A sinkhole roughly 8–10 m wide and several metres deep has opened on the AJ Burkitt Reserve sporting oval in Heidelberg, directly adjacent to the North East Link tunnel alignment in Melbourne’s northeast. Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority has confirmed the “surface hole” is in the vicinity of active tunnelling operations, leading to a work pause while engineers and emergency crews carry out geotechnical investigations and monitoring. No injuries or structural damage have been reported, but the area remains fully cordoned off pending cause determination and stability assessment.

Emerson has released the latest version of its AspenTech Aspen Mtell® Asset Performance Management platform, adding AI-driven failure prediction on top of foundational asset health monitoring for process and mining operations. The update is designed to let operators move from simple condition-based alerts to scalable, model-based prognostics that can detect emerging equipment degradation and predict time-to-failure across critical assets such as mills, crushers and pumps. For mine operators, the key impact is earlier intervention windows, fewer unplanned shutdowns and more stable throughput without major changes to existing control systems.

Exitflex hydraulic hoses supplied by Motion are being promoted for abrasive, high-pressure mining environments where conventional hose assemblies often fail prematurely. The range targets hydraulic circuits on drills, loaders and longwall equipment exposed to rock fines, impact and pressure spikes, with reinforced constructions and abrasion-resistant outer covers designed to extend service intervals. For maintenance and reliability engineers, the key implication is potential reduction in unplanned downtime and hose-change labour in harsh open-pit and underground applications.

More than 280 roads across Australia will receive Federal Government funding for safety upgrades in 2025–26 under the national Black Spot Program, targeting locations with a documented crash history or high predicted crash risk. Works will focus on engineering treatments such as new or upgraded traffic signals, installation of roundabouts and other geometric improvements at intersections and mid-block sections. Designers and road authorities can expect funding support specifically for physical, site-specific interventions rather than broader corridor renewals or routine maintenance.

HS2’s Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture will start driving the Euston link tunnels from Old Oak Common next week, progressing the underground connection towards the central London terminus. The works will extend the existing Old Oak Common tunnel drives, using large-diameter TBMs to thread beneath dense urban infrastructure and utilities on the approach to Euston. Geotechnical and structural interface risks around existing Network Rail assets and deep foundations will be critical, with settlement control and real-time monitoring likely to dominate construction methodology.

Westminster City Council has agreed a £229m budget with McLaren Construction for phase two of the Ebury Bridge regeneration in Knightsbridge and Belgravia, covering three independent and two adjoined residential blocks that required four separate building safety applications to the Building Safety Regulator. The wider scheme will deliver 779 homes across three phases, including 373 for social rent, with phase two adding 334 units, 228 of them for social rent, plus reinstated Ebury Bridge Road retail frontage and new commercial premises. McLaren will use prefabricated façade elements to cut material movements, with main construction starting later in 2025 and completion scheduled for May 2029.

The first UK standard for women’s safety on construction sites has been launched at the House of Lords, creating a formal national benchmark for site conditions, behaviour and facilities. Developed to address harassment, inadequate PPE fit and lack of appropriate welfare provision, the standard is intended for adoption by principal contractors, clients and supply chains across major infrastructure and building projects. Contractors will be expected to embed its requirements into site inductions, toolbox talks and subcontract terms, with compliance likely to influence prequalification and framework bids.

Construction of the Chimney Hollow Reservoir in Colorado has delivered the US’s largest asphalt-core rockfill dam (ACRD), with main works now complete and the structure built to full height on schedule. Engineers had to manage complex rockfill placement around a central asphalt core, stringent seepage control, and tight temperature and compaction windows for the asphaltic concrete in a high-altitude environment. The project’s performance will be closely watched by dam designers considering ACRD solutions for sites with challenging foundations and seismic demands.

Two major Victorian road intersection projects are advancing, with Fulton Hogan awarded the Henderson Road–Ferntree Gully Road upgrade in Knoxfield and an $83.5 million contract let for the Ballan Road intersection in Melbourne’s west. Works will reconfigure both intersections to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion while adding safer walking and cycling movements through new signalisation and layout changes. Civil contractors can expect significant pavement reconstruction, drainage adjustments and staged traffic management on constrained urban corridors.

