Milestone Tunnels are Centerpiece of Landmark Virginia Bridge-tunnel Expansion

Constructed as the world’s first bridge-tunnel complex in 1957, the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel was an engineering milestone in a natural harbor already rich in history, from the landing point for voyagers who would establish the first permanent English settlement upriver at Jamestown to the first battle of ironclad vessels during the Civil War. Now, nearly 50 years after being augmented with a parallel bridge-tunnel to accommodate growing traffic on I-64, the famed crossing is again making history through the Virginia Dept. of Transportation’s largest-ever highway construction project—a $3.9-billion expansion program begun in 2020 that will double capacity with two new 7,900-ft-long bored tunnels and nearly 17,000 ft of upgraded marine trestles.

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Waste Not: NJ Digester Plant Transforms Food Waste to Fuel

It’s no secret that New York City, like many densely populated urban areas throughout history, has a trash and rodent problem. Mountains of bloated trash bags—many containing food waste that attract rats burrowing and gnawing through them—are a blight on sidewalks all over the city and other locations. But a solution with multiple benefits is underway. By: Pam McFarland

UN Report Offers Solutions for Decarbonization of Buildings, Construction Sector

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 14 (IPS) - The building sector may be overdue for a significant overhaul of the processes in which infrastructure is built to be more environmentally conscious and reduce carbon emissions, a new UN report reveals. On September 12, 2023, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture (Yale CEA), under the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, released a new report that proposes solutions to decarbonize buildings and construction and reduce the waste generated. The report, titled Building Materials, and the Climate: Constructing a New Future, provides a plan to policymakers, manufacturers, engineers, architects, developers, builders, and other stakeholders in what the report’s lead writer, Anna Dyson, Hines, Professor of Architecture at Yale University and Director of Yale CEA, calls the “building life cycle”. This is used to describe the stages of the building life cycle, from extraction of building materials to processing, installation, use, and demolition, or end-of-use.

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Building Paris every week: Urgent need to cut emissions in construction sector

With a new area the size of Paris under development around the globe every week, the construction industry contributes heavily to climate change. However, the sector has received only a fraction of environmentalists’ attention and of the funds allocated to combat emissions compared with other industries. Until now, most of the focus has been made on reducing the “operational carbon” of buildings – the emissions created from heating, cooling and lighting, which are projected to decrease from 75 per cent to 50 per cent over the next few decades. However, the authors of Building Materials and the Climate: Constructing a New Future, argue that the bulk of potential emissions cuts lie in how buildings are constructed, and to what end. And now the team of experts are calling for the creation of a ‘circular material economy’ to facilitate the achievement of the goals set out in the Paris Agreement on climate.

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New Webinar to Showcase Solutions for Building Green, Together: Local Innovations Driving Global Change 17 May 2025

Local governments around the world are transforming the buildings and construction sector from one of the largest sources of emissions into a force for climate action, resilience, and equity.On 22 May 2025, the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), hosted by UNEP, will convene a webinar titled Building Green, Together: Local Innovations Driving Global Change to spotlight the practical, scalable solutions being implemented at the local level to decarbonize the sector and create more sustainable cities. This webinar will showcase case studies from the first-ever report from GlobalABC Subnationals Action Group that embed sustainability, resilience, and circularity into local building policies and practices

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The Titans’ new 60,000-seat Nissan Stadium is targeted for completion in time for the 2027 NFL season. Photo by Donald Page/Tennessee Titans

With its new Nissan Stadium, the National Football League’s Tennessee Titans are taking the fan experience to a new level. The $2.2-billion, 2.1-million-sq-ft venue will deliver an outdoor feel and a collection of indoor amenities in line with its hometown of Nashville. And it’s ready to cover much more than just football. A nearly three-year construction period is set for completion in time to welcome as many as 60,000 fans for the first game of the 2027 football season.

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AI to power conservation projects
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Artificial intelligence (AI) is to be deployed in a conservation project to protect Surrey's natural landscapes. Space4Nature, led by Surrey Wildlife Trust and University of Surrey, will see volunteer teams map habitats by recording plant species thriving on acid grassland.

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Radical Collaboration for a Resilient Built Environment: Highlights from the 2025 GlobalABC Assembly in Dresden, Germany 18 April 2025

The Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) held its recent Annual Assembly in the historic city of Dresden, Germany, on the 7th and 8th April 2025. Members came together to review and celebrate progress, discuss ongoing activities, and chart the path forward for the Alliance. While members engage throughout the year via thematic Hubs and Action Groups, the Assembly served to further facilitate meaningful exchanges and strengthen synergies across GlobalABC’s various workstreams.

50% crude output now produced by local firms – Report

Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is entering a new era, with local oil companies now accounting for more than 50 per cent of the country’s crude oil production. This represents a sharp increase of over 10 per cent from about 40 per cent, the share they held before international oil majors began pulling out of onshore and shallow water operations. This marks a significant shift in Nigeria’s energy landscape and positions indigenous firms as key players in the Federal Government’s ambition to raise daily crude oil output by an additional one million barrels next year, a new report by Reuters quoting the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission stated on Tuesday. The report read, “Local oil firms now account for over half of Nigeria’s oil production from around 40 per cent before the oil majors completed their divestment programmes, according to the regulator’s data.

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