In the July issue of Rebuilding America's Infrastructure magazine, Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct was our "project spotlight" story. In that story, we focussed on the design options for the $4.2-billion replacement.

This 2007 video, commissioned by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which simulates an earthquake and a resulting collapse of the viaduct, was released to the public this past week by Washington state officials. The Seattle Times tries to explain why it took two years for this video to become public, highlighting the dissonance that remains in the Emerald City.

A $3-million grant from the National Science Foundation will allow the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District to "transform the bridge's southern visitor area into an open-air interactive lesson in suspension bridge engineering." The District plans to open the exhibit in time for the Golden Gate's 75th anniversary in May 2010.

According to this story in New York's Press-Republican, inspectors with the New York Department of Transportation noticed an incline crack on a pier on the New York side of the bridge. The bridge is closed to traffic, which, heading into winter, will present big challenges.

We covered the bridge-in-a-backpack in August, when Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood inspected the innovative technology at the Maine research center where it was created. Now, The New York Times breaks down (no pun inteded) the new Neal Bridge, the first real-world application.

Bentley Systems, Inc., will announce the winners of its 2009 Be Inspired Awards next week during its Be Inspired: Infrastructure Best Practices Symposium and Awards in Charlotte, N.C. The awards honor outstanding achievements in infrastructure and are judged by an independent panel of industry experts. However, in advance of that event, the company announced the winners of a new set of awards called Be Inspired Special Recognition Awards.