Literature Review: Cost Overruns & Delays in Municipal Construction Projects

I occasionally find an old piece of school work that seems suitable for this blog. Previously, I posted a book review I wrote for a class. This piece is a literature review related to cost overruns in municipal construction projects. It was written in 1999, so the references are a bit dated. I made no attempt to update the paper.

Literature Review

Problem Statement

Construction projects commonly suffer delays and cost overruns (Arditi & Patel, 1989; Baldwin, Manthei, Rothbart & Harris, 1971; Kraiem & Diekmann, 1987; Mahid & McCaffer, 1998; Mulholland & Christian, 1999). In projects that often cost millions of dollars, even a relatively small overrun can be very expensive. Likewise, construction delays may cause late delivery of services and loss of revenues related to that service.

Municipal governments construct and maintain a significant public infrastructure. Engineering construction accounts for 20 to 25 percent of the market for new construction, most of which is publicly financed (Clough, 1989). Even small cities will often be responsible for roads, wastewater collection and treatment, drinking water distribution, parks, and public buildings.

Municipal governments often use federal and state grants and loans to finance all or part of construction projects. For instance, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources operates eight grant and loan programs available to local governments for the construction of wastewater facilities, drinking water facilities, parks, and energy efficiency improvements to public buildings (Financial).

The reduction of cost overruns and delays could cause a reduction in the cost of public services, especially at the local level where many services utilize some constructed infrastructure. These savings could result in improved economy of state and federal programs that provide financial assistance to municipalities.

The actors involve in public construction are all levels of government, contractors, architects and engineers, and the public. Local governments directly experience the cost of construction projects. Federal and state agencies are interested in the economy and efficiency of their programs and accountability. Contractors are interested in the availability and profitability of public projects. Architects and engineers are similarly concerned about the amount of public work available and requirements for the management and cost estimation of projects. The public is concerned with the level of taxes and user fees necessary to pay for public services.

Key questions research might address include:

-How common and severe are cost overruns and delays in public works projects?

-What characteristics of local government relate to cost overruns and delays?

-What project characteristics relate to cost overruns and delays?

-Might some sort of intervention reduce the occurrence or severity of cost overruns and delays?

Literature Review

Cost growth and schedule growth are common measures of construction project success (Pocock, Hyun, Liu & Kim, 1996; Pocock, Liu & Kim, 1997; Sanvido, Grobler, Pafitt, Guvenis & Coyle, 1992; Songer & Molenaar, 1997). The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has a great deal of information available on cost and schedule for projects that received loans for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. This includes contracts that describe the project cost and schedule and change orders that incorporate any cost and schedule changes into the contract. This information may also allow a review to identify owner-initiated changes that increased the cost or lengthened the time to project completion. However, municipalities do not appear to pursue claims as vigorously as other levels of government or private organizations. Therefore, these records may not clearly identify changes with the owner, contractor, engineer, or unforeseen circumstances. A pool of project-level information like this may be useful to this research because of the difficulty of finding measures of comparison at the municipal level (Coe, 1999; Kopczynski & Lombardo, 1999).

Projects funded through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund include the construction of wastewater collection and treatment systems. These are mostly government-owned systems. These projects involve many of the same products and processes as other construction projects. They are comparable to other projects that a municipality may construct.

Many of these questions relate to the owner’s role in the success of a construction project. The owner controls a number of factors that have a significant impact on the success of a construction project. These include a well-defined scope, and understanding of the scope shared with other participants, the owner’s construction sophistication, adequate owner staffing, and an established budget (Sanvido et al., 1992; Songer & Molenaar, 1997).

Because these are mostly skills and practices related to the development and management of projects, it seems reasonable to assume that municipal authorities could be taught these skills. It would be difficult to measure the availability of these skills in a number of cities over a short period, but some indicators may be available. Specifically, form of government and population may indicate the presence of these skills and practices.

Researchers still debate the efficiency of city manager governments relative to mayor-council governments. Stumm & Corrigan 91998) found that city manager cities have, on average, lower property taxes and general fund expenditures than mayor-council cities. Others have found that city manager and mayor-council cities do not differ in expenditures and efficiency (Deno & Mehay, 1997; Hayes & Chang, 1990; Morgan & Pelissero, 1980).

If cities do not differ on the bottom line, city manager and mayor-council governments appear to differ in their approach to capital budgeting and management. In their approaches to budgeting, city managers more often use a program budget while mayor-council governments more often use a zero-base or target-base budget (Poister & McGowan, 1984). City managers tend to spend more on infrastructure, use more sophisticate budgets and more often use separate capital budgets than mayor-council cities (Doss, 1987; Nunn, 1996).

Likewise, city managers often use formal approaches to managing capital. Doss (1987) found that city managers are more likely than mayor-council governments to use formal capital improvement plans and routine inspection programs.

Similarly, large municipalities tend to be more sophisticated. As populations increase, municipalities more often adopt separate capital budgets and make formal use of budget decision models (Doss, 1987; Sekwat, 1996).

In light of this, city manager governments and larger cities would seem to have natural advantages. Because of the use of capital improvement plans and separate capital budgets, city manager governments and larger cities seem more likely to have a well-established budget and well-defined scope for any given construction project.

Professional management is a fundamental of city manager governments. This would seem to give city managers an advantage in construction sophistication and experience, staffing and the ability to work with contractors to develop a common understanding of project scope.

