New Civil Engineer
15 March 2012
View all stories from this issue.
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Atlas Copco launches new stand-alone drilling rig for tunnelling
Plant specialist Atlas Copco has launched a new drilling rig specifically designed for mines or construction sites lacking water and electrical infrastructure. -
Balfour Beatty commits to Autodesk for BIM software
Balfour Beatty has signed a muti-million three year deal that commits it to Autodesk’s suite of design software for Building Information Modelling (BIM). -
Balfour Beatty seeks more takeovers
Balfour Beatty’s growth strategy will continue to focus on acquisition opportunities, chief operating officer Andrew McNaughton said last week. -
Cameron's roads plan: Industry responds with cautious optimism
Cautious optimism greeted today’s announcement by prime minister David Cameron that the government would conduct a feasibility study to look at how private sector funds could be used to fund road maintenance, improvements and construction. -
Cash-strapped local authorities struggling to repair winter damaged roads, says report
Two thirds of local authorities have revealed that they were unable to make good damage caused by last year’s severe winter, with the bill for repairs running to £600M across England and Wales. -
Cost saving proposals for Mersey Gateway bridge approved
Plans to cut the cost of the £600M Mersey Gateway Bridge by £30M have been approved by Halton Borough Council. -
Costain engineer scoops Rennie prize
Newly qualified civil engineer Eamonn Slevin, a Costain construction manager, has won this year’s prestigious ICE James Rennie Medal for his Chartered Professional Review (CPR) project on the M53 Bidston Moss Viaduct Strengthening Scheme.Slevin’s project report discussed the health and safety, technical and commercial challenges encountered as construction manager on the complex strengthening scheme, using what was at the time the UK’s largest scaffold installation.Held annually -
Costain has £600M acquisitions war chest
Costain bosses have insisted that the firm’s vision of becoming a true one-stop-shop for infrastructure clients remains a top priority after announcing it has a £600M war chest for major acquisitions. -
Costain widens its geotechnical division
Costain hopes to target a wider range of work following rebranding of its Geotechncial Services business under the banner of Costain Environmental Services. -
Costain/Laing O'Rourke discover cunning use for QR codes in construction
The Costain/Laing O’Rourke joint venture upgrading London’s Bond Street station is pioneering a clever use for QR codes - the square digital pattern of black and white blocks that act as modern form of barcode and can be ‘read’ by BlackBerrys and iPhones. -
Crossrail awards last remaining tunnel portal deal to Vinci
Crossrail has announced its intention to award the contract for the last remaining tunnel portal at Victoria Dock to Vinci Construction UK. -
Fines for over-running road works to quadruple
Utility companies who take too long to complete their road works will face significantly higher charges from October, transport minister Norman Baker has announced. -
Fostering engineering careers
How the ICE is encouraging students. -
Graduate engineers split on new nuclear power
Graduate engineers were evenly split on the merits of building new nuclear power stations following a lively debate at the ICE last month.Chaired by ICE president Richard Coackley, four distinguished academics - two for and two against nuclear power - debated whether the UK should build eight new nuclear power stations to keep the country at the forefront of nuclear research. UK Energy Research Centre professor Jim Skea also sat on the panel acted to offer neutral comment.A vote -
Green light for London's lane rental scheme
A lane rental scheme to help reduce disruption caused by road works on London’s busiest roads has been given the go-ahead by transport secretary Justine Greening. -
Heathrow Games Terminal roof lift complete
Heathrow airport last week carried out the roof lift for its temporary London 2012 Games Terminal. -
Highways Agency begins drive for annual network-wide structural condition surveys
Survey specialist Fugro Aperio has begun an innovative high-speed road condition survey as part of the Highways Agency’s drive to introduce annual network level structural testing on the full trunk road network -
Judges buys geotechnical instrumentation business GDS
Sussex-based Judges Scientific has acquired geotechnical testing equipment specialist Global Digital System (GDS) for £7.65M, reports corporate finance specialist Hardy Transaction Management. -
King’s Cross crowned
Not to be outdone by the recent stunning revival of its neighbour St Pancras, this week King’s Cross station begins to unveil the restored jewels of its past and some intricate and grand new additions. Alexandra Wynne reports. -
Letters: More storage key to water supply
You ask “Where will the water come from?” (NCE 8 March). The answer is: from the same place as always - winter.In normal summers all rain and much of the soil moisture is evaporated by plants. So summer rain grows our food and keeps England green, but it provides no “blue” water for people or rivers. That all comes in winter (when evaporation relents) and our society depends on storing winter water for summer use.There is normally plenty to store; domestic -
