Top Story

• Deck is placed on San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
  California's San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge project reached a major milestone when crews spent nine hours on Saturday placing 1,220 cubic yards of concrete for the final deck section of the eastern span of the bridge. The new bridge, "designed to withstand the strongest possible ground motion involved with a seismic event within a 1,500-year period," is slated to open to traffic in September. KTVU-TV (Oakland, Calif.) (3/9), KPIX-TV (San Francisco) (3/9)     

Infrastructure Watch

• Multibillion-dollar energy projects at risk from lack of skilled workers
  A scarcity of engineers and construction laborers is jeopardizing the progress of U.S. oil and natural gas projects worth $100 billion, according to this article. This could lead to a 100% increase in labor costs by 2020 as shale projects continue to multiply, according to NES Global and Piper Morgan Associates. "The cost of labor is being bid up, and that's a problem for our competitiveness," said Peter Robertson, Deloitte LLP's independent senior adviser. Bloomberg (3/7)     

• N.Y. anticipates $1.5B fed loan for Tappan Zee Bridge
  New York is expecting to receive a $1.5 billion federal loan for its $3.9 billion Tappan Zee Bridge project, which would help keep tolls "affordable for motorists," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The state will continue to look for additional financial support. The contractor, JV Tappan Zee Constructors, will start work this month on the five-year project, collecting soil samples from the Hudson River. The Journal News (Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, N.Y.) (3/8)

• "TRex" to test soil around quake-hit New Zealand city
  "TRex," the world's largest seismic vibration truck at approximately 32 tons, will start testing soil in Christchurch, New Zealand, a city devastated by an earthquake in 2011. Using large hydraulics, the truck will "shake the ground" and analyze soil properties at up to an 850-foot depth. By "[u]sing state of the art information on soil properties ... we can begin to link cause and effect and better understand where such effects will occur elsewhere during future earthquakes worldwide," said University of Canterbury earthquake engineer Dr. Brendon Bradley. The New Zealand Herald (3/11)     

• 2 piling augers pierce rail-tunnel wall in London
  Two large piling drills broke through a tunnel wall on a major rail route in London. "Our engineers are on site assessing the damage and we will restore the railway as soon as possible," said Phil Verster, Network Rail route managing director. Engineers have since plugged the hole with a concrete plug about three feet thick. The Guardian (London)/The Press Association (U.K.) (3/8), BBC (3/8), Evening Standard (London) (3/11)     

Trends & Technology

• Prefab construction gains popularity for building projects in NYC
  Modular construction is becoming more popular among architecture, engineering and construction firms doing projects in New York City. Among the projects that helped boost its appeal is Forest City Ratner's Altantic Yards. Prefabrication used to be looked down on, "but there has been a sea change, and now there is much less of a distinction over whether a building has been assembled off-site or on-site," said David Burney, commissioner of the New York City Department of Design and Construction. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (3/8)     

• Engineering, architecture services added 3,100 jobs in February
  Architect Magazine (3/2013)     

Sustainable Development

• Coiled skyscraper is wrapped in vertical gardens
  The Agora Garden, a 90-degree twisted skyscraper wrapped in vertical gardens designed by Vincent Callebaut Architectures, is being built in Taipei, Taiwan. The structure, "inspired by two encircling hands clasped together and the helical structure of DNA," will feature nanotechnologies, wide planted balconies and a rainwater capture system. It will also have a solar roof to produce energy, and low E glass to reduce excess solar gain and avert thermal loss. Inhabitat (3/10), World Architecture News (3/7)     

Hot Topics

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

• Fla. sinkhole could be uncovered today (CBS News)

• The pluses of being a civil engineer (The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan))

• U.S. News names its top 10 engineering grad schools (U.S. News & World Report)

• Video brings Boston's Longfellow Bridge construction stages to life (BostInno (Boston))

• 8 teams to bid on Fla.'s $2.1B public-private partnership project (American City Business Journals)

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

Advancing the Profession

• Balsa wood tower challenge: Hands-on way to learn engineering
  Eighth-graders at Parkview Middle School in Ashwaubenon, Wis., participated in a balsa wood tower challenge as a "hands-on way for students to learn science and engineering," the teachers said. The competition, co-sponsored by architectural and engineering firm Ayers Associates, challenges students to build a 2-ounce tower out of balsa wood that could support their body weight. "It's a great opportunity for students to have a real-life application and actually work in partnership with engineers," said Julie Branner, a science teacher. Green Bay Press-Gazette (Wis.) (3/8)

• Mass. proposal would bring STEM academies to community colleges
  Massachusetts House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo has proposed a plan that he says would help students who enter community colleges needing math remediation. The STEM Starter Academy would provide intensive math instruction for such students using an immersion model in which students could spend up to three hours a day, five days a week in math class. Boston Herald (3/8)     

News from ASCE

• Expand your skills with ASCE’s Face-to-Face Seminars -- save on groups of 3 or more
  ASCE holds hundreds of Face-to-Face Seminars each year in cities across the nation. In-depth and delivered by leading experts, ASCE seminars are a proven method of expanding your knowledge and increasing your skills. Because each seminar is comprised of a small group of engineers, you’ll receive comprehensive training and personalized attention from instructors. Save 10 percent when registering three or more engineers for the same seminar. Learn more now.     

Position Title Company Name Location Structural / Bridge Engineer Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc US - VT - North Ferrisburgh Highway Design Engineer Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc US - VT - North Ferrisburgh Geotechnical Engineering Leader Arup US - NY - New York City Associate Project Manager or Project Manager Calleguas MWD Thousand Oaks, CA Engineering Project Manager AMEC Environment & Infrastructure Knoxville, TN Roadway/Hydraulics Engineer Confidential Alexandria, VA Geotechnical / Structural Engineer HBK Engineering, LLC US - IL - Chicago Design Engineer - Transmission Line EDM International Inc US - CO - Fort Collins

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SmartQuote

The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be." --Socrates, Greek philosopher