Industry News Briefs

December 10, 2009 Headlines
State DOTs Have 9,500 Ready-to-Go Projects for Next Stimulus
v Administration's Livibility Initiative Targets $280 Million for Streetcars
Advances in Broadband Will Spur Smart Grid

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State DOTs Have 9,500 Ready-to-Go Projects for Next Stimulus
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (12/02/09) Dorsey, Tony

State transportation departments have identified 9,500 projects, including highway, bridge, transit, port, rail, and aviation projects, worth over $65 billion, and, if funded, could be used to create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the United States. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) executive director John Horsley says these "ready-to-go" projects are a great way to put people back to work quickly and efficiently. "Ready-to-go" projects are those that can move through the federal approval process within 120 days of enactment of authorizing legislation, allowing the State to proceed with construction. A report on all 50 states and the District of Columbia features 7,497 "ready-to-go" highway projects valued at more than $47 billion, and 2,091 "ready-to-go" transit, rail, port, aviation, and intermodal projects valued at more than $22 billion. "We hope Congress will use this survey to make the case that investment in transportation infrastructure projects are guaranteed to create jobs," says Horsley. "A bright spot of the economic recovery act continues to be state transportation projects that are pumping billions of dollars into households and businesses while fixing our broken transportation network." As of November 20, 2009, 10,600 transportation projects, worth over $30 billion, have been approved for funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Horsley says it is important to keep the momentum going, as unemployment in the construction trades still exceeds 18 percent. "There is still a need to invest more in transportation projects if that's what it takes to create jobs and bring unemployment down. What the state DOTs have done over the past eight months to put economic recovery dollars to work shows there is no better way to create jobs and long-lasting benefits in every part of the country," says Horsley.
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Administration's Livibility Initiative Targets $280 Million for Streetcars
U.S. Department of Transportation (12/01/09)

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced the availability of $280 million for urban circulator projects such as streetcars, buses, and bus facilities. The money represents the first batch of funding under the Livability Initiative, a joint venture of the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “This represents a significant effort to promote livable communities, improve the quality of life for more Americans and create more transportation choices that serve the needs of individual communities,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Fostering the concept of livability in transportation projects will stimulate America's neighborhoods to become safer, healthier and more vibrant.”
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Advances in Broadband Will Spur Smart Grid
CNet (12/01/09) LaMonica, Martin

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission recently held a field hearing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to discuss the role of the communications infrastructure in smart grid development and to gather information to help establish a national broadband strategy. Incorporating digital technologies into the grid will enable energy to be used more efficiently, increase reliability, and allow grid operators to use more alternative energy sources, according to smart grid advocates. At the hearing, panelists said that wider broadband coverage would establish a foundation for those benefits by enabling smart grid applications, such as home-energy monitoring, automatic outage alerts, and charging plug-in vehicles economically and without overworking the grid. U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) says future economic growth is closely tied to the intersection of energy and broadband. "The smart grid is an electricity Internet," Markey says. "Without the broadband revolution, you cannot have the revolution we're talking about." One area that needs improvement on the federal level is interoperability and standards, according to the panelists. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is currently leading an effort to establish the necessary standards for a smart grid, including cybersecurity standards and in-home communication protocols. However, the panelists said that there needs to be coordination among numerous government agencies to give new smart grid products plug-and-play capabilities.
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Radiator Roads Too Hot for Ice to Handle
New Scientist (12/04/09) Vol. 204, No. 2736, P. 26; Marks, Paul

A nanofiber-based roadway heating system under development by Christiana Chang at the University of Houston and colleagues has been found to offer faster heating than other systems that use fly ash in the concrete. According to Chang, the nanofibers are made of stacked cone-shaped nanotubes "like paper cups stacked on top of each other." Several layers of paper embedded with these nanofibers was placed beneath a piece of road concrete 25 square centimeters in area and 10 centimeters thick, which was then heated from -10 degrees Celsius to 0 degrees Celsius in two hours with just six watts of power used. "It's an interesting technique, but scaling it up to cover whole roads will require enormous power," says Derek Carder, an engineer with the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), which ran into problems with overly high power use in its own trial of a self-heating road in 2007; the TRL test used warm water pumped through a grid of pipes beneath the road. However, Chang's team says their system uses a less complex method and that the nanofiber-embedded sheets are already cheaply and readily available because they are used already for electronic components.
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White House is Urged to Help States With Nuclear Plants Stockpile Thyroid Drug
New York Times (12/07/09) Wald, Matthew L.

