New Civil Engineer
22 November 2012
View all stories from this issue.
-
Atkins boosts recruitment programme as workload soars
A strong set of trading results has prompted consultant Atkins to embark on a recruitment drive, the firm told NCE last week. -
Atkins delivers prefab homes to Sandy refugees
Consultant to project manage delivery of temporary houses for New Yorkers. -
Breakthrough for London cable tunnel project
UK Power Network’s London cable tunnel scheme reached another milestone yesterday when its 50t tunnel boring machine (TBM) broke through into a reception chamber 1.1km from the launch site with millimetres to spare. -
Cameron to tackle major project delaying tactics
Prime minister seeks to cut down on the use of judicial reviews to hold up projects. -
Carillion and Febrey fined £130k over death of scaffolder
Contractor Carillion and structural engineering firm Febrey were sentenced on Friday after a worker died from a fall at a Swansea building site in 2008. -
Casing the joint
Cased secant piling is proving to be an effective solution for a three-level basement at Berkeley Homes’ Ebury Square development. GE reports -
Coackley to chair water spending reform group
Water: Reforms are needed to smooth spending cycleImmediate past ICE president Richard Coackley, is to chair a steering group tasked with implementing the recommendations of a report on the damaging impactsof the five year regulatory cycle on water spending.The Smoothing InvestmentCycles in the Water Se -
Devon wants £6M to protect roads from further flooding
Devon County Council has asked the government to make up a £6M shortfall to help improve the resilience of the county’s transport network in the wake of recent floods. -
Economy down under
Foundations specialist Roger Bullivant is reinforcing its attack on the civils infrastructure market armed with a precast concrete pile able to take both tension and bending. David Hayward reports. -
Express Service
Network Rail has unveiled its new test train that it hopes will revolutionise track inspections and lead to a step change in safety of its workforce. NCE reports -
Fluor loses £251M claim battle
United States engineering giant Fluor has lost a battle over £251M of extra work it had to do on wind turbines for the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm. -
Flying a flag for quality
Scarborough is a name synonymous with all things seaside and Yorkshire Water is investing £50M to ensure the resort’s bathing waters meet the highest standards. Claire Symes reports. -
Government agrees energy policy
The government will allow energy companies to charge up £7.2bn for renewable energy projects as the final details for the upcoming energy bill are agreed this week. -
Green light for £10.4M public transport improvements in Weston-super-Mare
A package of public transport and road-improvement measures worth £10.4M in Weston-super-Mare has received final approval from local transport minister Norman Baker. -
Heathrow at odds with Gatwick over hub proposals
Owners of Britain’s two biggest airports were at loggerheads this week after Heathrow urged the government to ignore Gatwick in any future aviation strategy. -
Hitachi completes Horizon nuclear power deal
Japanese engineering giant Hitachi has completed its purchase of new nuclear build Horizon for £696M, the firm announced today. -
ICE calls for long term energy strategy to 2030
Start planning for a decarbonised 2030 says new ICE report on energy policy. -
ICE website use soars
Use of the “knowledge” sections on ICE’s website reached new heights in October.Hits on the ICE library’s online section were 25% higher than any previous month and document downloads were up 20%. Downloading of ICE lectures alsoincreased ten-fold since January this year - up from 2,000 to 20,000.ICE director of engineering policy and innovation Mike Chrimes said the figures were unprecedented.“There were no real ‘star attractions’ in October - such as a flagship State of -
Letters: Road space rationing is the only way to curb congestion
Recent correspondents fail to appreciate that the main problem of our congested roads will not be resolved by pricing some drivers off certain stretches of road or by imposing pricing at certain times of day (NCE 8 November).This would produce widespread public anger, which is why politicians have yet to sanction any such action. It may also eventually prove ineffective as more drivers bite the bullet and return to the road and demand better service for their money.It b -
Mace confirms Mark Reynolds to take over as chief executive
Mark Reynolds is to take over as chief executive of Mace from 1 January, the firm has confirmed today. -
Major project starts hit a new low as spending stalls
The total value of project starts worth over £100M in October was down 20% on the same period of last year according to research by construction industry analyst Glenigan. -
