New Civil Engineer
Dave Parker

SOFT TOUCH

4-Jul-2006
GEOTECHNICS OF TRANSPORT
Tower topper

11-May-2006
Structures - A new Merseyside landmark is gradually being unveiled. Dave Parker reports from Liverpool.
British engineers killed in Bahrain boat tragedy

1-May-2006
ENGINEERS FROM the UK and South Africa were among the 57 people killed in a pleasure boat disaster in Bahrain last month.
Lessons written in fire

1-May-2006
Analysis - Torre Windsor report
Foss Dyke saga

13-Apr-2006
Geotechnics - Network Rail is tackling a serious scour problem on Britain's oldest canal. Dave Parker reports.
British engineers killed in Bahrain boat tragedy

6-Apr-2006
News
Foulkes: ICE design competitions unnecessary

6-Apr-2006
News
More roof flaws exposed at Scottish Parliament

6-Apr-2006
News
Concrete transformers

1-Apr-2006
Precast systems - Versatility is the watchword for a new precast concrete system.Dave Parker finds out more.
Design freedoms to follow new fire guidance

1-Apr-2006
News
Relative values of form and function

1-Apr-2006
Bridges - Has the recent fashion for 'iconic' bridges compromised the professionalism of bridge designers?
Room service

1-Apr-2006
Radiation shielding - Massive high density concrete chambers are nearing completion beneath a new hospital project in Leeds.Dave Parker investigates.
Expert blasts government on fire testing

30-Mar-2006
THE GOVERNMENT is 'sticking its head in the sand' over the pressing need for more full scale fire testing, a leading structural researcher said this week.
Bolt installation blamed for Holyrood beam failure

23-Mar-2006
News
RIBA stranglehold on bridge competitions challenged

23-Mar-2006
News
Holyrood strut: tension failure almost certain

16-Mar-2006
News
Lessons written in fire

16-Mar-2006
Torre Windsor report - What does the official report into Madrid's Torre Windsor fire reveal?
Air fanned flames of Torre Windsor fire, says report

9-Mar-2006
News
Load reversal suspected in loose Scottish Parliament roof strut scare

9-Mar-2006
News
Relative values of form and function

9-Mar-2006
Bridges - Has the recent fashion for 'iconic' bridges compromised the professionalism of bridge designers?
Atkins to set up nuclear decommissioning academy

2-Mar-2006
News
Calatrava bridge concerns force early inspection

2-Mar-2006
News
Crash course

1-Mar-2006
Highways Road safety
Glue decay likely cause of German ice rink collapse

1-Mar-2006
ADHESIVE FAILURE is now the prime suspect in the collapse of an ice rink roof in Germany in January, sources close to the investigation have told NCEI.
Concrete transformers

16-Feb-2006
Precast systems - Versatility is the watchword for a new precast concrete system.Dave Parker finds out more.
WWII bunkers to house new fire testing facility

16-Feb-2006
News
Design freedoms to follow new fire guidance

9-Feb-2006
News
Outdated loading codes triggered Polish collapse

2-Feb-2006
News
Safety training to be part of IStructE membership preparation

2-Feb-2006
News
Box beam failure blamed for ice rink collapse

1-Feb-2006
News
Stabilising the sleech

1-Feb-2006
Soft ground City centre sites are rarely straightforward to the foundation engineer. Dave Parker reports from Northern Ireland.
Solar gain weakens troubled car park beams

26-Jan-2006
News
Glue decay likely cause of German ice rink collapse

19-Jan-2006
News
Box beam failure blamed for ice rink collapse

12-Jan-2006
News
Car park safety fears trigger shopping centre closure

8-Dec-2005
A £200M SHOPPING complex in Bournemouth is being closed indefinetlely after continuing safety problems with its car parking structure this week triggered a major hunt for possible lapses in quality management.
Front runners

8-Dec-2005
Roads - Early contractor involvement can have a major impact on road schemes of all sizes and complexity.Dave Parker reports from Norfolk.
Clyde Tunnel relining runs 12 months late

1-Dec-2005
News
Cold calling

1-Dec-2005
Bridges - High above a tidal strait some challenging concrete construction is well under way. Dave Parker reports from north Kent in the UK.
Engineer sought revenge killings, claims QC

1-Dec-2005
A WORLD renowned geotechnical engineer was bent on revenge when he attempted to hire an assassin to kill three Egyptian ministers, an Old Bailey jury heard on Tuesday.
Heading for the top

17-Nov-2005
Working lives - Young structural engineer of the year Sally Preston is ambitious and thrives on complex problems with tight deadlines. She spoke to Dave Parker.
Stabilising the sleech

17-Nov-2005
Victoria Square City centre sites are rarely straightforward to the foundation engineer. Dave Parker reports from Northern Ireland.
Concrete design suffers from Cardington closure

10-Nov-2005
NEWS
Why we need Cardington

10-Nov-2005
Comment
Cold calling

3-Nov-2005
High above a tidal strait some challenging concrete construction is well under way. Dave Parker reports from north Kent.
A runway success

1-Nov-2005
Concrete engineering - Concrete paving technology is being pushed to new limits on Heathrow Airport's massive Terminal 5 project.Dave Parker reports on progress
All this work is just the start

1-Nov-2005
9/11 terror attack Can engineers really design for a 9/11 style attack on steel framed buildings- Dave Parker reports.
WTC investigators resist call for collapse visualisation

1-Nov-2005
News
Calls to reopen Cardington for post 9/11 fire tests rejected

27-Oct-2005
News
Gerrards Cross failure sparks precast arch tests

27-Oct-2005
News
Building of super-light 'plastic' bridge starts

20-Oct-2005
News
TfL set to seek bids for Battersea Bridge repair

13-Oct-2005
News
Humble hosepipe plays vital role at Heathrow car park

1-Oct-2005
PERFORATED GARDEN hoses were used to solve a load transfer problem on BAA's new £50M multistorey car park at Heathrow Airport last month (GE August 2005).
Stress factor

1-Oct-2005
Bridges - A tricky post tensioning operation is about to start above one of the busiest river crossings in Europe. Dave Parker reports from Glasgow.
Ventilation system praised for averting CTRL fire disaster

1-Oct-2005
News
Cracks prompt warning on structural steel

29-Sep-2005
News
Garden hoses ease BAA load transfer challenge

8-Sep-2005
News
New age thinking

8-Sep-2005
Modern updates of traditional construction methods can produce buildings which are both green and super efficient.Dave Parker reports from the Kent coast.
Ventilation system praised for averting CTRL fire disaster

1-Sep-2005
News
Stress factor

18-Aug-2005
Bridges - A tricky post tensioning operation is about to start above one of the busiest river crossings in Europe.Dave Parker reports from Glasgow.
Masonry deaths trigger Scottish safety trial

4-Aug-2005
News
'Unaware' engineers risk specifying wrong product

4-Aug-2005
News
Cause and effect

1-Aug-2005
WTC - Sweeping recommendations from the US team investigating the Twin Towers tragedy could have a lasting influence on codes and building technology worldwide.Dave Parker reports.
Freedom Tower to be world's safest

1-Aug-2005
ALL KEY NIST recommendations have been included in the design of New York's controversial Freedom Tower, making it the safest megatower ever built, its developer has claimed.
Revolutionary deck strengthening project reaches critical stage

28-Jul-2005
News
Cause and effect

7-Jul-2005
Sweeping recommendations from the US team investigating the Twin Towers tragedy could have a lasting influence on codes and building technology worldwide.Dave Parker reports.
Smoke control failure blamed for FrÚjus tunnel deaths

1-Jul-2005
News
Freedom Tower to be world's safest

30-Jun-2005
News
Kincardine bridge gets go ahead

23-Jun-2005
NEWS
Civils fear 9/11 report will stifle fi re engineering

16-Jun-2005
News
Madrid tower designer blames missing fire protection for collapse

2-Jun-2005
News
Sandberg to test structural bamboo

1-Jun-2005
News
World tunnel authorities to embrace sprinklers and foam

1-Jun-2005
News
Health & Safety - Cross pollination

26-May-2005
Confidential reporting - After 11 years of tortuous development, the construction industry's fi rst confidential reporting system goes on trial next month.Dave Parker reports.
Tunnelling faces crisis as insurers threaten to pull cover

