World Construction Network

Daily Newsletter

07 August 2023

Daily Newsletter

The Walsh-Kokosing joint venture (JV) has selected American infrastructure consultant AECOM as the lead designer for the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor (BSBC) Project, US.

The scope of the project involves the renovation and restoration of the Brent Spence Bridge, an important gateway for travellers on Interstates 71 and 75 (motorways) between Ohio and Kentucky, along with the development of a new companion bridge to alleviate traffic congestion.

The project aims to improve traffic flow and safety while preserving critical regional and national transportation corridors.

The contract is partly funded by a $1.6bn government investment from the national government's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

AECOM president Lara Poloni said: “We are proud to play a vital role in building a better-connected road network along one of the country’s busiest routes for commerce and commuter travellers.

“We look forward to collaborating across our enterprise to bring our technical expertise to bear on this project, which will bring long-awaited safety improvements and traffic relief to this community.”

As the lead designer, AECOM will offer comprehensive design and engineering services to execute significant modifications that address safety and traffic flow, boost capacity between the states, improve the interchange geometry, and upgrade the interstate for several kilometres into Kentucky.

The contract also involves restoring the existing Brent Spence Bridge to its original design intent of three lanes of traffic in each direction, with emergency shoulders on both sides.

The project will be delivered using the 'progressive design-build' method.

ESG 2.0 marks a shift towards stricter environmental rules

ESG is moving into a different era, which we call ESG 2.0. While ESG 1.0 was driven by voluntary corporate action, spurred by pressure from activist consumers and investors, ESG 2.0 is being driven by a new wave of government policies. The EU has taken the regulatory lead, with rules introduced or in the pipeline that will price emissions, regulate the use of the terms ‘ESG’ and ‘sustainability’ in marketing materials, and make ESG reporting mandatory. The US has taken a different approach, favoring less regulation and more financial support in the form of tax breaks for clean industry (renewables plus nuclear and hydrogen). China is planning to expand its emissions trading system to more sectors, decarbonize its heavy industry, and ramp up its use of renewables. The new policy direction is mainly motivated by the ambition to hit net zero emissions targets. But on top of this, governments are now competing for clean industry and trying to challenge China’s leadership on the production of the world’s green technologies such as solar panels and batteries, as well as the production and refinement of materials needed for energy transition such as lithium. These driving forces are leading to policy that will impact every sector, not just heavy industry, and will keep ESG near the top of the regulatory agenda over the longer term.