The outdated bridge was relegated to a five ton weight limit, precluding passage of emergency vehicles (i.e.: ambulances and fire trucks) and limiting access to the Hospital. Emergency vehicles to/from the south side of the railroad were experiencing significant delays due to the high level of rail activity (156 trains per day including freight and

While many communities have used fiber optic cables to connect traffic signals and sites, more and more are leveraging their network to become a robust asset for their community. While some communities focus on attracting retail communication services, others are focusing on creating municipal fiber networks to help them become more resilient for upcoming technical

Resilience can be defined as the ability to recover quickly from setbacks. In communities around the country, civil infrastructure projects provide an assortment of challenges to address their community’s needs. Efficiently-operating civil infrastructure is an essential component of a resilient, livable community. The highways, bridges, and wastewater treatment plants we build today have design lives

This quarter, HR Green is focusing on the concept of resilience and how municipalities recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. Communities are much better positioned to deal with disasters, retain a healthy position and regain normalcy when properly prepared. There are few natural disasters more devastating than flooding. Water, a vital life-force,

The two-year-old, 10-cent increase in Iowa’s motor fuel tax is helping the state and local governments address challenges on their transportation systems, but an Iowa Ideas panel cautioned that it alone won’t solve changing transportation needs. HR Green’s Aaron Granquist mentions the importance of maintaining bridges as they are key to Iowa economic chain.

Most Americans take the water systems that bring clean water to and from their homes and businesses for granted. They turn on the tap and flush the toilet without thinking twice about where that water came from or where it will go. But could you imagine a day without water? Without safe, reliable water and wastewater service?

The Sioux Falls Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) treats primary and secondary sludges in three primary anaerobic digesters and one secondary digester. Treated sludge is stored in lagoons until disposal by land application. Continuation of the land application process will require significant investment. The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate alternative biosolids handling and disposal methods. The study includes a forecast of biosolids production rates due to growth and future nutrient removal treatment processes. The study also addresses processing and storage options, and establishes a 20-year biosolids management plan.

Drones have been filling our news feeds with uses such as recreational, military, and drone deliveries, but how can a municipality determine how to leverage this rapidly evolving technology? Many communities across the country are starting to research sUAS uses and invest in sUAS technology and applications.

How do you make your community future proof? Poised to succeed in the turbulent environment of businesses and citizens demanding better, faster, and cheaper internet services? In just the past five years, technological giants such as Google have dramatically changed the community landscape and customer expectations. For some, broadband is now considered an expected utility, alongside water, power, and gas, and that belief is expected to grow.

In construction, we are continually faced with shrinking budgets, compressed schedules, and expanding scopes. These are the realities that Owners, Design Professionals, and Contractors have come to accept. So while all of this juggling to balance the differing requirements and return on investment is taking place, here comes the Inspector. Some common misconceptions of Inspectors is that they are going to add costs to the job, state that you’ve been doing it wrong for years, or that you can’t do it a certain way in a particular area in spite of what they are doing allowing in neighboring counties.