This day on 1882, Ferdinand de Lesseps begins French construction of the Panama Canal. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, that was completed by the United States when a second effort in 1904 was launched. After the French company failed to build the Panama Canal, the US bought the French rights for $40,000,000 and signed a treaty with the new country of Panama granting the U.S. control of the Panama Canal Zone.

It was estimated that about 30,000,000 cu yd (22,936,646 m³) of French excavation, primarily in Gaillard Cut, was of direct use to the U.S. construction effort. Right now the Panama Canal is undergoing a massive and important expansion. The expansion project would double the capacity of the Panama Canal by 2014 by allowing more and larger ships to transit.

The oil minister of the United Arab Emirates says a new crude oil pipeline that will bypass the strategically sensitive Strait of Hormuz is almost finished. Even though, Iran's treats to close the Strait of Hormuz, the pipeline being build could enter into operations very soon. The Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline project aims to ship crude from the UAE's main oil producing region to the port of Fujairah on the country's Gulf of Oman coast. The United Arab Emirates have nearly finished a 2.5 million-barrel-a-day pipeline circumventing the Persian Gulf.


That would allow some of the OPEC member's oil to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, access to which is shared by Iran and Oman. A closure would prompt a spike in oil prices, analysts said, dealing a further blow to the troubled world economy.

The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum will be transformed and will start a new renovation project costing more than $54 million. The historic property located at Fifth Avenue and East 91st Street, will create a 6,000 square foot gallery, increasing the museum's total space to 16,000 square feet.

The project will also restore historic features of the mansion, built from 1899 to 1902, including exterior masonry and iron fencing. During the mansion's renovation, museum events will be staged in other locations, including the United Nations.

Gluckman Mayner Architects will collaborate with Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, who will oversee the engineering, architectural, and historic preservation aspects of the project. Beyer Blinder Belle was responsible for the renovation of Grand Central Terminal in New York and partnered with architect Renzo Piano in the expansion and renovation of New York's Morgan Library & Museum.

A new cap nail tool, Stinger CN 100, is being released by the National Nail Corp. This new tool is being develops to secure underlayments, roofing felt and housewrap. This new tool offers a lightweight and compact design capable of driving five cap nails per second, ten times faster than hand driving.

This new nail driver tool has a fastener capacity of 200 -1 inch caps and 200 electro-galvanized ring shank nails.

The STINGER CN100 Cap Nailer will be available through roofing wholesale and independent lumber dealers throughout the United States, Canada and Australia.