Maxwell Geosystems wins Bangkok MTR monitoring contract
Maxwell Geosystems has won a new contract to provide instrumentation and monitoring systems for the Bangkok Mass Rapid Transit (MTR) Blue Line Extensions. -
Network Rail's debt hits £28bn
Network Rail’s debt rose by almost £1bn in six months to just over £28bn, its half year 2012/2013 results revealed today. -
New bosses for Halcrow announced
Halcrow parent company CH2M Hill has announced new international managing directors for Europe and the Middle East. -
New York mayor unveils £310M rapid repair programme
New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has unveiled a $500M (£312M) rapid repair programme to restore power, heat and hot water to homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy. -
New York mayor wants £11.8bn for storm clear-up
New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has released the city’s request for federal aid to help recovery in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. -
Newburn temporary works put to the test with further flooding
Work to stabilise the ground collapse that occurred in late September at Spencer Court in Newburn near Newcastle has been put to the test with recent heavy rain causing further flooding at the site. -
Nuclear licence granted for Hinkley Point C
Energy firm EdF has been granted a nuclear licence from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) yesterday for its proposed plant at Hinkley Point C. -
Open and shut case
The successful conclusion of a 12-day blockade of the eastern section of London Underground’s Central Line is set to pave the way for future working. NCE reports. -
Prize performer
After 18 months heading up GE Award-winning Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering, managing director Tony Dixon talks about the changes to the business and looks ahead to the coming year. -
Reading upgrade proves a thriller
Bridge slide methods and large scale prefabrication have solved tight site constraint challenges on the massive Reading station expansion project, as Adrian Greeman discovers. -
Rice’s design for life
Eminent Irish-born engineer Peter Rice is the subject of a new exhibition in London which explores his approach to life and design through drawings, models and photographs and interviews with colleagues and family. Ruby Kitching reports. -
Sitting tenants
Carrying out ground stabilisation without the need for homeowners to move out calls for clean working practices and close liaison as Uretek recently discovered in Glasgow. GE reports -
Soil Engineering starts work on major Aberdeen ground investigation
Transport Scotland announced that Soil Engineering started work on a £1M ground investigation contract for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route yesterday. -
Sonic logging underway at Paddington for Crossrail
Construction of the diaphragm walls for Crossrail’s Paddington Station box has now advanced sufficiently for verticality testing to be carried out. -
South West and Midlands still at threat from flooding
Environment Agency (EA) said today there were still 40 flood warnings in place in south west England and a further 26 in the Midlands as flooding continues to cause disruption. -
South West infrastructure bears brunt of flooding damage
Rail and road lines are blocked across the south west region as flooding over the weekend takes its toll. -
Strengthening the core
With much of the UK’s drinking water impounded by Victorian-era dams, maintenance is an important task. GE reports on construction of a grout curtain at Upper Rivington Reservoir in the Pennines. -
Thames Water names ECI contractors for Deephams sewage works revamp
Thames Water has narrowed down to two its pool of potential contractors to rebuild and refurbish one of London’s largest sewage works. -
UK 'on cusp' of taking global lead in BIM
The UK is on the cusp of assuming a global leadership role in Building Information Modelling (BIM), according to Autodesk vice president Phil Bernstein. -
Viewpoint: Will Gard
Rail franchise lessonsFamiliarity with procurement law is vital.Last year I wrote about the opportunities for the construction industry presented by the proposal for longer rail operator franchises. Talk at the time was for franchises of 15-plus years to incentivise train operating companies to invest in inf -
Vinci wins in Panama
French contractor beats off international competition to build bridge over widened Panama Canal. -
Watchdog to probe Edinburgh tram accounts
Edinburgh’s troubled tram project was referred to the city council’s spending watchdog committee last week after officials released two different sets of project costings. -
Welsh town evacuated due to flooding
Emergency services have evacuated homes along St Asaph in North Wales this morning after the River Elwy over-topped flood defences.
