By Mark S. Kuhar What is the most famous abandoned quarry in the United States? You could argue it is the Bellwood Quarry in northwest Atlanta, a former Vulcan Materials site.
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Caterpillar Sponsors NASA Robotic Mining Competition
By Mark S. Kuhar On May 18-20, the seventh annual NASA Robotic Mining Competition was held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Titusville, Fla. More than 45 university-level teams designed and built remote controlled mining robots to traverse a simulated Martian terrain.
Read MoreInterstate Highway System Turns 60
By Mark S. Kuhar As the U.S. Interstate Highway System turns 60 years old, it faces increasing congestion, unprecedented levels of travel – particularly by large trucks – and insufficient funding to make needed repairs and improvements.
Read MoreExcavator in 3-D
ConExpo-Con/Agg 2017 and IFPE are teaming up to unveil the world’s first fully functional 3-D printed construction excavator and the first large-scale use of steel in 3-D printing, known as additive manufacturing. The excavator, which will be on display at the joint trade shows in March 2017, will bring to life how technology is transforming the construction industry in line…
Read MorePrehistoric Humans Worked in Flint Quarries
An 11,000-year-old quarry where prehistoric people sourced the flint for their arrows and spearheads, as well as limestone, was identified between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The works provide evidence that well before prehistoric humans settled down, they were capable of manufacturing on what we can only call an industrial scale. The find was reported by the Israeli and Middle Eastern…
Read MoreNo Bones About It: This Quarry is Special
Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, located in the San Rafael Swell, near Cleveland, Utah, contains the densest concentration of Jurassic-aged dinosaur bones ever found. More than12,000 bones (belonging to at least 74 individual dinosaurs) have been excavated at the quarry. Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry has helped paleontologists learn a great deal about the Jurassic period, yet the site presents at least as many…
Read MoreRiddle Of Cement’s Structure Finally Solved
After stone, concrete is the world’s most widely used construction material. Yet answers to some fundamental questions about the microscopic structure and behavior of this ubiquitous material have remained elusive. As you know, concrete forms through the solidification of a mixture of water, gravel, sand and cement powder. Is the resulting glue material (known as cement hydrate, CSH) a continuous…
Read MoreMineSafe Smartwatch Helps Miners Identify Dangerous Issues
Move over, iWatch. Illumiti, in collaboration with the SAP Co-Innovation Lab and Vandrico Solutions Inc., has launched the new MineSafe Smartwatch. The MineSafe Smartwatch is a tool to help miners identify and respond to potentially dangerous issues. The watch enables real-time communication between miners underground and their support team on the surface. Using real-time data and analysis software, mining companies…
Read MoreThe 12,910-Mile Highway
What if you could drive from the United States all the way to England? Sound crazy? A new proposal would see England connected to the United States by a highway bridge as part of a massive superhighway crossing the length of Russia, ultimately linking New York and London. Called the Trans-Eurasian Belt Development (TEPR), the ambitious project is being proposed…
Read MoreThe History Of Civilization Is The History Of Infrastructure
Investing in roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure has always been and remains the best way to build America’s economic, political, military, strategic and social strength, according to a new book by journalist, thought leader and U.S. domestic policy expert James P. Pinkerton. In “A Vision of American Strength: How Transportation Infrastructure Built the United States,” Pinkerton observes that “the…
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