In the past 50 years, civil engineering has been used to significantly change the lives of citizens living in America. This was after engineers sought to solve many issues related to dam construction, structural failures and poor sanitation and drainage in urban areas. This was at a time when urbanization was a key issue in America. The urban areas were being improved with a goal of having strong structures that could withstand threats of natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Furthermore, urban areas sought to become major cities within impeccable planning and maximum use of space. A major area of concern was traffic congestion and how to handle the increase in sewage effluent due to an increase in urban settlements.
Therefore, civil engineers had to design new structures for large cities that could handle dense populations and changing environmental conditions. Engineers managed to improve the country’s vehicular congestion through improved designs of roads. This was with the introduction of superhighways. These superhighways were used to connect various cities and towns. Engineers also designed bypasses and roundabouts with automated traffic lights that could efficiently manage traffic flow all the time. This minimized traffic congestion while reducing the need of traffic officers to control traffic at roundabouts.
Recent technologies have facilitated the incorporation of GPRS navigation into traffic movement (Easa and Chan, 2000). Therefore, drivers can easily determine the least congested route to reach their destination. This has helped to save on time and even fuel consumption. Engineers have also learnt to use different designs in their construction. The introduction of modern machinery has reduced the need for strenuous human effort in road construction. Furthermore, construction activities such as compaction and other traction activities can now be easily done using machines. This has improved the efficiency of road construction and led to construction of more sustainable roads in the USA.
Civil engineers have also been actively involved in the design and construction of strong and sustainable dams. These dams can handle large volumes of water for increased generation of hydroelectric power. Engineers have used new dam construction techniques to construct dams across river valleys. Some designs include accurate determination of the rock structure to ensure the dams constructed are strong and that no leakages can result. Furthermore, engineers have constructed dams with the inclusion of spillways that allow for outlets in case the water volume exceeds the recommended capacity that is pre-calculated.
This has helped to ensure cases of collapsing of dams do not occur. These spillways use modern technology in automating the closing and opening of the spillway gates from a control centre. In case of failure of the automated means, they still have a manual option for opening and closing of the spillway gates. Engineers have also used dams as a base for construction of roads over huge masses of water. The top of the dams are made to be broad to allow for vehicular movement. This has helped to save on costly construction of bridges over such water bodies (Jansen, 1988).
The construction of many dams has helped to solve any problem of water supply to the many cities. USA usually controls its water supply through the military. This is especially because of the bioterrorism threats that exist due to water safety. This means the reservoirs are well manned. Water treatment and supply is keenly monitored to ensure a constant supply of safe water to all the citizens of the country. USA also manages its drainage in very articulate ways to prevent water pollution and the transmission of water borne diseases. Civil and structural engineers are involved in the construction of underground water ways that lead to huge sewage treatment plants. The wastewater is directed through waterways that are usually constructed below the urban roads.
Engineers are involved in the construction if these sewer systems to ensure they do not mix with the cities’ water supply. Furthermore, the sewers are constructed with sufficient gradient such that they lead to central wastewater treatment plants. Most cities use a combined sewer systems that collect wastewater from homes, industries and streets to a single treatment plant. The water treatment plants remove any harmful pollutants from the wastewater before it is discharged into natural waterways. The treatment plants are made to operate quickly to ensure that its reservoirs are never completely full. This allows for continued treatment of wastewater. Water engineers are used to man the treatment process from the preliminary treatment through to disinfection and treatment of sludge.
Civil engineers are actively involved in the construction of various infrastructural facilities such that a balance of nature’s cycle is maintained. This includes a balance in the carbon cycle and maintenance of the aquatic life even in the construction of dams and discharge of effluent into natural waterways. This plays a very important role in facilitating human settlements while sustaining the environment. This is the primary reason why civil engineering incorporates environmental studies. Civil engineers are meant to work with the environment in the construction of new infrastructural facilities (Recent Developments in Building, Civil Engineering and Public Works, 1992).