Dyno Nobel has launched the Navus handheld blaster, a 600 g electronic initiation device designed to trigger blasts via up to 2,500 m of harness wire anywhere on site. The unit extends the company’s electronic initiation range beyond fixed blast boxes, giving engineers more flexibility in complex pit geometries, underground headings and perimeter stand-off locations. For drill-and-blast teams, the compact form factor and long wire support enable wider separation between charge areas and firing points without adding extra infrastructure.

A commuter train derailed in Gelida, near Barcelona, on 20 January after striking a collapsed retaining wall that had fallen onto the track, killing the driver and injuring 37 passengers. The incident, Spain’s second fatal rail accident in a week, occurred on a section of line with trackside earth-retaining structures, raising immediate questions over wall design, drainage, inspection frequency and slope stability under recent weather conditions. For civil and geotechnical engineers, failure mode identification and rapid condition assessment of similar retaining systems on active corridors will be a priority.

European governments are being urged by an independent climate think‑tank to classify parts of North Sea offshore wind infrastructure as defence assets and fund them from expanded military budgets. The proposal, timed ahead of the North Seas Summit, centres on using defence spending to harden subsea power cables, offshore substations and grid interconnectors against sabotage and hybrid threats. For civil and marine engineers, this signals potential new design criteria for critical energy structures, including higher physical protection standards, redundancy in export cables and closer integration with naval surveillance systems.

David Cormack has begun a two-year tenure as Chair of the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) Board from 1 January 2026, succeeding former Chair Oliver Auston. Cormack previously served two years as Vice Chair and sat on LEEA’s Technical Committee, giving him direct influence over standards and guidance for cranes, hoists and lifting accessories widely used in mining and heavy civil projects. His appointment signals continuity in technical governance for inspection, certification and safe lifting practice across global operations.

The UK government’s £15bn Warm Homes Plan aims to upgrade up to five million homes by 2030 with rooftop solar, heat pumps supported by £7,500 grants, domestic batteries and insulation, with low-income households receiving fully funded packages. DESNEZ expects Future Homes Standard rules to make rooftop solar mandatory on new homes “where practicable”, tripling the current number of solar-equipped properties, while a new Warm Homes Agency and Workforce Taskforce will coordinate delivery and skills. Industry bodies welcome the scale but warn current supply chains, installer competence and training capacity are insufficient to deliver more than 1.5m heat pumps a year.

Construction of three cut-and-cover precast “green tunnels” on HS2’s central section at Wendover is being sequenced so delivery teams can copy and refine methods from earlier drives, cutting programme risk and improving safety. Standardised precast portal units and repeatable temporary works details are being reused across the tunnels, allowing faster installation cycles, tighter quality control on waterproofing and backfill, and more predictable ground-structure interaction. Lessons on logistics, lifting operations and working within narrow rural corridors are being transferred between sites to reduce plant clashes and temporary land-take.

Safety upgrades are now complete at the Stud Road–McFees Road intersection in Dandenong North, with new signalised traffic lights and rebuilt pedestrian crossings serving flows to and from Dandenong Stadium. The works formalise crossing movements for pedestrians and cyclists on this high-volume arterial, replacing unsignalised movements that previously relied on driver gap acceptance. For designers and road safety engineers, the project signals continued federal–state funding support for low-cost intersection treatments that separate vulnerable users from turning traffic in suburban activity corridors.

Disaster recovery has started on the Bruxner Highway at Mallanganee, where Transport for NSW is repairing and stabilising two failed downslopes damaged by a landslip between Willock Street and Bulmers Road, about 40 kilometres west of Casino. Works include installing soil nails to reinforce the slope mass and control further movement, alongside reconstruction of the affected pavement and drainage. Geotechnical teams will need to manage access and traffic staging on this constrained highway section while drilling and grouting operations are underway.

