New Civil Engineer
2 February 2012
View all stories from this issue.
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Airport operator BAA loses Stansted sale appeal
Airport operator BAA has today lost its appeal against a Competition Commission ruling that will force it to sell Stansted. -
Atkins to work on Alcatraz repairs
The US National Park Service has appointed consultant Atkins to provide construction management services for structural repairs to the famous federal penitentiary building on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, California. -
Bam Nuttall scoops £70M Olympic Park legacy contract
Bam Nuttall has won the £70M deal to transform the Olympic Park generating 500 temporary jobs and create a foundation for further development over the next two decades. -
Bids now in to host Green Investment Bank
Competition to host the Green Investment Bank is fierce with 32 sites applying says business secretary Vince Cable who will reveal the successful bidder next month. -
Bored tunnel downplayed as Fehmarnbelt crossing option
Promoter Femern has played down the possibility of a bored tunnel for its Fehmarnbelt road and rail crossing between Denmark and Germany. -
Building Information Modelling: New Shared Dream
Crossrail and software house Bentley Systems last week agreed a unique technology partnership. It underpins the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) on the £14.5bn project. Antony Oliver reports. -
Business reignites call for third Heathrow runway
Business leaders have slammed the government’s decision to rule out the construction of a third runway at Heathrow airport as “negligent”. -
Businesses urged to adopt risk based approach to dealing with climate change
Owners and operators of infrastructure are being urged to adopt a risk-based approach to climate change adaptation in response to a new government report. -
Chrimes Watch: Celebrating Australian civil engineering in Tasmania
In November I was invited by the conference organising committee to lecture at the 16th Engineering Heritage Conference in Hobart, Tasmania. The conference was ‘conserving our heritage - make a difference’, and covered all engineering disciplines, with representations from across Australia and New Zealand. One of the most moving presentations was by Andrew Marriott on the ‘performance of heritage buildings in the 2010/2011 Christchurch earthquake swarms’. Over 40% of the heritage buildings in -
Conservative MPs rebel over onshore wind farm subsidies
Over 100 Conservative MPs have written to prime minister David Cameron urging the government to reduce onshore wind farm subsidies in a letter published in the Sunday Telegraph yesterday. -
Consultation opens for new Thames crossing
Transport for London (TfL) has today launched a public consultation for a road tunnel and ferry crossing in east London. -
Creativity and digital technology will drive future success
Since Christmas I have spent an extraordinary amount of spare time trying to get to grips with my son’s new Lego Mindstorms kit.For the uninitiated, I’m referring to computer controlled, programmable Lego model-building with motors, gears, switches and even a light sensor capable of distinguishing between shades of grey.Of course, thanks to the current climate of austerity, Santa didn’t necessarily go for the most up to date version of Mindstorms. In fact, NCE reviewed it in 199 -
Crossrail amends Connaught Tunnel works
Crossrail has changed its restoration and improvement plans for the Connaught Tunnel in the Docklands, east London, to what it says is a safer and easier method. -
Davey determined to carry on green agenda
New energy secretary Ed Davey said he is “determined” to carry on green agenda following Chris Huhne’s resignation. -
Derailment knocks out line between Milton Keynes and London
A train derailment at Bletchley on the West Coast Main Line in the early hours has caused chaos for commuters between Milton Keynes and London as well as “significant” damage to the local rail infrastructure. -
Dounreay sets out options for 'exotics' nuclear material
Spent nuclear fuel from Dounreay’s fast reactor breeders could be transported to Sellafield in Cumbria for treatment, according to plans outlined by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) this week. -
Environment Agency wins recognition for Cumbrian flood work
Environment Agency (EA) flood defence work has scooped the community award in the ICE North West Engineering Awards. -
