New Civil Engineer
Andrew Bolton

Making a mega metro

3-Mar-2011
Hong Kong subway operator MTR is adapting the management structure of its major project division as it gets to grips with the challenge of building five major projects over the next few years. Andrew Bolton reports.
Straight to the heart

3-Mar-2011
A massive project to link Hong Kong’s bustling financial district to the remote Northern New Territories is approaching construction. Andrew Bolton reports.
Chinese challenge

23-Feb-2011
A massive infrastructure programme packed with major projects makes Hong Kong a prime destination for engineers seeking overseas work. Andrew Bolton reports.
Blasting in the heart of the city

23-Feb-2011
Lack of site space and narrow, densely populated streets made Hong Kong’s West Island Line project extremely challenging even before tunnelling work got started. Andrew Bolton reports.
High speed to Hong Kong

23-Feb-2011
Work on Hong Kong’s high speed link to mainland China is gathering pace with construction activity focused at the terminus in Kowloon. Andrew Bolton reports.
Back on track?

24-May-2007
Analysis - Can the Conservatives seriously build a way out of the rail congestion crisis?
Getting ready for take off

16-Nov-2006
Names & Faces - Keeping in control of your own destiny has been the hallmark of new Owen Williams head Damian McHale's career to date, as Andrew Bolton finds out.
Olympic park lock-in for programme managers

1-Mar-2006
BIDDERS FOR the 2012 London Olympic Park programme management contract will be expected to promise key personnel to the job for its duration, Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) chairman Jack Lemley has warned.
ACE insurance revamp offers flexible options

23-Feb-2006
News
Takeover bid threatens CTRL completion

23-Feb-2006
News
Market forces gather strength

16-Feb-2006
Business - Scott Wilson and Owen Williams have sacrificed private ownership for growth, but why is size so important for consulting engineers? Andrew Bolton investigates.
Making the connection

1-Jan-2006
Perpignan - France and Spain are cracking on with the construction of a new crossborder, high speed rail link. Andrew Bolton reports from the Pyrenées.
Steel frame to replace collapsed Paris terminal

1-Jan-2006
News
Steel frame to replace collapsed Paris terminal

8-Dec-2005
AIRPORT OPERATORS in Paris have ordered a steel structure to replace the radical concrete shell terminal 2E at Charles de Gaulle airport, which partially collapsed in May 2003 killing four people.
Rail runners

10-Nov-2005
Stirling-AlloaKincardine - Early contractor involvement has enabled the team for a revived Scottish railway to hit the ground running. Andrew Bolton reports.
M25 widening will be single DBFO contract

3-Nov-2005
News
Storm surges lift bridges off their supports

1-Oct-2005
News
Intact bridge spans will be used to repair twin

15-Sep-2005
News
Cross words

1-Sep-2005
Rail - Eurotunnel's fate hangs in the balance as the troubled Channel Tunnel operator opens talks with its banks over its huge debt mountain. Andrew Bolton reports.
Shell Haven road upgrades move to detailed planning

18-Aug-2005
News
Manslaughter convictions follow Mont Blanc fire

4-Aug-2005
News
Eurotunnel faces debt drop defeat

1-Aug-2005
News
CTRL cost overrun risk hits Bechtel after 9/11

28-Jul-2005
News
Cross words

14-Jul-2005
Rail - Eurotunnel's fate hangs in the balance as the troubled Channel Tunnel operator opens talks with its banks over its huge debt mountain.Andrew Bolton reports.
Core values

1-Jul-2005
NCE CONTRACTORS FILE - Nuttall had a strong 2004 thanks to a loyal workforce and an unwavering focus on what it does best - civil engineering. Chairman and chief executive Peter Brooks gave a rare interview to Andrew Bolton.
Funding wrangle delays New York subway start

1-Jul-2005
Construction of New York’s $16bn Second Avenue Subway project faces a one year delay because of funding hitches, operator MTA said this week.
London shrugs off IOC concerns over Olympic Park delivery

1-Jul-2005
CULTURE SECRETARY Tessa Jowell has dismissed concerns voiced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commission about London's ability to host the 2012 Games.
London plugs its stadium as Olympic decision day looms

30-Jun-2005
News
Eurotunnel faces debt write off rejection

23-Jun-2005
NEWS
One road, one contract?

