IN S I D E TH I S I S S U E

1 February Meeting

Information

2 ASCE Meet and Greet

with GA Recap

4 16th Annual Popsicle

Bridge Contest

4 Schedule of Upcoming

Events

February, 2011 -Volume 3 Issue 11

Richmond Branch - ASCE http://www.ascev irg inia.org

Younger Member Chair: Education Outreach Chair: Membership Chair: Communications Chair: Chris Miller Mark Yanik Chris Ray, P.E. Craig Ponte, P.E.

President: President Elect: Vice President: Secretary/Treasurer: Amanda Harmon, P.E. Mike Howell Amy Bird Tony Gaynord

CONTEXT SENSITIVITY IN PRACTICE - DESIGN AND

CONSTRUCTION OF THE HILLSBOROUGH ST. BRIDGE

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA

Date: February 15, 2011 Place: Westwood Club Time: 12:00 Lunch, 12:15 Program Costs: $20.00 Menu: Option 1 – Westwood “ PLT “- Grilled Portabello Mushroom, Sweet

Onions and Avocado with Lettuce, Tomato and Basil Mayonnaise on Multi Grain Bread

Option 2 – Club Sandwich - Roasted Turkey, Cure “81” Ham and Sharp Cheddar with Smoked Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato on Multi Grain Bread

Contact Amy Bird to RSVP at abird@dewberry.com or 804-205-3338 by Thursday February 10, 2011

In 1913, a four-span, Reinforced Concrete Slab Bridge was built in a historic area of Raleigh. Almost a century later, the bridge, though still technically safe, was functionally obsolete. For the replacement bridge, design criteria eliminated the interior piers and maintained the vertical clearance below without raising the grade. The superstructure was not allowed to obstruct the only remaining distant view of the capital, hence a tied arch or cable stay design was not an option. To achieve the capacity required, it was necessary to have boundary conditions disallowing rotation at the girder supports. The west end of the girder was embedded into an 8-foot, heavily reinforced concrete torsional beam supported by 15 staggered drilled piers. A historical structure was next to this abutment limiting the length of the bridge. The east end was draped over a traditional bent and post-tensioned into an abutment 15 feet away which met the zero rotation criteria. The post-tensioning rod was allowed to move laterally to account for thermal movement. The construction of the bridge involved sequential concrete pours to achieve the integrally fixed boundary condition. On the west end of the bridge, the column network kept the cap and girders from rotating. The challenges that were overcome in this design represent true engineering. In this case, engineering was the practice of invention as opposed to a reworking of a previous design. Our speaker will be Chris Ray, PE, P Eng, PMP Chris Ray received his undergrad and masters degree with honors in structural engineering from North Carolina State University. He has 22 years experience in planning, concept development, analysis, design, construction engineering, and project management of bridges and related structures. His experience includes design using concrete (including prestressing and post-tensioning) and steel box girder/plate girder, truss, arch, cable-stayed, and suspension bridges for highway projects, light rail/freight rail projects, and pedestrian use. He is a registered professional engineer in 11 states, the District of Columbia, British Columbia and Alberta. He currently is the Director of Bridge Design in North America for Halcrow and is based in Richmond.

Page 2ASCE Richmond Branch - February Newsletter

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The ASCE Virginia Section, Richmond Branch and the Virginia Geo-Institute Chapter held our 3rd Annual Meet and Greet with the General Assembly on January 20, 2011 at the Jefferson Hotel. The event was well attended and a success. Having the Meet and Greet with the Geo-Institute dinner increased attendance at both events. Approximately 60 people attended the dinner while over 90 were at the social. Thank you to all ASCE members that came out to support our event and promote civil engineering issues with our Legislators. This year 13 Delegates, Senators or their representatives attended our event, which is an increase over previous years. We were promoting long term transportation funding and dam safety regulation. There are several bills related to each topic in the General Assembly this session. Listed below is current legislation being proposed and ASCE’s position on each bill. If you would like additional information on civil engineering related bills in the General Assembly or would like to participate in the government relations committee please contact Austin Clark at ClarkAL@Halcrow.com.

