Infrastructure

The New York Times reports: Florida’s high-rise building regulations have long been among the strictest in the nation. But after parts of Champlain Towers South tumbled down on June 24, killing at least 24 people and leaving 121 unaccounted for, evidence has mounted that those rules have been enforced unevenly by local governments, and sometimes not at all. Miami-Dade County …

The Miami Herald reports: Firefighters ordered residents to evacuate a low-rise condominium complex in Miami Beach Saturday night after a building inspector flagged a flooring system failure in a vacant unit and damage to exterior walls. Miami Beach firefighters responded to a call about a vacant unit in the 1600 block of Lenox Avenue at about 7:30 p.m. when they …

Miami’s NBC News affiliate reports: A condo building in North Miami Beach has been closed and residents are being evacuated Friday after an audit and building inspection report outlined unsafe structural and electrical conditions. The city of North Miami Beach ordered the 156-unit Crestview Towers Condominium, located at 2025 NE 164th St., to be closed immediately and the evacuation of …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: On Wednesday morning, county officials declared buildings housing 72 units at Images Condominiums unsafe after an engineering firm discovered several walkways leading to the units are “in danger of collapse” and posed a safety concern during an inspection, Osceola County spokesperson Chris Brumbaugh said. Residents were advised to enter the buildings containing the units at their …

The Wall Street Journal reports: President Biden and a group of centrist senators agreed to a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure plan, securing a long-sought bipartisan deal on overhauling the nation’s transportation, water and broadband infrastructure that lawmakers and the White House will now attempt to shepherd through a closely-divided Capitol Hill. “We had a really good meeting and to answer …

Washington DC’s Fox affiliate reports: Authorities say four people were hurt after a pedestrian bridge collapsed in Northeast D.C. The incident happened around 12 p.m. along Interstate 295 just prior to Polk Street. Officials say four people suffered minor injuries and were hospitalized. Emergency crews remained at the scene checking in vehicles beneath the fallen section of the bridge. Hazmat …

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports: The White House Monday launched a series of videos to highlight crumbling infrastructure in Eastern Kentucky as part of a media push to drum up support for President Joe Biden’s proposed infrastructure bill. As moderate Democrats and Republicans have been at loggerheads in coming up with an agreement on how much money to allocate to fixing …

CBS News reports: A bipartisan group of senators reached a deal Thursday on infrastructure legislation, after President Biden ended negotiations with a team of Republican senators on Tuesday. The group of five Republicans and five Democrats released a joint statement Thursday afternoon saying they had reached an agreement, although they did not offer any details about it. “Our group – …

CNN reports: Weeks-long infrastructure negotiations between President Joe Biden and a Senate GOP group led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito broke down on Tuesday, according to an administration official, who said the White House has decided to shift its focus toward a bipartisan Senate group that has been meeting on a possible proposal. The decision to pivot follows an abrupt, …

Gothamist reports: Major construction on East Side Access located under Grand Central Terminal is complete. The 15-year long, $11 billion terminal and concourse is seven stories underground, and will allow Long Island Rail Road trains to pull into Grand Central Terminal, reducing the burden on Penn Station—and ultimately shave up to 40 minutes off commutes into Manhattan. About half the …

The New York Times reports: For five years, the plan to build a second pair of rail tunnels between New York City and New Jersey has been deemed one of the most critical infrastructure projects in the country. But it needed a green light from federal officials. On Friday, after years of delays during the Trump administration, that approval officially …

NBC News reports: Repairs to the Interstate 40 bridge linking Arkansas and Tennessee could take months after a crack was found in the span, forcing thousands of trucks and cars to detour and shutting down shipping on a section of the Mississippi River, a transportation official said. A congressional Democrat from Tennessee flagged the crack as a warning sign of …