23-Jun-2005
Roads - Staggered widening of the M25 is expected to take place under a single privately financed contract.Andrew Bolton reports.
Highways Agency to take stake in M25 DBFO

19-May-2005
News
Gordon Buchan, Conservative, Edinburgh South West

12-May-2005
General Election
Could an engineer unseat the transport secretary?

28-Apr-2005
Civil engineer Gordon Buchan hopes to unseat transport secretary Alistair Darling in next week's election. Andrew Bolton met him on the campaign trail in Baberton, Edinburgh South West.
Civil engineer aims to unseat Alistair Darling

14-Apr-2005
News
The official explanation of last year's Charles de Gaulle airport collapse still has some significant gaps.

1-Apr-2005
NewsTerminal 2E questions remain
Baltimore and tunnel operator criticised over toxic blaze

1-Mar-2005
News
Subway stories

1-Mar-2005
New York Subway British consultants are helping New York's Mass Transit Authority push through one of the world's biggest construction projects. Andrew Bolton reports from Manhattan.
Terminal 2E questions remain

24-Feb-2005
News - The official explanation of last year's Charles de Gaulle airport collapse still has some significant gaps.
Programme managers frozen out of New York's $4bn subway spend

1-Feb-2005
New York’s subway operator is shunning external programme managers in favour of in-house teams as it prepares to launch a massive $3.95bn capital works programme next year.
Baltimore and tunnel operator criticised over toxic blaze

6-Jan-2005
News
Subway stories

6-Jan-2005
Transport - British consultants are helping New York's Mass Transit Authority push through one of the world's biggest construction projects. Andrew Bolton reports from Manhattan.
Funding wrangle delays New York subway start

2005
Construction of New York’s $16bn (£8.4bn) Second Avenue Subway project faces a one year delay because of funding hitches, operator MTA said this week.
Programme managers frozen out of New York's £2bn subway spend

9-Dec-2004
News
Engineers set the pace

25-Nov-2004
Cover Story - Andrew Bolton spoke exclusively to the consultants behind London's bid to find out what needs to be done to bring the Olympics to the capital.
Expert witnesses could pay for delaying court cases

18-Nov-2004
News
Contractors slam government inaction on spending plans

11-Nov-2004
News
Stirling work

4-Nov-2004
Working lives Rail
London & Continental gets foot in Crossrail door

21-Oct-2004
News
Ministers aim to maximise private Crossrail funding

7-Oct-2004
News
Spanish slam slow British PFI tendering

7-Oct-2004
News
Jacobs to merge Gibb and Babtie

1-Oct-2004
News
Sliding - A recipe for success

1-Oct-2004
Bridges - A new footbridge has been hauled into place with the help of an unusual ingredient. Andrew Bolton reports
A recipe for success

19-Aug-2004
A new footbridge has been hauled into place with the help of an unusual ingredient. Andrew Bolton reports.
Jacobs to merge Gibb and Babtie business

19-Aug-2004
UNITED STATES engineering group Jacobs said this week that it plans to merge its Reading based infrastructure division with Glasgow based Babtie.
Athens - it's finished but is it ready?

5-Aug-2004
Comment
Livingstone to take over East London Line extension

8-Jul-2004
News
Babtie dumps growth plan for £70M Jacobs offer

1-Jul-2004
News
Pushing the envelope

1-Jul-2004
Bridges - Millau viaduct
Pushing the envelope

1-Jul-2004
Bridges - Millau viaduct
What chance transport in the dash for cash?