Virginia Legislation HB1531 Motor fuels tax; rate increase. Increases the motor fuels tax rate by $0.10 per gallon and dedicates the additional revenue to the operation, maintenance, improvement, and expansion of the Commonwealth's transportation system. Status: 1/17/11: Referred House Finance Sub-Committee: #1 ASCE Position: FOR Policy Statement 382 - Transportation Funding HB1582 Creates the Virginia Transportation Infrastructure Bank (VTIB) as a special fund to provide loans and grants to public and private entities to fund transportation projects in the Commonwealth. The special fund shall consist of revenues generated through the privatization of the Commonwealth’s ABC stores and revenues generated through a one-time drawing down of construction cash reserves by the Virginia Department of Transportation. VTIB is authorized to issue bonds in an amount not to exceed $4 billion. Status: 1/13/11: Referred House Appropriations Sub-Committee: Transportation ASCE Position: FOR Policy Statement 532 – National Infrastructure Bank HB1654 Motor fuels tax rate; adjusted by motor fuel price index. Provides that beginning April 1, 2012, the rate of tax on motor fuel shall be increased or decreased annually by the percentage increase or decrease in the retail price of motor fuel. The bill does not become effective unless approved by the voters at the election to be held November 8, 2011. Status: 1/17/11: Referred House Finance Sub-Committee: #1 ASCE Position: FOR Policy Statement 382 - Transportation Funding

HB1957 Powers and duties of the Commonwealth Transportation Board. Among other provisions this bill provides for the updating of the Statewide Transportation Plan every four years (instead of five). Status: 1/14/11: Referred House Transportation Sub-Committee: #4

3rd Annual ASCE Meet and Greet with the GA - Recap

ASCE Richmond Branch -February Newsletter Page 3

We are looking for Speakers If you or anyone has an interesting and innovative project or product and would like to make a presentation to the ASCE Richmond branch, please contact:

Amy Bird (804-205-3338) abird@dewberry.com or

Amanda Harmon (804-673-3882) Amanda.Harmon@kimley-horn.com

Virginia Legislation (Continued) SB833 Fuels taxes; indexing of tax rates. Increases or decreases each year the rates of Virginia's fuels taxes using a fuel efficiency index. The bill would define the fuel efficiency index as the quotient that is obtained when using as the numerator the total annual vehicle miles traveled in the Commonwealth for the relevant year and using as the denominator the total gallons of motor fuel consumed for highway use in the Commonwealth for the relevant year. Status: 1/7/11: Referred to Senate Finance ASCE Position: FOR Policy Statement 382 - Transportation Funding SB1060 Definition of impoundment structures. Changes the definition of what constitutes an impoundment structure for the purpose of regulating the operation of such dams. Status: 1/11/11: Referred Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources ASCE Position: AGAINST Policy Statement 280 – Responsibility for Dam Safety SB1242 This bill creates additional sources of revenue for transportation by increasing the motor vehicle sales and use tax by one-half percent and the motor vehicle rental tax by one percent and by imposing a five percent tax on the wholesale price of gasoline. Status: 1/12/11: Referred Senate Finance ASCE Position: FOR Policy Statement 382 - Transportation Funding SB1295 Provides new and increased taxes, tolls, and general fund revenues for transportation funding. Status: 1/12/11: Referred Senate Finance ASCE Position: FOR Policy Statement 382 - Transportation Funding SB1406 Definition of impoundment structures. Changes the definition of what constitutes an impoundment structure for the purpose of regulating the operation of such dams. Status: 1/11/11: Referred Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources ASCE Position: AGAINST Policy Statement 280 – Responsibility for Dam Safety

Page 4ASCE Richmond Branch - February Newsletter

16th Annual POPSICLE BRIDGE CONTEST

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! The annual Popsicle Bridge Contest will be taking place on Sunday, February 20, 2011 from Noon until 5:00 PM at the Science Museum of Virginia during the “Career’s in Engineering Field Day” sponsored by the Richmond Joint Engineers Council. Richmond area middle and high school students will be competing in teams in order to test the bridges they have built and will be judged on an

efficiency rating of strength vs weight.

The majority of volunteers are needed from Noon until 2:30 PM in order to help with registration but anyone able to stay for the entire event is also

appreciated.

If anyone would like more information or would like to volunteer, please contact:

Mike Howell (804-592-3905) mhowell@brockenbrough.com or

Mark Yanik (804-615-4900) Yanik@pbworld.com

Date Speaker Topic Location

February 15 Chris Ray, PE, P Eng, PMP February Branch Meeting Westwood Club

February 20 N/A 16th Annual Popsicle Bridge Contest

Science Museum of Virginia

March 15 TBD March Branch Meeting TBD

April 14 TBD Joint Meeting with ASHE TBD

There is more great information at

ascevirginia.org

Schedule of Upcoming Richmond Branch and other Events