Large cities have a practical need for professional staff, so they may have many of the same advantages as city manager cities. Because of the number of projects large cities can be involved in, they are likely to have staff with previous experience in many types of construction projects.

Previous research links form of government and population to a number of factors that are likely to lead to successful construction projects. Much of this research uses surveys of municipalities, contractors and engineers. While surveys are difficult and expensive, population and form of government information is readily available (Missouri Municipal, 1997; Official Manual, 1996).

Construction projects vary widely in size and complexity. Research that tries to attribute cost and schedule growth to specific factors must account for differences that occur as project increase in size or complexity. This is difficult to judge. However, because estimators attempt to consider these complexities (Clough, 1989), the contractor’s bid may be taken as a reasonable judgment of the size and complexity of a construction project.

A review of the literature leads to the following conclusions. Form of government and population can indicate the likely presence of skills and practices that lead to successful projects. Successful projects are those that have no cost or schedule growth. It is possible to account for project complexity in a comparison across projects and municipalities.

An assumption of this review is that municipal officials can learn the skills and practices that contribute to construction project success. Therefore, if it is found that form of government and population are related to cost and schedule growth, an intervention that increases these skills may decrease cost and schedule growth.

References

Arditi, D., & Patel, B. K. (1989). Impact analysis of owner-directed acceleration. Journal of Construction Engineering Management. 115(1), 144-157.

Baldwin, J. R., Manthei, J. M., Rothbart, H., & Harris, R. B. (1971). Causes of delays in the construction industry. Journal of the Construction Division. 97(CO2), 177-187.

Clough, R. H. (1986). Construction Contracting. 5^th ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Coe, C. (1999). Local government benchmarking: Lessons from two major multigovernment efforts. Public Administration Review. 59(2), 110-123.

Deno, K. T., & Mehay, S. L. (1987). Municipal management structures and municipal services in America’s largest cities. Southern Economic Journal. 53(3), 21-26.

Doss, C. B. (1987). The use of public budgeting procedures in U.S. cities. Public Administration Review. 7(3), 57-59.

Financial Assistance Opportunities. Jefferson City, MO: Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Hayes, K., & Chang, S. (1990). The relative efficiency of city manager and mayor-council forms of government. Southern Economic Journal. 57(1), 167-177.

Kopczynski, M., & Lombardo, M. (1999). Comparative performance measures: Insights and lessons learned from a consortium effort. Public Administration Review. 59(2), 124-134.

Kraiem, Z. M., & Diekmann, J. E. (1987). Concurrent delays in construction projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. 113(4), 591-602.

Mahid, M. Z. A., & McCaffer, R. (1998). Factors of non-excusable delays that influence contractor’s performance. Journal of Management in Engineering. 14(3), 42-49.

Missouri Municipal Officials 1997-98 Directory. (1997). Jefferson City, MO: Missouri Municipal League.

Morgan, D. R., & Pelissero, J. P. (1980). Urban policy: Does political structure matter? American Political Science Review. 26(1), 8-15.

Mulholland, B., & Christian, J. (1999). Risk management in construction schedules. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. 125(1), 8-15.

Nunn, S. (1996). Urban infrastructure and capital spending in city manager and strong mayor cities. American Review of Public Administration. 26(1), 93-112.

Official Manual 1995-1996. (1996). Jefferson City, MO: Missouri Secretary of State’s Office.

Pocock, J. B., Hyun, C. T., Liu, L. Y., & Kim, M. K. (1996). Relationships between project interaction and performance indicators. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. 122(2), 165-176.

Pocock, J. B., Liu, L. Y., & Kim, M. K. (1997). Impact of management approach on project interaction and performance. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. 123(4), 411-418.

Poister, T. H., & McGowan, R. P. (1984). The use of management tools in municipal government: A national survey. Public Administration Review. 123(4), 411-418.

Sanvido, V., Grobler, F., Parfitt, K., Guvenis, M., & Coyle, M. (1992). Critical success factors for construction projects. Journal of Construction and Engineering Management. 123(4), 411-418.

Sekwat, A. (1996). Use of capital budgeting decision models by county governments: A survey. State and Local Government Review. 28(3), 180-192.

Songer, A. D., & Molenaar, K. R. (1997). Project characteristics for successful public-sector design-build. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. 123(1), 34-40.

Stumm, T. J., & Corrigan, M. T. (1998). City managers: Do they promote fiscal efficiency? Journal of Urban Affairs. 20(3), 343-351.

Book Reviews: Dreams of Iron and Steel by Deborah Cadbury & The Lighthouse Stevensons by Bella Bathurst

In Dreams of Iron and Steel (New York: HarperCollins, 2004), Deborah Cadbury tells the stories of seven great works that cover over a century of engineering history. Originally published in Great Britain as Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, the book was a companion to a BBC television series. The projects covered vary widely from a sewer built under a metropolis to a bridge that towered above the skyline of its day.

The oldest of these (still standing like all but one of the other projects) is the Bell Rock lighthouse. The Bell Rock sank many ships that sought shelter from North Sea storms in Scotland’s Firth of Forth. Robert Stevenson, grandfather of author Robert Louis Stevenson, designed and oversaw the construction of a tower on it. The rock was a formidable construction site. It sat eleven miles from land. High tide covered it with as much as 16 feet of water. Low tide exposed an area only 250 by 130 feet. Yet Stevenson and his men built a 100-foot, stone tower on it. They did it 200 years ago.