1-Jul-2004
stop the transport cuts
Portuguese on the ball

10-Jun-2004
Ten Portuguese football stadia will figure heavily on a TV screen near you over the next month as the Euro 2004 football championships kick off. Andrew Bolton checks them out.
Hill's view from the top

27-May-2004
Profile - Terry Hill
Pushing the envelope

27-May-2004
Cover story Millau viaduct
Ministers delay East London Line decision until July

6-May-2004
News
Shareholder vote stalls Eurotunnel salvage plan

18-Mar-2004
News
Line that will transform life in east London

11-Mar-2004
Stop the transport cuts East London Line Extension
Selection criteria

26-Feb-2004
News
Liverpool must be unblocked

19-Feb-2004
Gordon Brown's cash is needed to build a congestion-busting second Mersey crossing.
SRA freezes ELL design to reassure contractors

29-Jan-2004
DESIGN STANDARDS for the £750M privately financed East London Line extension will be frozen before contracts are signed to reassure contractors over payment, the project team said this week.
East London Line extension row jeopardises Olympic bid

11-Dec-2003
PROCUREMENT DELAYS and doubts over funding for the proposed £750M East London Line extension were this week threatening to undermine the project.
A new line of thinking for Scottish rail

4-Dec-2003
Rail Line reopening
Phased construction most likely for Crossrail

27-Nov-2003
CONSTRUCTION OF the £10bn Crossrail link between east and west London is almost certain to be split into phases, a senior project executive said last week.
Chancellor must stay firm on investment

23-Oct-2003
Comment
Inside view

16-Oct-2003
Water: Innovation
Network Rail's maintenance capacity in doubt as Jarvis quits

16-Oct-2003
CONTRACTORS this week questioned the ability of Network Rail to carry out rail maintenance efficiently after Jarvis quit the sector, forcing the track operator to double its volume of in-house work.
Highways Agency technique to speed Scottish Rail job

9-Oct-2003
TECHNIQUES USED to speed up major roads are being pioneered on the £25M scheme to revive the Stirling to Kincardine railway, the project's promoters said this week.
Cleveland Bridge owner saves High-Point Rendel

2-Oct-2003
TROUBLED CONSULTANT High-Point Rendel has agreed to a takeover by the Saudibased firm that also owns steel fabricator Cleveland Bridge.
Incredible journey

1-Oct-2003
CTRL Section One opening
LCR seeks Crossrail role for tested fast track team

18-Sep-2003
LONDON & CONTINENTAL Railways (LCR), the company in charge of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) is chasing a key procurement role on London's £10bn Crossrail project, NCE learnt this week.
Business presses Blair on need for Crossrail

10-Jul-2003
LONDON BUSINESS leaders were this week expected to press the case for the east-west Crossrail project at a meeting with prime minister Tony Blair.
Northern light

1-Jul-2003
Yorkshire contractor Bentley is reaping the benefits of partnering and IT. Andrew Bolton reports.
Happy in their work

12-Jun-2003
Working lives: Job satisfaction
Reducing risk the way to lower insurance

12-Jun-2003
Comment
Does the government have an integrated transport policy?

5-Jun-2003
Transport White Paper
Not yet time to press the panic button

22-May-2003
Comment
Etched across the landscape

1-May-2003
France High speed rail
Lord Chancellor leaves expert witnesses at mercy of hostile judges

17-Apr-2003
EXPERT WITNESSES can expect no protection from judges who are hostile towards them in court, the Lord Chancellor's Department ruled this week.
ACE warns on terrorist exclusion clauses

3-Apr-2003
DESIGNERS OF buildings hit by terrorist attacks will no longer be protected by professional indemnity (PI) insurance when their policies come up for renewal, consultants warned this week.
Expert witnesses warned about hostile judges

20-Mar-2003
EXPERT WITNESSES acting in legal disputes risk losing money and reputation as judges increasingly direct criticism towards their role in trials, a leading lawyer warned this week.
East London Line to be private rail guinea pig

13-Mar-2003
PLANS TO inject private finance into the £1bn extension of the East London Line are expected to be ready by the end of this year, the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) said this week.
Etched across the landscape