Fenner’s grid and gear couplings from Motion are engineered for mining drives exposed to high shock loads, shaft misalignment and abrasive, contaminated environments, targeting applications such as crushers, conveyors and slurry pumps. The metallic grid and gear elements are designed to accommodate angular, parallel and axial misalignment while damping torsional vibration, reducing stress on gearboxes and motors in heavy-duty start–stop duty. For engineers, the key value is longer service intervals and fewer unplanned stoppages on critical rotating equipment in remote sites.

29Metals is launching a $150 million equity raising to keep its copper development pipeline on schedule despite near-term production disruption from seismic activity at its assets. The funding move comes as the company manages operational constraints and remediation costs while seeking to maintain progress on key growth projects rather than cutting back capital programmes. For geotechnical and mining teams, the raise signals continued investment in ground control, seismic monitoring and mine design adjustments rather than prolonged curtailment of underground activity.

Immersive Technologies is deploying simulator-based training programmes to help mines cope with acute supervisor shortages as veteran foremen retire and less-experienced operators are promoted early. Its solutions use high-fidelity equipment simulators and scenario-based modules to build decision-making, crew leadership, and shift management skills for haul truck, shovel, and drill supervisors in a controlled environment. Operators can rehearse responses to production bottlenecks, near-miss incidents, and equipment downtime events, allowing sites to standardise supervisory competence and reduce on-the-job learning risk.

Government plans a “once‑in‑a‑generation” overhaul of England’s water sector, proposing a new regulator with an in‑house chief engineer to tighten technical scrutiny of ageing treatment works, trunk mains and sewer networks. The reforms aim for earlier intervention on failing assets, with stronger powers to act before service reservoirs, pumping stations or CSO outfalls reach critical condition. Measures will target reduced pollution incidents and lower household bills, signalling tougher performance requirements for leakage control, storm overflow management and long‑term asset resilience.

Condition monitoring surveys will become compulsory across England’s water networks under a new Defra white paper, with a single regulator empowered to mandate regular “MOT‑style” health checks on pipes, pumps and other critical assets. For the first time in around 20 years a chief engineer will sit within the regulator, tasked with restoring hands-on inspection of buried mains and treatment infrastructure previously overseen by Ofwat. A transition plan due in 2026 and a subsequent water reform bill will define implementation, signalling more preventative maintenance, structured asset condition data and tighter performance scrutiny for operators and contractors.

Cyberattacks in 2025 costing the UK up to £14.7bn a year are exposing how vulnerable complex, multi-tier infrastructure supply chains are to ransomware, data theft and operational disruption. Civil engineering clients, Tier 1 contractors and specialist subcontractors are increasingly linked through shared BIM environments, cloud-based CDEs and remote monitoring systems, creating multiple entry points via poorly secured SMEs and legacy OT. For project teams, this raises the bar on supplier due diligence, network segmentation and incident response planning across entire asset lifecycles.

IStructE has released the Manual for the design of bamboo structures to ISO 22156:2021, a 10‑chapter structural engineering guide covering grading and mechanical properties, seismic and wind design, shear walls, durability and connection design for permanent bamboo buildings up to two storeys. Authored by INBAR Bamboo Construction Task Force members David Trujillo, Kent Harries, Sebastian Kaminski and Luis Felipe Lopez, the manual addresses bamboo supply chains and project management from sourcing through to detailed design. The publication formalises design provisions including fire considerations, aiming to make engineered bamboo a credible low‑carbon option in mainstream practice.

Early works on the Dunheved Road Upgrade in New South Wales will start this month after Penrith City Council appointed Georgiou Group to deliver the project. The upgrade targets safety and capacity on a key east–west arterial linking Werrington Road and Richmond Road, improving access to the Dunheved industrial area and the broader Penrith region. Early activities are expected to focus on service relocations, traffic management setup and site establishment, setting constraints for later pavement widening, intersection upgrades and drainage improvements.

BMA CQ Rescue has been named the official charity partner for the Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhibition (QME), which returns to Mackay in 2026 as one of Australia’s largest mining equipment and technology showcases. The partnership links on-site OEM demonstrations, heavy plant displays and underground support technologies with funding for CQ Rescue’s aeromedical and emergency response operations across central Queensland mine sites. For operators and contractors, the move reinforces the operational reliance on rapid helicopter evacuation capability in remote pits and processing hubs.