London Luton reveals new airport 'masterplan'
Airport operator London Luton Airport Operations yesterday revealed a new masterplan that aims to help it meet a forecast of a rise in passenger numbers from 10M to between 15M and 16M annually. -
M6 link road scheme accepted by Infrastructure Planning Commission
The proposed Heysham to M6 Link Road Scheme in Lancashire has reached a significant milestone after the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) formally accepted an application for the Scheme to be examined. -
Manchester unveils new busway image
Transport for Greater Manchester has unveiled an image of how its new busway scheme is expected to look on completion in 2014. -
Milestone for Crossrail as TBMs named ahead of launch
London mayor Boris Johnson and transport secretary Justine Greening have marked the start of tunnelling on London’s Crossrail scheme at a tunnel boring machine naming ceremony. -
More cash saved as Highways Agency switches off more motorway lighting
Motorway lighting is to be permanently switched off at two more sites in the south west of England to save cash and cut carbon emissions, the Highways Agency has announced. -
More key High Speed 2 design contracts imminent
Scheme promoter High Speed 2 Ltd is on the verge of awarding key design contracts to enable its progress towards a hybrid bill, NCE understands. -
National BIM Library launches this week
A free library of generic and proprietary BIM objects for a range of systems and products such as walls, windows, doors, foundations, cladding and roofs is to launch this week. -
Network Rail faced with possibility of further £6.1bn efficiency drive
Network Rail could be faced with finding £6.1bn more in savings over the next five year control period than it has planned, if the government accepts the recommendations of the rail regulator. -
Network Rail reveals completed Western Concourse at King's Cross
Network Rail yesterday revealed the completed new Western Concourse at King’s Cross station. -
New Thames crossing projects edge forward after consultation
Construction of two new River Thames crossings moved a step closer this week after Transport for London (TfL) completed the first round of public consultation for a new road and ferry crossing in East London. -
New thinking
The concrete industry has formally launched its latest sustainability performance report and committed itself to a new industry strategy to further increase its sustainability lead over other construction material sectors. Sustainable Concrete Forum chairman Andy Spencer explains more -
New Zealand quake code to hit old buildings
Expected toughening of New Zealand earthquake codes has this week cast doubt on the future of two of quake-hit Christchurch’s most historic buildings. -
No.8 Eden Project opening
The Eden Project stole the show at the British Construction Industry Awards (BCIA) in 2001, taking the major project honour. OK, it was a millennium project that didn’t officially open until 17 March 2001. But the honour was well justified. -
Nuclear site owners to begin preparing for clean up from next June
Owners of Britain’s nuclear facilities have been told that they will from next June begin the process of working out how and when their sites should be decommissioned. -
Osborne must keep the infrastructure tap switched on
As this week’s cover story clearly demonstrates, the UK and especially London, is undergoing an infrastructure bonanza. -
Power cuts loom as inertia delays nuclear decisions
Leading UK scientists this week slammed government inertia regarding the development of new nuclear power stations. -
Preferred bidders announced for Midlands airport and road schemes
Joint venture contractors VolkerFitzpatrick and Colas have been announced as the preferred bidders for two major Midlands construction projects – the A45 Transport Corridor Improvement Scheme and the Runway Extension at Birmingham airport. -
Prime minister to set out new ownership and financing vision for roads network
Prime minister David Cameron is today expected to launch a feasibility study looking at a new ownership and financing model for the national roads system aimed at drawing in large-scale private investment. -
Shepherd to build biomass plant at Drax power station
Contractor Shepherd is to build a biomass plant at the Drax power station as part of the plant owner’s bid to generate 20% of its output from sustainable sources. -
Students told they must pay 25% more to receive NCE
Student ICE members face a 25% increase in the cost of subscribing to NCE magazine this year, following the Institution’s decision to cut subsidies. -
Subway switch
Precast concrete was the key to success for contractor Cleshar as it raced against time to replace a vital piece of rail infrastructure during a 52 hour track possession. NCE reports. -
Technical highs
Construction of Bahrain’s largest ever precast concrete flyover called for some heavy duty shoring on site, which was taken on by falsework specialist RMD Kwikform, as NCE reports. -
TfL 'confident' Jubilee line will be fully operational for Olympics
Transport for London (TfL) games transport director Mark Evers today said he was “confident” the Jubilee line will be fully operational by the Olympic Games despite a 12% decrease in reliability over the past 12 months.
