What civil engineers are reading this week

• For design professionals, it’s critical that contracts define ‘consequential damages’

  A court rules that costs incurred for design errors were direct – not consequential – damages, meaning a mutual waiver did not protect the design professional. How can you protect yourself?

• EV motor invention could cut 1,000 pounds from vehicles while boosting range

  The motor weighs only 28 pounds but can deliver up to 1,000 horsepower at once or a sustained 469 to 536 horsepower for longer durations. 

• These 8 great photos tell the story of 2025 at ASCE

  From another influential Report Card for America’s Infrastructure to the extension of a concrete canoe dynasty and the retirement of Executive Director Tom Smith, it’s been another momentous year at ASCE.

• Oversized cargo truck strikes six Oklahoma overpasses, forcing closures

  A flatbed truck hauling oversized cargo damaged six county overpass bridges along Oklahoma’s Will Rogers Turnpike last week, forcing multiple closures.

• Boring machines ready to dig into the Palisades for new Hudson River tunnel

  The first of two tunnel boring machines, each about 28 feet in diameter, 500 feet in length, and weighing 1,700 tons, will arrive in January, then undergo months to mobilize and test.

• A Colorado power outage caused US official time be 4.8 microseconds off

  The error is likely be too minute for the general public to clock, but it could affect applications such as critical infrastructure, telecommunications, and GPS signals, officials say.