Dredge Robotics is deploying remotely operated dredging robots to clean and inspect mining water assets such as tailings ponds, process water dams and clarifiers without draining them or sending divers into confined, low-visibility environments. The systems use high-pressure jetting and suction to remove settled solids while capturing video and sonar data for condition assessment of liners, embankments and submerged structures. For site engineers, this enables maintenance in live ponds, reduces downtime for critical water circuits and provides better geotechnical insight into dam and pond behaviour.

Civil engineering works are now complete on HS2’s twin‑bore Chiltern tunnel, a 16km structure that will be the longest tunnel on the UK’s high‑speed line. The milestone covers full excavation and primary lining of both bores, plus construction of cross‑passages at regular intervals to meet high‑speed rail safety and evacuation standards. Attention now shifts to track, overhead line and systems installation, where tight tolerances on slab track geometry and aerodynamic performance in a long, twin‑bore configuration will drive detailed design and commissioning.

Bringing climate readiness into practice is framed around Westminster’s first National Emergency Briefing on the climate and nature crisis, where infrastructure leaders were urged to treat 1.5°C overshoot, compound flooding and heat stress as near-term design conditions rather than distant scenarios. Discussion focused on embedding climate risk into asset management plans, revising design standards for bridges, rail corridors and drainage to cope with more frequent exceedance events, and accelerating nature-based solutions alongside hard defences. For engineers, the message is to prioritise adaptive pathways, stress-testing of critical networks and cross-sector emergency planning.

A collaborative project to maintain the Victorian Bateman Dam has secured the 2025 Fleming Award for excellence in geotechnical engineering. The team focused on improving dam resilience, likely involving upgrades to the embankment, foundation seepage control and spillway performance to meet current reservoir safety standards for extreme flood and seismic loading. For practitioners, the award signals continued industry emphasis on extending the life of ageing UK dams through targeted ground engineering and risk-based asset management rather than full replacement.

The Institution of Civil Engineers’ Research and Development Enabling Fund is backing early-stage ideas in areas such as sustainability, safety and construction efficiency that are not yet ready for conventional commercial or government funding. Typical projects include novel low-carbon materials, improved temporary works methods and digital tools for asset monitoring, with support aimed at de-risking concepts to the point where they can attract larger grants or private investment. For practitioners, the fund offers a route to test innovative design approaches, site techniques or data-driven maintenance strategies using modest, targeted R&D finance.

The UK has pledged an additional £20M to repair and protect Ukraine’s war‑damaged energy infrastructure as the two countries mark the first anniversary of their “100 Year Partnership”. Funding is expected to support rapid repair of high‑voltage transmission lines, substations and distribution networks repeatedly targeted by missile and drone strikes, alongside hardening works such as blast‑resistant transformer enclosures and decentralised backup generation. For civil and electrical engineers, the package signals continued demand for resilient substation design, grid reconfiguration strategies and modular replacement components suitable for deployment in active conflict zones.

Weba Chute Systems is being brought in by OEMs, EPCM contractors and mine operators to fix process flow bottlenecks arising when new or upgraded screens and crushers are integrated into existing circuits. The company applies custom-engineered transfer chutes, designed around site-specific ore characteristics and throughput, to stabilise material flow, reduce impact and spillage, and limit unplanned stoppages. For plant engineers, the trend signals growing recognition that chute geometry and lining design can be the critical constraint on circuit capacity rather than the primary crusher or screen.

Kier Construction has broken ground on a £120m, five-storey government hub on Brunswick Street, Darlington, which will permanently house the Darlington Economic Campus from 2028 for more than 1,600 civil servants from seven departments including the Treasury and the Ministry of Housing. The Government Property Agency is overseeing delivery, with Kier already undertaking ground remediation since September, removing legacy fuel tanks and concrete slabs to manage preconstruction contamination and structural risks. Early contractor involvement from design through to engineering is intended to de-risk the main works and streamline programme delivery.

