TILOS Project Scheduling Software Presents | Global Linear Infrastructure News | October, 2017

Each month TILOS Project Scheduling Software publishes TILOS Americas News, a curated selection of articles about global projects, linear infrastructure projects, linear scheduling, and all things TILOS Project Scheduling Software. This month’s headlines were dominated by innovative solutions from the tech sector to address the globe’s most pressing infrastructure challenges.

Mexico accepts Israeli offer to help develop Central America

The President of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto has accepted Israel’s offer to help Mexico and the United States develop Central America.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto during an address to the media at Los Pinos presidential residence in Mexico City, Mexico, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Speaking at a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday Sept. 14, Peña Nieto added that the two nations had agreed to update their free trade agreement, signed in 2000.

“We have agreed to establish and begin the … negotiations to look over this agreement so that the commercial relationship between both nations intensifies and grows,” he said.

In Central America, Peña Nieto said Israel’s assistance could bolster efforts in the region, particularly in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. He noted that Israel brings experience from carrying out development projects in Africa.

USA: Following Hurricane Devastation, Calls to Bring Back the Federal Flood Standards Get Louder

Just weeks before Hurricane Harvey hit, on August 15th 2017 US President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on “Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process of Infrastructure”.

Image Source: https://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/09/following-hurricane-devastation-calls-bring-back-federal-flood-standards-get-louder/

As TILOSAmericas.com reported last month, just weeks before hurricane Harvey made landfall in the US, President Trump signed an executive order reducing environmental and permitting requirements to expedite infrastructure development.

However, in the wake of billions of dollars worth of insurable damage that comes after wave upon wave of hurricane, many in Congress are calling for a reinstatement of requirements to build infrastructure so as to better withstand flooding.

The Federal Flood Risk Management Standard, signed in 2015, “could require standard infrastructure to be built two feet above the 100-year floodplain, with critical infrastructure like hospitals elevated three feet. Or they could require infrastructure to be built to at least the 500-year floodplain.”

Federal Emergency Management Agency studies have shown that each dollar spent on mitigating disaster losses saves an average of $4 in avoided post-disaster recovery and rebuilding costs.

Hyperloop Shakes Up Traditional Rail Transport: Announces 10 Global Winners & Wins Feasibility Study in the US

Hyperloop, a proposed mode of passenger and/or freight transportation, first named as such in an open-source vactrain design released by a joint team from Tesla and SpaceX, may just succeed with three global hyperloops operational by 2021.

Hyperloop One Global Challenge winners represent the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, India and Canada. (PRNewsfoto/Hyperloop One)

Hyperloop announced 2 weeks ago that the Colorado Department of Transportation, supported by AECOM, will enter into a public-private partnership with Hyperloop to begin a feasibility study.  The study will examine transportation demand, economic benefits, proposed routes and potential strategies, regulatory environments and alignment with overall CDOT high-speed travel, rail and freight plans.

This partnership comes on the heels of Hyperloop’s announcement ten global routes have been announced as possible sites for the world’s first commercially viable Hyperloop.

The winning routes connect 53 urban centers and nearly 150 million people representing Canada, India, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States. Their combined distance spans 6,628 km (4,121 miles).

One of the routes, The winning routes connect 53 urban centres and nearly 150 million people representing Canada, India, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States. Their combined distance spans 6,628 km (4,121 miles).

Vancouver Gearing Up For “Largest Federal Investment In Public Transit & Infrastructure In Memory”

Spurred on by the Canadian federal government’s infrastructure investment agenda, Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (Translink) is embarking on a wide-reaching public transport enhancement program.

Image Copyright: International Railway Journal http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/north-america/the-skys-the-limit-translink-gears-up-for-major-investment.html

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in 2016 that Translink would get $460 Million CDN for the first phase of the program. This was later revised to $370 Million with the provincial government providing $246 Million CDN, and Translink putting in $395 Million CDN of its own funds, taking the total capital spend to $1.01 Billion CDN.

Phase 2 of the program will take this initial investment to the next level. The federal government confirmed the region would receive $2.2 Billion CDN for transit projects, which Translink CEO Kevin Desmond describes as the “largest commitment in anyone’s memory from the federal government towards public transport.”

Desmond says Phase 2 will includes three “mega projects:” the Surrey light rail project, the Millennium Line extension, and replacement of the 78-year-old Pattullo road bridge which connects New Westminster and Surrey.

Drone Data To Further Reduce Linear Infrastructure Maintenance Spending

SenSat, an enterprise company focused on drone applications, uses data gathered from drones to create ‘smart infrastructure’, digital replicas of roads and rail assets that link embedded data about condition, materials and usage.

https://www.sensat.co.uk/single-post/2016/07/29/Four-ways-drones-are-helping-construction Image Copyright SenSat

This type of data can help save over $1.5 trillion in infrastructure maintenance costs by 2025 according to the Boston Consulting Group.