26-May-2005
News
HSE under fire over 'co-ordinators' plan

12-May-2005
News
Sandberg to test structural bamboo prototype

12-May-2005
News
World tunnel authorities to embrace sprinklers and foam

5-May-2005
News
Lateral thinking

28-Apr-2005
A medieval toilet block is posing a tricky challenge for access contractors. Dave Parker reports from the Welsh Borders.
Paris collapse exposes UK design check flaws

28-Apr-2005
News
Breaking the Saigon code

1-Apr-2005
Fire engineering is still an alien concept in many parts of the world. Dave Parker reports on one project where local suspicions were overcome.
Collapsed terminal raises punching shear questions for French

1-Apr-2005
News
Swede dreams

1-Apr-2005
One of Europe's longest road bridges has been under repair for nearly 15 years. Dave Parker reports from the shores of the Baltic, where robots have been at work.
A finite benefit

10-Mar-2005
Finite element analysis is still a developing technique. Are we getting too dependent on it, asks Dave Parker.
Soane to head CROSS reporting scheme

3-Mar-2005
News
Sizing up the challenge

1-Mar-2005
Tunnelling - Record breakers
Collapsed terminal raises punching shear questions for French

24-Feb-2005
News
Tall buildings - Beating the heat

24-Feb-2005
Fire engineering - While the final official World Trade Center report remains unpublished, Dave Parker reports on a team developing its own fire engineering solutions.
Vietnam Breaking the Saigon code

24-Feb-2005
Fire engineering - Fire engineering is still an alien concept in many parts of the world. Dave Parker reports on one project where local suspicions were overcome.
Conservation movement

17-Feb-2005
Concrete conservation - Dave Parker opens NCE's special feature with a look at some of the issues confronting the concrete industry.
Hydrodemolition Swede dreams

17-Feb-2005
Concrete conservation - One of Europe's longest road bridges has been under repair for nearly 15 years. Dave Parker reports from the shores of the Baltic, where robots have been at work.
Sizing up the challenge

3-Feb-2005
Tunnelling
Breaking the Saigon code

1-Feb-2005
Fire engineering is still an alien concept in many parts of the world. Dave Parker reports on one project where local suspicions were overcome.
California drops Oakland megaspan

1-Feb-2005
News
Warning systems not enough to stop future tsunami deaths

1-Feb-2005
News
Baldock Bypass Life begins at fifty

27-Jan-2005
Highways - More than 50 years since it was conceived, a Hertfordshire bypass is at last taking shape. Dave Parker reports from Baldock.
Clients demand Lafarge cement warranties

27-Jan-2005
News
Lafarge admits to faking cement alkali tests

20-Jan-2005
News
Warning systems not enough to stop future tsunami deaths

6-Jan-2005
News
Fir exchange

1-Jan-2005
Structures Timber engineering
Major structures face new AAR threat

1-Jan-2005
BRIDGES, DAMS, tunnels and other major structures around the world are threatened by the return of 'concrete cancer', a leading specialist has claimed.
California drops Oakland megaspan

17-Dec-2004
A CONCRETE viaduct could replace the controversial 'signature' single tower selfanchored suspension span (SAS) on California's Oakland Bay Bridge project, officials announced last week.
Superstore collapse risk triggers fire fighter boycott

17-Dec-2004
OWNERS OF steel framed superstores and warehouses this week were facing an increased risk of major stock damage after fire fighters threatened to stay out of their premises during blazes.
Tuned mass dampers could give answer to Oakland Bay Bridge crisis

1-Dec-2004
News
Major structures face new concrete cancer threat

18-Nov-2004
News
A novel solution

11-Nov-2004
A new Cambridge library is a showcase for timber engineering.Dave Parker reports.
East Anglia barrier trial aims to stop zig zaggers

11-Nov-2004
News
Growing interest

11-Nov-2004
A showcase for Scottish home grown timber is taking shape on the Firth of Forth. Dave Parker reports from Aberlady.
Undetected sulphates blamed for A10 heave

11-Nov-2004
News
Eye Five

4-Nov-2004
Rail Stations
Concrete cancer kills bridge

28-Oct-2004
A once-controversial Scottish bridge is one of the few UK structures to be demolished as a result of untreatable 'concrete cancer'. Dave Parker reports.
Funds vital if UK is to meet EU energy directive

21-Oct-2004
News
Oakland Bay bridge needs simpler towers

7-Oct-2004
News
Energy inefficient buildings face public shaming

30-Sep-2004
News
Steel price spiral threatens Oakland Bay Bridge work

30-Sep-2004
News
Tests cast doubt on original WTC fire spec

2-Sep-2004
FIRE TESTS on the floor truss design used on the World Trade Center's (WTC) twin towers last week cast doubts on the original fireproofing specification They showed that the thickness of fire protection in the original design would have given only half the specified two hour fire resistance.
Concrete - Viewing point

1-Sep-2004
New Concrete Engineering Queen Victoria Street - Post-tensioned flat slab construction was the preferred option for a landmark City of London building - for very good reasons. Dave Parker reports.
Hamza bailed to await trial on charge of soliciting murders

1-Sep-2004
NEWS
Structures Concrete sprouts in Brussels

1-Sep-2004
New Concrete EngineeringBrussels is in the middle of an office building boom - but most of the multistorey towers have precast concrete frames. Dave Parker finds out why.
TROUBLE MAKERS TAMED

1-Sep-2004
UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTION - A pair of problem 180year-old rail tunnels in south east England should soon be safe and waterproof at last, thanks to some innovative technology.Dave Parker reports.
Arup hits back at Diana fountain critics

5-Aug-2004
PRINCESS DIANA Memorial Fountain engineer Arup this week hit back strongly at critics of the £3.6M memorial, which has been closed since three tourists paddling in the water slipped and hurt themselves.
Cracking good idea

5-Aug-2004
Airports Heathrow runway
Engineers 'astonished' by Paris airport verdict

1-Aug-2004
News
Alexandria Library engineer charged with soliciting murder

29-Jul-2004
News
Time is slipping away

29-Jul-2004
Structural design - Eurocodes
Ultra-thin road toppings to get full scale trials

29-Jul-2004
News
A prize that's cement for all

22-Jul-2004
Concrete Restoration
Chance to test alternative trackbeds 'ignored'

22-Jul-2004
NETWORK RAIL has missed a golden opportunity to test out an alternative trackbed system that could slash the cost of rail renewals, a leading rail consultant said this week.
Designers face massive costs as Eurocodes loom

22-Jul-2004
SWITCHING TO the structural Eurocodes will cost design consultancies millions of pounds, which they are unlikely ever to recover in fees, a report from the Institution of Structural Engineers claimed this week.
No health risk from Rugby cement works, says report

15-Jul-2004
CONSULTANTS THIS week cleared RMC's controversial Rugby cement works of putting local residents' health at risk.
The powers that be

15-Jul-2004
Energy Hydrogen power
Engineers 'astonished' by Paris airport verdict

8-Jul-2004
News
Mines a double

8-Jul-2004
Rail - Tunnelling
Repairers test their mettle

8-Jul-2004
Bridges Refurbishment
Agency to permit use of industrial waste in roads

1-Jul-2004
News
Concrete gets competitive as steel prices rocket

17-Jun-2004
News
Contractors race to replace Wadesmill black top

10-Jun-2004
News
Interior photos shed new light on cause of airport collapse

10-Jun-2004
News
Lime stabilisation layer suspected in case of buckling bypass

1-Apr-2004
INVESTIGATIONS INTO heave that badly damaged a new 7.5km bypass in Hertfordshire were continuing as GE went to press.
25% of A10 hit by sulphide attack

25-Mar-2004
INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUED this week into the heave that has left up to 25% of the new carriageways on the 7.5km A10 Wadesmill bypass buckled, cracked and ridged.
Fears for cantilever stairs after collapse

25-Mar-2004
CANTILEVER STONE stair cases in 60 Grade 1 listed buildings at London's Bedford Square could be in danger of collapse, a structures consultant warned this week.
'Tractor and plough' companies lack stabilisation skills

18-Mar-2004
News
Hertfordshire bypass heaves under sulphate attack

11-Mar-2004
SULPHATE ATTACK on the lime-stabilised capping layer below the dual carriageways of the 7.5km Wadesmill Bypass in Hertfordshire was this week threatening to delay its opening.
Innovation awards