13-Mar-2003
Rail: High speed rail
Public interest

1-Mar-2003
Overview
Time and time again

30-Jan-2003
Comment
Planning ahead

23-Jan-2003
Highways Stonehenge
Road spend rejig fogs 10 year plan

2-Jan-2003
NEW ACCOUNTING procedures have caused £3.7bn of projected roads spending under the government's 10 year transport plan to be reallocated, the Department for Transport (DfT) said this week.
Continental drift

28-Nov-2002
Britain lags behind the rest of Europe in looking for alternatives to landfill.
Wrangles threaten to upstage future of Tube

14-Nov-2002
Comment
Baffling M25 show a symbol of motorway madness

31-Oct-2002
ENGINEERS WHO helped build the M25 in the 1980s will have been baffled by the event held in its name at London's Barbican Centre last week.
Rock 'n rail

31-Oct-2002
Rail Lotschberg tunnel
Retentive memory

24-Oct-2002
Comment
Takeover brings Hyder stock market listing

3-Oct-2002
HYDER IS expected to become the latest consultant to obtain a stock market listing later this month.
Penalty points

26-Sep-2002
Highways: DFBO
First Engineering gets £7M cash boost after Peterhouse takeover

19-Sep-2002
CONTRACTOR PETERHOUSE has pledged to invest £7M in training, plant and recruitment at rail maintenance group First Engineering after agreeing a £65.5M takeover last week.
Ill fated contracting foray leaves dent in WSP profits

12-Sep-2002
A FAILED attempt at contracting knocked a £1.2M hole in consultant WSP's first half profits, results published this week show.
Consultants' shares tumble amid profit fears

18-Jul-2002
SHARES IN consultants plunged last week amid fears about their future profits.
Edgy investors should look to the long term

18-Jul-2002
Comment
Youth drive pins hopes on Girl Guides badge

27-Jun-2002
News
Output up on higher transport spend

13-Jun-2002
HOPES THAT the government is starting to deliver on promises of increased transport spending received a boost last week when the latest government figures showed a surge in construction output.
Profile

13-Jun-2002
Heather Stanley is establishing a UK base for Canada based structures consultant Yolles.
Team changes lift Wembley hopes

30-May-2002
Comment
Mouchel seeks £20M stock market cash for infrastructure projects

23-May-2002
News
Government plan for hospitals - a tall order

2-May-2002
Comment
Group therapy

25-Apr-2002
News feature Jacobs Gibb
CTRL bail out too light on operator shareholders says report

28-Mar-2002
TRANSPORT OFFICIALS should have made shareholders in Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) operator London & Continental Railways (LCR) put more of their own cash into the project, MPs said last week.
Public spending cuts possible if Tube PPP hits money troubles

14-Feb-2002
NEWS
Crossrail route to extend to Stratford and Canary Wharf

24-Jan-2002
NEWS
Transport fuels civils growth

10-Jan-2002
NEWS
Global gains

1-Dec-2001
Consultants File
New track operator should take a leaf out of housing book

8-Nov-2001
RAILTRACK'S SUCCESSOR should be run and financed like a housing association, a senior banker told MPs last week.
Maunsell parent takes over Oscar Faber

1-Nov-2001
News
Getting back on track

25-Oct-2001
Comment
Aecom buys Oscar Faber to boost UK structures presence

18-Oct-2001
OSCAR FABER this week became part of Britain's second largest consultant when it agreed to a takeover by Maunsell's United States parent Aecom.
Further Crossrail study sparks fears of delay

18-Oct-2001
BACKERS OF London's Crossrail project to link Paddington and Liverpool Street stations this week voiced fears that the project could be delayed by studies to reroute the line to the Canary Wharf development in Docklands.
Subsidy U-turn triggers Railtrack collapse

11-Oct-2001
News : RAIL IN CRISIS
Reeling Laing battles to redress £1 construction sale