Farringdon reopens station entrance
London mayor Boris Johnson reopened Farringdon station’s London Underground entrance in the City of London yesterday following an eight week closure to restore and expand the grade II listed building. -
Femern seeks international contractors for £4.6bn crossing
Project promoter Femern is seeking interest from international contractors in bidding for work on the €5.5bn (£4.58bn) Fehmarnbelt crossing. -
First phase of £1bn Edinburgh rail project consultation complete
Network Rail has completed the first phase of its consultation into the £1bn Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme. -
Foster Wheeler to lead flagship CCS scheme
Power consultant Foster Wheeler has today been selected to lead a flagship carbon capture and storage (CCS) is South Yorkshire by its developer 2Co Power. -
French/Italian high speed line gets green light
France and Italy have signed an agreement to build an €8.5bn (£7.1bn) high speed rail link between Lyon and Turin. -
Further strike action at Balfour Beatty
Members of trade union Unite have today voted for strike action at Balfour Beatty Engineering Services (BBES) the latest in a dispute over pay and conditions. -
Government announces major projects skills academy to save costs
A skills academy to improve the building and consultancy expertise of civil servants working on major tax-payer projects has been launched by the Cabinet office today. -
Government consults on new regime for planning local transport investment
Transport secretary Justine Greening is consulting on a new plan to devolve funding decisions on local transport schemes to yet-to-be-created local transport bodies. -
Government must support fragile growth in infrastructure
Fragile signs of growth in civil engineering may be crushed if the government pulls funding on public sector infrastructure projects, say contractors. -
Graduate engineers split over nuclear power
Graduate engineers were evenly split on the merits of building new nuclear power stations following a lively debate at the ICE this week. -
High Speed Two seeks new chiefs
High Speed Two kicks off its search next week for a new chief executive and a number of new non-executive directors -
Highways Agency announces stop-gap solution for A14
A scheme to strengthen the viaduct that carries the A14 over the East Coast Main Line railway in Huntingdon has been announced by the Highways Agency. -
Hugh Blackwood: Strength in depth at URS
Scott Wilson is now firmly embedded in US giant URS but its world-conquering spirit lives on with international operations boss Hugh Blackwood. Mark Hansford reports. -
Huhne resigns as energy secretary
Energy secretary Chris Huhne has resigned this morning after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided to bring criminal charges against him for perverting the course of justice over speeding offences. -
ICE highlights the need for changes in CDM regs
An ICE report highlighting areas in the current Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations where improvements could bring significant benefit to industry has been welcomed by government and will contribute to a public review later in the year. -
ICE’s profile raising effort boosts media coverage
The ICE’s work to raise the profile of civil engineering and make the Institution the ‘voice of infrastructure’ in the media led to 565 ICE mentions during the final quarter of 2011.The figure is published in the ICE’s quarterly media report released last week. It shows an increase from the previous quarter where 495 media mentions where achieved. Of the 565 media mentions, six were in national newspapers, 182 were in regional publications and 122 in trade magazines. There were also 16 -
Indonesian authorities name bridge collapse firms
Indonesian officials have named the firms involved in building, maintaining and repairing the bridge that suffered a catastrophic collapse last November. -
Iraq seeks bids for 20 year transport masterplan
Iraq is seeking consultants to help it draw up a 20 year national multi-modal transport plan. -
JCB chief predicts growth in UK market this year
JCB chief executive Alan Blake has predicted more growth for the UK-based construction equipment manufacturer over the next 12 months following a successful year in 2011. -
Letters: At Seaton it’s now a question of: ‘For whom the till tolls?’
