Civl Engineering
May 2008

Civil Engineering

The Magazine of the American Society of Civil Engineers

May 2008  |  Volume 78, Number 5


The Gallery Collection/Corbis

ON THE COVER: The 41,000-seat Nationals Park, in Washington, D.C., was constructed in just under 24 months, a record for a Major League Baseball stadium, owing to the use of building information modeling for the design, fabrication, and construction of its steel.

(Photograph by Wayne Stocks, Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.)

Features

Safeguarding a Lifeline

By Sarah Holtz Wilson, P.E., M.ASCE, David F. Tsztoo, P.E., M.ASCE, Carl R. Handford, and Kenneth Rossi

To ensure that the Oakland, California, area will continue to receive drinking water even in the event of a major earthquake along the Hayward Fault, a local utility constructed a bypass tunnel and two side drifts that will allow a significant water pipeline to undergo lateral deflections of as much as 7.5 ft (2.3 m) yet remain in service.

Why Bridges Have Failed throughout History

By Charles Seim, P.E., F.ASCE


The failure of bridges, whether they collapse outright or simply do not behave as their designers intended, is not a new phenomenon. Much may be learned by examining particular bridge failures in earlier times to determine what went wrong and how such mistakes can be avoided in the future. 

Levee Alternative

By John S. Horvath, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE

Expanded polystyrene geofoam molded into large blocks is regularly used in such projects as roadways and bridge foundations, and its behavior in those applications is well understood. Less is known about how levees might be designed to take advantage of the material’s properties, however. But research and a limited number of case studies offer promise.

SPECIAL REPORT: Are You Ready For BIM?

By Brian Fortner

Computer-based technological advances, particularly in modeling and information management, continue to push the limits of design and construction coordination. But is building information modeling (BIM) ready to become standard protocol? The answer appears to be yes.

Missouri and Illinois departments of transportation
Heerim Architects and Planners                                                                                     Zaha Hadid Architects
 

Civil Engineering News
Scaled-back bridge • Careful tunneling • Texas toll road. • Faster toll collection • Sculptural museum • Trailer alternative • Barged bridge span • Railway elevated • Water for Santa Fe • Transportation challenges • Crescent-shaped hotel • News Briefs

Letters
Policy Briefing
Technology
History Lesson
Editor’s Note
Books
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