4-Oct-2001
NEWS
Private debate goes public

27-Sep-2001
BUSINESS: Next week's Labour Party Conference in Brighton is expected to stage the latest round in the simmering row over the increasing role of the private sector to upgrade Britain's infrastructure. Andrew Bolton looks at the arguments.
Second Metronet Tube win raises safety fears

27-Sep-2001
NEWS
Testing time for LU's Tube safety culture

27-Sep-2001
COMMENT
Unions declare war on publicprivate infrastructure funding

6-Sep-2001
News
Housing sell off frees McAlpine to reposition

9-Aug-2001
News
Reversed extractor fans caused Mont Blanc fire deaths, says report

1-Aug-2001
News
More debate, not less, is best hope for transport

19-Jul-2001
COMMENT
Ignoring safety systems caused Mont Blanc fire deaths, says report

12-Jul-2001
NEWS
Opportunities in structures

21-Jun-2001
NEWS ANALYSIS: USA
US and them

21-Jun-2001
NEWS ANALYSIS: USA - British engineers are moving across the Atlantic to the United States to offer their skills to the world's biggest construction market. Andrew Bolton went to America to find out what the UK can add to this highly sophisticated market.
Opportunities

14-Jun-2001
News
Labour plans £100M renewable energy fund

24-May-2001
LABOUR IS planning a £100M boost for developers of renewable energy sources if it wins the election, according to its manifesto, which was published last week.
Another new way to rebuild our railway

22-Mar-2001
The Strategic Rail Authority has come up with a new way to help Railtrack finance its £26bn capital investment programme. But it could be at least two years until new projects get under way reports Andrew Bolton.
KCRC trades on teamwork

1-Mar-2001
Construction of Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation's West Rail is at its peak. Andrew Bolton looks at how KCRC's project team has kept it on schedule for completion in 2003
Gibb sold by parent Law

22-Feb-2001
CONSULTANT GIBB is to change hands for the second time in 12 years after its US parent company, Law, last week agreed to sell it to California based Jacobs Engineering for an undisclosed sum.
KCRC a steamin' and a rollin'

8-Feb-2001
Construction of Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation's West Rail is at its peak. Andrew Bolton looks at how KCRC's project team has kept it on schedule for completion in 2003.
Laing Construction finds £40M more losses

1-Feb-2001
JOHN LAING'S efforts to sell off its contracting division suffered an embarrasing setback this week when it announced the discovery of £40M in previously undiscovered losses at the division.
Railtrack may run Crossrail despite not funding it

25-Jan-2001
RAILTRACK SHOULD operate the track and tunnels for the £3bn Crossrail route through central London even if it does not build or finance it, it has been suggested.
Contracting is out

30-Nov-2000
Over the last five years or so, the biggest contractors have slowly redefined themselves as construction service providers. Realising that mainstream competitive tendering is high risk and often unprofitable they have added new, more profitable, revenue streams like facilities management to their skills portfolios. Some, like Amey, have grown into these new areas so successfully that they are no longer considered contractors at all.
HK government urged to accept ground risk

16-Nov-2000
CONSULTANTS, CONTRACTORS and lawyers will next week publicly urge the Hong Kong government to end its refusal to underwrite unforeseen ground risks on civil engineering projects.
Cumbersome rail structure cost lives

26-Oct-2000
Last week's tragedy at Hatfield once again raised questions about the structure of the railways post privatisation. The furore surrounding the crash even prompted Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott to ask shadow Strategic Rail Authority chief executive Sir Alastair Morton to review this structure. Morton was due to present his review to Prescott on Tuesday, pointing out ways to change an industry once run by a state owned monolith and now fragmented and, seemingly out of control.
Can contractors nail profit growth?