By the middle of the nineteenth century, several wonders were built almost at once. The Great Eastern, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was twice the size of any other ship. Though a commercial failure, it set the standard for the next generation of ships.

Brunel launched his ship into a dirty and diseased Thames. Joseph Bazalgette sought to make the river safer for London residents. He built sewers under an ancient city that had grown to 2.5 million people and sprawled over 80 square miles.

In the American West, rival firms raced across the continent to build a railroad that would unite a nation recovering from civil war. In New York, John and Washington Roebling tackled the broad East River with their Brooklyn Bridge. They risked their lives and reputations on the longest span of the day and a material untested in bridges—steel.

The twentieth century inaugurated bigger feats. First proposed in 1879 by Vicomte Ferdinand de Lesseps of France, builder of the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal defeated most of those tried to build it. Even the United States poked at the mountains in futility until John Stevens, a railroad engineer, upgraded the infrastructure and equipment. When Stevens left the canal, a frustrated Theodore Roosevelt put military officers in charge. Lieutenant Colonel George Goethels, an engineer with extensive lock and dam experience, saw the canal through to its completion shortly before World War I.

The final project, America’s “damn big dam”, was build during the Depression. Hoover Dam was huge and constructed under difficult conditions. But construction engineer Frank “Hurry up” Crowe pushed and planned to get it done early and under budget.

Cadbury treats each project separately. However, they are linked by common elements.
Tragedy and setbacks touched each one. Thousands of men, usually poor laborers and sometimes children, were killed or injured to make these huge structures. They were beset by lack of financing, reluctance to try new methods and materials, bankrupt contractors, political opposition, corruption, greed, prejudice, and other human imperfections.
At their best, these engineers and their wonders are linked by the same qualities that appear in the best of engineering today. They had a vision to make people safer, healthier, richer, and freer. They created solutions to immense problems.

Robert Stevenson’s triumph at Bell Rock won the confidence of the Northern Lighthouse Board. It also launched an association between the Stevenson family and Scottish lighthouses that lasted four generations. During their tenures in the office of engineer for the board, Stevenson and his sons dominated the design, construction, and operation of the lights. Bella Bathurst tells their story in The Lighthouse Stevensons (New York: HarperCollins, 1999).

This book has its own kind of variety: technical, professional, and personal. It covers the construction and technology of several lighthouses, the masterpieces of Robert and his three sons. They not only built towers, but also improved their design and the design of the lamps, reflectors, optics, and mechanical systems that operated in them. One even studied the waves that assaulted their works.

It shows that engineering is more than simply design and construction. The Stevensons were also managers, fundraisers, businessmen, public servants, purchasing agents, manufacturers, contractors, and more. Their work included a broad section of what engineers do.
The book is also a biography of these four men that reveals the dynamics of the family. Robert insisted his sons join the family profession and business. Only one, David, seemed to take to it naturally. Only David’s sons filled the next generation of lighthouse Stevensons. Alan and Tom were more inclined to work in literature and the arts. Alan proved himself to be a capable engineer by building a 138-foot light at Skerryvore that could withstand the elements and exhibit a simple beauty. He became so disabled by disease, Bathurst suggests it was muscular sclerosis, that he gave up his work with the lighthouses. He managed to work irregularly as a writer. His works include and encyclopedia article on lighthouses and a translation of Greek poems. Tom shared Alan’s artistic leaning, but not his intensity and focus. He and David eventually divided the engineering work for the Northern Lights.

Not everyone is cut out to be an engineer, of course. As Robert Louis Stevenson said about his internship in the profession, “He is a wise youth, to be sure, who can balance one part of genuine life against two parts of drudgery between four walls and for the sake of one, manfully accept the other.” But some managed to catch what Marion Allen, a laborer on the Hoover Dam, called constructitis. “Sometimes one thinks he is cured,” said Allen, “only to have a relapse when he goes by fresh concrete or catches the smell of fresh sawdust from new lumber. Anyone with this affliction has to start construction of some kind, even of only to dig a hole and fill it up again.”

This review previously appeared at Infra Consulting LC.

Reviewing the Recovery Act

Infrastructure Watch has been following the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) since it was enacted. While infrastructure accounted for a relatively small amount of the total supplementary appropriations provided by ARRA, tens of billions of dollars is noteworthy in any industry. Much of the money that went to infrastructure has been spent and ARRA will begin a slow wind-down from the perspective of infrastructure. It seems like a good time for a review of the program and it effects so far.

INFASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT

ARRA committed only a fraction of its supplementary appropriations to infrastructure. Even so, the $62 billion appropriated to transportation and water infrastructure was significant considering that federal spending in this area had been declining. In 2009, this resulted in a $6 billion increase in federal infrastructure spending, of which $4 billion was directly from ARRA.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that 90 percent of these funds will be spent by 2013. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) had reported that 90 percent of the highway funds had been obligated by February 2010 and about a quarter of that had been paid out to state transportation programs. The clean water and drinking water state revolving fund (SRF) programs had drawn almost 80 percent of the funds by June 2011.

The author and others working in these industries are already looking for what projects or business lines might have the potential to bring in revenues as the ARRA well runs dry in a few years. The prospects aren’t entirely gloomy. Generally, the federal government accounts for only 25 percent of the spending on transportation and water infrastructure. The rest comes almost entirely from state and local governments.