In an announcement Sept 27th, they announced they will be further saving money by reducing the fees associated with drone data by 90%.

About TILOS Software:

A favourite of leading infrastructure companies across the globe, TILOS scheduling software gives Project Planning Managers, Contractors, and Project Owners the ability to create and execute a reliable, comprehensive and easy to communicate linear project plan and schedule.

Trimble TILOS software was developed specifically to address the unique challenges of linear projects such as roads, railway, pipeline, and bridges for professionals in the construction, engineering and energy sectors.

TILOS Software Presents | Global Linear Infrastructure News | September, 2017

Each month TILOS Americas publishes TILOS Scheduling Software News, a curated selection of articles about linear infrastructure projects, linear scheduling, and all things TILOS. This month’s headlines were dominated by water and discussions around ongoing private investment in publicly owned linear infrastructure assets.

Study: Cities and Companies Team Up to Tackle Global Urban Water Crises

Around two thirds of cities from London to Los Angeles are working with the private sector to address water and climate change stresses with 80 cities seeking $9.5 billion of investment for water projects, according to a report by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a non-profit environmental research group.

Key issues for cities include declining water quality, water shortages and flooding.

Water investment opportunities are greatest in Latin America (US$6.7bn), where Quito, Ecuador is looking for US$800 million in infrastructure investments to help manage their water supply.

Trump Expedites Infrastructure Projects: Overturns Proactive Flood Prevention Policy

Just weeks before Hurricane Harvey hit, on August 15th 2017 US President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on “Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process of Infrastructure”.

Lee Padilla walks in the Cottage Grove neighborhood of Houston, which has been inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey, on August 27. IMAGE COPYRIGHT GETTY

Trump said, “We’re going to get infrastructure built quickly, inexpensively, relatively speaking, and the permitting process will go very, very quickly.”

This Executive Order, one of the record breaking number Trump has signed in his first 100 days, is intended to reduce the impact of Nixon’s 1970 signing of The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

However it will also do away with the policies Obama put in place to aimed to make infrastructure more resilient to the effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels and flooding.

While NEPA was intended to mitigate environmental damage caused by infrastructure development, Trump is more concerned with “processing of environmental reviews and authorization decisions for new major infrastructure to be reduced to not more than an average of approximately 2 years . . .”

Underinvested Parks Canada Joins Feds In Exploring Divesting Linear Infrastructure

Parks Canada operates 46 national parks, a national urban park, four national marine conservation areas and 171 national historic sites, including nine historic canals. Of the $9 Billion in assets, $8.3 Billion is made up of linear infrastructure in dire need of repairs, such as roads, bridges and dams.

A new bridge is shown in Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island. Parks Canada has ordered a study into whether it should give up its bridges, dams and highways. (Parks Canada)

It’s estimated carrying out all deferred repairs to the various infrastructure assets would cost some $2.9 billion.

“Parks Canada is not embarking at this point on any type of divestiture plan,” spokesperson Jason Bouzanis said in an interview. “We’re really just conducting … an exploratory study,” calling the exercise “standard practice” when developing long-term plans.

The federal government is also examining whether to sell off Canada’s major airports and marine ports, and has hired consultants to advise it on the feasibility.

Ottawa’s Unique Linear Infrastructure Project Procurement Model Garners Global Interest: LRT Line

As the $5 Billion phase one of the O-Train, Ottawa’s underground LRT nears completion, it’s innovative procurement model is drawing global acclaim.

Excavation work takes place at the site of the Tunney’s Pasture station in 2016. It’s the westernmost station in phase one of the Confederation Line build. Ballasted tracks will be installed throughout most of the guideway, while direct fixation tracks that use a rail fastener system directly attached to a concrete trackbed will being used mainly in the tunnel, where vibration and noise must be kept to a minimum. Photo: RIDEAU TRANSIT GROUP http://dailycommercialnews.com/en-US/Infrastructure/News/2017/8/Finish-line-in-sight-for-phase-one-of-Ottawa-LRT-1026320W/

The Ottawa LRT project is the first build of its type to use Ontario’s alternative financing and procurement (AFP) model.

Under AFP, provincial ministries and/or project owners establish the scope and purpose of a project, while design and construction work is financed and carried out by the private sector. Typically, only after a project is completed will the province complete payment to the private-sector company. In some cases, the private sector will also be responsible for the maintenance of a physical building or roadway.

“In terms of efficiencies and approach, there is a lot of innovation built in having the same group design and then implement their plans through that AFP model. That is hugely beneficial when it comes to linear transit infrastructure. The idea that you are not specifying what needs to be built, you are specifying how that asset needs to perform, that…whole model has been hugely beneficial to the city.”

