Hurricane Michael caused an interruption in construction at the Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant and wrought heavy damage to Tyndall Air Force Base. The storm also left more than 1 million customers without power, but Jeffrey Byard of the Federal Emergency Management Agency asserts that the agency's resources aren't strained.

Graham Contracting was awarded a $455 million design-build contract to rebuild and expand a mile of Highway 520 west of Lake Washington, $30 million more than the upper end of the engineer's estimate. The project, which is expected to start in 2019, will entail constructing a landscaped lid over the highway as well as three eastbound lanes.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey wants to build a $1.5 billion rail line to transport up to 12 million people per year between midtown Manhattan and LaGuardia Airport, and it is seeking an environmental consultant to review the project. The review may take up to 18 months.

ConstructConnect estimates that 50 airports in the US over the next three years will spend a total of $70 billion on construction projects, and seven of the largest airport construction projects in the world are detailed. Globally, ConstructConnect saw a 61% year-over-year increase in airport terminal construction activity.

Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp, the nominees for governor of Georgia, agree that more must be done to improve transportation in the state but disagree on what should be done and how. Kemp supports public-private partnerships, while Abrams has promised to allocate $150 million for transit bonds.

Philadelphia has released a seven-year transportation plan called Connect that seeks to tackle the city's plateauing bicycle commuting, rising traffic congestion and decreasing bus ridership. The plan takes a multimodal approach which, unlike other plans, will not entail waiting for government financing but rather will emphasize optimizing the city's existing resources, according to Philadelphia Managing Director Mike DiBerardinis.

Civil engineering professor Mehdi Saiidi from the University of Nevada at Reno is leading a project for the California Department of Transportation to examine the potential of accelerated bridge construction processes in improving the seismic resiliency of bridges. Saiidi's team so far has conducted three successful bridge shake table tests on a 100-ton, 70-foot-long ABC concrete bridge.

Boston's $15 billion Central Artery/Tunnel Project, also known as the Big Dig, was marred by leaks and a collapsed ceiling panel, but experts now say it played an important role in revitalizing the city. The area above the tunnel has seen a major real estate boom, and that is partially due to planning that took place before the project was completed.

The Army Corps of Engineers will suggest by the end of October a hurricane protection plan for Houston and other cities in coastal Texas. Four years ago, the Corps began studying the issues and has developed four proposals that each include navigation gates, new levees and seawall upgrades.

The concept of agile thinking can improve how we develop employees and our own careers, as we need to be flexible about our goals and nimble enough to learn new skills as the job market changes, writes Julie Winkle Giulioni. "Consider job shadowing, coaching, mentoring, opportunities for greater visibility, experience-based learning via special projects and stretch assignments," she writes.

Even if you can't be among the civil engineers descending on Denver for ASCE's flagship event, you can join in the informative sessions and technical tours. Attendees and ASCE News will post on social media all weekend. See the convention program, and follow the hashtag #ASCE18.

How can you satisfy clients who want their projects to withstand potential climate change effects? Watch a discussion among experts at the ASCE Convention's Industry Leaders Forum, Sunday at 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT, to be streamed live on Facebook. What would you like to know? Comment with questions during the event. Learn more.