Though federal funding is a minority of the investment in infrastructure, it is a significant portion of the capital investment, with relatively little going to operations and maintenance. This trend continued with ARRA. Smart Growth America criticized ARRA because to much went the construction of new transportation assets and too little to repairing existing infrastructure. They thought the extra appropriation would have been better spent and had a greater economic stimulus if more of it had been spent on the repair of existing infrastructure.

Maintenance of Effort
Though states are already a significant contributor to spending on transportation efforts, ARRA required states to continue funding transportation at the level they would have without the extra funding. Congress wanted to increase spending on transportation infrastructure, not give states a way to shift money to other areas.

The requirement has proven problematic. States are facing losses of revenue that may have forced them to cut transportation spending anyway. In addition, ARRA didn’t require to report what there level of effort would be until several months after they began to use the funds. States may not have, strictly speaking, circumvented the maintenance of effort requirement, but it has become difficult to say they have continued funding as they would have anyway.

JOBS CREATION
ARRA recipients reported more than 580,000 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs in he last quarter of 2010. The way jobs are reported by recipients makes it difficult to determine the exact impact of ARRA on jobs.

ARRA recipients report work-hours that were paid for out of the ARRA funding. In the case of an infrastructure project, these work hours might involve construction trades, construction management, engineering design and oversight, and other services (legal, environmental, and more). The nature of these jobs means that the people may be working part-time on ARRA projects while working part-time on other projects, or temporarily work full time on an ARRA project. It is easy to add up the hours and calculate an FTE. It is difficult to know if any of these jobs were created ARRA, or if they might have ended except of ARRA, or might not have been affected.

This type of reporting has a built-in decline as ARRA money is spent down and projects end. Reported ARRA-related jobs is already declining in the SRF programs. ARRA-related jobs reported from SRF programs peaked in the Spring of 2010 and have declined since. Some foresaw a post-stimulus jobs drop even as it was just getting off the ground.

The author is an example these features of jobs reporting, ARRA work having accounted of about a quarter of an FTE in relation to him over the last 19 months. It’s impossible to say what, if any, other work the author may have done if not involved in ARRA projects; he’s glad to have good projects from wherever they come. When he transfers his effort to other work, hopefully, over the next year or so, his hours reported for ARRA will decline and end.

In addition, only some of the ARRA-funded programs are required to report jobs. Those that report jobs only have to trace them so far, to primary contractors and their subcontracts. It is a practical impossibility to count the jobs created or retained by such a program.

Even so, CBO made a go at estimating it. They estimate that ARRA increased the number of people employed by between 1.3 million and 3.5 million in the last quarter of 2010.

CONSTRUCTION COSTS
In the years before ARRA, construction costs had been rising more rapidly that prices the rest of the economy. Bucking that trend, GAO reported that many ARRA-funded projects were receiving bids that were lower than expected. The author has heard from water utilities and state revolving fund programs that a similar trend is occurring in drinking water and wastewater projects.

The thought is that the recession has made the environment very competitive and more bidders are going after each job. In response, contractors are taking minimal profits in order to get projects and stay afloat until the economy recovers. The Associate General Contractors of America has even suggested that contractors have bid projects at less than cost for that purpose.

This drop in bid prices is a reflection of the economic environment, not a response to ARRA. The touted “bid savings” that have ostensibly allowed the ARRA dollars to stretch farther have provide the same benefit to all the other money spent on construction.

MACROECONOMICS
CBO estimates that ARRA increased the gross domestic products (GDP) by between 1.1 percent and 3.5 percent in the last quarter of 2010.

FEDERAL DEFICIT
CBO estimates that the ARRA will increase budget deficits by $821 billion between 2009 and 2019. They estimated 70 percent of that, approximately $575 billion, was realized by the end of September 2010.

REFERENCES
The following references were used in the preparation of this review of ARRA.

Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Employment and Economic Output from October 2010 Through December 2010. Washington, DC: CBO, 2011.

-----. Public Spending on Transportation and Water Infrastructure. Washington, DC: CBO, 2011.

Cooper, M. Companies pretty up prices to win stimulus projects. New York Times. March 28, 2009.

Farley, R., & Grabell, M. ProPublica and PolitiFact test Obama claims on stimulus. ProPublica. Nov. 10, 2010.

Fields, G. Job cuts loom as stimulus fades. Wall Street Journal. Dec. 1, 2009.

Government Accountability Office (GAO). Recovery Act: Funding Uses for Transportation Infrastructure Projects, but Some Requirements Proved Challenging. Washington, DC: GAO, 2011.

-----. Recovery Act: Funds Supported Many Water Projects, and Federal and State Monitoring Shows Few Compliance Problems. Washington, DC: GAO, 2011.

-----. Recovery Act: One Year Later, States’ and Localities’ Uses of Funds and Opportunities to Strengthen Accountability. Washington, DC: GAO, 2010.

Smart Growth America. Recent Lessons from the Stimulus: Transportation Funding and Jobs Creation. Washington, DC: Smart Growth America, 2011.

The following references are offered for those interested in additional information on ARRA.

Infrastructure Watch (blog). Coverage of infrastructure economic stimulus. May 14, 2009.

-----. Coverage of infrastructure in economic stimulus. Apr. 14, 2009.

-----. Government Accountability Office watches Recovery Act implementation. August 23, 2010.

-----. Infrastructure & recovery news. Oct. 8, 2010.

-----. Infrastructure & stimulus news. June 17, 2010.

-----. Infrastructure economic stimulus in the news. July 1, 2009.

