 Welcome to another episode of This Week in Civil Engineering, also known as TWICE, a weekly news show focused on providing civil engineering professionals with the most important and relevant industry updates. I'm your host for this episode, Comedy Family. I'm a practicing civil engineer based in New York City focused on land development type projects. If you've been tuning in every single week since we've premiered, that means you've already heard from our amazing other co-hosts, Jeff, Danny, and Louise. Together we are so excited to bring to you this weekly podcast, and thank you all for tuning in consistently. You can find all the episodes for This Week in Civil Engineering at TWICE.News. That's TWICE, TWICE-I-C-E-DOT-NEWS. References to all the stories mentioned will be in the episode's show notes. And if you're watching on YouTube, be sure to subscribe to the TWICE playlist to receive the weekly episodes. Now it's time for What's Happening This Week in Civil Engineering. Now it's time for This Week's News. You're about to hear excerpts from the story's reference. Links to all of the full articles can be found at TWICE.News. First, let's cover the biggest breaking news stories from the past week that might affect civil engineering companies and professionals alike. Infrastructure's carbon reduction falling short of net zero target rates. From Rob Curd at ice.org. Research carried out by the carbon project has revealed emissions from UK infrastructure fell by almost a quarter between 2010 and 2018. Although the work also shows the rate of reduction needs to accelerate in order to achieve the net zero target by 2050. Despite the drop off in infrastructure carbon, the rate of reduction needs to grow from the current speed of 3% to 4.1%. The research also showed a 23 reduction in total infrastructure carbon between 2010 and 2018, a 44 reduction of carbon under control of the infrastructure industry between 2010 and 2018, a total infrastructure carbon accounts of 54% of the UK's consumption based carbon footprint. Reductions were largely driven by the energy and waste sectors, which contributed to reductions of 37% and 33% respectively. Declines in operational carbon and user carbon, with a 60% increase in capital carbon. Dr. Janet Giesgum, member of the carbon project and research fellow in the industrial climate policy at the School of the Earth and Environment University of Leeds carried out the analysis and presented his findings at UNWIN lecture yesterday. During ice president and chair of the carbon project, Rachel Skinner said, while reductions in carbon emissions can only be positive and a step in the right direction, this data clearly shows the scale of the challenge. This data will help civil engineers to understand and act effectively in reducing carbon emissions throughout our sectors as well as influencing wider industries. How can you help reduce carbon emissions in your work? Can you contribute to an existing initiative in your firm or community? Or maybe even start one. Next up, let's look at an interesting story from Hong Kong. Noise barrier project on Hong Kong Highway enjoys conflict-free completion, earning nod from British engineers organization from Kathleen McGrammo at CSMP.com. The installation of a Hong Kong 826.5 million dollar 800 meter noise barrier in Tuen Mun Hong Kong saw no disputes between the city and the contractors over the four year project between nearly 300 compensation items due to the use of a new contract model. It helped reduce noise levels by an average of 25 decibels from about 1800 residential units in Rosedale Garden and the Lakeshore building in Tuen Mun. The works branch and engineering teams worked with the spirit of mutual trust and by responding to changes caused by risk, 48 mitigation meetings were held to discuss problems and 85% of compensation items were implemented within three months. This enabled the project to be successfully finished within the approved budget. The noise barrier project won transport contract of the year at the new engineering contract users group award in 2020, organized by the British based Institute of Civil Engineers. How might this model be useful to your projects in the future? Next up, old battery street tunnel now completely filled with viaduct remnants from ComoNewsstaff at ComoNews.com. The old battery street tunnel, what used to be one of the busiest arteries in Seattle is now filled to the grates with concrete as one of the final pieces in the years long project to replace the Alaskan way viaduct gets checked off the list. The tunnel used to connect SR 99 between Aurora Avenue North and the viaduct, but once the new waterfront tunnel opened and the viaduct began coming down, crews used the tunnel to store the recycled concrete. WSDOT will remove the ventilation grates along battery street and make some other sidewalk improvements as well as turn what used to be the south portal into a slope with grass. The final two projects left on the Alaskan way via duck removal