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No mystery about Minneapolis bruidge collapse
Expert says truss-arch bridges are like a linked chain: If one link fails, the entire chain collapses; Minneapolis’s I-35W bridge was such a bridge, in which “Local damage immediately means total collapse”
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APCO: 700 MHz proposal offers voice potential
The LMR is not dead yet: The FCC has approved dedicationg a portion of the 700 MHz band to public safety, trouble is, many in public-safety communications have been wary of IP-based voice technologies; APCO says the band can accommodate voice
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U.S. governments will not fund NYC congestion-fee plan
The City of New York asked the Department of Transportation for about $180 million to implement a congestion-fee scheme in lower Manhattan; DOT gives only $10 million; system to resemble London’s “ring of steel”
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A call for establishing a national transportation infrastructure bank
We all know that U.S. infrastructure is not in good shape, but there is no agreement as to who should fund the rebuilding of this aging infrastructure; two senators propose the creation of a national transportation infrastructure bank
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Lockheed Martin to market FortiusOne technology
Lockheed Martin to have exclusive marketing rights for FortiusOne’s products to intelligence, defense, and homeland security customers
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New container inspection rules to have little impact on DP World
World’s fourth largest container port operator says new U.S. container inspection mandates would have but little impact on its trade
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France is jumpy about threat to rail transportation
French police increase security on trains in northeast after tip on terror threat
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U.S. old infrastructure offers opportunities for investors
Much of America’s aging infrastructure needs replacing, rebuilding, or rehabilitating; this offers opportunities to infrastructure fund managers, especially in the power-generation sector
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Bridge collapse shows post-WWII engineering aproach to be wrong
Engineers on the Brooklyn Bridge (opened in 1883) did not have sophisticated methods to calculate loads, so they made their best guess — and then multiplied; in the aftermath of WWII engineers believed they could save on materials by accurately predicting traffic pattenrs and loads; Minnesota bridge collapse shows that approach to be wrong
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Terrorism spread in Mexico
Two weeks ago the EOR guerrillas bombed oil and natural gas pipelines, exhibiting intimate knowledge of the delivery infrastructure and its emergency backup procedure; this week the groups bombed a Sears Robuck store, vowing to continue a campaign against “the interests of the national and foreign oligarchy.”
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New technology allow earlier detection of sturctural vulnerabilities
ASI offers detailed visual simulation solution which would allow building owners, designers, architects, engineers, insurance underwriters, and security experts see what will happen to a structure before a disaster strikes
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Oil tanks on ships to be located inside double hull
IMO’s rule goes into effect Tuesday: It requires oil fuel tanks on ships to be located inside a double hull to help prevent spillages of oil fuel in case of collision, grounding, or terorist act
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Engineers look for causes of bridge collapse
Engineering experts puzzled by catastrophic collapse of Minneapolis bridge; may have been the result of a “prefect storm,” in which several causes combined
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DHS issues security guidelines for U.S. power infrastructure operators
Growing fears of physical and cyber attacks on U.S. power infrastructure lead DHS to issue detailed protection plans against for industry
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Homeland security legislation to affect water sector
Increasing security of transportation of dangerous chemicals, changing the formula governing the distribution of homeland security grants to states, and other clauses in homeland security bill will affect water sector
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The long view
Concerns About Extremists Targeting U.S. Power Stations
Attacks on four power stations in Washington State over the weekend added to concerns of a possible nationwide campaign by far-right extremists to stir fears and spark civil conflict. Violent extremists “have developed credible, specific plans to attack electricity infrastructure since at least 2020, identifying the electric grid as a particularly attractive target given its interdependency with other infrastructure sectors,” the DHS said in a January.