-----. Infrastructure stimulus. Jan. 27, 2011.

-----. Recovery Act and infrastructure in the news. Jan. 26, 2010.

-----. Recovery Act and infrastructure in the news & elsewhere. Aug. 1, 2009.

-----. Recovery Act and infrastructure news. May, 11, 2010.

-----. Recovery & stimulus news. Mar. 25, 2011.

-----. Show me the money: Stimulus & infrastructure news. July 7, 2010.

-----. Summary of transportation stimulus oversight findings. Sept. 27, 2009.

-----. USDOT redirects high-speed rail stimulus away from slow states. Dec. 21, 2010.

McNamar, T. Profiles from the recession. Blueprint America (blog). Sept. 15, 2010.

Recovery Act and Infrastructure News

Contractors add 14,000 jobs in April (Haughey, J., Reed Construction Data, May 7, 2010)
It Is Time to Get Ready for the Construction Recovery (Haughey, J., Reed Construction Data, May 3, 2010)
Stimulus aids few Georgia bridges (Redmon, J., et al, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 9, 2010)
Stimulus recipients report high job creation during first quarter (Brodsky, R., Government Executive, May 3, 2010)

Highway work expected to fuel demand for cement (Sullivan, A., Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, April 30, 2010)

States Obligate All Highway Stimulus Funds (Infrastructure Watch, March 10, 2010)
Stimulus funds target infrastructure (Showley, R., San Diego Union-Tribune, March 10, 2010)

Agencies find errors in Recovery Act spending reports (Brodsky, R., Government Executive, Feb. 11, 2010)
Missouri Environment & Infrastructure Roundup (Infrastructure Watch, Feb. 1, 2010)
Report finds federal regulations have delayed stimulus projects (Brodsky, R., Government Executive, Feb. 19, 2010)

Massive New Study Confirms Stimulus Spending On Road Construction Does Nothing To Lower Unemployment (Business Insiders, Jan. 11, 2010)
Recovery Act and Infrastructure in the News (Infrastructure Watch, Jan. 26, 2010)

First Stimulus Project to Begin Construction Opens

Missouri rushed to be the first state to begin construction on a project funded by the American Recover and Reinvestment Act. Construction on the bridge over the Osage River near the rural town of Tuscumbia, which replaces an older bridge, began about 18 months ago and it was opened to traffic earlier this month. You can find out a little more from the Missouri Department of Transportation news release and blog.

Book Review: Canals and Their Architecture by Robert Harris

Harris, Robert. Canals and Their Architecture. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1969.

Water has always been an important part of human life. Drinking water is a necessity, but that is only the beginning of our uses of it. Water is also an element in agriculture, industry, transportation and commerce.

It is water’s role in transportation and commerce that Robert Harris focused on in Canals and Their Architecture. At times, artificial or modified waterways have been major means of transporting products in bulk.

Harris mentions canals from continental Europe and North America, especially the United States, but his book is mainly about the canals of Britain. This is an appropriate focus because the canal boom in Britain both fed and was fed by the Industrial Revolution that started there.

The boom began with the Duke of Bridgewater’s famous canal, construction of which began in 1760. The duke owned coalmines and wanted a cheaper way get coal to the mills and factories in Manchester. The canal was by no means an easy or inexpensive project, but it was greatly successful and the wealth put into it was regains many times over.

Bridgewater recognized the talents of millwright James Brindley, who went on to become the most prominent canal engineer of his day. Harris discussed the works of several British engineers who were successors of Brindley including Thomas Telford, John Rennie, and William Edwards.

As the title of the book suggests, it is organized mainly by the types of structures found on canals. In addition to the canal cut, Harris wrote about bridges and auqueducts, locks , tunnels, boats, buildings and unique ways of handling elevation changes on a canal route. Early canals followed the contours of the land to avoid the use of expensive and complex equipment and, where needed, were crossed by utilitarian bridges of wood or brick. As canals became straighter, and more lucrative, they added locks and other mechanisms for raising and lowering boats. The materials became more varied and complex, including stone and iron. Spectacular aqueducts carried canals over low lands. Tunnels were well-made features of canals early on because the technology for building them was readily adapted from mining.

The older canals are impressive in that so much was done with manpower and simple tools. As canals aided other industries, the improvements those industries spawned, especially in iron construction and railroads, returned to canals and the way they were made. The construction of modern canals is the work of enormous equipment.


Canals and Their Architecture includes many illustrations and photographs. These are very helpful for the laymen to see the types of structures discussed in the text, though even an engineer familiar with the terms will likely appreciate the images.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
The Ancient Engineers by L. Sprague de Camp
Dreams of Iron and Steel by Deborah Cadbury
Water by Marq de Villiers

This review of Canals and Their Architecture by Robert Harris appears courtesy of Keenan’s Book Reviews, we’re you can reviews of other books about engineering.

