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DHS announces ARRA funding of Coast Guard improvement projects
DHS directs $240 of the stimulus package funds to make improvements to Coast Guard cutters and shoring up of bridges
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Self-powered monitoring system for bridges developed
More than 70,000 of the U.S. bridges are structurally deficient; funds from the administration’s stimulus package will be going to shoring up these bridges; how do agencies responsible for keeping an eye on the health of tens of thousands of bridges do so? University of Miami researchers offer an answer
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One-story masonry building withstands strong jolts during seismic tests
University of California, San Diego researchers design a one-story masonry structure and showed it could survive two days of intense earthquake jolts
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New concept for New York, New Jersey storm barriers
With worries about rising sea level and more intense storm, British engineering firm Harlow offers a new concept for protecting New York City and parts of the new Jersey coast against storm surges
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Composite materials extend life of existing bridges
The Obama administration’s stimulus package directs large amounts of money toward rehabilitating the aging U.S. infrastructure; Jayhawks researchers are testing a new class of devices that could double the life of America’s existing bridges using composite materials
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New design allows for using less steel in concrete beams
NC State researchers discover how to use 30 percent less reinforcing steel in the manufacture of the concrete beams; the success of the project is already drawing interest from the concrete industry
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More than 100 levees in 16 states are in an "unacceptable" state of disrepair
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gives “unacceptable” maintenance ratings to 114 levees in 16 states; these levees are in such a bad shape, that it can be “reasonably foreseen” that they will not perform properly in a major flood; 30 of the levees are in Arkansas
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Public support for infrastructure investment grows
University of Chicago NORC survey finds growing public support for investment in mass transit and infrastructure; support remains high for expenditures on education and health care
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Scientists: weight of water in reservoir may have triggered China quake
The May 2007 magnitude-7.9 quake in Sichuan province killed 70,000 and forced 5 million to be relocated; Just 550 yards from the fault line and 3.5 miles from the epicenter stands the 511-foot-high Zipingpu dam; scientists say that the immense weight of Zipingpu reservoir’s waters — 315 million tons — likely affected the timing and magnitude of the quake
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Doubling the service life of concrete
NIST researchers double the service life of concrete The key to the idea is a nano-sized additive that slows down penetration of chloride and sulphate ions from road salt, sea water, and soils into the concrete
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ASCE assigns Grade of D to U.S. infrastructure
Civil engineers association assigns a D grade to U.S. infrastructure, and says $2.2 trillion in repairs needed
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Detecting rusted metal encased in concrete structures
Many of the problems of aging infrastructure owe to rusting metal; trouble is, much of that metal is encased in concrete — in bridges, tunnels, dams, roads; new technology uses electromagnetic fields to measure corrosion through non-ferrous material
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New sensors to monitor health of U.S. infrastructure
Northeastern University researchers are working on developing new sensor systems for cars and trucks that will allow road and bridge infrastructure to be assessed in real-time across the United States
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States, localities are slow to repair poorly maintained levees
Two years ago the U.S. government identified 122 levees as too poorly maintained to be reliable in major floods; only forty-five of them had necessary repairs; people living behind the unrepaired levees should be concerned
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Trains carrying hazmat collide in Minnesota
At least 40 cars were derailed and some went into the Mississippi River in an early morning crash in southeast Minnesota; liquid ammonia and propane are leaking from some of the cars
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