1.
Kansas City, Missouri
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Kansas City is the largest city in Missouri and the sixth largest city in the Midwest. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the city had an population of 475,378 in 2015. It is the city of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a Missouri River port at its confluence with the Kansas River coming in from the west, on June 1,1850 the town of Kansas was incorporated, shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued and the name Kansas City was assigned to them soon thereafter. Most of the city lies within Jackson County, but portions spill into Clay, Cass, along with Independence, it serves as one of the two county seats for Jackson County. Major suburbs include the Missouri cities of Independence and Lees Summit and the Kansas cities of Overland Park, Olathe, and Kansas City. The city is composed of neighborhoods, including the River Market District in the north, the 18th and Vine District in the east. Kansas City is also known for its cuisine, its craft breweries, Kansas City, Missouri was officially incorporated as a town on June 1,1850, and as a city on March 28,1853. The territory straddling the border between Missouri and Kansas at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers was considered a place to build settlements. The Antioch Christian Church, Dr. James Compton House, the first documented European visitor to Kansas City was Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont, who was also the first European to explore the lower Missouri River. Criticized for his response to the Native American attack on Fort Détroit, Bourgmont lived with a Native American wife in a village about 90 miles east near Brunswick, Missouri, where he illegally traded furs. In the documents, he describes the junction of the Grande Riv des Cansez and Missouri River, French cartographer Guillaume Delisle used the descriptions to make the areas first reasonably accurate map. The Spanish took over the region in the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the French continued their fur trade under Spanish license. After the 1804 Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark visited the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers, in 1831, a group of Mormons from New York settled in what would become the city. They built the first school within Kansas Citys current boundaries, but were forced out by mob violence in 1833, in 1833 John McCoy established West Port along the Santa Fe Trail,3 miles away from the river. In 1834 McCoy established Westport Landing on a bend in the Missouri to serve as a point for West Port. Soon after, the Kansas Town Company, a group of investors, began to settle the area, in 1850, the landing area was incorporated as the Town of Kansas
Kansas City, Missouri
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From top left: the
Liberty Memorial, the
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Kansas City skyline, the
Country Club Plaza,
Arrowhead Stadium, and
Kauffman Stadium
Kansas City, Missouri
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Kansas City Pioneer Square monument in Westport features
Pony Express founder
Alexander Majors, Westport/Kansas City founder
John Calvin McCoy and Mountainman
Jim Bridger who owned Chouteau's Store.
Kansas City, Missouri
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Walnut Street, Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, 1906.
Kansas City, Missouri
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Kansas City satellite map
2.
John Lyle Harrington
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Born in Lawrence, Kansas to Robert Charles and Angeline Virginia, Harrington obtained his AB, BS and CE from the University of Kansas in the 1890s. Later at McGill University he obtained another BS in 1906, Harrington became known for inventing three types of vertical lift bridges, and designed many important structures, and has written various published addresses. He has also designed some thirty million dollars worth of machinery, Harrington was resident of Kansas City. In 1907 he co-founder of Waddell & Harrington, in 1922 he was elected president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for the year 1922-23. Under Herbert Hoover presidency, he was member of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, the principal professional papers of Dr. J. A. L. Waddell, civil engineer,1905. John Alexander Low Waddell & John Lyle Harrington, Harrington - Heavy Movable Structures, Inc
John Lyle Harrington
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John L. Harrington, 1922
3.
Kivett and Myers
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Kivett & Myers was a Kansas City, Missouri architecture firm that pioneered the design of modern professional sports stadiums. Clarence Kivett graduated from the University of Kansas in 1928 and his first big project was the art deco design of Katz Drug at Main Street. He was joined by Ralph Myers in 1940, a prominent feature of the stadia design favoured by Kivett and Myers is the spiral ramps leading to the higher echelons of seating. This can be seen at Kauffman Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, as well as the now-demolished Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, the concepts of separate stadiums for baseball and football was revolutionary at the time when stadiums were designed as gigantic multipurpose venues. The rolling roof was too expensive and too impractical in Kansas City however it was to be applied at several stadiums elsewhere in the decades that followed. In 1978 the Kansas City civil engineering and architecture firm HNTB acquired Kivett and Myers and went on to several professional stadiums, indoor arenas. In 1988 several more architects left HNTB and opened an architecture office in Kansas City for Ellerbe Becket. This practice was primarily for professional indoor sports arenas, but was also responsible for several major stadia. KC Public Library History Kansas City Biz Journal profile
Kivett and Myers
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Truman Sports Complex
4.