Dust and carryback at belt conveyor discharge points are framed by Dan Marshall, Process Engineer at Martin Engineering, as problems that must be tackled with an integrated transfer-point design rather than isolated fixes. He points to coordinated use of primary and secondary belt cleaners, properly sized and sealed loading chutes, and correctly tensioned skirting to control spillage and fugitive material. The approach targets reduced liner and idler wear, fewer manual clean-up interventions around transfer points, and lower dust exposure for maintenance crews.

BME Metallurgy is promoting “green chemistry” in hydrometallurgy by redesigning reagent suites and process flows to cut hazardous residues and improve metal recovery in leach and solvent extraction circuits. The approach integrates mine-to-plant chemistry control, including optimised pH and redox management, reduced cyanide and acid consumption, and tighter speciation control in pregnant leach solutions. For operations, this signals closer collaboration between metallurgists and mine planners on reagent selection, water balance, and tailings chemistry to meet stricter environmental and permitting constraints.

A New South Wales metro train has completed the first full end‑to‑end test of the 66‑kilometre M1 Metro North West & Bankstown Line, running from Tallawong to Bankstown and stopping at all 31 stations. The test run reached 100 km/h on new sections of track, validating signalling, platform interface and timetable assumptions across both the existing North West Metro and the converted Bankstown corridor. Successful completion signals progress towards integrated operations, with implications for track geometry verification, ride quality, and systems integration before passenger service.

Hancock Iron Ore safety advocate Dale Harris argues that “engaging with empathy” is critical to designing effective safety programmes across its Pilbara iron ore operations. Harris links lower incident rates to supervisors spending time in the pit and at fixed plant, listening to operators about specific hazards such as conveyor pinch points and fatigue on 12-hour night shifts. The approach shifts pre-starts and toolbox talks from one-way briefings to two-way discussions, aiming to capture near-miss data and behavioural risks that standard JSAs and procedures often miss.

Mining companies in 2026 face ESG risk dominated by geopolitical fragmentation, with Russia’s war in Ukraine, Middle East conflict and African coups driving sanctions exposure, trade route disruption and board‑level scenario planning on supply chains and project delivery. Tailings governance is shifting from voluntary to quasi‑regulatory, as ICMM reports 67% GISTM conformance, the UK High Court’s Samarco ruling widens negligence exposure, and the World Mine Tailings Failures database projects 13 catastrophic failures by 2029. Simultaneously, ISSB IFRS S2 climate disclosure, GRI 14: Mining Sector 2024 and TNFD uptake by 730+ organisations, including 179 financial institutions with $22 trillion in assets, are turning climate, water, land disturbance and biodiversity into hard conditions for capital and permitting.

First Quantum Minerals is preparing to process about 38 million tonnes of stockpiled ore at the shuttered Cobre Panama mine, expected to yield roughly 70,000 tonnes of copper and take about one year once permits are issued. The site’s 300 MW power plant is being progressively recommissioned, with one 150 MW unit already at design capacity and a second unit due online this month, currently supplying around 120 MW for preservation works and the national grid. Processing the stockpile will add about 700 jobs to the existing 1,600-strong workforce and provide tailings facility feed while mitigating acid rock drainage risks.

South Eastern Railway has started trialling solar‑powered flood‑warning cameras at five high‑risk locations on its network to cut weather‑related disruption and speed up drainage interventions. The units combine live video with water‑level monitoring and remote communications, allowing control rooms to verify track inundation and blocked culverts in real time without sending inspection teams onto the line. For civil and permanent way engineers, the trial points to wider use of low‑power, off‑grid monitoring at known flooding pinch points, supporting quicker line block decisions and targeted drainage upgrades.

Midlands groundworks contractor Caldwell Construction, a Stoke-on-Trent firm specialising in new infrastructure, carriageways and footpaths, has entered administration with PKF Littlejohn Advisory appointed on 15 January 2025. The company reported £58m turnover but only £131,000 pre-tax profit for the year to 31 March 2025, operating with an average of 49 staff from bases in Stoke-on-Trent and Warrington. Administrators cite rising input costs, scheme delays and cash flow strain, signalling further risk for civils supply chains relying on small, low-margin groundworks specialists.