4-Mar-2004
Events Civils 2004 27-29 April NEC Birmingham
Moscow roof probably buckled under snow loading, engineers say

19-Feb-2004
News
Nethercot to set strategy for avoiding Eurocode chaos

5-Feb-2004
News
Smooth operators

1-Feb-2004
T5 Concrete
Special branch

1-Feb-2004
T5 Buildings
The Big Lift

1-Feb-2004
T5 Buildings
Thames Gateway Bridge faces design restrictions

15-Jan-2004
BIDDERS FOR East London's £450M privately financed Thames Gateway Bridge face tight restrictions on design changes because of planning constraints, the project's engineers said this week.
Academics row over flat slab design codes

11-Dec-2003
ACADEMICS THIS week clashed with safety officials over claims that current concrete design codes leave flat slab structures vulnerable to progressive collapse triggered by punching shear failure.
Design codes leave risk of partial progressive slab collapse - HSE

4-Dec-2003
PROGRESSIVE COLLAPSE triggered by punching shear failure in flat concrete slabs is a real risk under current design codes, according to a report published by the Health & Safety Executive last week.
Stress alleviation

4-Dec-2003
A spectacular Scottish linkspan bridge has pushed structural analysis to its limits. Dave Parker reports on the software that solved the problem.
Usual suspects down the drain

4-Dec-2003
Computer simulations showed that increasingly severe flooding in Buenos Aires was due not to global warming but inadequate drainage, reports Dave Parker.
Demolition trigger suspect in Sheffield wall collapse

1-Dec-2003
NEWS
Pleasant valley someday

1-Dec-2003
Concrete
Heavier Cleddau Bridge passes storm test

20-Nov-2003
CLEDDAU BRIDGE at Milford Haven last week came through the first major test of its tuned mass damper since recent strengthening and resurfacing work to its steel box girder structure.
Rock fans uncover town hall floor faults

20-Nov-2003
HIDDEN DEFECTS in the 150 year old auditorium floor of Leeds town hall may have caused the excessive movement that led to the abandonment of a rock concert two weeks ago, NCE has learnt this week.
Take it from the top

20-Nov-2003
Waterways: Kennet and Avon aqueduct
Factory demolition cited in retaining wall collapse

6-Nov-2003
DEMOLITION of a derelict factory at the foot of a retaining wall in Sheffield has this week emerged as the probable cause of the wall's collapse, which has left buildings at risk and hundreds of students temporarily homeless.
Model answers

1-Nov-2003
Water Buenos Aires flooding
Surfacing trial aims for smoother box girder ride

23-Oct-2003
EUROPEAN BRIDGE surfacing technology designed to improve ride quality on box girder bridges is being put to the test on a British bridge for the first time.
Glasgow tower bearing replacement begins

1-Oct-2003
BEARING REPLACEMENT has begun on Glasgow's controversial Science Centre Tower, main contractor Carillion has confirmed.
Mass movement

1-Oct-2003
Concrete Heathrow T5
Booming Cambridge mulls over bold transport plan

25-Sep-2003
A RADICAL £530M combination of guided busways, congestion charging and orbital roads is the best future for transport in Cambridge, an influential thinktank said this week.
Fixed Glasgow Science Centre tower set for trial rotation

25-Sep-2003
BEARING REPLACEMENT on Glasgow's troubled Science Centre tower is nearing completion, with the long-closed £8.5M structure due to make its first trial rotation early next month.
Mass appeal

4-Sep-2003
Concrete Thermal mass
Steely resolve

4-Sep-2003
Concrete Terminal 5
Taking concrete forward

4-Sep-2003
This latest NCE concrete supplement marks a turning point for the UK concrete industry. For the first time for many years a single organisation will be acting as the focus for all advisory, promotion and marketing activity.
University challenge

4-Sep-2003
Concrete Cornwall university
Glasgow tower bearing replacement begins

21-Aug-2003
BEARING REPLACEMENT has begun on Glasgow's controversial Science Centre Tower, main contractor Carillion confirmed this week.
A star to inspire the profession

7-Aug-2003
Obituary: Tony Fitzpatrick
New style track could signal end of hot weather delays

7-Aug-2003
TRAILS BEGIN next month on a revolutionary trackbed system that could eliminate speed restrictions on fast rail routes in hot weather.
Soffit spalling threatens burnt out London tower

7-Aug-2003
SEVERE SOFFIT spalling on fire damaged floors is the biggest threat to the stability of the London tower block hit by a freak falsework blaze two weeks ago, it emerged this week.
Shopping for a bargain

1-Aug-2003
Roads Ireland
Codes of conduct

24-Jul-2003
Comment
Formwork fire puts London tower block at risk

24-Jul-2003
ENGINEERS WERE this week deciding whether fire damage to an 11 storey tower block under construction in London's Docklands will result in its partial demolition.
Risk takes centre stage

24-Jul-2003
Safety SCOSS report
Asbestos threat to PI cover

17-Jul-2003
INSURERS ARE expected to drop professional indemnity (PI) cover for engineers involved in asbestos related work in 2004, the Association of Consulting Engineers warned this week.
SCOSS calls for falsework overhaul

17-Jul-2003
FALSEWORK DISASTERS are inevitable unless the whole system of falsework design and construction is radically revised, engineers are expected to warn tomorrow.
Speed limits stay as M6 humps worsen

1-Jul-2003
UNEXPECTEDLY RAPID mining subsidence forced the Highways Agency to extend emergency speed limits on the M6 in the Midlands last month.
Quiet revolution

19-Jun-2003
Roads: Skidding
Shopping for a bargain

19-Jun-2003
Roads: Lisburn interchange
Mining ripples keep M6 speed limit in force

12-Jun-2003
UNEXPECTEDLY RAPID mining subsidence has forced the Highways Agency to extend emergency speed limits on the M6 in the Midlands, officials admitted this week.
Timber engineering Introduction

5-Jun-2003
Six very different structural timber projects feature in NCE's wood. for good supplement this year. In each case, engineered timber was the structural material of choice for several different reasons: outstanding strength to weight ratio, excellent performance in fire, ease of maintenance, cost effectiveness, even historical resonance. But for each project there was one key factor that gave one of the modern ranges of sophisticated timber products the edge.
Traditional flavour

5-Jun-2003
Timber engineering Norwich Cathedral
European health directive to trigger cement price hike

1-Jun-2003
CEMENT PRODUCERS have warned that their prices will rise late next year as new European health and safety regulations begin to bite.
European health directive to trigger cement price hike

15-May-2003
CEMENT PRODUCERS this week warned that their prices would rise late next year as new European health and safety regulations begin to bite.
University challenge

15-May-2003
No city centre museum ever has enough floor space. Dave Parker went to Cambridge to see the Fitzwilliam's £12M solution.
Flying into Zagreb

1-May-2003
Bridges Domovinski Most
Flying into Zagreb

3-Apr-2003
Cover story: Bridges
Scarborough drags feet over report

3-Apr-2003
SCARBOROUGH Borough Council this week appeared to be dragging its feet over requests to make public a vital report on controversial plans to build sea defences along its promenade.
Targets sought for aggregate recycling

3-Apr-2003
GOVERNMENT EFFORTS to encourage aggregate recycling are being undermined by a failure to set targets, materials producers said this week.
New York takes UK code on progressive collapse

1-Apr-2003
NEW YORK structural engineers are set to adopt UK building regulations to guard against progressive and disproportional collapse if the recommendations of a report into the World Trade Center collapse are adopted.
Tallest tower for WTC site

1-Apr-2003
STEEL DIAGRIDS and concreteencased steel framed lift cores are to be key features of the reborn World Trade Center in Manhattan, structural engineer Arup has revealed.
Keep talking

27-Mar-2003
Comment
Engineer in Scarborough sea defences row did not see vital technical report

20-Mar-2003
VITAL RESEARCH into sea defence designs for Scarborough was not shown to the engineer who has led criticism of the project, it emerged this week.
Glasgow tower faces months more closure

20-Mar-2003
GLASGOW'S TROUBLED Science Centre tower will remain closed for several more months until main contractor Carillion installs a completely new type of main bearing, NCE learned this week.
Arup to design new World Trade Center