At Seaton it’s now a question of: ‘For whom the till tolls? -
London borough tightens basement rules
The London borough of Kensington & Chelsea has announced plans to tighten regulations on construction of new basements following a Health & Safety Executive (HSE) inspection of sites across the capital at the end of last year. -
London mayor accused of sidelining green priorities over capital tunnel plan
London mayor Boris Johnson’s plans to build a road tunnel connecting Greenwich Peninsula to Silvertown has been slammed by chair of the London Assembly’s Environment Committee. -
London mayor hails Exhibition Road refit as good value
London mayor Boris Johnson formally opened the newly refurbished Exhibition Road in west London yesterday and insisted that the £28M upgrade has been value for money. -
Mark Bew: Why BIM is important to the UK
Last year marked an important year for UK plc and the construction industry. There were a record number of high profile BIM seminars, workshops and press articles leading up to the launch of the Construction Strategy in May with BIM as an integral part. -
Mayor outlines formal plan to take on London rail franchises
London mayor Boris Johnson has published a document that outlines how he is seeking powers to control the capital’s suburban railways. -
Ministry of Defence announces training estate shortlist
The Ministry of Defence has this week announced, via the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), its shortlist of bidders to manage its up to £950M training estate contract. -
MPs criticise government over lack of clarity on flood defence funding
MPs today criticised the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for doing little to dispel uncertainty over who holds ultimate responsibility for protecting homes from flooding. -
MPs misled over ‘nuclear cheaper and greener’ argument
Ministers and Parliament have been misled in the argument for and against nuclear power and the debate must be re-opened and a vote on the issue held, claims a report. -
Network Rail bonus 'u-turn' could swell coffers of safety fund
Network Rail chief executive David Higgins has said any “bonus” awarded to him and his directors would be donated to the safety improvement fund for level crossings. -
No clues in Ilford steel building collapse
Preliminary investigations into the cause of a steel framed building collapse in Ilford in east London has yet to reveal any clues into why it failed. -
No.3: Kobe Earthquake
The Earthquake design codes of Japan, one of the best prepared countries in the world for natural disasters, were thrown into the spotlight on 17 January 1995 when the 6.8 magnitude Great Hanshin earthquake devastated Kobe, a city of 1.5 million people. -
Olympics environmental work complete
Environmental work on the Olympic Park was completed yesterday following eight years of construction, the Environment Agency announced yesterday. -
Outlook gloomy for construction, says RICS report
Construction continued to stall in the last three months of 2011 and the outlook for the next 12 months looks bleak, according to a report released today. -
Overhead pylons still the cheapest
A cost study on installing new high-voltage transmission lines by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has showed they are still five times cheaper than burying the cables underground. -
Pile guide first for Brazilian offshore project
Installation of piles for the Waimea offshore oil and gas development in Brazil’s Campos Basin has become the first to use a new underwater pile stabiliser to improve the piling operation. -
Racing to help
Aid agency CARE is urging people in the construction sector to challenge themselves and challenge poverty. -
Richard Shennan: Embracing a new way of thinking
BIM exploded onto the scene in 2011. It was a year of excitement about the potential benefits - better solutions through collaboration, enhanced performance, greater predictability, faster project delivery, reduced risk, less waste, whole life asset management and opportunities for continual improvement. -
Skanska reports slight drop in turnover
Skanska has reported a slight drop in turnover for the year ending 31 December 2011 but it also witnessed a slight increase in operating margin. -
Special report: funding for the floods
Next week environment secretary Caroline Spelman is expected to announce a raft of new flood defence schemes across England and Wales that will receive funding. NCE reports on how the Environment Agency is increasing the number of homes protected despite a 15% budget cut. -
Spurs agrees to stay in Haringay
A pact to regenerate North Tottenham has been made between Haringey Council and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club which has also said it will stay in the area. -
Start date for work to dual A9 set for 2017
Construction work to dual the A9 between Luncarty and Birnam will start in 2017 announced Scottish transport minister Keith Brown today. -
Steel building collapses in Ilford
A five storey steel structure in Ilford East London partially collapsed yesterday afternoon. -
Suds guidance sits on fence
Delays and lack of definition could compromise new national standards for sustainable drainage systems (Suds), drainage experts are warning. -
Thales-Balfour Beatty win £335M Danish rail signalling contract
Contractor Balfour Beatty and electronics firm Thales has today won a £335M contract by Danish railway operator Banedanmark to upgrade much of the country’s railway signalling system. -
Tunnelling machine set for Beckton sewage works run
A tunnel boring machine named Beckton Becky has been lowered into position 20m below ground in London, as part of a £190M project to extend one of Europe’s largest sewage treatment works. -
US nuclear plant being monitored after power failure
A nuclear power plant in Illinois, US, operated by power firm Exelon Generation is being monitored after offsite power was lost and smoke was seen coming from an onsite transformer. -
US states to fight it out for share of £315M transport cash pot
US transportation secretary Ray LaHood has kick-started a scramble for $500M (£315M) of government cash for transport projects across the country. -
Water investment boost of £22bn but customers face higher bills
Water companies have pledged to invest a record £22bn over the next five years into the water and sewerage network resulting in higher customer bills.