Third world countries have also taken a huge step in civil engineering and application of similar principles as those used in USA. This is especially since such countries are in that phase requiring rapid development of urban areas. Furthermore, accessibility of various areas across the country should be improved to allow for technological development and creation of employment opportunities for the citizens of that country. Civil engineering has been used in creating access across such countries. Civil engineers have also adopted the construction of superhighways since urban populations are increasing tremendously fast.
There has also been inclusion of the bypasses to reduce traffic congestion. These new technologies have helped to reduce congestion in urban areas and hence reduce wastage of time and fuel. The increase in urban population has also necessitated an overhaul in the construction of new drainage and sewerage systems since the earlier ones constantly experience blockages. This has posed severe public health risks to the residents and workers in such cities. Civil engineers are adopting the combined sewer system with increased capacity of water treatment plants to ensure adequate drainage to the cities’ sewer systems (Nemerow, 2009). This has played a major role in improving the cleanliness of the cities in third world countries.
Third world countries have also established the need of increased water reservoirs for water supply and for purposes of generating hydroelectric power (Powerhouses and Related Tropics, 1989). Civil engineers have been active in the selection of the best sites for dam construction. Construction of dams in such countries has been especially easy since most rivers pass through areas of low population densities. This has facilitated easy construction without the need of displacement of settlements. However, a major challenge to dam construction is the fact that most people living in the rural area depends on rivers and streams as their main supply of water. Therefore, some communities have suffered as a result of the blocking of water flow through the construction of dams (Haldar, 2006).
However, engineers have realized the need of having outlets to allow for continued sustenance of such communities. Engineers have also liaised with the governing authorities to allow for supply of piped water to such communities. This reduces over-reliance on rivers for water supply. This coupled with the rural electrification programs that arise from the construction of power stations has played an important role in opening up remote areas to industrialization and development. This helps improve the country’s economic status through the creation of jobs and earning of foreign exchange. This is due to the increase in the number of industries set up and the growth of urban areas and settlements (Misra, 2008).
Third world countries have especially had difficulties in construction of bridges across large water bodies. Some rivers have extreme changes in water flow and the pressure resulting from increased water pressure has caused several bridges to collapse. Some coastal regions, especially islands have remained in alienation with boats and ferries being the main form of transportation available for residents of such islands. Engineers are yet to construct strong suspension bridges, as those that are common in USA, to help improve the accessibility of such areas. The construction of such bridges will have to take into account the load that such bridges will be subjected to while at the same time ensuring the safety of the users is maintained (Simon, 1996).
In the construction of highway bridges engineers are seeking at improving the safety and strength of the bridges they construct. This is through the use of high strength concrete as base material in construction of these structures. This also incorporates the use of cable stays in the structural reinforcements of modern bridges. Bridge strengthening also includes the use of composite materials to increase in its inherent strength through materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic. Bridge construction also uses various models in assessing the combination of various loads that the bridge may have to withstand (Das, 1999).
Engineers use the dead load model to calculate and determine forces due to the weight of the bridge structure itself and other structures connected to it. The live load model is used to determine forces due to the weight of vehicles moving on the bridge. This involves determination of the dynamic and static components of these forces and the effect they have on the bridge. More specifically, the dynamic load model is used to analyze the effect of frequency of vibration and other dynamics of the vehicle on the stability of the bridge. Nowadays, bridges are made with critical analysis of the earthquake load model. This analyses the ability of the bridge to remain stable even in case of earthquakes occur (Creazza, 1991). These may test its rigidity and flexibility. This is why engineers nowadays make bridges to be flexible such that the vibrations result in a fluid movement of the bridge such that it does not collapse. This is especially crucial since earthquakes have become common, for example, near oceanic shores. The bridges in such areas must be well constructed to ensure that no catastrophes result from these disasters.
Conclusion
Civil engineering has helped to improve the construction of numerous structures in both developed and developing countries. The new designs are especially concerned with improving safety and longevity of the structures constructed. Bridge construction is one such area. However, the technologies used in developing countries are yet to be used in bridge construction, in developing countries.
References
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