6-Mar-2003
STEEL DIAGRIDS and concreteencased steel framed lift cores are set to be key features of the reborn World Trade Center in Manhattan, structural engineer Arup revealed this week.
Self certification warning to consultants

1-Mar-2003
ICE news
Structural strength saved Pentagon lives on 9/11

1-Mar-2003
HELICALLY WOUND column reinforcement helped limit the death toll during the terrorist attack on the Pentagon on 11 September 2001, according to the first official report into the disaster.
Tape wrap beefs up bridge beams

1-Mar-2003
RESEARCHERS AT the UK's Cambridge University are developing a new form of bridge strengthening technique which should offer a more convenient alternative to traditional steel plate reinforcement.
New York backs UK codes to curb progressive collapse

27-Feb-2003
NEW YORK structural engineers are set to adopt UK building regulations to guard against progressive and disproportional collapse if the recommendations of a new report into the World Trade Center collapse are adopted.
Braced steel frame system gives skyscrapers new life

20-Feb-2003
ENGINEERS HAVE developed ductile, energy absorbing steel frames for a new generation of residential skyscrapers capable of withstanding massive trauma.
Engineers row erupts over Scarborough wave wall plan

20-Feb-2003
A BITTER technical dispute over the need for a controversial new wave wall on a Yorkshire promenade continued to rage this week, despite attempts at mediation by the local MP.
A 10 out of 10 for patience

13-Feb-2003
Cover story Roads
Angles on the Pentagon

13-Feb-2003
Comment
Structural strength saved Pentagon lives on 9/11

13-Feb-2003
HELICALLY WOUND column reinforcement helped limit the death toll during the terrorist attack on the Pentagon on 11 September 2001, according to the first official report into the disaster.
Self certification would mean unpaid work for consultants

6-Feb-2003
CONSULTANTS COULD end up doing extra work for no more money if plans to let them self certify designs for Building Regulations compliance go ahead, the Association of Consulting Engineers (ACE) warned this week.
ICE/IStructE to trial confidential defect reporting scheme

1-Feb-2003
ICE news
Code questions

30-Jan-2003
Cover story: Weather
Steel eating bugs plague British ports and harbours

30-Jan-2003
STEEL-EATING BUGS are attacking harbour walls and piles in ports across the UK, according to a new survey obtained this week by NCE.
Tape wrap to strengthen bridge beams

30-Jan-2003
RESEARCHERS AT Cambridge University are developing a new form of bridge strengthening technique which should offer bridge owners a more convenient alternative to traditional steel plate reinforcement.
'Too small' thrust bearing leaves Glasgow tower facing major work

30-Jan-2003
GLASGOW'S TROUBLED Science Centre Tower is expected to undergo major modifications to its base after engineers decided that the original failed thrust bearing enabling it to face into the wind was too small.
Pollution fund shields Luton from M1 surface noise

16-Jan-2003
WORK STARTED this week on £2.6M of noise barriers next to a 3km hot rolled asphalt surfaced section of the M1 motorway at Luton, Bedfordshire.
Brighton's West Pier too unstable to fix

2-Jan-2003
EMERGENCY INSPECTION of Brighton's sagging Grade I listed West Pier over the weekend have revealed that the 1916 Concert Hall is now too unstable to save, NCE has been told.
Harbour masterpiece

2-Jan-2003
Torbay harbour
Securing our heritage

2-Jan-2003
Comment
Art of the possible

1-Jan-2003
Structures Scottish Gallery
Football clubs resist crowd induced movement testing

5-Dec-2002
FOOTBALL CLUBS are resisting pressure to have their stadiums checked for signs of excessive crowd induced movement during matches or pop concerts, the Football Licencing Authority (FLA) said this week.
Media mix

1-Dec-2002
Concrete Newport Theatre
Recycling aggregates: France

28-Nov-2002
One of France's biggest road contractors is taking a pragmatic approach to recycling.
Stiffest asphalts face extended ban

28-Nov-2002
ULTRA STIFF high modulus base asphalts (HMBs) will stay banned for at least another 18 months, the Highways Agency confirmed this week.
Temporary solution will reopen troubled Glasgow tower

28-Nov-2002
CONTRACTORS STRUGGLING to repair the failed main bearing that has kept the troubled £8.5M Glasgow Science Centre (GSC) tower closed for months are to fit a temporary low friction support pad instead.
Collapse triggers urgent jack arch safety review

20-Nov-2002
THOUSANDS OF historic jack arch structures suffering from chronic dampness could be at risk from sudden catastrophic collapse, claims a report sent to the Standing Committee on Structural Safety (SCOSS) this week.
Fuelling a new way of thinking

19-Nov-2002
Cement
Media mix

19-Nov-2002
Basements
Rising to the challenges

19-Nov-2002
Road bridges
Contractors demolish wind damaged chimney

14-Nov-2002
DEMOLITION OF a wind damaged 1960s concrete chimney was expected to be advanced enough for 300 London families to return home this weekend, council officials said on Monday.
Montreal to scrap fabric roof

1-Nov-2002
MONTREAL OLYMPIC stadium operator RIO is pressing ahead with plans to scrap the 26 year old structure's controversial tensile fabric roof in favour of a more reliable design.
Open road

17-Oct-2002
Steel Overview
Credit where it's due

10-Oct-2002
Comment
UK first as sewage used in cement manufacture

10-Oct-2002
TRIALS OF processed sewage sludge as fuel for cement manufacture begin next week at a works in Staffordshire - a first for the UK.
Highways Agency hits back at M5 criticism

3-Oct-2002
THE HIGHWAYS Agency this week hit back at fierce criticism of the surface quality on the M5's Avonmouth Bridge.
Melted steel baffles WTC7 investigators

1-Oct-2002
MYSTERIOUS 'MELTED' steel fragments recovered from the debris of the World Trade Center disaster are still baffling experts 12 months on, NCEI has learned.
Three way stretch

1-Oct-2002
Bridges Medway
Design codes debate unmoved by UK quake

26-Sep-2002
HORIZONTAL MOTION readings taken during Monday morning's West Midlands earthquake are unlikely to affect the debate over seismic design codes, experts told NCE this week.
Montreal to scrap fabric roof in £25M dispute

26-Sep-2002
MONTREAL OLYMPIC stadium operator RIO is pressing ahead with plans to scrap the 26 year old structure's controversial tensile fabric roof in favour of a more reliable design.
Surface defects persist on Avonmouth Bridge

26-Sep-2002
RECURRING SURFACE defects on the Avonmouth Bridge are still baffling experts more than 12 months after completion of a controversial five year, £125M refurbishment and strengthening operation, NCE has learned.
Glasgow Science Centre counts tower closure cost

12-Sep-2002
GLASGOW'S TROUBLED Science Centre tower will remain closed for several months more as engineers struggle to find a long term solution to bearing problems at its base.
Melted steel baffles WTC7 investigators

12-Sep-2002
MYSTERIOUS 'MELTED' steel fragments recovered from the debris of the World Trade Center disaster are still baffling experts 12 months on, NCE learned this week.
Responding with strength

5-Sep-2002
Cover Story: After 9.11
Will tall buildings ever be the same?