13 new stations and 2.5km of underground tunnel are part of the LRT work taking place under downtown Ottawa. Phase One of the O-Train is scheduled to be completed in 2018.

About TILOS Software:

A favourite of leading infrastructure companies across the globe, TILOS scheduling software gives Project Planning Managers, Contractors, and Project Owners the ability to create and execute a reliable, comprehensive and easy to communicate linear project plan and schedule.

Trimble TILOS software was developed specifically to address the unique challenges of linear projects such as roads, railway, pipeline, bridges for professionals in the construction, engineering and energy sectors.

TILOS Software | Linear Infrastructure Investment Project News | July, 2017

Each month TILOS Americas publishes Linear Scheduling News, a curated selection of articles about infrastructure projects, linear scheduling, and all things TILOS. This month’s news can be summarized in a lot of talks and agreements around Linear Infrastructure Investments.

China & Thailand to sign a $5 Billion Dollar Infrastructure Agreement For High Speed Sino -Thai Railway

In an agreement expected to be signed in July, China & Thailand will be investing in  a 1260 km long high speed railway to connect Bangkok, Thailand to Kunming, China.

(Photo Copyright VOA NEWS) A high-speed railway train linking Shanghai and Kunming, of Yunnan province, is seen at a station during a partial operation, in Anshun, Guizhou province, China, Dec. 28, 2016 https://www.voanews.com/a/thailand-china-five-billion-dollar-rail-infrastructure-agreement/3922819.html

This agreement has been two years in the making as the two countries have been negotiating land access, financial arrangements and worker eligibility.

The high speed rail is thought to alleviate major infrastructure woes in the military run country as much of the costs and resources have been allocated to the maintenance of well used roadways.

This is one of many infrastructure projects in the region thought to be part of the China’s “One Belt, One Road” project to develop infrastructure links across Asia.

Tropic’s $30 Trillion Dollar Infrastructure Deficit Creates Economic Opportunities: Report

The Sustainable Infrastructure in the Tropics report, released in late June, estimates $US30 trillion needs to be spent in the tropics to achieve the United Nations’ targets for sustainable development and ending poverty by 2030.

Mother and child, Myanmar. Photo Mark Ziembecki

The Tropics includes parts of Australia, central and southern Africa, the Caribbean, Oceania, South America, Hawaii and parts of Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, and Mexico and are where the majority of the world’s children live.

This report and recommendations for increased infrastructure investment is recommended in anticipation of a a demographic and economic  ‘seismic shift’, where populations are expected to rapidly expand in the area.

Australia, a regional leader in infrastructure is expected to make significant contributions. James Cook University Vice Chancellor Professor Sandra Harding, said “Australia, as the most advanced country with the largest tropical landmass, is well placed to provide the specialist products and services that are demanded to meet the unique needs of tropical countries around the world including our own. We have the people, the skills and expertise to offer to these growing markets.”

Trump’s Plans For Border Wall Now Include Solar Panels

Likely the most controversial linear project ever proposed in the Americas, has been amended.

US President Donald Trump has expanded his original idea to build a wall between the US and Mexico to now include solar panels.

Image courtesy of BuzzFeed News; Getty Images

The proposed project could extend from 200 to 1,000 miles long and is estimated to cost $67 billion.

Adding solar panels onto the wall would add $1.4 to $4.2 billion to that cost, according to one preliminary industry estimate, with the solar panels possibly generating more than $100 million of electricity every year.

“While perhaps technologically feasible, there are many more technical and cost considerations than just slapping a bunch of solar panels onto the wall, including how that electricity is utilized and routed,” MJ Shiao, who leads the research analyst team at GTM research says

“With any major energy infrastructure project, the more complexity, the harder and more expensive it is to make work,” MJ Shiao

BlackRock launches US$280 million infrastructure debt fund to invest in highway, infrastructure projects in Colombia.

BlackRock, a US Asset management firm now considers infrastructure investment in Latin America on behalf of local and international clients to be a strategic priority for the firm, according to Reuters

“We think that Colombia represents an important investment opportunity that is evolving rapidly for investors that are seeking high quality infrastructure assets,” the global director of BlackRock Infrastructure Debt, Erik Savi, said in a company statement

About TILOS Americas

A favourite of leading infrastructure companies across the globe, TILOS linear scheduling software gives Project Planning Managers, Contractors, and Project Owners the ability to create and execute a reliable, comprehensive and easy to communicate linear project plan.

Trimble TILOS software was developed specifically to address the unique challenges of linear projects such as roads, railway, pipeline, bridges for professionals in the construction, engineering and energy sectors.