management Institute–New Jersey Chapter (PMINJ).
The equipment and event rental industry in North America is expected to finish the year with total revenue up 5.35 percent to $61.56 billion, the first time combined rental revenue for Canada and the United States has surpassed $60 billion, according to the latest forecast released by the American Rental Association (ARA).
Rehab Technology
NASSCO, now in its 45th year, continues to set standards for the assessment and rehabilitation of underground infrastructure. This series of articles recognizes those who have not only been critical to the success of NASSCO, but the industry as well. This month, industry veteran Ray Bahr III is profiled. He is the third generation to work in the underground rehabilitation market.
Through the efforts of the AWWA Pipeline Rehabilitation Committee, a white paper was developed with industry consensus to better define lining classifications as well as establish more specific design, qualification and verification testing and acceptance criteria.
Washington Watch
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is thinking about broadening its acceptable control methods for silica dust in the construction standard it first issued in 2016.
Business
Trackunit and Point of Rental Software established a long-term partnership to enable businesses relying on equipment rentals to perform jobs more efficiently.
Volvo Construction Equipment opened its second and third Certified Used Centers in North America, since introducing the program last year.
Tidewater Equipment joined the CASE Construction Equipment dealer network, representing the manufacturer in 42 counties across western and southern Georgia.
EHC, a construction company that provides pre-construction, earthwork and infrastructure services for municipalities, developers, builders, owners and general contractors, is moving its headquarters from Naples, Fla., to a new facility in Fort Myers.
Lane Construction Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Salini Impregilo Group, won its first contract in the state of Washington to build a water storage tunnel to reduce polluted overflows into the Seattle, Washington Lake Washington Ship Canal. The contract is valued at $255 million.
Houston-based National Trench Safety LLC opened a new location in St. Louis, Mo., it’s 34th of a nationwide network.
Skelly and Loy Woida Sara Woida joined engineering-environmental consulting firm Skelly and Loy, as senior water resources engineer. She is responsible for technical work – including investigation, analysis of various detailed studi..
New Products
Digital Control Inc. (DCI) has unveiled a new terrain mapping tool that includes a real-time bore planner for the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) industry. This is the first of several products to be introduced for DCI’s new earth mapping product family, TeraTrak.
Rehab News
New for UCT 2020
Another unique, interactive education and demonstration zone has been added to the Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exhibition. The Assessment Zone will be a large area within the UCT exhibit hall where attendees can see and learn about equipment and technologies available to assess the structural integrity of utility pipes and avoid catastrophic failure.
- Tunnel boring machine ‘Clack-A-Mole’ nears one-third completion in Oregon outfall project
- Explosion in underground PG&E vault leaves one dead in Richmond, Calif.
- Tennessee pipeline gets initial FERC approval despite environmental concerns
- Sinkhole in Texas town accrues over $800,000 in sewer rehabilitation costs
- Water and Sewer Damage Awareness Week highlights infrastructure challenges
- Wisconsin proposes new PFAS drinking water standards to align with federal rules
- Elgin, Ill., joins EPA drinking water initiative to accelerate lead pipe replacement
- GasTracker Accurately Locates Plastic Gas Pipes
- Union County, Ga., breaks ground on $20.5 million fiber broadband expansion project
- TDEC unveils $191.2 million water infrastructure investment across Tennessee