Mid-Allegheny Section January 2019 The Mid-Allegheny Minutes Allegheny... · PG of Cardno provided the evening’s presentation. Bryan presented on Subsurface Utility Engineering,

The Mid-Allegheny Minutes

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HIGHWAY ENGINEERS Mid-Allegheny Section January 2019

For more information: www.midallegheny.ashe.pro Page: 1 of 6

Recent Meetings - Last Meeting: November 8, 2018 On November 8, 2018, the ASHE Mid-Allegheny Section held their second meeting of the 2018-2019 program at the Rustic Lodge in Indiana, PA. Section President Robert Schmidt, PE opened with comments ahead of a buffet dinner. Following dinner, Robert introduced the evening’s speaker, Mr. Paul Koza, PE, Assistant District Executive for Construction, PennDOT District 10-0, to present his annual ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly’ summary of the construction year in the District. Paul presented an excellent summary of highlights, lessons learned, issues, and other items encountered throughout the construction season on District projects. Punctuated by numerous work site photographs (sometimes catching the offending parties in the act), Paul was able to recap best practices, as well as those that might be best adjusted for upcoming projects. This presentation always serves to better inform the consultants and contractors involved in designing and constructing District projects so as to improve performance, in terms of quality, schedule, cost, and minimal disruption to the motoring public.

We thank Paul for his comprehensive presentation on what the District sees in construction of its projects.

September Kickoff Meeting: September 8, 2018

Bryan Teschke, PG, Cardno

Restarting the annual program for the 2018-2019 year, ASHE Mid-Allegheny held their annual kickoff meeting and steak fry dinner on September 13, 2018.

Section President Robert Schmidt, PE welcomed back Section members with announcements covering upcoming activities and changes for the new Section year. After a delicious Rustic Lodge steak dinner, Mr. Bryan Teschke, PG of Cardno provided the evening’s presentation.

Bryan presented on Subsurface Utility Engineering, or SUE, services for transportation projects. Accurately identifying and locating utilities is a critical component of any major transportation project, with major cost ramifications for not performing due diligence in the design phase. Bryan’s presentation covered what is entailed at different levels of SUE investigation, what the typical deliverables would be from their investigation, as well as some of the technology they use to complete their work.

We thank Bryan for his introduction and summary of what SUE is and how it can help our projects.

Recent Events - Fall Clay Shoot: October 19, 2018

In what are rapidly becoming some of the most popular events on the ASHE Mid-Allegheny calendar, the Section hosted a Fall Sporting Clays Shoot on October 19, 2018 at Promise Land Sporting Clays in Freeport. As always, all participants had a great time and enjoyed some beautiful fall weather while trying to target some clays. Afterwards, a catered barbeque was held and everyone got to compare scores and share stories from the day. Thanks again to Promise Land for hosting another great shoot.




Summer Clay Shoot – July 27, 2018

On July 27, 2018, the ASHE Mid-Allegheny Section held their Summer Sporting Clay Shoot Outing at Promise Land Sporting Clays in Freeport, PA. We had 80 shooters which is the best turnout so far at the sporting clay shoot outings. The shooters traversed 24 stations in between some summer rain showers during the event. The day closed with an excellent barbeque and BYOB dinner. As with the past sporting clay shoots, all the attendees enjoyed themselves and another sporting clay shoot outing was held in the Fall. We thank all our sponsors and supporting members for their attendance and support of the event.

Lindy Paving Tour - June 8, 2018 Lindy Paving welcomed a group from the ASHE Mid-Allegheny Section to their Zelienople Asphalt Plant and Central Lab on Friday, June 8, 2018. Lindy Paving is the top regional manufacturer of quality asphalt products, operating five asphalt plants located throughout Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, and Indiana Counties. The group toured the entire plant, from the incoming materials to the outgoing product, including testing of all phases of production and the plant control room. The group also toured Lindy Paving’s Central Lab, including their mobile testing and sampling equipment. The Mid-Allegheny Section is greatly appreciative of the hospitality provided by the Lindy Paving team members at the Zelienople plant and Mr. Jeff Karr, PE, for coordinating our visit.




2017-2018 Outstanding Highway Engineering Award: S.R. 119, Section 454

Home Railroad Bridge Replacement

Located just south of the PA 85 (Plumville Road) and State Route (SR) 4012 (Washington Church Road) intersection with State Road (SR) 119, the bridge carrying SR 119 over the Buffalo and Pittsburgh (B&P) Railroad was replaced near the village of Home in Rayne Township, Indiana County, in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The existing Home Bridge, built in the 1920’s, was structurally deficient with restricted roadway clearance and minimal shoulder width. SR 119 is a vital National Highway System (NHS) roadway located east of Pittsburgh that provides connectivity between Uniontown, Greensburg, Indiana and DuBois at I-80. This section of SR 119, a rural principal arterial known as the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Highway, provides key access to the current 9,000 vehicles per day (5% trucks). The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Engineering District 10-0, contracted Gannett Fleming as prime engineering consultant for the improvements, with Monaloh Basin Engineers, The Markosky Engineering Group, and Herberling Associates providing services as subconsultants.

The Completed S.R. 119, Section 454 Home Railroad Bridge, Open to Traffic

The project realigned approximately 2,850 feet of SR 119 coupled with the replacement of two existing, structurally deficient bridges with one continuous structure spanning B&P Railroad as well as Pine Run Creek to provide a 100-year service life. The realignment of SR 119 eliminated the reverse horizontal curvature and, in turn, provided a

safer, more maintenance friendly roadway with increased sight distance.

