News + Updates

Many important roadways that people travel today began as trails traversed by horse and wagon. As the United States grew and expanded westward, and as first bicycles and then automobiles took to the roads, many of those transportation routes transformed into significant highways, thanks to the design work and execution by the civil engineers on the job. Take a look at these 6 famous roads that were important roads in [...]

Safe and readily available water is the backbone of healthy communities and thriving economies. Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to polio, typhoid, hepatitis A, cholera, dysentery, and diarrhea, with studies revealing that over 19 million Americans get sick every year from drinking contaminated water. Whether used for domestic use, drinking, recreational purposes, or food production, better-managed water resources boost a country's health, economic growth and immensely reduce poverty. [...]

Earth Day was first created to raise awareness that there are finite resources on the earth and that human activity can destroy the delicate natural balance of the planet. In the 1960s, Americans were becoming more aware of how pollution impacts the environment. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962) reported the effect of pesticides on the countryside. In 1969, the Cuyahoga River caught fire due to chemical pollution. U.S. Sen. [...]

Greenways and trails are essential parts of the green infrastructure network, delivering connections that tie communities together. They create a fabric of alternative transportation for bicyclists and pedestrians that often avoid all conflicts with vehicular traffic. Trails and Greenways are often treated as links to various destinations, but they also act as accessible amenities that provide a source for exercise and connect individuals to the outdoors and nature. As a [...]

Christmas is right around the corner and gifts are flying off of the shelves. For those of us lucky enough to have a civil engineer as a family member, dearest friend, boss, or co-worker, it can be difficult to decide on the right gift for one of the best minds in the world. Civil engineers play critical roles in designing and building airports, dams, roadways, waterways, and many other infrastructures. [...]

In civil engineering, traffic signal control involves advanced timing algorithms, sensors, and communications. This form of transportation management continually evolves and civil engineers work hard to keep current with the emerging trends. While the new traffic technology has improved efficiency within roadway networks, these infrastructures need to be properly designed, installed, and maintained. It is imperative to realize that traffic signals bring order to roadways by assigning the right-of-way at [...]

The Interstate Highway System is one of the greatest public works projects in history. This great civil engineering phenomenon dates back to June 29, 1956, where President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The bill led to the creation of a 41,000 mile National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. Where It All Started Eisenhower's motivation for building this road came from the German's Reichsautobahn system, which [...]

Proper diversion of water is crucial in any community that experiences flooding issues during or after storms. Runoff from storms often causes damage to rivers and streams in the vicinity, and city sewer systems can quickly become overwhelmed by runoff. One of the most straightforward ways to handle stormwater is through creation of a water detention system that takes care of the water near the source, so it doesn't disperse [...]

For many years, deep learning technologies have been successfully applied in many different sectors—civil engineering included. In fact, machine learning technique took the center stage in the industry long ago with the emergence of complex buildings such as skyscrapers. Now more than ever, we see the application and development of AI in the construction industry, which includes the use of intelligent algorithms, big data, and deep learning machines that have [...]

America's ability to successfully overcome natural disasters like floods, tornadoes, earthquakes and pandemics would not be possible without the assistance of civil engineers. With highly specialized expertise in creating, designing, and managing construction of disaster recovery projects, civil engineers have always been and remain on the front lines when disaster help is needed. Disaster Mitigation and Civil Engineering Disaster mitigation is the minimization of suffering experienced by affected individuals after [...]