5-Sep-2002
Cover Story: After 9.11
Casting flaws found in failed cast iron beam

22-Aug-2002
ENGINEERS THIS week discovered casting flaws and heavier than normal corrosion in the 19th century cast iron roof beam that failed in London's Bayswater three weeks ago.
Three way stretch

22-Aug-2002
Bridges Medway
Counterweight failure cripples Swedish bridge

1-Aug-2002
SWEDEN'S TWO top contractors have sidelined their dispute over responsibility for the counterweight failure which crippled the country's first double bascule lifting bridge to get the US$20M structure working again.
Industry study for steel joints post 11 September

25-Jul-2002
STEEL CONNECTIONS which can perform better in extreme events are to be investigated by a pan-industry working group, it was revealed last week.
Design for fire, demand new codes

18-Jul-2002
REVISED EUROCODES are expected to require designers of tall concrete framed buildings to use fire engineering for the first time to produce safer structures, it emerged this week.
Hub, Hub and away

18-Jul-2002
Cover story - Transport
Failed Glasgow Tower bearing not corroded

11-Jul-2002
REMOVAL OF the failed bearing which has immobilised Glasgow's troubled £8.5M Wing Tower since March has revealed no visible traces of corrosion damage, main contractor Carillion confirmed this week.
HSE looks to tighten building inspection rules

4-Jul-2002
TOUGHER REGULATIONS covering inspection and maintenance of buildings and structures are being considered by the Health & Safety Executive.
Laing to resurrect Second Severn maintenance monorail

4-Jul-2002
CONTRACTOR JOHN Laing is considering plans to finally bring a failed maintenance monorail beneath the Second Severn Crossing into service - six years after the bridge opened.
Style beats cost in Helsinki bridge design award

1-Jul-2002
A UNIQUE single inclined mast cable stay bridge design has won an international competition for a new crossing in the Finnish capital Helsinki.
Multi-storeys more complex than bridges, says report

27-Jun-2002
News
Alloyed pleasures

20-Jun-2002
Technical feature Aluminium
Counterweight failure cripples Swedish bridge

20-Jun-2002
News
Delayed safety work could have stopped fatal rail bridge crash

20-Jun-2002
News
Weather holds up Wing Tower repairs

20-Jun-2002
News
Messina bridge motives in question

13-Jun-2002
Comment
Style beats cost in Helsinki bridge design award

6-Jun-2002
A UNIQUE single inclined mast cable stay bridge design has won an international competition for a new crossing in the Finnish capital Helsinki.
Pirelli floor beam sag mystery after Milan crash explosion

1-Jun-2002
EXPLODING FUEL tanks are unlikely to have caused structural damage to Milan's Pirelli building, a leading aircraft accident investigator told NCEI.
Steel on the ropes after World Trade Center report

1-Jun-2002
News special
Optimism rules

30-May-2002
Jubilee Materials
The conspiracy theory

9-May-2002
Conspiracy theory junkies will get a major fix from the American Society of Civil Engineers' first report into the World Trade Center disaster:
Fuel tank explosion unlikely to have caused Milan tower beam damage

2-May-2002
News
No cause for complacency over Pirelli disaster

25-Apr-2002
Comment
Time pressure forces Ballingdon bridge repair design changes

25-Apr-2002
News
Going with the flow

1-Apr-2002
Chloride ion attack is still the biggest challenge facing the concrete repair industry. Dave Parker reports on a new answer for one of the UK's worst affected highway structures.
Evidence of design fault could put Glasgow tower on hold for months

14-Mar-2002
NEWS
Failed bearing to blame for Glasgow tower closure

7-Mar-2002
PARTIAL FAILURE of a massive thrust bearing has emerged as the most likely cause of the fault which closed Glasgow's 105m high 'Wing Tower' this week.
Mining subsidence set to cause more traffic chaos on M6

7-Mar-2002
UNEXPECTED SIDE effects of multi-million pound anti-subsidence measures on the M6 could mean many more months of speed restrictions on one of the UK's busiest motorways The Highways Agency confirmed this week that it would have to carry on with a 50mph speed limit imposed between Junctions 3 and 4 in October (NCE 25 October 2001) because ripples are still forming on the road surface, making it dangerously uneven.
Millennium Bridge: the moment of truth

1-Mar-2002
News
Millennium Bridge: the moment of truth

1-Mar-2002
News
Going with the flow

28-Feb-2002
CONCRETE - Midland Links: Chloride ion attack is still the biggest challenge facing the concrete repair industry. Dave Parker reports on a new answer for one of the UK's worst affected highway structures.
Custodian of the lists

14-Feb-2002
HERITAGE ENGINEERING: English Heritage - English Heritage's engineering team has a key role in the protection of the nation's listed buildings and monuments. Dave Parker reports from its Savile Row headquarters.
Facing the future

14-Feb-2002
HERITAGE ENGINEERING: St Pancras Waterpoint - Last November St Pancras Station's last surviving waterpoint was loaded on to transporters and moved to a new home. Dave Parker reports on its reconstruction.
Laws of nature

14-Feb-2002
ROADS: A11 - New roads face an unprecedented range of ecological and environmental challenges. Dave Parker reports from Norfolk, where a £32M project is coming to terms with the current realities.
Safety fears prompt replacement of Nene river lock gates

14-Feb-2002
NEWS
Horror at first hand

1-Feb-2002
News feature 11 September: World Trade Center structural engineer Leslie Robertson spoke in public for only the second time since 11 September, at a UK conference in December. Dave Parker was in the spellbound audience
Composite bridge tests target Maunsell design

10-Jan-2002
NEWS
Horror at first hand

10-Jan-2002
NEWS FEATURE - 11 September: Last month World Trade Center structural engineer Leslie Robertson spoke in public for only the second time since 11 September. Dave Parker was in the spellbound audience.
Role models sought to rival the vets

10-Jan-2002
COMMENT
Problematic piling

13-Dec-2001
Foundations : Chatham Dockyard
US drops plans to cut fire escape capacity

13-Dec-2001
News :
Wobbly bridge opening delayed

6-Dec-2001
NEWS
A mixed blessing

1-Dec-2001
Concrete Admixtures
Steam train waterpoint moves aside for high speed rail link

29-Nov-2001
News
Afghanistan needs appropriate solutions

22-Nov-2001
Comment
Fire protection failure key to towers collapse

15-Nov-2001
News
New legal challenges hold up T5 go-ahead

15-Nov-2001
News
WTC lessons prompt Canary Wharf design changes

15-Nov-2001
News
BAA looks for Terminal 5 concrete savings

1-Nov-2001
NEWS
It's the way they spray it

1-Nov-2001
Tunnelling Sprayed concrete
Arup changes detail of winning Stonecutters Bridge design again

25-Oct-2001
STONECUTTERS BRIDGE designer Arup this week revealed that it had moved even further away from the original design chosen by the Hong Kong Highways Department.
Lifts now key to high rise escape, says designer

25-Oct-2001
MEGATOWER EVACUATION procedures will have to rely more heavily on the use of lifts as a result of last month's World Trade Center (WTC) disaster, a leading tall building designer claimed this week.
Saga of France's Millau Viaduct

18-Oct-2001
COMING UP with a solution to 'the most famous traffic jam in France' has taken more than 14 years, a London meeting heard last week.
Steel beats concrete for Millau Viaduct

18-Oct-2001
STEEL HAS triumphed over concrete in the battle to build key elements of the £200M landmark Millau Viaduct in south east France, it was confirmed last week.
Can engineers save the megatower?

11-Oct-2001
News analysis : Megatowers after WTC
Engineering plan needed for tall tower disasters

11-Oct-2001
News :
Hanging in the balance

1-Oct-2001
Bridges: Tower bridge
Greenfield sight

6-Sep-2001
Roads : Environmental mitigation
Feasibility study for second Mersey crossing

1-Sep-2001
NEWS :
Bridging the design gap

9-Aug-2001
Bridges : Design
Hanging in the balance

9-Aug-2001
Bridges : Cover story
In the beginning

9-Aug-2001
Bridges :
LORD HAVE MERSEY

9-Aug-2001
News
Powers to enforce Tower Bridge traffic limits agreed

9-Aug-2001
News
Steel connector claims to halve frame erection time

1-Aug-2001
News
LU joins rail industry in confidential safety incident reporting network

26-Jul-2001
LONDON UNDERGROUND is to join the rest of the railway industry in a new confidential health and safety reporting system, it was confirmed last week.
Titanium Heavy metal

19-Jul-2001
New technology: Once heralded as a wonder metal, titanium's sky high price has restricted its use to high tech sectors like aerospace. But if its price tumbled, would it revolutionise the construction industry? Dave Parker has his doubts.
Partnership speeds Stansted roads project

12-Jul-2001
NEWS
Poor Eurocode teaching poses safety threat, says SCOSS

5-Jul-2001
NEWS
Steel connector promises to slash erection time by half

5-Jul-2001
NEWS
Tower of strength

5-Jul-2001
REFURBISHMENT: CONCRETE DECAY - When a little-known form of concrete decay threatened the future of a fertiliser plant a challenging and complex refurbishment was launched to save it.
Crisis looms in Israel over use of Pal-Kal floors

1-Jul-2001
ISRAELI BUILDING inspectors face a 'looming crisis' after it became clear that use of the controversial Pal-Kal floor construction system was five times as common as previously thought.
Enter the megatowers

1-Jul-2001
Hong Kong towers
Of mouse and men

28-Jun-2001
SOUTH EAST ASIA: DISNEY - With almost no flat land left in Hong Kong, reclamation on a massive scale was the only option when a new Disneyland was planned. Dave Parker reports from Lantau Island.
Why are we waiting?