7-Sep-2000
Comment
DeLeuw Rothwell rescued from receivership

24-Aug-2000
PELL FRISCHMANN has rescued consultant DeLeuw Rothwell from administrative receivership, it emerged this week.
Timing doubts for London schemes

27-Jul-2000
CONCERNS WERE raised this week over the timetable for delivering major projects such as CrossRail and the East London line extension, following the Government's announcement of a £33.1bn cash injection for London's transport infrastructure.
Renaissance man

20-Jul-2000
Civil engineer, businessman and next ICE president Joe Dwyer has spent the last year pulling together a plan to end decades of urban decline in his home town, Liverpool. He talks to Andrew Bolton about the lessons of past regeneration failures and the dou
ICE initiative aims to boost minorities

15-Jun-2000
The ICE wants to help its membership to reflect the ethnic and sexual mix of the population.
Committee to rebuild HK confidence

1-Jun-2000
DISCOVERY OF under strength piles on a series of high rise projects has prompted the Hong Kong government to set up a powerful task force to promote better quality construction.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained

25-May-2000
Comment
Price check

25-May-2000
A joint venture between consultants Babtie and Parsons Corporation is ensuring the sSRA achieves full value for money for the Railtrack Thameslink 2000 work it is underwriting. Andrew Bolton reports.
Mont Blanc tunnel repair plans come under fire from French MPs

18-May-2000
News
Hong Kong aims to raise construction standards

20-Apr-2000
News
A13 deal gives HGV priority

13-Apr-2000
News
Regulator unable to track Railtrack spending

13-Apr-2000
News
Fire reconstruction row delays Mont Blanc repairs

1-Apr-2000
A ROW between France and Italy has delayed the $205M repairs to the firedamaged Mont Blanc road tunnel. Forty one people died in the blaze last March.
New merger thinking

9-Mar-2000
Comment
HBG fights takeover bid

2-Mar-2000
News
Moving on

1-Mar-2000
After Airport Express, Hong Kong's MTR Corporation is focusing on the smaller, but no less challenging Tseung Kwan O extension. Andrew Bolton reports
Fire reconstruction row delays Mont Blanc tunnel repairs

24-Feb-2000
NEWS
Too early to throw in the towel

10-Feb-2000
Comment
CIWEM given final warning

27-Jan-2000
News
All the way down the line

20-Jan-2000
Hong Kong's MTR Corporation is knuckling down to its latest metro construction project, the Tseung Kwan O line. The project involves an experiment in partnering, extensive advance design work, and tight site working restrictions. Report and photographs by
Privy Council may be asked to rule on CIWEM's consultancy venture

6-Jan-2000
News
CIWEM denies being in competition with members

2-Dec-1999
CONSULTING ENGINEERS were this week putting pressure on the Chartered Institute of Water & Environmental Management to clarify its decision to establish its own consultancy business.
New roof cuts Wembley steel content by two thirds

18-Nov-1999
News
Pioneering Portsmouth

11-Nov-1999
Local authorities and the Highways Agency could learn from Portsmouth's example.
Taking to the air

11-Nov-1999
Airports
Tube upgrade likely to go ahead despite private funding fears

14-Oct-1999
NEWS
Leonardo da Vinci

30-Sep-1999
ANALYSIS
THE NIGHT OUT TRAIN, TUBE AND BUS

19-Aug-1999
INTEGRATED TRANSPORT
Brooklyn Bridge

22-Jul-1999
The severe winter of 1866 was the catalyst for construction of Brooklyn Bridge across the Hudson River between Manhattan and Brooklyn. Temperatures were so cold that the river froze, paralysing ferries and fuelling calls for a fixed link.
Doing it for themselves

22-Jul-1999
Mounting traffic congestion rather than government policy has led several companies to develop their own integrated transport strategies. A year after the government's New Deal for Transport White Paper, NCE looks at three who are taking on themselves to
Kvaerner ditches PFI investments

22-Jul-1999
KVAERNER THIS week cashed in all of its investments in privately financed infrastructure projects for £80M.
Mont Blanc tunnel fire repairs estimated to cost £130M

15-Jul-1999
NEWS
American dream

18-Jun-1999
Much of America's Route 66 has been bypassed, but its mystique lives on. Andrew Bolton reports.
Atkins' transport profits shrug off slow spending

