Top Story

• China will have more skyscrapers than U.S. by 2017
  China will have 802 buildings more than 500 feet tall compared with 539 in the U.S. by 2017, according to a "Supercity" report by MotianCity, a research organization in China. The country has 332 buildings under construction and another 516 are in the planning stages, compared with only six under construction in the U.S. and an additional 24 in the works, the report said. In total, China is expected to invest about $269 billion in tall buildings over the next decade. Shanghai Daily (China) (9/24), Forbes (9/23)     

Infrastructure Watch

• Crews prep to bore second leg of $1B PortMiami tunnel
  Crews are getting ready to dig the second tunnel of the $1 billion PortMiami project and are reassembling the boring machine that was taken apart once the first tunnel was completed. "We are on time, we’re on schedule and we’re on budget," said Chris Hodgkins of Miami Access Tunnel, the team in charge of building the tunnel. The project, which is slated to be finished in 2014, will also include widening MacArthur Causeway bridge and upgrading the port’s road network. The Miami Herald (free registration) (9/23)     

• Other News

• $1.564B, 5-year program for S.D. transportation system approved
  Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, S.D.) (tiered subscription model) (9/21)     

• $27B alloted for development of Saudi Arabia's roads, bridges in next 5 years
  Bloomberg (9/24)     

Trends & Technology

• New BIM-integrated modeling system aids in construction scheduling
  A new modeling system integrated with building information models keeps parties updated on a project's construction progress, which could lead to fewer expenses in project delivery, according to this piece. One such system, the 4 Dimensional Augmented Reality system, gives firms the benefit of automated and remote observance of the project's safety, quality and site layout, said Mani Golparvar-Fard, the system's developer. The D4AR model could provide "integrated visualization of as-built and as-planned models," Golparvar-Fard said. GoStructural.com (9/21)     

Sustainable Development

• 4 eco-friendly technologies that revolutionize building design
  The development of vertical gardens in towers and the incorporation of systems that help buildings withstand natural disasters are some of the technologies that revolutionize the way buildings are designed and constructed, according to this piece. Some eco-friendly skyscrapers feature skyways, rooftop gardens and walkable roofs. "[G]reen building can be a viable solution for many of the most urgent problems plaguing urban populations," the author states. Green Building Elements (9/21)     

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by ASCE SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Tunnel collapses in China; 16 unaccounted for (ABC News)

• Building a mile-high tower could become a reality by 2025 (Bloomberg)

• Who's spending what on infrastructure? (Engineering News-Record)

• Design-review panel named for N.Y.'s $5.2B Tappan Zee Bridge (TransportationNation.org)

• Wash.'s Condit Dam is now only a memory (The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.))

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Election 2012

• HSR projects moved forward; Amtrak debate continues
  The Department of Transportation last week released $100 million in grants to raise the speed of passenger trains between Charlotte, N.C., and Washington, D.C., and approved the Merced-to-Fresno segment of California's high-speed rail. Meanwhile, debate over Amtrak subsidies continues, with House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica, R-Fla., calling it "an inefficient, costly, Soviet-style passenger-rail system." The Hill/Transportation blog (9/21), ProgressiveRailroading.com (9/21)     

• Economists: Higher taxes, spending cuts are needed to trim deficit
  A combination of spending cuts and higher taxes offers the best way to reduce the U.S. deficit, according to a survey of National Association for Business Economics members. Fiscal stimulus should continue through 2013 but be scaled back by 2014, members said. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/The Associated Press (9/24)     

Advancing the Profession

• Are you killing your workers' best ideas?
  Good leadership is about resisting the notion that you know best simply because you've got the biggest office or paycheck, writes Jane Perdue. It's better to keep an open mind and judge other people's suggestions on their merits. "A leader's role is to synthesize ideas, not strangle them," Perdue writes. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership (9/20)     

Featured Content

News from ASCE

• Take ASCE's all-new, on demand Wind Loads course, anytime, anywhere
  Earn 9 PDHs right from your desk with ASCE’s new, on demand Wind Loads course. This online version of one of ASCE’s most popular workshops gives you the most up-to-date information on wind effects, basic design wind speed, design wind loads, and more, You'll come away knowing how to use and apply the ASCE 7-10 standard. After completing this course, you will be able to calculate and communicate the parameters of design wind-speed equations, articulate basic air-flow concepts and the effects of wind on structures, describe and calculate different wind-speed measures, and more. Register and start earning 9 PDHs right now, or anytime, anywhere.     

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SmartQuote

There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." --Henry David Thoreau, American author and poet