tuesday, december 18, 2012
William L. Sibert
Major General William L. Sibert a civil engineer from Alabama whose long career involved some of the most ambitious construction projects of the last century. He designed and oversaw the construction of the Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal as well as the dam that formed the Gatun Lake which is the heart of the famed waterway.Sibert also oversaw the construction of the Alabama state docks, was involved in the building of the Soo Locks on the Great Lakes and was a key contributor to the congressional advisory panel that made the Hoover Dam a reality. He was also the first commander of the Army Chemical Corps, formed after World War I in light of the use deadly gas as a weapon.
My biography of Sibert has now been posted on the Encyclopedia of Alabama.
thursday, december 13, 2012
The Historical: The 1975 Orange Bowl
A season after Alabama and Notre Dame met on the gridiron for the inaugural time, the two historic programs found themselves pitted against each other in a bowl game and, once again, the national championship was on the line.Alabama was ranked No. 1 in the UPI poll and No. 2 in the AP and stood a good chance of claiming the top spot in both with a defeat of the Fighting Irish in Miami. Notre Dame had a trying season which concluded with head coach Ara Parseghian announcing his retirement. The result, once again, was a classic game.
My story on this classic contest, Alabama vs Notre Dame - The 1975 Orange Bowl is now posted over at Roll Bama Roll.
tuesday, december 11, 2012
The Historical: The 1973 Sugar Bowl
Alabama and Notre Dame, two of the most storied teams in the history of college football met for the first time on New Year's Eve, 1973 in the Sugar Bowl. With Bear Bryant's Crimson Tide ranked No. 1 and Ara Parseghian's Notre Dame No. 3, nothing less than the national championship was on the line in New Orleans.What transpired was one of the most legendary games in the history of either programs as well as the Mid-Winter classic itself. The outcome ended up being decided on a single gutsy playcall late in the contest, the memory of which still reverberates strongly in the memories of both fanbases.
My story on this classic contest, Alabama vs Notre Dame - The 1973 Sugar Bowl is now posted over at Roll Bama Roll.
wednesday, november 14, 2012
Panama Canal Atlantic Bridge
The French firm Vinci Construction Grands Projets has won a contract to construct a $366-million cable-stayed bridge that will span the Panama Canal on the historic waterway's Atlantic entrance.The bridge must be built as the Third Lane Expansion project will sever the only road connection across the waterway on the norther side of the isthmus. A ferry will be put into service to transport vehicles until the span is completed in 2015.
My story on the project, French Firm Wins Panama Canal Bridge Project is in this week's issue of Engineering News-Record.
thursday, october 11, 2012
Panama Canal Third Lane Expansion
The $5.2 billion Third Lane Expansion of the Panama Canal just passed its fifth anniversary and work is just about halfway completed. The race is on to meet the completion deadline which has been pushed back to 2015.To date, the bulk of the construction on the massive new locks has involved placing the more than 5 million cubic meters of high-quality concrete the job requires. Interestingly, this process is very similar to the way engineers chose to construct the original locks for the waterway more than a century ago.
My detailed update on the state of the expansion, Panama Canal: Full Tilt in the Tropics can be found in this week's issue of the British construction magazine, New Civil Engineer.
tuesday, september 11, 2012
Otis Davis
At the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Italy, the USA's Otis Davis won a pair of gold medals and claimed the world record in the 400 meters; becoming the first man to break 45 seconds in the event in the process. The performance capped a two-year span that Davis completely dominated the quarter-mile event.Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Davis aspired to compete for his hometown school, the University of Alabama, but knew the state's segregation laws made it impossible. Instead he went to the University of Oregon where he came under the tutelage of legendary track and field coach Bill Bowerman and flourished.