schedule will be to rebuild the Alaskan way. Interesting way of utilizing the old tunnel, who would have thought that you would be able to fill it with old concrete. But then again, where else might they have put it? Next up, Foundation fixed the start next month on San Francisco's troubled Millennium Tower from Nadine M. Post at ENR.com. Work on the nearly $100 million per meter pile upgrade of San Francisco's sinking Millennium Tower to prevent significant future settlement is said to start next month. Now that litigation over the problem has been fully resolved. It is expected to last for two years. The 645 foot tall residential tower settled about 17.3 inches since its completion in 2008. Shimmett Construction, a subsidiary of ACOM, is the contractor for the pile upgrade, which was engineered by Ronald O. Hamburger, a senior principal with Simpson, Grumpert and Hager. The fixed relies on drilling and jacking 52 concrete piles, socketed more than 30 feet into the bedrock that starts 220 feet below grade under the north and west sidewalks. Work will be funded by the many parties and their insurance companies. A portion of the settlement will be paid for by California taxpayers because the construction of the state-funded Salesforce Transit Center project, which neighbors the tower, was blamed by the Millennium Tower Association for further destabilizing the already sinking building. Ronald Hamburger has previously appeared as a guest on the EMI's podcast, The Structural Engineering Channel, which can be found at thestructuralengineeringchannel.com, and EMI will be reaching out to Ron for an interview related to the Millennium Tower. For this week's career advice, I thought I'd talk a little bit about how I stay organized as a civil engineer. I work on a lot of projects that have multiple design challenges and timelines, so it's critical that I leave myself a paper trail so I can go back and easily navigate myself to find important documents, notes, and plans. I use my e-mail and programs like Microsoft OneNote for large jobs that have multiple phases and design components. For my day-to-day activities, tasks, and due lists, I like to put that all in a notebook so I can reference my prior thoughts in chronological order. Organization is not only key to prioritizing your tasks, but successfully completing them on time. Next, let's move on to some international news in civil engineering from the past week. First up, we're headed to the UK. Seizing the opportunity to go further and faster on decarbonization from Jonathan Spruce at ice.org.uk. Transport for the North's interim director, Jonathan Spruce, outlines how the North can lead the way on decarbonization and why accelerating the decarbonization of infrastructure must remain paramount. This is one of the key messages in the latest Atkins COVID-19 Road to Recovery series debating the importance of rebuilding and rebalancing the Northern powerhouse. It echoes with the message in Ices Owen recently published submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review which calls for a net-zero infrastructure plan that takes decision on the policy to achieve infrastructure including decarbonization, transport, and heat. The event was held on the same day that the governor announced the trials of the UK's first ever hydrogen power train and the ambition for T's Valley to become a trail-blazing hydrogen transport hub. At the event this week, participants argued that decarbonization will involve investment from both public and private sectors and a clear long-term pipeline of infrastructure supported by funding will provide firms both small and large with great confidence. Decarbonization seems to be a running theme these days. Do you think these goals are achievable? Next up, let's head to Brazil. Brazil's $2.7 billion transit project held up by Corruption Probe resumes from peterreina at enr.com. Work is resuming on a $2.7 billion 15.3 kilometer transit project in São Paulo, Brazil after a four-year delay. Line 6 of the city's metro has stalled due to Brazil's quote, car wash corruption scandal, preventing the original contractors in a Spanish-led public-private partnership, P3, from raising required financing. Led by Spain's Axiona Infrastructura of South America, the new Concioram Concessionare Linha Universidade, South America, has replaced the original Mu São Paulo MSP team. It was controlled by contractors Grupo, Kirovs, Galvão, and Odebrecht Transport, and UTC, in Jenaria. MSP secured the 25-year P3 award in 2013 and aimed to complete construction this year, according to project owner Campaia Polista de Transmetropolitanos. But the Federal Police of Brazil in 2014 began a vast money laundering investigation that has implicated scores of public and private sector officials, including those from Odebrecht. The Axiona team now plans to open the 15 station line in five years and operate and maintain it for another 19 years. According to Axiona, the project is its largest P3 and also the current