Infrastructure
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Infrastructure refers to the fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area, including the services and facilities necessary for its economy to function. The word was imported from French, where it means subgrade, the word is a combination of the Latin prefix infra, meaning below, and structure. The military use of the term achieved currency in the United States after the formation of NATO in the 1940s and this crisis discussion contributed to an increase in infrastructure asset management and maintenance planning in the US. Public-policy discussions have been hampered by lack of a definition for infrastructure. A1987 US National Research Council panel adopted the public works infrastructure. The OECD also classifies communications as a part of infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers has not defined the term, though issuing a US Infrastructure Report Card every 2-4 years. Hard infrastructure refers to the physical networks necessary for the functioning of an industrial nation. The term critical infrastructure distinguishes those infrastructure elements that, if damaged or destroyed. Similarly, a booking system might be critical infrastructure for an airline. These elements of infrastructure are the focus of efforts in the aftermath of natural disasters. The term infrastructure may be confused with the following overlapping or related concepts, service connections to municipal service and public utility networks would also be considered land improvements, not infrastructure. The term public works includes government-owned and operated infrastructure as well as buildings, such as schools. Public works generally refers to physical assets needed to deliver public services, public services include both infrastructure and services generally provided by government. Infrastructure may be owned and managed by governments or by private companies, generally, most roads, major ports and airports, water distribution systems and sewage networks are publicly owned, whereas most energy and telecommunications networks are privately owned. Publicly owned infrastructure may be paid for taxes, tolls, or metered user fees. Major investment projects are financed by the issuance of long-term bonds. Government owned and operated infrastructure may be developed and operated in the sector or in public-private partnerships. As of 2008 in the United States for example, public spending on infrastructure has varied between 2. 3% and 3. 6% of GDP since 1950, many financial institutions invest in infrastructure
Infrastructure
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Grand Coulee Dam
5.
Theodore Zoli
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Theodore P. Zoli, III is an American structural engineer, and a leading designer of cable-stayed bridges. He is currently the National Bridge Chief Engineer at HNTB Corporation and is a 2009 MacArthur Fellow, Zoli graduated from Princeton University with a B. S. in 1988 and from the California Institute of Technology with an M. S. in 1989. Since 1990, he has worked for HNTB Corporation and he is a visiting lecturer at Princeton University and Adjunct Professor of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at Columbia University. In the aftermath of September 11,2001, Zoli has focused on the retrofit of bridges across the United States and he developed a novel composite material for lightweight, blast-resistant coverings for a broad array of construction applications. Most recently, Zoli designed the new Lake Champlain Bridge connecting New York to Vermont, replacing an older structure and he designed the Squibb Park Bridge for pedestrians in Brooklyn, NY. It remains closed as of November 2015,2009 MacArthur Fellows Program Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge Blennerhassett Island Bridge Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge AEI meeting CV
Theodore Zoli
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Theodore P. Zoli, III
6.
Green Line Extension
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The extension is projected to have a total weekday ridership of about 52,000. The Green Line would see an increase in boardings of 30,700, while on the drawing board since 1990, the project has proceeded in fits and starts. Construction finally broke ground on Phase 1 of the Green Line Extension in 2012, in August 2015, the MBTA disclosed that the project would cost approximately $3 billion, a $1.08 billion increase from previous estimates. The revised cost called into question whether the project could be completed, the Federal Transit Administration approved the modified project in April 2017. The Green Line Extension is planned to have two branches, which split just past a relocated Lechmere station in East Cambridge. The “Medford Branch” will become part of the D Branch, with stations located at East Somerville, Gilman Square, Magoun Square. A second branch, approximately 0. 9-mile long, to Union Square in Somerville and this branch would follow the existing Fitchburg Line commuter rail right-of-way and includes a single station at Union Square. The Union Square Branch will be designated as part of the E Branch, the Winthrop Street stop was dropped from plans due to the proximity of other stations and neighborhood opposition, while the Route 16 station was placed on hold due to cost issues. In 2011, the Boston MPO decided to allocate funding in the 2016–2020 time period for the Route 16 station, the 87 and 88 were converted to trackless trolleys in 1941, while the 89 and 101 saw heavy wartime use and lasted until 1946 and 1947, respectively. In the 1945–47 Coolidge Commission reports, many of the same transit projects were again proposed, the extension would allow the Boston & Maine Railroad to abandon their local stops along the corridor while providing a faster trip than on surface transit. However, other extensions received priority, and the Woburn extension was not built, the B&M dropped the Somerville local stops in the late 1940s and early 1950s due to declining ridership. In 1955–57 the B&M raised the tracks through Wedgemere and Winchester Center onto a high grade, however, the elevated portion was only built with two tracks, preventing a rapid transit extension from reaching to Woburn, since two tracks would still be needed for Lowell Line service. All discussion of the project since has focused on an extension no further than West Medford, the trackless trolleys were replaced by buses in 1959 and 1963, leaving most of Somerville with a transit system dependent on buses running on frequently crowded streets. The current phase of planning began in 2005 with the completion of the MBTAs Beyond Lechmere Northwest Corridor Study Major Investment Study/Alternatives Analysis, potential station stops were announced for the first time in May 2008. In August 2011, MassDOT announced that opening of the Extension would be postponed to Fall 2018 at the earliest, completion of the Extension to College Avenue near Tufts University could be delayed to 2020, while the terminus at Mystic Valley Parkway remains deferred indefinitely. The stated reason for the delays was difficulties in land acquisition, as well as implied concerns about cost controls, interim air-quality improvement measures will be necessary due to the project delays. Possibilities include extending Green Line branches to Lechmere, increased bus service in Somerville and Medford, on June 11,2012, the Federal Transit Administration approved the Extensions for entry into the Preliminary Engineering phase as part of the New Starts program. This approval was a step in MassDOTs application for $557 million in New Starts funding
Green Line Extension
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Future site of Washington Street station
Green Line Extension
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Map of the Green Line Extension (GLX). Parts of the
Red and
Orange Lines are also visible.