17-Jun-1999
WS ATKINS' transport consultancy business increased profits last year despite slow spending from key clients in the first half, according to results published this week.
Adrenalin rush

10-Jun-1999
2000 years of CIVIL ENGINEERING Roller coasters are one of the main reasons why most people go to amusement parks. They are also engineering works of art.
Second bore to be built alongside fire hit Tauern tunnel

10-Jun-1999
NEWS
CIVIL ENGINEERING

3-Jun-1999
Canal du Midi
For the love of the road

3-Jun-1999
ANALYSIS
Second URS buy creates UK stronghold

1-Jun-1999
CONSULTANT DAMES & Moore looks set to be taken over by US consulting giant URS. Last month's proposed buyout for £368M will further bolster URS' presence in the UK, with the addition of an extra 250 UK-based staff.
The Colosseum

20-May-1999
ANALYSIS
Transport is consolation prize for Liddell

20-May-1999
LABOUR THIS WEEK changed transport ministers for the second time in less than a year following the promotion of John Reid to Scottish Secretary.
Pont de Neuilly

13-May-1999
Construction and design of masonry arch bridges reached something of a zenith in 18th century France with Jean-Rudolphe Perronet's Pont de Neuilly across the Seine on the outskirts of Paris.
US merger to create new top 30 consultant

13-May-1999
UNITED STATES consulting giant URS last week further increased its presence in Britain after agreeing to buy Los Angeles-based consultant Dames & Moore for £368M.
... and restructures to cope with extra load

6-May-1999
THE HIGHWAYS Agency is recruiting 100 staff to cope with extra work resulting from new starts, the detrunking of strategic routes and the Government's integrated transport policy.
Smoke fans 'fed Mont Blanc fire'

15-Apr-1999
A DECISION to reverse smoke extractors inside the Mont Blanc tunnel soon after fire broke out contributed to the intensity of the blaze which killed 41 people, according to the preliminary report on the disaster published on Tuesday.
British buy provides URS market springboard

1-Mar-1999
AMERICAN CONSULTANT URS plans to double the size of British-based Thorburn Colquhoun's business after buying the firm last month.
Three Mile Island

25-Feb-1999
Next month sees the 20th anniversary of the accident at the Three Mile Island Number 2 nuclear power reactor in Pennsylvania. The accident on 28 March 1979 was nowhere near as severe as the explosion and meltdown at Chernobyl in 1986, but it came close. It also had a major impact on the public perception of the safety of nuclear power.
Gearing revolution

11-Feb-1999
Doubling bicycle use by 2004 and increasing motorcycling are vital parts of the Government's integrated transport strategy. NCE looks at the problems facing potential cyclists, and asks whether pro-bike policies are giving pedestrians a raw deal.
Hagia Sophia

11-Feb-1999
Structural engineers have spent much of the last 14 centuries in awe of the Hagia Sophia church built by the Romans on a hill overlooking the Turkish capital Istanbul - then known as Byzantium, eastern capital of the Roman Empire. Emperor Justinian and his designers Anthemius and Isidorus won their place in engineering history with their bold use of semi-domes flanking an innovative main dome structure to increase the column-free space below. Between them the dome and semi-domes create ...
US giant URS takes over Thorburn Colquhoun

4-Feb-1999
AMERICAN CONSULTANT URS plans to double the size of Thorburn Colquhoun's British-based business after buying the firm this week.
Eddystone Lighthouse

21-Jan-1999
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Water over the bridge

7-Jan-1999
Among the earliest projects of the last 2,000 years was the Roman aqueduct built in the Spanish town of Segovia in the first century AD.
UK firms merge to create global construction giant

1-Jan-1999
UK FIRMS WS ATKINS and Bovis are planning a merger to create a $3.35bn a year, global, one-stop-shop construction services business.
Profile

10-Dec-1998
Tim Thirlwall & Mike Blackburn Mott MacDonald chairman and managing director.
Atkins share top up in Bovis buy

3-Dec-1998
CONSULTANT WS ATKINS is expected to offer 14% of its shares to Bovis parent P&O to avoid financing the 330M takeover of the management contractor with a rights issue, one City analyst said this week.
Can Atkins pull off its union with Bovis? WS Atkins' efforts to absorb Bovis will depend on its ability to fuse the two businesses into a one stop construction management consultancy.