Congress passed a law after the Sept. 11 attacks ordering the government to help states build up supplies of a thyroid drug, potassium iodide, for people living near nuclear power plants in case of an accident or a terrorist attack. The legislation left a legal loophole allowing the White House to forgo distribution if officials found that there was a better way to prevent cancer than administering the thyroid drug. A few years later, the Bush administration dropped the plan, saying evacuations would be a better alternative. Advocates of the drug are now looking to the Obama administration to change the plan. The White House is currently reviewing the legislation and “the process used by the prior administration.” Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) who originally wrote the law, says that after Hurricane Katrina, evacuations were not effective and there was not enough food or water to provide to residents. The government already provides areas within 10 miles of nuclear power plants with pills, but the provision would extend that distance to 20 miles. Critics argue that there is a slim chance of a problem beyond the 10-mile radius, and warn that if pills were distributed before a problem, that people would search for the drug instead of removing themselves from the area. Residents may also think that the drug would prevent against all health hazards, instead of just the thyroid. A study by the National Academy of Sciences concluded that the drug should be available to everyone who has a risk of health problems from radioiodine in the thyroid, and it was recommended that the pills be included in the planning for a radiological incident response program. However, it was noted that the study did not examine people living beyond 10 miles of a plant. Nuclear power officials argue that there is a small change of iodine being released and handing out drugs in case of an emergency would only reduce the public's confidence in nuclear power.
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Cheaper Color-Changing Window
Technology Review (12/03/09) Bourzac, Katherine

Color-changing electrochromic windows can help reduce unwanted heat gain or loss and save on electricity by changing their color in response to weather. Materials sandwiched inside the windows change color when subjected to a small electrical field, which is set off by changes in light or temperature as measured by sensors. "With electrochromic windows, everything happens dynamically -- you don't have to think about it," says Anne Dillon, senior scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). "The problem is, they're too expensive." Responding to this problem, Dillon and NREL research scientist Robert Tenent presented a new, potentially less costly way of making electrochromic windows at the recent Materials Research Society in Boston. Generally, electrochromic systems use oxidized metals as the color-changing electrode materials; the NREL systems use nickel oxide and tungsten oxide as the basis for their electrodes, and NREL is the first to make electrochromic systems by spraying down then heating cheap precursors. The spray-based system, which saves on cost and also has some performance advantages, has used glass substrates thus far, but NREL is working on making electrochromic films with flexible transparent plastics, and is talking to DuPont about a potential collaboration.
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High-Strength Rebar Market Is Heating Up
ENR (12/02/09) Post, Nadine M.

Advances in high-strength steel rebar are making it easier to erect concrete high-rise buildings in seismic zones, as evidenced by the recent use of a 100-ksi rebar in a 31-story Seattle project and a relatively price-competitive 90-ksi rebar in a another project in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue. The high strength reduced the amount of horizontal rebar needed in columns and sheer-wall boundary elements, allowing for less rebar congestion and weight, less labor and hoisting, and easier threading and concrete casting. "The high-strength rebar prevented some real constructibility problems," says Lyall Hadden, general manager for Harris Rebar Seattle, the rebar supplier for both jobs. While both the 31-story Escala project and the suburban Avalon Towers project went well, said structural engineer Cary Kopczynski, at Escala "the cost reductions ... did not materialize to the extent we thought they would." This was in part because of the price of the 100-ksi rebar, a patented product made only by California-based MMFX Technologies. The Avalon Towers project, on the other hand, saved $100,000 by switching to 90-ksi rebar from Nucor Steel Seattle instead of using the 100-ksi rebar originally planned.
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An Energy Answer in the Shale Below?
Washington Post (12/03/09) Mufson, Steven