Green Line Extension
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Abandoned trolley rail, formerly used by the #101 route, on Main Street in Somerville
Green Line Extension
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The Medford Street bridge in Somerville was rebuilt as part of Phase I construction.
7.
High Five Interchange
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The High Five Interchange is one of the first five-level stack interchanges built in Dallas, Texas. Located at the junction of the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, the $261 million project was started in 2002 and completed in December 2005. It was designed by the HNTB Corporation and built by Zachry Construction Corporation, the interchange is considered by Popular Mechanics to be one of The Worlds 18 Strangest Roadways because of its height, its 43 permanent bridges and other unusual design and construction features. In 2006, the American Public Works Association named the High Five Interchange as Public Works Projects of the Year, the High Five Interchange, north of downtown in Dallas, Texas, is a massive five-level freeway interchange. It replaces the antiquated three-level, modified cloverleaf interchange built in the 1960s that caused a bottleneck by narrowing US75 down to two lanes at the junction of the two highways. The looped ramps of the cloverleaf forced motorists to slow down drastically, left-hand exits contributed to the congestion. Further, its two frontage roads were not directly connected to other, making local access difficult. Alluding to the gesture, the High Five name refers to the five flyover ramps handling the left-turn movements that tower over the landscape. The interchange is as high as a 12-story building, and includes 43 bridges spread across five levels,710 support tiers, the highest ramps are 120 feet above ground. The High Five also incorporates a hiking and bike trail, named the Cottonwood Trail, the section of the trail passing beneath the interchange was constructed as part of the High Five project by TxDOT. It was a project between the TxDOT, affected motorists and property owners, and the primary contractor, Zachry Construction. An essential consideration was to complete the project with as little disruption to the flow as possible. Reasons for upgrading the interchange, in addition to the need to increase flow and reduce congestion, were to improve air quality, safety. Zachry Construction Corporation submitted the lowest bid and was awarded the $261 million contract by TxDOT, the construction contract for the High Five Interchange was unique in that it contained elements not found in other construction project contracts. The fees ranged from $50 to a high of $110,000 for rush hours, little of the original interchange remained when the project was finished. During the construction,2.2 million cubic yards of earthwork was used,350,000 cubic yards of concrete was mixed on site, additionally,40,000 feet of drilled shafts and 75,000 linear feet of drainage pipe were completed. In addition to the construction of 43 permanent bridges, six bridges were built. Texas portal U. S. -May 2004 Dallas High Five Interchange Tour Dallas, TX, ScrewdUPClickV2
High Five Interchange
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Under Construction (2005)
High Five Interchange
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High Five Interchange: US 75 on the bottom level; the two
frontage roads on the second; I-635 on the third;
direct connection ramps on the two top levels
8.
Texas Department of Transportation
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The Texas Department of Transportation is a government agency in the U. S. state of Texas. The agency has been headquartered in the Dewitt C, greer Building at 125 East 11th Street in downtown Austin, Texas, since 1933. The Texas Legislature created the Texas Highway Department in 1916 to administer federal highway construction, in 1975, its responsibilities increased when the agency merged with the Texas Mass Transportation Commission, to form the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation. In 1986, the department started using Dont Mess with Texas as its slogan to reduce littering on Texas roadways, the phrase was prominently shown on road signs on major highways, as well as in television, radio, and print advertisements. The slogan is still in use and remains very popular, in 2009, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles was created by the state legislature, taking over some functions from TxDOT. The executive director is currently James Bass, previously Bass served as chief financial officer since 2005. He is assisted by one deputy director and four assistant executive directors, the current interim Deputy Executive Director is Marc Williams. The department is organized into 25 geographical districts and 34 divisions, TxDOT is one of the states largest departments in terms of the number of subordinate offices – it maintains 25 geographical districts throughout the state. The large number of departments is needed due to the size of the state, the widely varying climate and soil conditions affecting public roads. In 2010, TxDOT was reorganized into four regions, North, South, East, the regions are designated as Regional Support Centers. The number of districts remained the same, each district, managed by a district engineer, is responsible for the design, location, construction, and maintenance of its area transportation systems. Local field offices within districts are known as area offices, and many also have separate maintenance offices. Functional divisions and offices headquartered in Austin provide administrative and technical support to the districts, TxDOT also publishes the annual Texas Travel Guide, which offers points of interests for all regions of Texas. Horizon is a quarterly journal focusing on policy issues and financing in particular
Texas Department of Transportation
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One building of the headquarters of TxDOT's
Houston district
Texas Department of Transportation
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Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
Texas Department of Transportation
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Dewitt C. Greer Building, the headquarters of the Texas Department of Transportation in
Austin, is a
National Registered Historic Place
