What civil engineers are reading this week

• The most effective construction project scheduling relies on collaboration among parties

  Improved communication leads to more reliable and useful scheduling of the project plan, as oppoosed to the traditional approach that seeks to reduce risk by limiting information sharing. Learn why.

• Examining backwater effects of debris buildup around bridges during flooding

  A study for ASCE's Journal of Hydraulic Engineering looks at how extreme flooding in Western Europe in 2021 created huge debris accumulations at various bridges, causing backwater rise and increased inundation depths.

• Research offers approaches to strengthen rail safety, resilience

  New research from the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) at San Jose State University and its university partners offers practical approaches to strengthen rail safety and resilience regarding natural hazards, severe weather and other disruptive events. “Resilience is ultimately about keeping people and goods moving safely,” MTI Deputy Executive Director Hilary Nixon said. “This research gives

• Join a laid-back ride along upstate New York's beautiful, bucolic Taconic Parkway

  The Taconic Parkway rolls for 104 miles on the east side of the Hudson River, in a relatively quiet part of the state. In the 1920s, FDR conceived it not as a freeway, but as a recreational highway.

• Southwestern flash flooding overwhelming New Mexico dam on brink of failing

  Heavy rain drenched portions of the Southwest, putting nearly a third of the country at risk of flash floods. New Mexico has seen the worst of it so far, where water spilled over a 20-foot dam.

• Bioluminescent algae: An illuminating new possibility for civil engineering

  See how chemical triggers activate light from algae Pyrocystis lunula, opening up potential engineering applications including water testing for pH and for potential toxins.