Oil and gas companies are vying to stake out territory where they can tap natural gas trapped in shale rock. Advances in horizontal drilling and methods of fracturing rock with high-pressure blasts of water, sand, and chemicals have meant that vast gas reserves in the United States are suddenly within reach. BP chief executive Tony Hayward says "[t]he United States is sitting on over 100 years of gas supply at the current rates of consumption." Because natural gas emits half the greenhouse gases of coal, he adds, that "provides the United States with a unique opportunity to address concerns about energy security and climate change." Some energy experts say that recoverable U.S. gas reserves could now be bigger than the immense gas reserves of Russia. The Marcellus shale formation, stretching across swaths of Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia, has enough gas to meet the entire nation's needs for at least 14 years, according to an estimate by two Pennsylvania State University experts. Since 2000, gas from shale has grown from less than 1 percent of the nation's production to about 10 percent, according to the consulting firm PFC Energy, and it's picking up fast. With new supplies, the country will be less vulnerable to disruptions from Gulf Coast hurricanes and need to rely less on imports. The prospect of new gas supplies at stable prices is also transforming debates over climate change, and deals another blow to proposals for new coal plants. Because gas plants can be switched on and off quickly, unlike coal and nuclear, natural gas could supplement wind and solar power facilities, whose output varies with the weather. "Natural gas can serve as a bridge fuel to a low-carbon, sustainable energy future," says former Colorado senator Timothy Wirth, now head of the U.N. Foundation. Coal use is down about 13 percent in 2009, while electricity demand has fallen only 5 percent and natural gas use has remained about steady. However, some environmentalists have sounded alarms about the chemicals that drillers use to fracture the rock and the danger of natural gas or other substances contaminating water supplies.
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Turbine Efficiency is Goal as Natural Gas Bill
Houston Chronicle (12/02/09) Dlouhy, Jennifer

The U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 1 voted 266-118 to approve legislation that would authorize the Energy Department to spend $85 million annually on research, development and technology demonstration projects aimed at boosting efficiency of gas-fired turbines to 65 percent. In 1992 the Energy Department teamed up with GE Energy and others to develop turbine blades and thermal barriers that could withstand higher temperatures. The breakthroughs allowed new power plants to operate at 2,600 degrees and ensure that 60 percent of natural gas was ultimately transformed into electricity. The legislation represents another effort to create a new generation of turbines even more efficient in transforming natural gas into electricity. The 1992 Energy Department program “led to technologies used in turbines today,” says bill sponsor Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) “Resurrecting this capability today is essential if our country is going to be the energy technology leader of the world.” If the bill is passed by the Senate and signed into law, the four-year program likely would mean new research dollars for turbine manufacturers such as GE Energy, Siemens, and Pratt & Whitney that are working on ways of getting more power out of burning gas. Don Hoffmann, a gas turbine product manager for GE, says a government program can speed up existing research and propel advances to market.
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Efforts to Address Highway Congestion Through Real-Time Traffic Information Systems Are Expanding but Face Implementation Challenges
U.S. Government Accountability Office (11/30/09)

A new 43-page report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) examines efforts so far to use real-time traffic information systems in the United States. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish the Real-Time System Management Information Program under legislation enacted in 2005. The report addresses how the public and private sectors disseminate real-time traffic information to the public, actions DOT has taken to establish the Real-Time System Management Information Program, and experts' views on the need for a nationwide real-time traffic information system and its potential characteristics, among other things. In the report, the GAO highlights the various services and technologies used for disseminating real-time traffic information, such as electronic signs, a nationwide 511 telephone number, and privately operated Web sites. The report also examines a proposed rule from the Federal Highway Administration that sets out possible requirements for states to make available certain traffic information, such as travel time, on major highways and to meet data quality standards, including standards for timeliness.
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Thinking Outside the Borehole
Engineering News-Record (11/30/09) Vol. 263, No. 17, P. 20; Van Hampton, Tudor

Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) and related systems can generate three to five times as much energy as they devour and deliver a positive coefficient of performance, if they are designed to be efficient. The U.S. Energy Department speculates that "aggressive deployment" of GHPs could yield up to $38 billion saved annually thanks to lowered energy bills, significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and make it less necessary to build 105 GW of electrical capacity by 2030. The scale of geothermal systems is growing, while GHPs are being deployed all over North America on various projects. Designers are figuring out how to exploit the earth or a nearby water source as a storage mechanism to reject heat during the cooling season and tap it later. Doing this requires finding a way to balance the load to keep the pump's compressors operating as little as possible over the year. Prior to even the consideration of geothermal system installation, building energy loads need to be reduced by upgrading the envelope, and, if appropriate, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning ductwork. Opinion is divided on whether or not GHPs constitute a renewable source of energy.