28-Jun-2001
COVER STORY: Would Hatfield have happened if a confidential system had been in place for people to report concerns about gauge corner cracking? Why have we not got one?
The drain brain

21-Jun-2001
ROADS: DRAINAGE - Last winter's record rainfall overwhelmed road drainage systems throughout the UK. Dave Parker reports on one man who believes he knows how to get the best out of the existing drainage.
Rail engineer exposes ECML road bridges safety threat

14-Jun-2001
News
Crisis looms in Israel over use of Pal-Kal floor system

7-Jun-2001
ISRAELI BUILDING inspectors face a 'looming crisis' after it became clear this week that use of the controversial Pal-Kal floor construction system was five times as common as previously thought.
Bridges - Conference report

1-Jun-2001
Crossing expertise Feng Shui and how it can influence bridge design was just one of the topics discussed at a recent bridge conference in Hong Kong
Jerusalem collapse prompts floor reinforcement probe

31-May-2001
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS in Israel were warned five years ago that the type of floor which collapsed causing Jerusalem's wedding day tragedy last week did not comply with design standards.
More skyscrapers? But how will we get to them?

24-May-2001
Letters
Reach for the sky

17-May-2001
By 2006 Hong Kong harbour will have two towering 'gateposts', each more than 400m tall. Dave Parker reports.
Sprinkler failure likely cause of Taiwan inferno

17-May-2001
SPRINKLER FAILURE has emerged as the most likely cause of a 42 hour blaze in a high rise Taiwanese office development last weekend.
SRA cool on Liverpool-Heathrow train link plan

17-May-2001
PLANS FOR a new 650km high speed passenger rail link between Liverpool and Heathrow Airport this week met with a cool reception from the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA).
The chipmunk conundrum

10-May-2001
When you were a child, did someone shove a chipmunk down your trousers? Or a squirrel/ ferret/rat/gerbil/other small furry animal with sharp teeth? Did it bite you, painfully but not seriously, on some sensitive part of your intimate anatomy? No? Me neither. I ask only in a spirit of simple enquiry after reading the latest novel by Carl Hiaasen.
Court in the act

26-Apr-2001
A new London landmark was created when the British Museum's Queen Elizabeth II Great Court opened at the end of last year. The transformation posed special challenges and the result is an acknowledged triumph, the largest covered public space in Europe. D
New ideas put to the test

29-Mar-2001
Research on the European Concrete Building Project is due to finish this year - but developers are beginning to apply the key lessons already learnt. Dave Parker reports from one London development where the Cardington influence is already visible.
Cardington crash tests dummy building

22-Mar-2001
ENGINEERS AT BRE's Cardington research laboratory last week simulated the effects of a lorry knocking out a load bearing column at the corner of a seven-storey concrete framed building.
Quay changes

22-Mar-2001
An unlikely alliance between a pottery and harbour commissioners is creating a new haven for south coast sailors. Dave Parker reports from Europe's largest natural harbour.
Access problems delay work on Ballingdon Bridge

15-Mar-2001
MULTIPLE PROBLEMS with access and services have delayed, by at least five months, construction of the UK's first road bridge to be procured via a design competition.
Highways Agency in stainless steel rebar row

1-Mar-2001
STAINLESS STEEL rebar suppliers have this week slammed the Highways Agency for failing to give clear guidance on the use of stainless steel in highway structures.
Stonecutters designers lose detail prize to Arup

1-Mar-2001
ARUP HAS snatched the multimillion pound detail design contract for Hong Kong's £455M record breaking Stonecutters Bridge from the original design competition winner.
Swaying opinions

1-Mar-2001
Client, architect and structural engineer are still locked in tense negotiations nine months after London's infamous Millennium Bridge was closed due to excessive sway days after opening. Dave Parker reports on the state of play
Finding the final straw

22-Feb-2001
Negotiations on funding the multi-million pound refit of London's controversial Millennium Bridge were at a delicate stage as NCE went to press. But the technical details have been sorted out thanks to a major research programme. Dave Parker reports.
All large footbridges face Millennium Bridge sway problem

15-Feb-2001
TRIALS ON London's infamous Millennium Bridge are said to have shown that any large lightweight crossing is at risk from the 'opening day sway' problem that led to the £18M structure's closure last year.
Widening work begins on 'too narrow' canal

15-Feb-2001
WIDENING WORK costing £200,000 begins this week on a two year old stretch of the Rochdale Canal near Oldham which has turned out to be too narrow for broad beam craft to pass.
A sporting chance

8-Feb-2001
Designing a major sports stadium is an increasingly complex challenge. Dave Parker looks at the latest solutions to some tricky problems.
Highways Agency abandons whisper concrete surfacing

1-Feb-2001
CONCRETE SURFACING for trunk roads and motorways is to be abandoned in favour of quieter, more publicly acceptable thin asphalt surfacings, the Highways Agency revealed this week.
New steel standard for safer structures

1-Feb-2001
EXTREME STEEL structures will be safer as the result of an amended British Standard which comes into force next month, it was claimed this week.
£5M Millennium Bridge repair bill could be slashed

25-Jan-2001
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS on London's £18M Millennium footbridge believe they can eliminate its sway problem for significantly less than the £5M originally estimated, it emerged this week.
Super sub scores winner

18-Jan-2001
An 'underwater Ferrari' that could also offer low cost inspection is waiting for the green light. Dave Parker reports on how one structural engineer's dream took shape.
Shaker to rattle millennium bridge dampers

7-Dec-2000
A POWERFUL new shaking machine will be installed on London's 'wobbly' Millennium Bridge next week as part of a £250,000 trial to prove the £5M solution to sway problems.
'EAR, 'EAR

30-Nov-2000
Two giant 'concrete ears' planned for opposite sides of the English Channel are setting a stiff challenge for the UK precast concrete industry.Devised by sculptress Lise Autogena, the acoustic mirror project is designed to act as a symbol of the link between the twinned towns of Folkestone and Boulogne.
Marching to a new tune

23-Nov-2000
Trials start shortly on a cure for the notorious wobbly Millennium Bridge in London. Dave Parker reports.
'Wobbly' bridge designers could face legal action over extra costs

23-Nov-2000
SOUTHWARK COUNCIL could take legal action against the designers of London's £18M Millennium Bridge to raise the extra £5M needed to fit antiwobble dampers and bracing.
Arup picks double dampers to stop Millennium Bridge sway

16-Nov-2000
A UNIQUE combination of viscous and tuned mass dampers is expected to be revealed as the cure for London's notorious wobbly Millennium Bridge tomorrow.
Less mix than match at the British Museum

2-Nov-2000
Yes, it's true. I was in the Great Court of the British Museum a few weeks ago and I can confirm that the new South Portico sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb.
London to trial smog eating road

2-Nov-2000
FIRST SITE trials of a revolutionary Japanese paving block which is claimed to clean up car exhaust fumes are due to start in London next spring.
Ports steel themselves for bugs life horror story

19-Oct-2000
Most of Britain's ports are threatened by 'steel eating bugs' which attack sheet pile walls. Dave Parker headed north to find out how one remote Scottish harbour is tackling the problem.
Expanding their horizons

12-Oct-2000
Britain's first joint-free floor slab was poured in Scotland this summer. Dave Parker reports on the new cement technology that can stop concrete shrinking.
Port authorities caught out on steel eating bug

12-Oct-2000
PORT AUTHORITIES are failing to co-ordinate efforts to fight socalled 'steel eating bugs' on sheet pile walls despite knowing that the problem could be worse than first thought, it was claimed last week.
Star of the cast takes mould breaking role

12-Oct-2000
Self-compacting concrete has been slow to penetrate the precast industry. Dave Parker reports from Newark on one company reaping some unexpected benefits from the new technology.
Western lifts have firefighting status

