With a 23-year time frame, The Central Artery/Tunnel (CA/T) project often referred as the Boston’s Big Dig is certainly one of the largest, most expensive, complex, urban infrastructure projects undertaken in the modern history. The “Big Dig” was conceived to improve the nightmarish traffic flow in downtown Boston. Big Dig’s high-stake players were Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff (B/PB), Massachusetts General Court (the Legislature), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA—in the U.S. Department of Transportation), Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MassPike), neighborhood organizations, business community, design & construction firms and the list goes on. Known for its schedule and cost delays, the project was driven by aggressive meeting schedule
On April 9, 1997, Rig 52 that belonged to Mallard Bay Drilling was towed to a location in the territorial waters of Louisiana, where it drilled a well over two miles deep. After the well was almost complete an explosion occurred killing four of the crew and injuring several others. Seeing that this was a marine casualty in navigable U.S. waters, under existing regulations the United States Coast Guard responded. When the investigation was over the Coast Guard did not find any violations of their regulations and noted it was an uninspected vessel and the operator held an Operator Uninspected Passenger Vessel (OUPV) license. Soon after the incident the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Mallard Bay Drilling for violations
What can construction do for an area? The construction of an office building may bring in a firm, corporation, or company. The construction of a sporting arena may keep a team where it currently is, or bring a new team to that area. For example, the construction of the HSBC Arena kept the Sabres in Buffalo. The construction of a casino may bring in tourists, or people who live in the outlying suburbs. It seems obvious that all of the prior examples bring economic growth and development to that certain place. However, there is a less obvious question to be asked. If a new bridge is built what can that bring to an area? In the case of Buffalo, many people believe economic revival.
There is one reason Chicago is as big as it is today and that is the fact that it is the largest rail city in the world. The railroad made Chicago what it is today, and although the canal was very important in the history of Chicago the railroads importance out weighs it by far. The canal was important because it was the vision of the first settlers of Chicago to have an all water trade route that would go through Chicago. What those first explorers saw was a way to make a canal so that they could transport goods from the St Lawrence River all the way to the Gulf of Mexico with less cost and with more efficiency. The canal was the reason Chicago was settled in the first place if not for it there might very well not be a city called Chicago. You could argue that the canal was the most important thing in Chicago's history but I think the railroads were much more important. The railroads enabled Chicago to become one of the biggest cities in the world by bringing in different business and all types of goods. Chicago is a very key location to have a railroad-shipping hub. This is because it is centrally located in the United States so goods can be shipped in almost any direction and received in a shorter amount of time. William Butler Ogden was the one who pushed for Chicago to adopt a large rail system and he should be known as the one who made this city boom. St. Louis or another centrally located city could have very well adopted the rail system and they would have reaped all the benefits.
The I-35 Bridge collapse in 2007 was not the result of a single safety precaution being overlooked; it was primarily due to a miscalculation by the original design team, Sverdrup & Parcel and Associates. While the accountability can be placed on Sverdrup & Parcel and Associates, the only way to learn from such disasters is to delve deeper into the root cause and determine why this minute, yet extremely important, detail was overlooked for over 40 years.
As we all know, California is in the midst of a severe drought. This drought has caused Northern and Southern California to reconsider their claims on water sources and there are only a few major water sources like the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta left. Fortunately in April 2015, The California Water Fix, also known as Bay Delta Conservation, was proposed by Governor Jerry Brown. But what is the California Water Fix project and why should it be built?
Many mass construction projects in the history of the United States have had a major impact on the economy and culture; however, not many of these have had as large as an impact as the Interstate Highway Act of 1956. The Interstate Highway Act revolutionized the way that we think about highways today. The act created an extremely easy mode of transportation for people across the country. Not only was the Interstate Highway Act extremely helpful in making rural and urban transportation for normal people, but it also helped commercial businesses in increasing sales across the country. These businesses were now able to transport their goods cheaper and faster. The Interstate Highway Act was tremendously beneficial in regards to its economic, social, and cultural significance. The legislation was significant economically in the way that it promoted business and cut travel costs, it was significant socially in the way that it allowed people to see friends and family even if they did not live close, and it was significant culturally in the way that it allowed people to move out to the country for low costs in order to live a happier life.
The current size, inherent values, and economic status of the United States owes greatly to the paramount figures and events that took place during the Early National Period of the country. However, while there is no doubt that such events- and the figures behind them- were of great importance and have molded the country into the pristine product that it is today, the various construction projects of that time have gone largely unnoticed. Canals, being one of the most prominent advances in transportation, are prime examples of forgotten catalysts of the American nation. The construction of canals- particularly the Erie Canal- during the 19th century played a key role in the geographic, economic, and cultural development of the country by allowing an easier and faster mode of transport, and contributing greatly to the preservation of the Union during the Civil War.
Asmar et al. (2013) found that IPD has been gaining recognition due to the various benefits it offers to the architecture/engineering/construction (AEC) industry and that much research has not been done to gauge the performance of IPD projects in contrast with other project delivery systems such as design-bid-build, design-build and construction management at risk systems. The metrics that are used to analyze the performance of IPD according to Mollaoglu-Korkmaz, Swarup and Riley (2011) are cost, quality, schedule performance, and owners perception of post-occupancy performance)
Throughout its nearly 60 year history, the Interstate Highway System has served the United States of America far beyond its original goals. From its original purposes of uniting the country and aiding defense to the more mundane, (but equally important)such as ferrying goods across the country, the Interstate Highway System has firmly entrenched itself as one of the greatest feats of engineering the world has ever known. Record setting bridges, tunnels, and length of pavement have all been made by the vast expanse of the IHS FACT. As Dwight D. Eisenhower, then president, stated “Together, the united forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear -- United States. Without them, we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts” (http://todayinsci.com/Events/Transport/HighwayInterstate-Quotations.htm 22 Feb 1955)
4. Did General Motors destroy the LA mass transit system? The Straight Dope Retrieved Feb 9 from http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_335.html
Hargreaves, Steve. "The High Cost of America's Bad Roads and Bridges." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
The Central Artery Tunnel Project, more commonly known as the Big Dig, is said to be the largest, most complex and technologically challenging highway project in American history. It is the culmination of decades of planning and forethought and is hoped to alleviate the traffic congestion that has plagued the Boston area since the invention of the automobile. The project incorporates a major underground highway system, a revolutionary cable-stayed bridge, and a series of impressive tunnel crossings, each a considerable feat on their own, all constructed in the midst of a bustling city.
[ix] Weingroff, Richard F. The Federal-State Partnership at Work. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration Public Roads Web site, 1996.
Mega events have grown to be an important part of global societies. This case study will examine The Economist’s Report entitled “Hosting Mega-Events: Managing Innovation in Infrastructure” (McFarlane & Freudmann 2013). Further to this, a critical analysis is conducted on the success factors, healthcare facilities and the local communities affected by mega events.
Question 1:- Outline the major projects to be completed under this corridor. Outline the clear list by mentioning all its project, cost, expected completion time, beneficiary regions and benefits.