Giant robot "worms" have been tunneling towards each other through opposite sides of the Gottard Massif for years. On Friday, they finally met, completing the 19-mile tunnel.
Frank James and Mark Memmott of the NPR News blog reflect on the greatness of this engineering feat, and how sad it is that the Swiss can get such popular support for expensive infrastructure projects like this while U.S. citizens balk at paying for any public good:
"...Swiss citizens decided the Gotthard Base Tunnel was important enough they would tax themselves to pay for it, about $1300 each. Every man, woman, and child. This is not just a project of engineers, it is a project of a people."
Read the full story: The Greatness Of Ambition Made Real In The Alps
Judge Delays Restoration of Gateway Tunnel Funding
The judge that ordered the administration to release federal funds for the New York-New Jersey tunnel project approved a temporary stay, delaying the release by at least a few more days.
Judge Unfreezes NYC-to-NJ Gateway Tunnel Funds
Work on a new portion of the New York-to-New Jersey train tunnel was scheduled to halt last Friday if federal funds were not released.
NYC-NJ Gateway Tunnel Project to Stop Work Next Week if DOT Doesn’t Release Funding
The federal government hasn’t released funding frozen during last October’s government shutdown.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
California city breaks ground on transit connector
The project includes three mobility hubs and a pedestrian bridge.
After public outcry, Massachusetts city releases housing development tracker
Cambridge’s tracker currently shows 250 housing projects in various stages of development.
40 years after approval, Chicago breaks ground on new park
The park honors Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the city’s first permanent non-native settler.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority