Civil Engineering Blog

Deal on $300 billion highway spending bill struck

via AIAD:

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe said Wednesday that he had reached an agreement with a key House negotiator that will break the months-long impasse on a massive transportation bill.

Inhofe, R-Okla., who had been pushing for a greater amount of spending on the country's transportation programs, said he agreed to a $299 billion proposal after Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., accepted several provisions backed by the Senate.

Inhofe conceded that Democrats, who believe they have an agreement that any final version would be bipartisan, may not support the compromise.

Still, Inhofe, who is the chairman of the huge conference committee on the measure, predicted that Republicans will succeed in getting the compromise version to the floor of both houses of Congress, where it will pass overwhelmingly.

Plan for $2 Billion flood control in Texas may fall short

Harris County, Texas via Houston Chronicle:

The county plans to spend more than $2 billion on flood-prevention efforts in the next decade.

But even that staggering amount of money won't prevent flood devastation from torrential rains such as the ones that came in with 2001's Tropical Storm Allison.

Rare and fluky, Allison greatly exceeded even the strength of a storm that might be expected only once in 500 years. It would be nearly impossible, as well as cost-prohibitive, to prevent the havoc wreaked by such a storm, say Harris County Flood Control District officials.

Huge North Korean blast causes controversy

A huge blast in North Korea near the Chinese border that caused a 6 km wide mushroom cloud to form has stirred controversy. North Korea says that the blast was for a hydroelectric project:

North Korea said Monday that a huge cloud caused by an explosion several days ago was the planned demolition of a mountain for a hydroelectric project, and the reclusive government invited a British diplomat to visit the site to confirm the story, British media reported.

South Korean experts dispute the story, however:

Some analysts said the location of the explosion spotted via satellite and the hydro-electric project are more than 75 kilometers apart.

A UNDP official in Seoul, in a phone interview with The Korea Herald, said their mission in North Korea is familiar with such a hydro-electric project in Yanggang Province near the World Food Program sub-office in Hyesan, but the town is called "Wonsan."

More analysis here and here.

ITV reports the crater from the blast is visible in satellite photos.

China deploys anti-terrorist forces to Three Gorges Dam

China's Three Gorges Dam, recently threatened by massive flooding, is now perceived as under threat of terrorist attack. More from the BBC.

Civil Engineering photos online

This website contains a collection of civil engineering photos, primarily from the UK. The photos are part of the collection of The British Science Museum, The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television
and The National Railway Museum.

Safety information and unusual photos at Navy site

Many engineering clients, government agencies and regulatory agencies are putting an increased emphasis on safety issues. The Navy has a good website for reference information on safety issues. Highlights of the site include Safe Tips and the Photo of the Week (example shown), which illustrates what not to do.

Buffalo shot after falling onto Highway

From The Boston Globe:

Add wandering buffalo to the list of traffic hazards faced by Bay State motorists.

A buffalo that fell from a livestock trailer on Interstate 495 in Westborough on Wednesday briefly roamed near the highway before it was shot dead by its owner, Brian Farmer of Warner, N.H., who didn't want the animal to cause an accident, state police said.

Flood cleanup begins as Three Gorges Dam remains on high alert

From BBC News, Three Gorges Dam remains on high alert as cleanup begins:

Residents in south-western China are beginning a massive clean-up after a week of storms that have left 172 people dead.

The torrential rains have begun to ease, but many areas remain cut off and more than 100,000 people are homeless.

The authorities have warned of more major storms in coming weeks.

China's plans to build nuclear reactors

From Wired:

Late last year, China announced plans to build 30 new reactors - enough to generate twice the capacity of the gargantuan Three Gorges Dam - by 2020. And even that won't be enough. The Future of Nuclear Power, a 2003 study by a blue-ribbon commission headed by former CIA director John Deutch, concludes that by 2050 the PRC could require the equivalent of 200 full-scale nuke plants. A team of Chinese scientists advising the Beijing leadership puts the figure even higher: 300 gigawatts of nuclear output, not much less than the 350 gigawatts produced worldwide today.

Laos defends controversial hydroelectric project

From ABC News via Reuters:

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Communist Laos defended a billion-dollar hydro-electric project on Tuesday against activists who insist Indochina's biggest dam will be a social and environmental disaster for the tiny, impoverished nation.

Laos officials told a World Bank workshop in Bangkok the proposed Nam Theun 2 dam was the best option for development and fighting poverty in a nation where 70 percent of the people live on less than $2 a day.

The Nam Theun 2 dam project is a $1.3 billion dollar project that would supply Thailand with electricity under a $5 billion dollar contract over 25 years.

The International Rivers Network has been highly critical of the project, but other critics feel that the World Bank is determined to support it.