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 04, 2007
The Interoceanic Highway
Last week Peru awarded the final two contracts of the 2,500 kilometer Interoceanic Highway project to a par of consortia comprised of Peruvian contractors. Consorcio Interocánica and Concesionaria del Sur will handle the repair of more than 1,000 kilometers of existing paved roads that lead to three costal cities.The two contracts are valued at $285 million. Work on the three contracts that include the building new road across the difficult mountain and jungle terrain of Southern Peru began two years ago. Peruvian officials say the final pair of contracts, although almost a year behind schedule, will be completed by the 2009 deadline for the entire project.
My story on the issue, Final Two Sections Awarded For Transandean Highway, is on ENR.com. A sidebar looking at progress repairing roads in the wake of the 8.0 magnitude earthquake that struck three weeks ago, After Quake, Crews Scramble To Fix PanAm Highway, is online as well. read more
wednesday, august 22, 2007
The Peru Earthquake
After the intial shock of the powerful 80 earthquake that struck southern Peru on Aug. 15 began to receed, rescue efforts ground into gear.At first the focus was rescuing the survivors, then it became the grim task of recovering bodies.
Providing aid to those living in the shattered wreckage was a monumental problem from the first hours as well. Water, food and medical supplies for the thousands who remained in the devastated area were extremely limited.
On the third day the goverment began looking for engineers to help the clean up and start the rebuilding. It will be a daunting task. Whole cities lie in ruins and the region's infrastructure is in tatters. Basic services and access to region is spotty or nonexistant.
My story on the situation, Cleanup and Reconstruction From Peru Quake May Take Years, is in this week's issue of Engineering News-Record (It also features a slightly different slide-show of the devastation). In addition, my account of my visit to the disaster zone, Life in the ruins of Peru, is recounted on my ENR.com blog, Points South. read more
friday, june 01, 2007
The Panama Canal
And another publication has printed my story about the ongoing Panama Canal expansion. New Civil Engineer, a British industry publication, features my story, Passage to Panama in their current edition.The interest in this massive $5.2 billion project has grown rapidly in recent weeks as the Panama Canal Authority has moved forward with the bidding process on various aspects of the job. By the end of the summer, bids on the first excavation contract should be awarded and tenders for the Pacific entrance dredging should be underway.
In addition, the ACP has kicked off the search for a project manager to oversee the expansion. My story on that effort, Panama Canal Authority Looking For Expansion Program Manager, is available on ENR.com.