Construction to begin on High-Speed Rail connecting Chicago and St Louis

Next month construction will begin on the second phase of building a high speed rail corridor between Chicago and St. Louis

BY: Logan Broyles |
TAGS: Federal government, federal project, Green technology, high speed trains, high-speed rail,Illinois, Stimulus project, US Midwest, USA

High Speed Rail coming to Chicago and St Louis

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A key step for the future of high-speed rail construction in the United States will begin next month in the state of Illinois. Governor Pat Quinn and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin held a press conference this past Tuesday, March 22, to announce the next phase in their ambitious project to develop a high-speed rail route between Chicago and St. Louis.

"Illinois has always been a strong railroad state and we always will be," Quinn said during his speech at an Amtrak rail yard outside of Chicago.

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The United States government has awarded Illinois $1.2 billion in federal stimulus funding to help expand high speed passenger rail, and the state has committed another $42 million of its own funds. The first section of the project was begun last year, with $98 million worth of upgrades made to a 90-mile stretch of rail tracks from Alton, a town northeast of St. Louis, to Lincoln.

Beginning on April 5 the next step of the project will begin, with $685 million going toward construction of new high-speed rail tracks between Dwight and Lincoln, and connecting Alton and the Mississippi River. A state-of-the-art signal system will also be installed on the route between Dwight and Alton, giving the Midwest one of the most advanced high-speed rail...Read the rest of the article at:

http://www.constructiondigital.com/sectors/construction-products/construction-begin-high-speed-rail-connecting-chicago-and-st-louis

Pinnacle’s Baton Rouge Casino Hotel Delayed

Low water levels of the Mississippi River are making it impossible to finish the latest hotel from Pinnacle Entertainment

BY: Alex Pirouz |
TAGS: Baton Rouge hotels, construction delay, Pinnacle Entertainment

Pinnacle Baton Rouge

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Construction delays are inevitable on some projects. The opening of Pinnacle Entertainment’s Baton Rouge Casino Hotel has been delayed. The $357 million hotel was supposed to open in December 2011; instead, it will open sometime in the first quarter of 2012. Blame it on the Mississippi River, which is at historically low water levels.

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Since the Mississippi River is at such a low level, Pinnacle has been unable to move three of the casino hulls from the Bollinger Shipyards to the project site. These hulls comprise the casino itself. If the Mississippi doesn’t rise in the next few weeks or months, then the opening will be delayed by a few months as well. Luckily, melting snow from further up the Mississippi will raise water levels over the next few months giving the developer and construction teams hope that they will be able to complete the Pinnacle Baton Rouge Casino Hotel this year.

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"Our construction teams are diligently continuing their land-based work and we are prepared to quickly move the three hulls to the site as soon as river...Read the rest of the article at:

http://www.constructiondigital.com/tags/baton-rouge-hotels/pinnacle-s-baton-rouge-casino-hotel-delayed

Could Tsunami-Resistant Buildings Have Mitigated Damage in Japan?

As Japan recovers from an earthquake-triggered tsunami, experts find ways to avoid damage in the future

BY: Laura Clapper |
TAGS: disaster preparedness, Japanese earthquake, tsunami, tsunami design

USGS map of the earthquake

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While a country can prepare for an earthquake, it often can’t prepare for something as unpredictable as a tsunami. Although the buildings in Tokyo and other large Japanese cities have sustained limited damage from the earthquake due to strict building codes, the damage from flooding is much more significant.
Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, located on the boundary of the Eurasian Plate and the Pacific Plate. Earthquakes along these fault trenches tend to be shallower and stronger than other types of earthquakes. Much like the earthquake last month in Christchurch, a dormant fault line is responsible for the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that shook the country this week. While Japan was expecting the Big One, they weren’t quite expecting it to occur where it did.
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In addition to strict building codes, earthquake preparedness is instilled into the Japanese people from an early age. However, how does one prepare for a 20 foot wall of water coming toward them? Tsunamis are an unfortunate consequence of ocean-born earthquakes. While Tokyo and other parts of Japan had a sophisticated lock system in place to keep the water out, it takes time to initiate the system—time that is a luxury when a tsunami can hit at any time.
“Research on tsunami-resistant design in Japan and the US has led to a number of proposed solutions including the deployment of “vertical evacuation refuges” in combination with the early-warning systems in place for tsunamis,” said Dr. Adrian Chandler of Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Centre, in a statement. “This is a building having sufficient...Read the rest at:
http://www.constructiondigital.com/tags/japanese-earthquake/could-tsunami-resistant-buildings-have-mitigated-damage-japan

Latest New Zealand Earthquake Puts Spotlight on Building Codes

Could stronger building codes have prevented damage from the 6.3 earthquake that rocked Christchurch this week?

BY: Laura Clapper |
TAGS: building codes, Christchurch earthquake, New Zealand Earthquake

Damage from the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake

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The 6.3 earthquake that struck Christchurch, New Zealand this week has caused major devastation to this historical city, damaging several landmarks, including the Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and Christchurch Cathedral, and thrusting building codes to the forefront of conversation. In a country that has as many fault lines as sheep, how does one build earthquake-resistant buildings?
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Considered an aftershock of the earthquake that struck New Zealand last year, experts point to a newly discovered fault line running through the South Island—‘newly discovered’ because it reared its ugly head during the earthquake. Though many expected that an earthquake would hit the seismically active region soon, experts thought that Wellington would be the next victim. "Wellington has always been considered much more at risk because it straddles the plate boundary,” explained Australian Seismological Centre director Kevin McCue to The Independent.
From a science and construction perspective, the latest New Zealand earthquake is fascinating. Plate tectonics is a natural process that can be a pain in the backsides of many structural engineers and creators of regional and municipal building codes. Earthquake-prone—and heavily populated—areas such as Chile, Japan and Southern California have devised strict building codes to which new structures must adhere. Additionally, municipalities have spent billions to retrofit existing buildings to withstand strong earthquakes.
Although the earthquake that struck New Zealand this week was actually weaker than the one that struck the area last year, its epicenter was closer to the surface. Shallow earthquakes can cause as much destruction as a strong earthquake.
While the good people of Christchurch begin to pick up the pieces of their lives—quite literally—new building codes will be put in place to avoid such destruction in the future. The key is to build structures that withstand strong earth movement long enough to keep those inside of it safe from....Read the rest of the article at:
http://www.constructiondigital.com/tags/building-codes/latest-new-zealand-earthquake-puts-spotlight-building-codes