Infrastructure Stimulus

AGC sees US construction unemployment above 20% (Sleight, C., International Construction, Jan. 7, 2011)
Bill Watch - 112th Congress (Infrastructure Watch, amended Jan. 27, 2011)
Still Trying to Axe the Plaques (Infrastructure Watch, Jan. 27, 2011)

USDOT Redirects High-Speed Rail Stimulus Away from Slow States (Infrastructure Watch, Dec. 21, 2010)
Work underway on most of GSA's stimulus-funded construction (Medici, A., Federal Times, Dec. 16, 2010)

Bill Would Rescind Unobligated Stimulus Funds (Infrastructure Watch, Nov. 19, 2010)
LaHood to states: Proceed with rail projects or give up stimulus funds (Kastenbaum, S., CNN, Nov. 17, 2010)
ProPublica and PolitiFact Test Obama Claims on Stimulus (Farley, R., & Grabell, M., ProPublica, Nov. 10, 2010)
Stimulus Bashing Governors Issue Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars In Stimulus Funded Bonds (Garofalo, P., ThinkProgress, Nov. 5, 2010)

Infrastructure & Recovery News (Infrastructure Watch, Oct. 8, 2010)

Book Review: The Brooklyn Bridge by Judith St. George

St. George, Judith. The Brooklyn Bridge: They Said It Couldn’t Be Built. New York: Putnam, 1982.

Published shortly before the centennial of the Brooklyn Bridge, this book is a short history of bridge. The story of the bridge is necessarily the story of the Roeblings, the family responsible for designing the bridge and overseeing its construction.



When the builders completed the bridge in 1883, it was at the end of 14 years of construction. The plan for the bridge went back further to 1857 when engineer and German immigrant John Roebling first proposed a bridge across the East River to connect New York to Brooklyn. At the time, the only communication across the river was by ferry. Roebling was the leading suspension bridge engineer in the United States.

The bridge would not get needed support until after the Civil War. In the mean time, Roebling’s son Washington would be come a skilled engineer in own right, studying Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, getting a practical education working with his father and studying bridge-building techniques in Europe in the company of his wife, Emily. He also was trained in leadership, having risen to the rank of colonel in the Army during the Civil War.

The bridge took a great toll on the Roeblings. John was killed by tetanus early in the development of the project. Washington’s health was ruined by caisson’s disease (the bends) and for many years Emily acted as his hand, feet, eyes and ears on the bridge project.

St. George’s brief book is a quick read, but for its brevity still a good overview of the bridges development and construction. It includes several photos and illustrations. It seems suitable for younger readers, but is not too simplistic for an adult reader who wants a quick introduction to the bridge and its early history.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Dreams of Iron and Steel by Deborah Cadbury

Economic Stimulus Package Would Increase Environmental Funding

Sen. Harry Reid (Nevada) has introduced a supplemental appropriations bill intended to boost the economy(S. 3689). Some of the programs that may receive a supplement include:

Program—Additional Funding
Automotive Industry Assistance--$25,000,000,000
Department of Energy (DOE): Defense Environmental Cleanup--$800,000,000
DOE: Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup--$150,000,000
DOE: Uranium Enrichment Decontamination--$170,000,000
Economic Development Administration: Public Works & Economic Development--$50,000,000
Environmental Protection Agency: State & Tribal Assistance (includes state revolving fund programs)--$2,500,000,000
National Park Service (NPS): Construction--$105,000,000
NPS: Creates National Park Centennial Fund—up to $1,000,000,000 from 2009 to 2018
Rural Utilities Service: Rural Water & Waste Disposal--$200,000,000
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Construction--$88,000,000

Energy, Transportation & Water News

ENERGY

Bill Would Change Electric Ratemaking in Missouri

State Rep. Rocky Miller, who represents parts of Camden and Miller Counties near Osage Beach, introduced the 21^st Century Grid Modernization and Security Act (HB2816). The bill would substantially change the state’s method of regulating electric utility rates. The method is modeled on processes in Illinois and would allow annual adjustments to electric rates.

Another portion of the bill substantially changes provision related to special electric rates for aluminum smelters. This is largely driven by Noranda, which operates smelter in New Madrid. It seems unlikely that lower or more flexible electric rates will save the company from plummeting aluminum prices.

With the exception of Noranda, large electricity users in Missouri have generally come out against the proposal. Some companies that have expressed opposition to the bill are Purina, Bayer, Ford, General Motors and Procter & Gamble. You can read more about this topic here.

Poop to Power Project Coming to North Carolina

Duke Energy has contracted with Carbon Cycle Energy for the construction and operation of a facility to process animal waste to produce methane gas for fuel. Waste will come from area pig and chicken farms. The gas will be piped to Duke plants as fuel in electric power generation.

North Carolina is the second largest pork producing state in the U.S. Duke is a major electric power producer, particularly in the Carolinas. Carbon Cycle is based in Colorado.

TRANSPORTATION

Barrel Bob Found

Barrel Bob, a character that serves as spokesman for worksite safety for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), was found in Columbia on April 1 (no fooling) after he was stolen from his roadside station at highway construction site in Jefferson City on March 19.   The statue, constructed from used orange and reflective white barrels and cones, was previously set on fire by vandals at this location.

This statue was one of seven Barrel Bobs. Each of MoDOT’s districts has one. Bob was scheduled to make appearances at events to promote highway worksite safety beginning April 11, so the agency had resorted to building a new statue before Bob was found. You can find out more here, here and here.

Missourians Could Vote on Fuel Tax Increase

A bill (SB623) is making its way through the Missouri Senate that could increase the state fuel tax from 17 cents per gallon to 22.9 cents per gallon. The tax, if implemented, is expected to bring in $240 million annually. The bill would place a referendum on the November ballot, meaning it would have to be approved directly by voters. Before getting that far, it must complete its path through the General Assembly. The Senate is expected to pass the bill in its final vote in the first full week of April. Afterward it will be considered by the state House of Representatives, where it is not expected to be warmly received. You can read more about this here, here and here.