3-Dec-1998
When WS Atkins confirmed last week that it was negotiating a takeover of construction manager Bovis, the consultant's share price plummeted from 602p to 495p in two days.
Atkins and Bovis link to create global force

26-Nov-1998
WS ATKINS and Bovis are planning a merger to create a 2bn a year, global, one-stop shop construction services business.
Profile

26-Nov-1998
Louise Williams
Profile

26-Nov-1998
Louise Williams
Profile

26-Nov-1998
Louise Williams
Profile

26-Nov-1998
Louise Williams
CLASSROOM DISRUPTION

19-Nov-1998
CLASSROOM DISRUPTION caused by noisy construction work could lead to financial penalties for contractors at Pimlico School in London, Westminster Council said last week.
2 Tate Gallery of Modern Art, London, 130M

5-Nov-1998
Conversion of George Gilbert Scott's Bankside power station on the south bank of the Thames into the Tate Gallery's biggest exhibition space is running to time and budget, according to Tate Gallery project officer Adrian Hardwick.
CBI lashes parking tax plans

5-Nov-1998
GOVERNMENT PLANS to tax company parking spaces are anti-business and should be scrapped, said business leaders at this week's Confederation of British Industry conference.
Don't close off road

6-Aug-1998
In the last month the Government has set out its heavy presumption against new road construction. This culminated last Friday with the publication of its New deal for trunk roads in England document.
Driving ambition

23-Jul-1998
The success of John Prescott's White Paper will depend in great part on political will at local and national levels. Much will also depend on the common sense of politicians and engineers.
Starting spans A floating crane placed the first deck sections for the cable stay portion of the resund crossing last week.

2-Jul-1998
Work on the 490m span cable stay section of the resund crossing between Denmark and Sweden has passed a crucial milestone. Sundlink Contractors positioned the first main span steel truss section last Thursday and its back span neighbour at the weekend.
Journey time trigger for A13 payment

22-Jan-1998
SHADOW TOLLS will only form a small part of payments to the DBFO consortium that takes on the £143M privately financed A13 road improvement in east London according to Highways Agency proposals published last week.
Unwanted partners Should contractors leave financing to the bankers and stop investing their scarce reserves in Private Finance Initiative projects?

22-Jan-1998
Last week Channel Tunnel Rail Link consortium London & Continental Railways underlined its unique approach to the Private Finance Initiative.
Amec pulls out of PRIME

15-Jan-1998
AMEC HAS pulled out of the Department of Social Security's £4bn PRIME property redevelopment project, the largest private finance initiative scheme to be let, it emerged this week.
Consultants reel as Asian meltdown hits jobs

15-Jan-1998
ECONOMIC TURMOIL in South East Asia is forcing British consultants to repatriate staff rapidly as infrastructure projects are axed and fears grow that fees will not be paid.
PFI hospital deal beats delays at last

15-Jan-1998
DISPUTE OVER the liability for unforeseen building regulation changes on the privately financed Norfolk & Norwich hospital emerged as the latest cause of delay before the concession was signed on Monday.
Accounting rules raise PFI risks

8-Jan-1998
CONTRACTORS COULD be forced to take extra risk on future Private Finance Initiative projects if new proposals set out by the Accounting Standards Board are accepted.
resund struggles with pylon problems

8-Jan-1998
CONCRETE CRACKS have caused a three month delay to work on one of the cable stay bridge pylons for the £2bn resund crossing between Denmark and Sweden.

NCE FOR IN DEPTH NEWS AND FEATURES ON MAJOR PROJECTS

New Civil EngineerAndrew Bolton

New Civil Engineer
Andrew Bolton