Earlier this year I penned an article about Davis' Olympic achievement for Roll Bama Roll. Shortly after I was commissioned by the Encyclopedia of Alabama to produce an entry on the runner, which has now been posted on their website.
friday, august 24, 2012
Panama Canal Third Lane Expansion
The contractor building the locks for the Panama Canal’s Third Lane Expansion has filed a claim against the Panama Canal Authority, asking to increase the price of the $3.18-billion contract by more than 18%.The work on the massive new locks located at each entrance of the historic waterway is being done by Grupos Unidos por El Canal (or Grupo UPC). The international consortium's effort have already been hampered by delays that are projected to push back the opening date of the new works by more than six months. Officials with the Panama Canal Authority say they are evaluating the claim which pushes the cost of the project significantly above the $3.48 billion allocated cost for the work.
My story on the contractor's claim, Panama Canal Contractor Files $573-Million Claim, is in this week's issue of Engineering News-Record.
friday, august 24, 2012
Belo Monte Hydroelectric Project
Work on the $16 billion Belo Monte hydroelectric project in the Brazilian Amazon was halted last week with a ruling by a federal judge that the project's licenses were obtained improperly. Officials with the consortium building the dam, Norte Energia, said they planned to appeal to the country’s Supreme Court.On Aug. 14, Judge Souza Prudente found that the required consultations with indigenous groups were done by federal agencies rather than the Brazilian government itself making them invalid. Norte Energia said that while they were confident the ruling would be reversed, an overlong delay would limit the amount of work possible before the rainy season.
My story on the ruling, Brazilian Court Halts Belo Monte Dam Construction, is in this week's issue of Engineering News-Record.
wednesday, august 15, 2012
The 2012 FBS College Football Media Guides
When you are getting ready for the college football season, tracking down that one piece of information about one of your team's upcoming opponents can be a real hassle. The preseason magazines help some but not for the nitty-gritty information.Over the past several years, most FBS teams have been putting their pre-season media guides on the internet for anyone to either peruse and, in most cases, download.
Over at Football Study Hall, I have collected the links to as many of these as I could find as well as links to the football page on each school's athletic's website.
wednesday, august 08, 2012
Points South: The Panama Canal Feels the Financial Pinch
The financing of the $5.2 billion Third Lane Expansion of the Panama Canal has been linked to a series of incremental hikes in tolls over the course of the project. Each time the Panama Canal Authority has announced a new round of increases, there has been an outcry from the shipping industry.This latest objection has been particularly strident as the industry argues that the impact of the global economic shutdown has already pushed many firms to the brink. The situation became so dire that a massive consolidation of shipping companies occurred last year -- giving even greater weight to their demands.
My post about the topic The Panama Canal Feels the Financial Pinch is over at Points South, my blog on Latin American construction at ENR.com.
friday, july 20, 2012
Alabama by the Numbers: A Century of Win/Loss Records and Win Percentages
Over the past four years, Crimson Tide football has experienced one of the most successful runs in the history of the program. But is it the most successful period in Alabama's long and storied gridiron history?Turns out it's damned close. Since 2008 Alabama has lost just six games and earned an .887 win percentage. Just seven Crimson Tide teams in the past century can boast a better four-season stretch and only one of those wasn't coached by Paul W. Bryant (and two other of his teams reached the .886 mark).
In my look at the topic over at Roll Bama Roll I charted the four and ten year win percentage for Alabama football over the last century and then broke down the numbers for each of the Tide's national championship-winning coaches.
read more
thursday, july 19, 2012
The Panama Canal Third Lane Expansion
The construction of the new locks for the Panama Canal Third Lane Expansion will require more than 5 million cubic meters of concrete. The sheer volume of this material and the specific geotechnical and climactic challenges require specialized equipment. Add to that the logistical issues posed by the limited amount of space on the jobsite and it gets even more complicated.To handle it an array of specialized equipment has been employed, from massive ice machines that cool the concrete mix to enormous tower cranes that transport it in bulk to the specific areas of placement. A fleet of pumper trucks and telescopic conveyer cranes are necessary as well.
My story, Panama's Concrete Challenge Calls for Custom Equipment, is in this week's issue of Engineering News-Record.