Significant funding for Missouri roads comes from the federal government (which has its own funding issues). MoDOT is preparing to use cash reserves to match federal grants for transportation projects (more here).

Name a Missouri Highway

An alternative to increased fuel taxes could be the auctioning of naming rights for highways. There is no estimate of how much revenue it could raise, but I’ll go out on a limb to say not enough to persuade the General Assembly to this bill. You can read the bill here. I have the impression the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter who covered this story must have chuckled as he typed.

WATER

Antibiotic Resistance Found in Bacteria Downstream of Wastewater Discharge

Researchers studying the biofilm in a Spanish river found antibiotic resistance genes. These genes occurred as far as 1 km (0.6 mile) downstream from the of a wastewater treatment plant. The genes provide resistance to some antibiotics commonly used in hospitals. You can find more here. In response to the issue of pharmaceutical pollution, some chemists are considering biodegradable drugs.

Skywalk Memorial Close to Fundraising Goal, Construction of New Design Anticipated

When I was an undergraduate engineering student about 20 years ago, one of the events covered in the engineering ethics class I took was the 1981 collapse of the skywalk at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri.  Even 31 years after the collapse, the 114 people who were killed are remembered.

A nonprofit foundation was formed to create a memorial to the victims of the collapse.  It is now only $150,000 from having enough to start construction of the memorial.  It has also chosen a design.

You can visit the Skywalk Memorial Foundation at www.skywalkfoundation.org.

Related posts and articles

Redesign cuts cost of memorial to victims of skywalks collapse (Horsely, L., Kansas City Star, Dec. 2, 2012)

Missouri Governor Nominates Infrastructure and Environmental Board Members

Missouri Governor Jay “Boondoggle Bridge” Nixon announced appointments to some boards and commissions. The appointees will be subject to confirmation by the Missouri Senate.

Patrice E. Boehler, Dam and Reservoir Safety Council - Since 1998, Boehler has served as vice president of development for Westmore Group Inc., a provider of commercial real estate services. She also is president of Natural Resource Consultants Inc. and has worked on dam safety issues in that position for 19 years. Her term ends April 3, 2011.

Daniel G. Buxton, Dam and Reservoir Safety Counci - Buxton is a project manager/engineer for The Doe Run Co. and has been with the company since 1974. In his current position, he manages construction projects at plant sites, regularly inspects 11 Doe Run-owned regulated dams, and manages repairs and construction of the company's dams and spillways. His term ends April 3, 2011.

Kyle W. Drury, Dam and Reservoir Safety Council - Drury is senior design engineer at Bloomsdale Excavating Co. and has been with the company since 2004. He previously was a project engineer with Holcim (US) Inc. and an aviation engineer with Crawford, Murphy and Tilly Consulting Engineers. His term ends April 3, 2010.

Charles E. (Eddie) Adams, Jr., Hazardous Waste Commission - Adams is general manager of Adams Fertilizer Inc. in Senath. He has been with the business since 1985. Adams also was an agricultural pilot for Senath Aviation from 1984 to 2006. His term ends April 3, 2012.

Michael R. Foresman, Hazardous Waste Commission - Foresman serves as a part-time consultant for several environmental consulting firms. He retired in 2001 as president of Solutia Management Co. Inc., a remediation liability management subsidiary of Solutia Inc. His term ends April 3, 2013.

You can read the original news release here.

Big Construction Bonds at Stake this Election

Bond issues in 12 states will decide the fate of a potential $4.8 billion in bonds for construction. Bonds of this type may not find a welcoming market as bond investors are becoming more concerned that rating agencies are not adequately considering water availability in their evaluations.

Related posts and articles:
Bonds on The Ballots
Government Accountability Office Issues Report on Tax-Exempt Bonds
Water Scarcity a Bond Risk, Study Warns

Water Resources News Nov. 24, 2008

Economic Stimulus Package Would Increase Water Resources Funding

Sen. Harry Reid (Nevada) has introduced a supplemental appropriations bill intended to boost the economy(S. 3689). Some of the programs that may receive a supplement include:

Program—Additional Funding
Bureau of Land Management: Construction--$147,000,000
Bureau of Reclamation: Water & Related Resources--$200,000,000
Corp of Engineers (USACOE): Construction--$100,000,000
USACOE: Operations & Maintenance--$500,000,000
USACOE: Mississippi River & Tributaries--$100,000,000

Group Calls for Separation of Great Lakes, Mississippi River

The Alliance for the Great Lakes has called for the separation of the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River basin. The reason is to prevent the movement of invasive species between the water system, which have no natural connections.

Related articles and posts:
A look at invasive species in the Great Lakes
Advocates call for splitting of Great Lakes
Study: Separate Great Lakes, Mississippi basins

New York Plans Repairs to Water Supply Tunnel

The City of New York is preparing to repair the Rondout-West Branch tunnel, which carries water 45 miles from the Catskill Mountains to the city. Recently the tunnel has been leaking as much as 36 million gallons a day. You can find more information on these repairs here.

Previous Water Resources News:
Water Resources News Nov. 13, 2008

Infrastructure News (Mostly Missouri)

ENERGY

Safety Valves Required on Gas Connections

The U.S. Department of Transportation, which governs gas pipeline safety through its Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, issue rules that require safety valves to be installed on all new or replacement gas service lines for apartments and small businesses. Excess flow valves automatically shut off the flow of gas when a line is ruptured, limiting the amount of gas that can escape, which will prevent or reduce the severity of fires.

