Top Story

• Work can continue on Calif.'s $68B high-speed rail project
  Site surveys, geological testing and design work can continue for California's $68 billion high-speed rail project after a judge denied a request by a group of farmers for an injunction to halt work. The California High-Speed Rail Authority "acted reasonably and in good faith" in observing the state's environmental rules, said Timothy Frawley, Sacramento County superior court judge. The case will be heard in the spring, and construction is expected to start in July. Google/The Associated Press (11/17)     

• Calif. extends completion deadline of $6B HSR project by 1 year: A one-year extension has been added to the construction schedule for a $6 billion high-speed rail project in California's Central Valley, according to the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Completion of the project is now expected to occur by December 2017. "We are going to get lower bids, save some money and still meet all of our deadlines," said CHSRA CEO Jeff Morales. "It is a good business move." Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription model) (11/16)     

Infrastructure Watch

• Is Sacramento, Calif., ready for a flood?
  New Orleans is the U.S. city most at risk of flooding, but the metro area of Sacramento, Calif., is number two. If a levee breaks, 1.4 million people are at risk. The state has invested billions in levee and dam upgrades and evacuation plans. Find out which infrastructure components are most likely to be affected in the event of a major flood and what plans have been made to avert damage. The Sacramento Bee (Calif.) (free registration) (11/18)     

• Fla. DOT advances $675M express lanes project
  Construction is set to start early in 2014 on the Florida Department of Transportation's $675 million upgrade to Interstate 75 and the Palmetto expressway. The project involves the addition of express lanes along a 27-mile stretch of the expressway and the erection of sound barriers. The design-build project will be financed from state funds. Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) (11/16)     

• Deteriorating bridges and lack of funding a challenge for Wis.
  More than 1,200 of Wisconsin's 13,000-plus bridges were labeled "structurally deficient" at the end of last year. The cost to fix them is about $81 million, according to the National Bridge Inventory. But the state doesn't have the money, and earmarks in Congress -- once used to fund repair projects -- are a thing of the past. The state repairs major bridges where it can and imposes weight limits on those it can't afford to fix. Green Bay Press-Gazette (Wis.) (11/18)     

Trends & Technology

• BIM helps companies execute complex projects
  The use of building information modeling helps companies execute complicated building plans, according to this piece. For instance, L.P.R. Construction used BIM to help it erect an extension to the Denver Art Museum that called for 2,750 tons of steel. AECOM Technology used BIM to handle the complex construction of an S-shaped building in the U.K. In each case, the company's use of BIM contributed to reduced costs and delivery times. Constructech (free registration) (11/15)     

Sustainable Development

• LEED v4 aims to "push the envelope"
  The proposed LEED v4 rating system from the U.S. Green Building Council has been criticized for its credits that encourage chemical ingredient labeling of building materials. However, Scot Horst, senior vice president of the USGBC LEED program, said at last week's Greenbuild that the standards would promote transparency in the green-building process, and Rick Federizzi of USGBC says "we are right." SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership (11/19)     

• Greenbuild Expo showcases sustainable products
  More than 1,000 booths showcased sustainable products at the U.S. Green Building Council's Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in San Francisco. Some of the most innovative products, according to Andrew Michler, were "FilterPave," a 96% ground glass, porous paving material, and "Grasscrete," a concrete-filled paperboard that looks like a "big egg carton." Inhabitat (11/16)     

Hot Topics

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

• Calif.'s $68B high-speed rail: The "project of the century" (Los Angeles Times)

• Jacobs Engineering Group settles Minn. I-35W bridge collapse suit (Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.))

• Slide show: Calif.'s Bay Bridge construction in progress (The Huffington Post)

• New energy supply? Alaska's frozen methane hydrate (The Washington Post)

• Slide show: Devil's Slide tunnel project in Calif. makes progress (San Jose Mercury News (Calif.))

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

Election 2012

• Lawmakers make case for approval of Keystone XL project
  Eighteen senators have requested a meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss the future of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline. In a letter to Obama, the senators said politics should be cast aside and that the project should be approved. "The election is over, people want us to work together to create jobs, and one sure way we can create jobs right now is by moving forward with construction on the Keystone XL pipeline," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. The Hill/E2 Wire blog (11/16)     

Advancing the Profession

• Why it pays to be a servant leader
  Servant leaders have all the skills and competencies of regular leaders -- but they also have a clear vision for why they're leading, writes Mark Miller. That ultimately makes them more effective, Miller asserts. "Their effectiveness is ultimately rooted in their character," he explains. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership (11/15)     

News from ASCE

• Save $100, and pass the P.E. Exam with ASCE's interactive online review courses
  Earning your P.E. license is one of the most pivotal steps of your career -- make sure you are well prepared for this essential milestone by enrolling in an ASCE P.E. Exam Review Course. With ASCE courses you will learn from experienced instructors during live webinars and benefit from free on-demand recordings. And with our guarantee, if you register as an individual and you do not pass your exam, provide us with proof of your exam results, and we will enroll you in the next course for free. Register by Dec. 14 and save $100 using Promo Code WEBPE -- this savings applies to group and individual registrations.      

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SmartQuote

Nothing is too small to know, and nothing is too big to attempt." --William Cornelius Van Horne, Canadian railway executive