NEW YORK — Michael Abrahams, technical director of Structures for Parsons Brinckerhoff, is the recipient of the John A. Roebling Medal. Given as part of the International Bridge Conference (IBC) Awards 2011 program, the Roebling Medal recognizes an individual for lifetime achievement in bridge engineering. During a 46-year career, Abrahams has had significant roles in the planning, design, and construction of all types of bridges — particularly major long-span and movable bridges including lift, sliding, floating, bascule, and swing. These structures include many award-winning spans in the United States.

 HARRISBURG, PA. — The Reconstruction of New Jersey Route 18 project in New Brunswick, N.J., was chosen as one of the recipients of America’s Transportation Awards, which took place at the annual meeting of the Northeast Association of State Transportation Officials. Eight transportation projects from seven Northeastern states were recognized for reducing congestion, stimulating economic development, improving multimodal connections, reconnecting communities, and making commuting safer.

 CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Civil engineers at MIT, working with physicists at the University of Potsdam in Germany, recently proposed a new method for continual electronic monitoring of structures.The researchers describe a flexible fabric with electrical properties that could adhere to areas prone to cracking — such as the undersides of bridges — and detect cracks almost immediately when they occur.

 CHARLESTON, W.V. — West Virginia Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox announced completion of the Mon/Fayette Expressway and will be joined by Federal Highway Deputy Administrator Greg Nadeau as well as other federal, state, and local officials from West Virginia and Pennsylvania at a ribbon cutting celebration Monday, July 11, 2011.

 LOS ANGELES — The California Transportation Commission (CTC) allocated $825 million in new funding to 92 highway, transit, and rail projects that will strengthen California’s economy and upgrade the state’s vast transportation system. The allocations included nearly $9 million from Proposition 1B, a 2006 voter-approved transportation bond. To date, the state has allocated nearly $8 billion in Proposition 1B funds.