1-Oct-2000
WESTERN FIRE experts, including those responsible for the even taller CN Tower in Toronto, are adamant that fire in similar structures in the West would have a very different outcome.
Secret binder immobilises heavy metals

28-Sep-2000
TESTS ON heavily contaminated land stabilised by a revolutionary accelerated carbonation technique have shown that more than 99% of the heavy metals have been safely immobilised, it was claimed this week.
Wobbly reputation

14-Sep-2000
Until the solution for the wobble is revealed, the reputation of Millennium Bridge structural engineer Ove Arup is under threat. Dave Parker reviews the situation.
First use of Kevlar wrap to be on M11 bridge

7-Sep-2000
COLUMN WRAPPING with reinforcing aramid fibres will be used for the first time in the UK on an M11 overbridge, the Highways Agency confirmed this week.
Similar tragedy less likely to happen in the West, say fire experts

7-Sep-2000
WESTERN FIRE experts, including those responsible for the even taller CN Tower in Toronto, are adamant that fire in similar structures in the West would have a very different outcome.
Repairs under way on US floating bridge

24-Aug-2000
PERMANENT REPAIR work has started on the world's longest floating bridge, the Evergreen Point crossing near Seattle, in the US, which was damaged by a barge on 29 July.
Vandals are biggest threat to footbridges

24-Aug-2000
MOVEMENT TRIGGERED deliberately by vandals is a bigger threat to the new generation of lightweight footbridges than the involuntary marching in step which shut London's Millennium Bridge, a leading engineer claimed this week.
Dealing with dynamics

10-Aug-2000
As bridges become more extreme, the limiting factor is no longer the strength or durability of the materials used. Dynamic response to wind, earthquakes and traffic loads dominate the design process. Dave Parker reports on how designers have dealt with dy
Heavy spans hitch a ride up

10-Aug-2000
Big increases in lifting capacity are revolutionising bridge construction. Dave Parker reports from Rotterdam on kit operated by specialist Smit Transport & Heavy Lift.
The ballad of Ballingdon Bridge

10-Aug-2000
Intense local controversy forced Suffolk County Council down an unusual procurement route for a new road bridge. Dave Parker reports on the Ballingdon Bridge saga.
Japanese key to Millennium bridge sway

1-Aug-2000
EXCESSIVE SWAY caused closure of London's Millennium footbridge across the Thames just two days after it opened.
National concrete specification adopted

20-Jul-2000
MAJOR CLIENTS and consultants have at last adopted the National Structural Concrete Specification for Building Construction, it was revealed last week.
Arup pulls out all the stops for Millennium bridge probe

6-Jul-2000
Saturday 10 June was a bad day for Ove Arup & Partners. Dave Parker reports on how the designers of London's £18M Millennium footbridge reacted to its unexpected wobble.
Winning recognition

6-Jul-2000
The Civils and Interbuild Awards took a close look at innovative products on display at the NEC and rewarded the best. Dave Parker talks to the winners.
Agency keeps high modulus asphalt ban

29-Jun-2000
FURTHER TESTS to evaluate the performance of European style ultra stiff high modulus asphalt road bases have failed to persuade the Highways Agency to lift its ban on their use on UK roads.
Universities to investigate pedestrian forces on bridge

29-Jun-2000
TWO BRITISH universities have been commissioned by Millennium footbridge designer Ove Arup to carry out emergency research into pedestrian forces on bridges.
It don't mean a thing if you know it will swing

22-Jun-2000
'If it's safe, let it bounce - it'll be the biggest tourist attraction since the Leaning Tower of Pisa.' Such was the gist of just one of the many letters about London's Millennium footbridge published in the national press last week. The author might be right. Certainly, when I was on the crossing just before it closed many of those who had queued for 30 minutes or more to get on were expressing disappointment at its lack of movement. And expert observers confirm that on the infamous ...
Marching pedestrians blamed for bridge sway

22-Jun-2000
PEDESTRIAN INDUCED sway is now seen as the most likely cause of the excessive movement which alarmed many of the thousands who crossed London's Millennium footbridge on its opening day.
Turning up the heat

22-Jun-2000
A simple yet sophisticated beam straightening technique is being evaluated by the Highways Agency. Dave Parker reports from the M5.
Arup seeks 'shaking machines' to test Millennium Bridge

15-Jun-2000
MILLENNIUM BRIDGE structural engineer Ove Arup is scouring the world for a specialist test machine that could help explain why the £18M structure is swaying far more than anticipated.
Concord fall findings come as no surprise

8-Jun-2000
In his definitive work 'Properties of Concrete', Professor Adam Neville states: 'Calcium chloride should never be incorporated into reinforced concrete; in prestressed concrete the risks are even higher.'
RIBA holds road bridge design competition

8-Jun-2000
CONTROVERSIAL PLANS to replace a key road bridge in Suffolk will reach a major milestone next week when five competing designs go before a panel of judges.
Cure for battered bridge beams tested on M5

18-May-2000
News
Best of the innovation award entries

4-May-2000
Civils & Pipelines; Product preview; Judging the 21 entries for the first Civils Award was a formidable task. Entries ranged from Jubilee Line Extension stations to a modular access chamber system. NCE technical editor Dave Parker, who chaired the judging
Underpinning set to become a thing of the past

4-May-2000
News
Thaumasite sulphate attack spreads

23-Mar-2000
THAUMASITE SULPHATE attack has been identified on a highway structure outside the high risk CheltenhamGloucester area where the problem was first uncovered in early 1998.
Wylie Cunningham - a man with a mission

16-Mar-2000
ICE news In his first interview since his appointment as ICE Scottish Executive Secretary, Wylie Cunningham tells Dave Parker of his ambitions for the new role.
Ultra stiff asphalts put on hold

9-Mar-2000
News
Safety barriers fail again in M3 crash

10-Feb-2000
News
Caribbean bridge corrosion linked to urine

1-Feb-2000
HUMAN URINE is threatening the safety of a major suspension bridge in the Caribbean, an Institution of Structural Engineers London meeting was told.
Bridge corrosion is linked to human urine

20-Jan-2000
News
Car park safety back on agenda

20-Jan-2000
News
Comment; Speeding from fiction to fact

20-Jan-2000
Last year NCE's 1 April spoof news story featured ENEMAS, purportedly a Transport Research Laboratory scheme to cut traffic pollution in urban areas by remotely limiting engine power. This would be achieved, the story claimed, through a network of roadside local authority-controlled transmitters akin to those used for the first generation of in-car navigation systems.
Hull tunnel repairs get under way

13-Jan-2000
News
Earth exchange

6-Jan-2000
Wastewater; Cardiff East treatment works
What would you do with £1,000,000?

6-Jan-2000
Research; Funding
A race against time

9-Dec-1999
Comment
Agency calls for urgent review of Cardiff Bay flood procedures

9-Dec-1999
News
Fun and games

9-Dec-1999
Children in Construction
Transport chiefs reject Livingstone's paper plan

2-Dec-1999
KEN LIVINGSTONE'S plans to introduce paper permit-based congestion charging in London by October 2001 if he is elected Mayor in next May's election, were this week rejected by transport experts.
The Panama canal

25-Nov-1999
THE PANAMA Canal was among the most challenging civil engineering projects in history.
The Transport Bill what's in it?

25-Nov-1999
Railways
Claws for concern

18-Nov-1999
Embankment repair Grand Union canal A rare crustacean has complicated the already complex refurbishment of a leaking canal embankment in Warwickshire. Dave Parker reports from Long Itchington.
Prepare to be challenged, would-be expert witnesses warned

18-Nov-1999
News
Secrets of success

18-Nov-1999
Want to get ahead? Then don't have a plan. That is the advice of a whole set of eminent engineers. Dave Parker explains.
Thirty- year wonder

28-Oct-1999
COVER STORY; On 24 November Prince Philip will present a gold medal and a cheque for £50,000 to a team from Millennium Dome structural engineer Buro Happold. Dave Parker reports on the prestigious MacRobert Award for engineering innovation - and why the D
Body building Dome

7-Oct-1999
MILLENNIUM DOME; A modern version of the Statue of Liberty is taking shape in Greenwich. Dave Parker reports from the Millennium Dome.
Inner strength Conventional flexible carriageways are finding it hard to cope with modern traffic loads.

7-Oct-1999
Dave Parker reports on the recent trials of a concrete alternative.
Levy 'could spell death' of UK cement industry

7-Oct-1999
News
Precast aims high

7-Oct-1999
The next few years could see a boom in high quality structural precast concrete. Dave Parker reports on how one major precaster is preparing.
Standard bearer The BCA's new chief executive has an impressive CV. Dave Parker went down to Berkshire to meet him.

7-Oct-1999
Mike Gilbert is not a man who likes to play off the back foot. Interviewed just nine days after moving into the BCA's Crowthorne headquarters he is already reluctant to plead the brevity of his tenure in response to questions about the organisation's long term future. The phrase 'ask me that again in a few months time' does pop up from time to time, but usually as the ritual preamble to a lengthy and detailed reply.
Aftershocks devastate Taiwan

23-Sep-1999
NEWS
Circle Line work incomplete due to 'logistical problems'

19-Aug-1999
NEWS
Newbury Bypass to replace porous asphalt after 10 months

19-Aug-1999
NEWS
Securing the way to the West The Tamar Bridge, a key link between Devon and Cornwall, is about to undergo an unusual strengthening process. Words and pictures by Dave Parker.

19-Aug-1999
BRIDGES
However safe your design, it will never be safe enough.

8-Jul-1999
How safe is safe enough? And who decides? Last week a London seminar on 'Safety criteria for buildings and bridges' considered these crucial questions and others, and warned there were no easy answers. Speaker after speaker pointed out the inherent paradox at the heart of all deliberations on structural safety - the public perception of risk. High levels of voluntary risk, such as those attached to contact sports, car driving or cigarette smoking, are widely accepted. Involuntary risk ...
New Eurotunnel freight shuttles retain lattice design

24-Jun-1999
NEWS
Rebar firm loses CARES seal

3-Jun-1999
NEWS
TBMs to take your breath away

3-Jun-1999
ICE NEWS
Wired sound

27-May-1999
CONCRETE
CIVIL ENGINEERING

29-Apr-1999
New Austrian Tunnelling Method
Suez Canal

22-Apr-1999
Among the most controversial civil engineering projects of the 19th century was the Suez Canal. Built in the teeth of British opposition, the project was the brainchild of Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps, perhaps the first international superstar of civil engineering.
Contractors bear thaumasite responsibility

15-Apr-1999
CONTRACTORS WILL bear the main responsibility for producing thaumasite- resistant concrete under new Highways Agency guidance, it emerged this week.
Dover's soul One of the most important civil engineering projects in England in the 16th Century was Dover Harbour.

15-Apr-1999
Apart from its proximity to the French coast, Dover has never had much to recommend it as a site for a major harbour. The shallow bay west of the River Dour's narrow estuary did offer some shelter against westerly gales, and shipping had been using it since the Bronze Age. But bay and estuary alike were constantly under threat from great banks of shingle moving inexorably eastward along the coast.
Belle Tout goes the distance

25-Mar-1999
EMERGENCY REPAIRS are under way on the Belle Tout lighthouse following its highly-publicised 17m slide away from the cliff edge at Beachy Head last week.
Long term plans to lower London water table

25-Mar-1999
RISING GROUNDWATER levels under London which threaten tube lines and deep basements will be halted by a long term programme of borehole abstraction, a London meeting was told this week.
Mudjackers are not tunnel paramedics

25-Mar-1999
Reported by Damian Arnold email: damiana@construct.emap.co.uk
Slip sliding away

18-Mar-1999
Contractors were yesterday due to haul the 165 year old Belle Tout lighthouse back from the edge of a crumbling cliff face.
Making room for Hollywood

4-Mar-1999
Many buildings are undergoing major structural modifications these days, but few are as young as Norwich's Castle Mall shopping centre.
Microsoft fights over name

4-Mar-1999
COMPUTER GIANT Microsoft is threatening a civil engineering consultancy with legal action unless it stops using a 19-year-old subsidiary company name.
New thaumasite evidence

4-Mar-1999
UNEXPECTED CORROSION of reinforcement in concrete may be the most dangerous result of thaumasite sulphate attack, a Building Research Establishment seminar was told last week.
Maunsell lays off 50 staff

18-Feb-1999
FIFTY STAFF have been made redundant by Maunsell in response to declining UK highways and bridges work.
Damming the tides of history

28-Jan-1999
Perhaps the most controversial civil engineering project of the 20th Century is Egypt's Sadd el-Aali, or Aswan High Dam.
Dome supplier faces Montreal compensation battle

28-Jan-1999
MILLENNIUM DOME fabric supplier Birdair this week faces multi-million pound compensation claims following the collapse of the new fabric roof over Montreal's Olympic Stadium.
Limpet dam technology can slow bacterial corrosion

21-Jan-1999
Reported by Damian Arnold
Jamuna pipe probe to clear original design

7-Jan-1999
ORIGINAL DESIGNS for the 5km gas pipeline which tore free from the underside of Bangladesh's Jamuna bridge are expected to be cleared of blame in the official report on the incident, which is due to be published later this week.
Ringing in the new

7-Jan-1999
Bells will peal out over Basildon in March when the town's latest landmark opens.
High risk structures face mandatory inspection regime

3-Dec-1998
MANDATORY REGULAR independent inspections of stadia, multistorey car parks, shopping malls and other high risk structures are being considered by the Government after pressure from engineering and motoring representatives.
Grout exemption sought for pollution law

12-Nov-1998
CHEMICAL GROUTS and even bentonite could fall foul of a new European Directive on groundwater pollution, a trade association has warned.
Aggregate spec relaxed

6-Aug-1998
INCREASING DEMAND for high quality aggregates triggered by the White Paper's commitment on low-noise roads has forced the Highways Agency to relax its skid resistance requirements
Binding Jamuna's braids Before the Jamuna river could be bridged it had to be trained to stay in one channel.

18-Jun-1998
Next week's official opening of Bangladesh's Jamuna bridge marks the end of one of the last great civil engineering challenges of the century. The obstacles were formidable. The Jamuna (better known under its Indian name of Brahmaputra) is the world's fourth largest river in terms of flow, reaching 65,000m3/sec or more during the flood season. Sediment loads are the second highest in the world.
Lift off at Rugby One of the worlds largest cement clinker stores is nearing completion near Birmingham.

19-Mar-1998
New cement works are rarer than greenfield motorways these days. The last to be built in the UK was Ketton in 1986. Now Rugby Cement is investing 120M in the reconstruction of its Rugby works, a major feature of which will be a giant 120,000t clinker store. Eight other silos will be needed as well, and all will be designed and built by silo and cooling tower specialist Bierrum under subcontract to main contractor Amec.
Hidden extras The cost of strengthening the Avonmouth Bridge has almost trebled and the National Audit Office is investigating.

22-Jan-1998
Back in 1995 it seemed more than reasonable to save the £750,000 cost of a detailed condition survey of the 20 year old steel box girder Avonmouth bridge. The structure had been continuously monitored and inspected during its working life and regularly maintained. There was no sign of significant corrosion inside the twin box girders. In fact the seven layers of paint that protected the steelwork were in virtually pristine condition. And to blast off the paint in the areas to be ...
Extra props bring hope to Avonmouth woes

15-Jan-1998
COSTAIN WILL open a fourth workface on the troubled Avonmouth bridge later this month, after the Highways Agency authorised the expenditure of £800,000 on an extra set of temporary props.
Boston tangler A mass of tunnels and viaducts is being constructed to make a crucial interchange in the middle of Boston, without interfering with the smooth flow of traffic.

8-Jan-1998
What is almost certainly the most expensive and complicated interchange in the history of world highways is beginning to take shape in the centre of Boston. A three dimensional nightmare of tunnels and viaducts, the South Bay interchange, has to be completed within three years, at a cost of $397M (£244M), while keeping 190,000 vehicles a day flowing freely through the centre of the site.
Dambuster tanks face demolition

8-Jan-1998
HISTORIC TEST tanks used to develop the Dambusters bouncing bomb during the Second World War are under threat of demolition by a £300M Private Finance Initiative redevelopment of the National Physical Laboratory's site at Teddington in Middlesex.

NCE AT THE HEART OF THE INDUSTRY FOR 40 YEARS

New Civil EngineerDave Parker

New Civil Engineer
Dave Parker