What civil engineers are reading this week

• House transportation bill maintains funding, keeps focus on core programs

  The BUILD America 250 Act would keep transportation money flowing and add electric vehicle and hybrid fees while dropping the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s nontransport programs.

• Smarter maintenance starts with risk, not routine

  As infrastructure ages and funding pressures mount, effective asset management is becoming critical to maintaining safe, reliable transportation networks.

• How much of ourselves should engineers outsource to AI?

  “Repeated reliance on these systems might influence the habits of thinking we develop over time,” says new grad student Ashley Forkey, who worries AI will reshape engineers’ deductive reasoning ability.

• Contractors can win in court if conduct overrides strict change order requirements

  How did a court rule when a contractor sued an owner who requested but then refused to pay for changes that didn’t strictly comply with contract provisions? What does it mean for your approach?

• Infrastructure, data centers kept construction starts strong in May

  Megaprojects drove sizable growth in groundbreaking activity over the month, says the director of economic research at Dodge Construction Network.

• America’s data center backlash is bipartisan – will it stay that way?

  As opposition mounts, some experts wonder how long artificial intelligence infrastructure can steer clear of the partisanship that defines U.S. politics.