largest in Latin America. It's sad to hear stories like this, but in the world of civil engineering, with projects of such large budgets, scandals like this are sometimes inevitable. But they need to be found and parties involved need to be brought to justice. Another example of why ethics is so important in the world of engineering. On that note, let's cover a few infrastructure-related stories starting with news from Canada. Canada unveils a $7.5 billion project spending plan as new COVID-19 stimulus from Scott van Buuris at enr.com. Canadian leaders are pushing a $7.5 billion infrastructure plan to boost an array of renewable energy. It will stimulate job growth even in a coronavirus downturn. Canada Infrastructure Bank will take the lead on the new initiative. The new investment plan comes as the government struggles to make good on its existing $135 billion 12-year infrastructure spending program. The latest initiative will spur creation of 60,000 jobs in renewable and green energy sectors. John Gamble, President and CEO of Canada's Association of Consulting Engineering Companies, ACEC Canada noted that the planned infusion did not include larger construction investments in ports and transportation that are key to long-term economic growth. It includes $1.5 billion for broadband extensions to hook up 750,000 Canadian homes, small businesses to the internet, and another $1.1 billion for irrigation projects to expand food production and explore export opportunities. But the program largely targets boosted green projects with $1.9 billion for renewable generation and storage projects. $1.5 billion for energy efficiency building retrofits and $1.1 billion for zero-emission buses and charging infrastructure. The plan does not include money needed for work on roads and bridges, and the oil and gas regions appeared to be left out of the spending plan. EMI is reaching out to John Gamble for an interview on the Civil Engineering Podcast to discuss the impressive spending plan that civil engineers everywhere should be aware of and excited about. And last but not least, the Renewable Energy Infrastructure Solutions. Infrastructure Solutions, Renewable Energy Surges Forward from Catherine A. Cardnow at ASCE.org. In the United States, most electricity transmissions and distribution lines were constructed in the 1950s and 60s with just a 50-year life expectancy, according to ASCE's 2017 Infrastructure Report Card. This patchwork system comprises public and private power generation facilities, transmission and distribution grids, local distribution lines and substations. This group of infrastructure received a D-plus on the report card, a really grim assessment. However, there are bright spots within the energy field as new technological developments and decreasing prices are making the transition from fossil fuels and nuclear power generation to newer forms of renewable energy successful on. ASCE will issue its 2021 Infrastructure Report Card in March. In the meantime, the Society in September published Failure to Act, Electric Infrastructure Investment Gaps in a Rapidly Changing Environment. The latest in a series of reports that quantifies how the persisted failure to invest in our aging infrastructure impacts the American economy. The report reveals that in total, the 48 continuous states and the District of Columbia are facing a $208 billion investment shortfall in electrical infrastructure investment by 2029, which will increase by a whopping $338 billion shortfall by 2039. The report forecasts the United States infrastructure investment gap by comparing the projected infrastructure investments that are planned in the nation with its projected needs. This is certainly a reminder of how many areas of the built environment are in need of improvement. We as a civil engineering community have a lot of work to do. Now here's a quote from Anyo Dwyer, principal and CEO of N of 8 Engineers where she gave an interview in episode 134 of the Civil Engineering Podcast. In the episode she said, Take ownership of your career and never assume that others will push your career forward. At the end of the day, you are the only person who will drive things forward. I resonate a lot with this quote as a woman in this chosen career path. While mentors and sponsors are critical to progress your career forward, you need to be your biggest advocate and ultimately the catalyst that will spark these connections that will allow you to progress and grow. Thank you Anya for that great quote. And there you have it, that's what's happening this week in Civil Engineering. You can find references to all the stories mentioned at twice.news. And this episode is also available in video format at EMI's YouTube channel at youtube.com forward slash engineering careers. Remember to subscribe to Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts and of course YouTube for the video version. This is comedy friendly signing off, we'll see you next week and I hope your week ahead is organized.