Articles by Steven Gilchrist

Irving F. Morrow (1884 – 1952) was an American architect who was best known for designing the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.  In 1906, Morrow graduated from the architecture program at the University of California at Berkeley.  In addition to designing the Golden Gate Bridge, Morrow designed banks, hotels, schools, and theaters. In 1930, engineer Joseph Strauss hired Morrow to design the Golden Gate Bridge.  In 1919, prior to beginning work on the bridge, Morrow wrote about the potential for building a bridge in San Francisco: "The narrow strait is caressed by breezes from the blue bay throughout the long golden afternoon, but perhaps it is loveliest at the cool end of the day when, for a few breathless moments, faint afterglows transfigure the gray line of the hills."   At the time of its opening on May 27, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge was the longest and tallest suspension in the world, spanning 4,200 feet.

In October 2015, torrential rainstorms in South Carolina caused 20 to 25 dams to fail.   The failure of these dams contributed to flooding in several parts of South Carolina.   As a result of the flooding, 17 people died and $12 billion worth of property was damaged.   Several of the dams that were breached in South Carolina were over 100 years old.   Nationwide there are 2,962 dams in the United States that are over 100 years old. The catastrophic conditions in South Carolina last fall highlight the importance of having adequately maintained dams.   Unfortunately, the United States has not suitably maintained its vast network of dams.   The average age of dams in the U.S. is 54 years old.   Engineers estimate that about 70% of the 87,000 dams in America will be more than 50 years old by 2020. A May 17, 2016 article from The Huffington Post.com states: “High-hazard dams, especially those that are poorly maintained, pose a threat to life ...

E very four years the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) creates a comprehensive assessment of America’s infrastructure.   The evaluation, known as the ASCE’s Report Card for America’s Infrastructure , includes ratings of 16 infrastructure categories.   Each category was rated on the following eight criteria: capacity, condition, funding, future need, operation/maintenance, public safety, resilience, and innovation.   The most recent Report Card, for 2013, rated America’s overall infrastructure as a D+. Although the United States is the world’s only superpower, America is currently faced with several infrastructure challenges.   The ASCE Report Card shows that more investment (from local, state, and the federal government and from the private sector) is needed in order to maintain and upgrade America’s infrastructure.   A stable infrastructure is essential to sustaining a healthy economy.   A reliable and modern infrastructure also connects p...

T he federal government’s most recent National Bridge Inventory report indicated that there are thousands of bridges nationwide that are in need of repair.   Of the 607,380 bridges that were examined in the survey, 65,605 were categorized as “structurally deficient” and 20,808 were determined to be at risk of developing a fracture in a crucial component or “fracture critical.”   A total of 7,795 bridges were classified as both structurally deficient and fracture critical.      A bridge is characterized as being fracture critical when it lacks redundant protections and is at risk of collapse if only one component fails.   Structurally deficient bridges are in need of rehabilitation or replacement because at least one major component of the bridge has advanced deterioration.   A large number of fracture critical bridges were built during the 1950s to 1970s during construction of the interstate highway system.   During this era, construction...