Kier Construction is set to secure a £21.7m contract from the City of Edinburgh Council to retrofit Craigmillar Court and Peffermill Court, two 15-storey 1968 tower blocks each containing 57 two-bedroom flats with no existing insulation. The works include extensive external wall insulation, flat-by-flat mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) to address damp and mould, and new fire doors plus sprinkler systems in every dwelling. Each block will also gain a dedicated firefighting lift and upgraded security via CCTV across all stairwells and common lobby landings.

Replacements for seven hospitals predominantly built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) will not open until 2032-33, missing the independent 2030 deadline despite more than £500m already spent on structural mitigation. The reset New Hospital Programme now covers 41 schemes in four waves to 2045-46, with capital funding rising from about £2bn a year (2025-30) to £3bn a year thereafter and an estimated total cost of around £56–60bn, including a £12bn (21%) contingency. Trusts face £100m–£140m a year in extra maintenance on ageing estates, while the central programme is operating with a 39% vacancy rate across 357 posts, raising delivery and sequencing risks as “Hospital 2.0” standardised designs are rolled out.

High-grade gold intercepts from Ora Banda Mining’s Golden Pole deposit are boosting the underground potential of the Waihi project near Kalgoorlie, with targeted follow-up drilling extending mineralisation along strike and at depth. The company is focusing on narrow, high-grade lodes accessible from existing underground development, aiming to convert recent hits into JORC-compliant resources and near-term ore feed for the Davyhurst processing plant. For geotechs and mine planners, the results point to deeper stoping fronts, tighter ground control requirements and potential schedule changes for underground access development.

Close to $82 million in Victorian funding has been allocated to restore fire-damaged transport infrastructure, targeting critical routes including Murchison–Violet Town Road. Works will cover replacement of wire rope safety barriers and steel guard rails, extensive tree and debris removal from verges and clear zones, and repairs to pavement and surface defects caused by intense heat and firefighting traffic. Asset owners will need to reassess barrier performance, signage durability and roadside vegetation management under extreme bushfire conditions.

Testing is now underway on Adelaide’s $870 million Tram Grade Separation Projects, which will remove congested level crossings at Plympton and Morphettville via a new tram overpass on the Glenelg line. The works separate tram and road traffic on Marion Road and nearby arterials, targeting current delays and crash risks at these at‑grade intersections. For civil and geotechnical teams, testing marks the transition from major structure and approach embankment construction to validating track geometry, ride quality and signalling integration under live operating conditions.

A London contractor converting a former public house and adjoining building into residential flats on White Lion Street, N1, has been fined after repeated failures to comply with Health & Safety Executive (HSE) prohibition and improvement notices over a 12‑month period, including unresolved work at height risks and inadequate site management competence. VNP Constructions Limited admitted breaching Regulation 15(2) of the CDM 2015 and two counts under Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, receiving a £7,200 fine plus £900 costs. Director Vasilis Paraskeva was personally fined £10,800 plus £900 costs under Section 37(1) for consent, connivance or neglect.

Codelco’s Ministro Hales Division in Chile has secured unanimous approval from Antofagasta’s COEVA for its Future Development EIA, extending mine life from 2026 to 2054 on a planned investment of US$2.8 billion and enabling higher copper production. The long-life plan will require expanded open pit and underground works, new waste and tailings handling capacity, and upgrades to existing concentrator and smelting circuits. Geotechnical and environmental teams now face multi-decade commitments on pit slope stability, tailings stewardship and water management under tighter Chilean regulatory scrutiny.

Helical tieback anchors are presented as tension-only elements installed beyond the active wedge to support vertical or near-vertical walls, typically using grouted or screw-in steel shafts with load-tested working capacities and corrosion protection. Helical soil nails are shown as shorter, more closely spaced inclusions installed within the failure mass to create a reinforced soil block, often suited to cut slopes or temporary shoring where access limits anchor length. Selection hinges on geometry, required wall deflection, available bond length, construction access for installation rigs, and tolerance for ground movement.