Austin Weighs Joining Cities Making Density Deals With Developers
Austin American-Statesman (TX) (11/29/09) Novak, Shonda

Like many other cities across the United States, Austin, Texas, is considering a program that would provide developers with incentives to create denser communities that offer cultural spaces, affordable housing, child care services, and other elements. The Austin City Council is expected to vote on a voluntary program on Dec. 17 to provide developers of denser communities with additional space and height for their projects. Experts agree that the most successful programs are those that not only offer community benefits but also provide developers with financial incentives and additional revenue. However, Austin currently employs an ad-hoc approach that leaves negotiations for additional height and space up in the air as the council decides on a case-by-case basis.

On the other hand, developers are concerned that the programs in other cities, while making the negotiation process smoother, may not be successful in Austin because the city is just starting to develop while the other cities, such as Vancouver and Portland, already were established. Novare Group CEO Jim Borders says, "Austin is far ahead of the country in such quality-of-life areas like parks, music venues, and ground-floor retail. That creates an opportunity to just go for the added density, and to encourage it by not making it subject to added costs. That's of particular importance in this economy, because it will be much harder to develop density over the next five years than it was the last five."
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The Evolution of the College Dorm
Time (11/26/09) Stephey, M.J.

The college dorm has undergone a great transformation over the years, from all-male to co-ed, from cinder-block structures meant to shut out the outside world to apartment-style suites decked out with fireplaces, tanning salons, and hot tubs. Just 17 percent of the 113 structures built on college campuses between 1995 and 2004 were traditional dorms, with the trend toward more-luxurious private accommodations driven by student demand, according to school housing administrators. Students want privacy, technology, and the same amenities they had at mom and dad's, according to American Campus Communities CEO Bill Bayless. However, some campuses are creatively altering housing to ensure freshman students still get the interaction among students that traditional dorms used to provide. For instance, Berea College in Kentucky is offering crafts workshops and cafeteria food supplied by the school farm and requiring students to work 10 hours per week in campus jobs.
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Personal Rapid Transit: Future or Elevated Fantasy?
NPR Online (11/26/09) Duchamp, Cathy

Personal rapid transit systems, or PRTs, promise to deliver advanced electric transportation that provides the convenience of an automobile without the pollution or congestion. PRTs, which have a pod-like, smart car appearance, are computer-automated compartments propelled along a specially engineered guideway or track capable of providing driverless, on-demand, environmentally friendly mass transportation, essentially the pinnacle of transportation. Back in 1958, inventors at Walt Disney imagined a PRT to be the transportation solution of the future, but little has been done to make such a mass transit alternative a reality. However, cities including Ithaca, N.Y., and San Jose, Calif., are doing PRT feasibility studies, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation is also exploring a PRT system. At West Virginia University, a PRT system has been in operation since 1975. "We can transport, under optimum conditions, about 4,000 people an hour. It's quite a scene when you see all those vehicles out riding the guideway," says the university's director of transportation and parking Hugh Kierig, though Kierig admits that the system is in need of an upgrade. Next spring, Britain's Heathrow Airport is scheduled to launch the world's first commercial PRT, which will have a fuel efficiency of 200 miles per gallon. Steve Rainey, a sales representative for ULTra, the company building Heathrow's PRT, believes that one day people will chose PRT travel over driving alone. "It has gone for me from this journey of being a weirdo pushing exotic technology to more acceptance and more doors opened," says Rainey. Rutgers University Transportation Center executive director Jon Carnegie also believes that people will be willing to adopt driverless pods, particularly as energy prices increasing affect how people choose to travel. "The more people decide that they would like to use modes other than the car, we may actually see a greater level of innovation," says Carnegie, who says Atlantic City, N.J., would be a great place to test a new pod car as there are lots of tourists and a gambling culture that may be willing to adopt an experimental system.
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Uncharted Jobsites
Utility Contractor (11/09) Vol. 33, No. 11, P. 20; Morgan, Jason

Global positioning system (GPS) grading and machine control systems allow contractors to map job sites prior to bidding so they can compare the engineering firm's surface information to the actual ground data. A GPS base station, a number of reference points, and a rover unit can be used to generate a three-dimensional topography of the job site, which can save the contractor time and money. "The big advantage with GPS is you have X, Y and Z," says Leica Geosystems product marketing manager Rich Calvird. "Not only can you do a topo, get a good accurate model of more complex surfaces and understand what you have to work with, but you can get it precisely and painlessly." With the use of GPS systems, project owners can expect projects to be completed faster and more safely, and with better quality and more consistent grades.
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