Partially grouted masonry shear walls are common in North America. Construction of partially grouted concrete masonry shear walls can benefit greatly by placement of joint reinforcement in bed joints of each or every other course instead of deformed reinforcement in bond beams, because placement and grouting of bond beams slow construction. Joint reinforcement is already used to help control cracking and provide prescriptive horizontal reinforcement. With sufficient area and ductility of wire, joint reinforcement can also provide the tension capacity to span across cracks in shear walls and to act as primary shear reinforcement for in-plane shear forces.

Now that the Illinois Accessibility Code (IAC) has been updated for the first time since 1997, it is crucial that your community’s Code Officials, Building Inspectors and Plan Reviewers become knowledgeable about some key changes. The IAC requires certain accessibility standards to guarantee that newly-constructed or renovated buildings are safe and readily accessible to persons with disabilities. Some of these standard have been updated in 2018, and this article highlights the major changes.

The Illinois Accessibility Code (IAC) has been updated for the first time in nearly 20 years, and went into effect on October 23, 2018. Established in 1997, the IAC requires certain accessibility standards to guarantee that newly-constructed or renovated buildings are safe and readily accessible to persons with disabilities. This article lists some of the major observations and changes that we noticed.

HR Green’s Andrew (Andy) Swisher, PE, PTOE, Senior Traffic Engineer, ITE Advocacy Committee, recently wrote an article for the Institute of Transportation Engineers’ (ITE) publication, the ITE Journal. In the article, Andy addresses the role of the traffic engineer in a future of automation. He shares insights from a recent meeting, hosted by the ITE Advocacy Committee, in which ITE leadership discuss the topic. During the discussion the group brought to light the myriad related topics that will be impacted with the projected connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) future envisioned by the masses.

The zebra mussel, an aquatic invasive species (AIS), has made its way above Gavins Point Dam near Yankton and has rapidly increased its presence in Lewis and Clark Lake. One female zebra mussel can produce a million eggs in one year, with the mussels attaching to infrastructure and watercraft while creating problems for fish and other life sharing the waters. 

Surveyors from HR Green spent time in November looking for 200 manholes in Blanco Texas. The project to survey and inventory the city’s wastewater system is a wastewater asset management project awarded to the city by the Texas Water Development Board.

HR Green was selected to accompany the Amec Foster Wheeler Team for the I-74 Expanded Central Section Construction Management project led by the Iowa DOT along with partnering agency Illinois DOT.  This large project includes improvement of the I-74 corridor in the Quad Cities from south of Avenue of the Cities in Moline, Illinois to north of 53rd Street in Davenport, Iowa.

HR Green is providing construction management services for the reconstruction and resurfacing of a 12.2-mile section of I-88 from US 52 to Midway Road in Lee County, Illinois. The accelerated schedule project includes both roadway and bridge rehabilitation including coordination within the corridor with two other adjacent contracts.

A well-informed constituent will feel engaged and involved. Communities striving to improve communications with their residents and visitors should periodically evaluate the technologies available and weigh their strengths against the community’s need. Some technologies are excellent at getting information distributed to a broad audience quickly, while others allow for interaction and multimedia applications. 

Occupant loading is not just a matter of how many people can be accommodated in a classroom. It is also how many people can be safely sheltered and evacuated. Whether performing a plan review or inspection, your Code professional does not dictate design, but they should be paying particular attention to this critical part of the overall program, Life Safety.