What civil engineers are reading this week

• What are the skillsets of the future that infrastructure professionals will need?

  More than methods and materials, the most valuable future asset infrastructure teams should prioritize is more human – the engineers themselves. Explore the future of work, a hot topic at ASCE2027.

• Dredged sediment helps nearshore nourishment of southern Lake Michigan beach

  A study in the September edition of ASCE's Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering highlights the coastal benefits of placing dredged sediment in the nearshore to support the beach profile.

• Designers reuse foundations for mass-timber Massachusetts school building

  Swiss studio Herzog & de Meuron has used the existing concrete foundation of an old brutalist brick building for a student center and dining commons at Amherst College, adding mass-timber levels on top.

• What can engineers learn from canceled Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project?

  The $2.9 billion project aimed to reverse land loss in a Louisiana basin by channeling sediment from the Mississippi River. Why was it canceled, and what has been the fallout?

• California High-Speed Rail Authority’s ‘wasteful’ spending criticized by its inspector general

  The entity paid more than $2 million in questionable expenses for consultants while facing a financial crisis, the watchdog says.

• NYC lawmakers seek ‘low-traffic neighborhoods’

  The bill would mean changes to streets in five New York City neighborhoods “with a focus on creating low-traffic neighborhoods through directing traffic away from residential areas.”