A new three-span continuous steel multi-girder bridge was constructed on a relocated roadway alignment replacing the existing single-span bridge over the B&P Railroad and a box culvert over Pine Run Creek. The new structure is a 400-ft. long, three-span continuous, weathering steel plate girder bridge with span lengths consisting of 120-ft, 160-ft, and 120-ft. Roadway approach work consisted of embankment fill on the southern approach and a sliver cut widening of the northern approach to facilitate the alignment improvement shift.

PROJECT CHALLENGES

The project site provided many unique challenges that had to be incorporated into the design including cutting through two steep hillsides and through a generally flat lying area marked by the Pine Run floodplain. In order to replace existing structures with a single bridge carrying SR 119 over a railroad and Pine Run, a westward shift of SR 119 was required. As a result, the proposed alignment resulted in only one affected intersection. The McElhoes Road intersection with SR 119 was relocated approximately 100 feet northwest and over 400 feet of this township road was reconstructed. Additional project challenges included:

1. Minimizing SR 119 grade adjustments to limit demands on the bridge substructures as well as limiting the impacts to the roadway, McElhoes Road Intersection, utilities, right-of-way, etc.

2. Providing sufficient clearance over B&P Railroad (23’-0” required).

3. Minimizing impacts to B&P Railroad during construction via train disruptions and/or costly railroad shoring for foundation construction.

SAFETY

Safety was the critical focus, not only with the final elements, but also with how they relate to construction and constructability. Several safety improving features were realized with this project including:

1. Elimination of the substandard curved alignment by providing an improved tangent alignment (three horizontal curves were eliminated).




2. Replacement of the existing narrow bridge over the railroad that was located within the reverse curved alignment.

3. Improved the intersection adjacent to the bridge (McElhoes Road).

4. New roadway typical section comprised of 12-ft lanes and 8-ft shoulders.

5. Improved horizontal sight distance along the new SR 119 corridor.

CONCLUSION

The SR 119 Home Bridge Replacement Project was successfully engineered by providing improved safety, mobility and service life through construction of the new roadway and three-span bridge. The completed project met these goals also addressing existing deficiencies. The project implemented several challenging and complex features to accommodate the existing site conditions, as well as minimize potential impacts to the B&P Railroad during construction. Swank Construction Company served as prime contractor during the construction phase of the project.

The Design Team received high marks from PennDOT for exceeding expectations in both Preliminary and Final Design. PennDOT commented that the team “completed a difficult project and brought up issues concerning constructability early in the project and worked with the Department to produce a constructible design which meets the needs of the project. The attention paid to detail proved invaluable in construction as the project was built with few unresolved issues.” Ultimately, the project met the project purpose and need while addressing stakeholder concerns throughout the project life-cycle. This project was recognized by the ASHE Mid-Allegheny Section with the 2017-2018 Outstanding Highway Engineering Award.

2017-2018 Scholarship Award Winners

The ASHE Mid-Allegheny Section is pleased to announce Mr. Patrick Stoehr as their 2017-2018 engineering scholarship recipient and Mr. Bryce McLaughlin as their 2017-2018 technical degree scholarship recipient.

Patrick Stoehr, with his family

Patrick is now in his senior year at Drexel University, where he is pursuing a dual degree in architectural engineering and civil engineering. He is an active member of the university, where he volunteers as a physics and chemistry tutor through the Drexel Engineering Learning Community program, assists with concrete research at the Drexel Civil Engineering Research Lab, and plays the clarinet for Drexel’s concert band. He is the recipient of the Drexel Performing Arts Scholarship Award, the recipient of the Office of Provost and Steinbright Career Development Center Co-op Award for his research work, and has achieved Dean’s List status for all semesters. Patrick has also completed Co-op rotations with High Steel Structures and the Wohlsen Construction Group during his time at Drexel. After graduation, Patrick would like to pursue a career in the field of engineering, obtain his Professional Engineering License, and help to advance emerging technologies in the field of engineering.

Bryce McLaughlin, with his family




Bryce graduated from North Allegheny Area High School and is attending Pittsburgh Technical College. Bryce participated in both in marching band and jazz band at North Allegheny and achieved an impressive 4.1 grade point average, including honors classes in geometry, algebra, pre-calculus, chemistry and physics. At the Pittsburgh Technical College, he hopes to develop expertise in the field of architectural design. In the future, Bryce hopes to use these skills to design the next generation of artistic, cost-effective and efficient houses for the public.

Congratulation Patrick and Bryce!

Mid-Allegheny News

• See the website for new job announcements from from our member firms.

• Upcoming Events: - Joint Dinner Meeting, February 20, 2019 University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown,

with ASHE Altoona - Dinner Meeting, March 14, 2019 – Frankford

Avenue Bridge - Annual Golf Outing April 26, 2019 – Lenape Heights Golf Club

- Dinner Meeting, May 16, 2019 – Awards Presentation and State of District 10-0

• We thank all our members and sponsoring firms for your continued support of the Section.

ASHE Mid-Allegheny Reminders

Website: www.midallegheny.ashe.pro

Email: [email protected]

If you have comments or suggestions related to presentations, meetings or this newsletter, please forward a brief e-mail to the effect. Our board welcomes feedback so we can better serve our membership and industry.

Some more photos from our last few events …




Documents

Mid-Allegheny Section January 2019 The Mid-Allegheny Minutes Allegheny... · PG of Cardno provided the evening’s presentation. Bryan presented on Subsurface Utility Engineering,