Such valves have been required for new and replacement connections for single-family residences since 2009. The rule does not require existing connections to be retrofitted with the valve.

Tennessee Valley Authority Puts Unfinished Nuclear Plant on the Market

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is offering for sale its Bellefonte Nuclear Plant. TVA began construction of the plant, located near the northeast Alabama town of Hollywood, in the 1970s, but never completed it because regional power demand did not grow as anticipated.

TVA has set a minimum bid of $36.4 million for the plant and 1,600 acres of land along the Tennessee River. This is fraction of the $5 billion the authority has spent on the project. In addition to the unfinished nuclear reactors, the property includes power transmission lines, roads, and several buildings.

TVA cites economic development as a reason for the sale. It hopes industry will be attracted to the developed site and provide employment in the region.

Wind Farm to Start Operation in Missouri

Next Era Energy Resources is anticipating completing construction of a wind farm in rural DeKalb County, MO, in November. The facility will have 97 turbines and be capable of generating 200 MW. Kansas City Power and Light will purchase the energy. Find out more in this article from the St. Joseph News-Press.

ENGINEERING

Engineering Educators Elect First Black Woman President

The American Society for Engineering Education elected Bevlee Watfort as its president. She is the first black woman to hold the office. Her term will begin in June 2017. Watford is Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering.

TRANSPORTATION

Missouri Testing Solar Sidewalk at Rest Stop

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) announced it will install sidewalk made of solar panels at its Route 66 Welcome Center. The sidewalk will cover a 12-foot by 20-foot area at the rest stop on Interstate 44 near Conway, MO.

The panels will be supplied by Solar Roadways of Sandpoint, ID. The solar panels and electronics are sandwiched between to ½-inch thick layers of tempered glass. MoDOT will test the materials for durability under various weather conditions. It will also test the suitability of the panel’s built-in LEDs as substitutes for road striping.

MoDOT does not expect to sell power from solar projects. It envisions that solar roadways may generate enough power to supply rest areas. The power generated by this project will be directed to the welcome center building.

WATER

Bill to Change Missouri Water Commission Overcomes Veto

The Missouri General Assembly overturned a veto by Governor Jay Nixon of a bill that could change the composition of the Missouri Clean Water Commission. The bill would change the composition of the commission, allowing agriculture and mining interests to have a larger representation. The commission has authority over rulemaking under the state clean water law. You can read more about this here.

Oklahoma Shuts Down Waste Wells in Light of Earthquake Threat

The September 3rd earthquake on a newly discovered fault near Pawnee, Oklahoma, has prompted state and federal officials to halt injection of oil and gas wastewater into 67 wells in the area. There is a growing scientific consensus that wastewater injection has contributed to recent earthquakes in the Oklahoma.

Wastewater produced from oil and gas extraction is disposed of by injecting it deep into the ground. Reducing the amount of wastewater that can be injects also reduces the amount of oil or gas that can be collected. The wastewater cannot readily be disposed of by other means.

The magnitude 5.8 quake was felt in neighboring states (Facebook friends of this contributor reported feeling it in St. Louis and the Missouri Bootheel). The U.S. Geologic Survey reports that it was felt as far away as Nevada and Florida.

Roundup of Recent News

Construction

Roman Cement Studied

One could argue that the durable cement developed by the ancient Romans helped them build a lasting civilization because they could build lasting structures. Scientists have recreated the mix and studied its properties. You can find the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences or a summary in the Washington Post.

Engineering

Be An Engineer Web Site Features Women Engineers

BeAnEngineer.com has profiles of notable engineers, many of them women. Here are links to some of the profiles:

Patricia Galloway, first woman president of the American Society of Civil Engineers

Margaret Petersen, hydraulic engineer

Marilyn Jorgenson Reece, highway engineer and first woman registered civil engineer in California

Ellen Swallows Richards, sanitary engineer and founder of home economics

Engineers are Human, Too

Check out former ASCE president Patricia Galloway’s TED talk about the profession of engineering. Engineers care about solving real problems that help real people.

You can see Galloway’s speech here.

Safety

New Reporting Requirements Take Effect January 1

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has updated it rules related to injury reporting. Though many employers will not be affected by the rule change, it will not be required that all employers report all work-related in-patient hospitalizations, amputations and loss of an eye within 24 hours to OSHA.

Find out more here.

Transportation

Investing in Transportation Good for the Economy

A recent study by the Transportation Construction Coalition touted the benefits of investing in surface transportation infrastructure. These benefits include more jobs, increased incomes, and increased government revenues without tax increases.

You can read the report here, or find a summary at Fleet Owner.

60 Minutes Looks at Crumbling Infrastructure

60 Minutes ran a story on America’s aging and slowly failing transportation infrastructure. You can see the story here.

Wonders in the Sky

Slate named the U.S. Aviation Control System one of its seven wonders of the modern world. America’s airspace is one of the busiest and one of the safest.

Read more about it at Slate.

Water

New York’s Wonderful Water

Slate named the New York City water system one of the seven wonders of the modern world. It is a massive engineered system for a massive undertaking.

Read Daniel Glass’ appreciation of the system here.

Sewers Have Limits: Can’t Handle Grease

I’ve seen shelves of congealed grease on the walls of sewage pump stations. Yes, it is gross. WAMU posted a story of the grease problem in the Washington DC sewers.