Our 103rd Yea r

PHILADELPHIA SECTIONAMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS

325 Chestnut Street, Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106Web site: http://www.asce-philly.org

National ASCE Central Number 1-800-548-ASCE • Toll Free

The Sidney Robin Memorial Newsletter of the Philadelphia Section ASCE

Vol. 88-6 February 2016

Resolve to attend ALL Section Meetings!

MARCH DINNER MEETINGAmerican Society of Civil Engineers, Philadelphia Section

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016Maggiano’s Little Italy, 1201 Filbert Street (corner of 12th Street), Center City

Cocktails 5:30 pm, Dinner 6:30 pm, Meeting Presentation Follows (approximately 7:30 pm)SUBJECT: Manayunk/Ivy Ridge Trail – Schuylkill River Bridge ReuseMore information will be provided in the March edition of THE NEWS.

FEBRUARY JOINT LUNCH MEETINGPhiladelphia Section, American Society of Civil Engineers Women’s Transportation Seminar, Philadelphia Chapter

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2016Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, 1201 Market Street, Center City Philadelphia

Networking 11:30 am, Lunch and Meeting Presentation FollowSUBJECT: The Indego EffectSPEAKER: Cara Ferrentino, Transportation and Policy Manager, City of Philadelphia, Mayor’s Office of Transportation and UtilitiesCOST: $60 WTS and ASCE members; $80 non-members; $40 agency representatives and studentsPLEASE NOTE: RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE THROUGH PHILADELPHIA CHAP-TER, WTS. The Philadelphia Section will NOT be accepting any reservations for this meeting. Please visit www.wtsinternational.org/philadelphia for information and reservations. You will be asked to make a meal choice when registering. The options available are herb roasted chicken with fingerling potatoes, or vegan stuffed tomatoes with wild rice, eggplant, and grilled fennel.Walk-ins will be subject to acceptance on a space-available basis. THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT SPACE WILL BE AVAILABLE IF YOU DO NOT RESERVE A SPACE.In April 2015, the City’s long-awaited bicycle share program, Indego, became available for users. Indego is Philadelphia’s newest public transportation system. With over 600 self-service bikes and 60 stations, it offers round-the-clock access to public transportation on your schedule. The program, a co-winner of WTS’ Philadelphia Chapter’s 2015 Innvoative Transportation Solution Award, made in December, has been quite successful. Ms. Ferrentino will discuss the planning and implementation of the program, including how bike “pods” were selected, the data obtained and how it is used, and the equity efforts realized. Cara Ferrentino is Transportation Systems Policy Manager with the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation & Infrastructure. As co-manager of the Indego bike share program, she leads strategic planning, community outreach, budgeting, policy, and grant making initiatives and oversees other aspects of Indego operations. Cara also coordinates right-of-way and sustainability initiatives for the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities (MOTU), and holds a Masters in City Planning from MIT. Cara is originally from beautiful upstate New York and is an enthusiastic hiker, traveler, and cook. Please note that PDH credits will NOT be offered for this meeting.

SECTION MEETING SCHEDULE 2015-16 UPDATE

The Section Meeting program for the upcoming season is pretty much set at this point, with some minor details being ironed out. The remaining dates have been provided below for your planning purposes and marking your calendar to hold the dates.

This information is “fine-tuned” in each edition of THE NEWS to provide updates as they are available. We also suggest you visit our Section website for the latest changes in our meeting program. As we have done, each month’s edition of THE NEWS will feature detailed information on that month’s meeting along with as much information as is available for the following month’s meeting. The “look-ahead” schedule will show details that are available for future meetings at that time for your advance awareness.

Dinner meetings generally follow a schedule of a cocktail hour starting at 5:30 pm, dinner at 6:30 pm, and the meeting presentation following at approximately 7:30 pm, unless otherwise noted. As always, you are welcome to attend the meeting presentation without dinner at no cost if you prefer to do so.

Aside from those covered elsewhere in this issue, our last Section meeting of the season will be on Thursday, April 14 at the Villanova Conference Center in Radnor.

Our Spring Social will be conducted on Thurs-day, May 5 at the LeMeridien Hotel in Center City (the same place as last year’s Social). It is in the planning stages, and more information will be provided in coming editions of THE NEWS.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORSWe thank those firms who have made the

financial commitment to Section Sponsorship for this season. The business cards of these firms (17 total thus far) are included in the sponsor section of THE NEWS. Sponsor logos are also displayed in a special Sponsors section of our website. Through a click on the particular sponsor’s logo, we provide direct links to its own website so prospective employees can review all available and up-to-date positions being offered by that firm.

If you have an interest in joining our sponsor-ship program, please contact Bob Wright at newseditor@asce-philly.org for more details.

Page 2 February 2016T H E N E W S

President — AnnMarie Vigilante, P.E. Senior Associate/Vice President Langan Engineering & Environmental Sciences PO Box 1569 Doylestown, PA 18901-0219 (215) 491-6551 avigilante@langan.com

Secretary — Angelo J. Waters, P.E. Vice President Urban Engineers Inc. 530 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 (215) 922-8080 ajwaters@urbanengineers.com

PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEEEditor of THE NEWS

Robert WrightSection Outreach Coordinator

Nha TruongStaff Writers

James Markham Joe Syrnick SEND COPY TO:

ASCE, c/o Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia 325 Chestnut Street, Suite 800

Philadelphia, PA 19106

ASCE, PHILADELPHIA SECTION OFFICERS AND BOARD OF

DIRECTION — 2015-16 SEASON

PRESIDENT AnnMarie L. Vigilante, Langan Engineering

& Environmental SciencesPRESIDENT ELECT

Guy DiMartino, Traffic Planning & Design, Inc.

VICE PRESIDENT Cathy G. Farrell, HNTB, Inc.

SECRETARY Angelo Waters, Urban Engineers, Inc.

TREASURER Marc B. Preim, STV

ASSISTANT TREASURER Jennifer Reigle, Pennoni Associates, Inc.

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Nha Truong, City of Philadelphia Water Dept.

DIRECTORS Andrew Bechtel, College of New Jersey (’15-’17)Briana Earle, Langan Engineering & Environmental

Services (’15-’17)Spencer Finch, Langan Engineering &

Environmental Sciences (’14-’16) Don Gusic, CDM Smith (’14-’16)

Kazi Hassan, Pennoni Associates, Inc. (’15-’17) Troy Illig, PB (’14-’16)

PAST PRESIDENTS*Joseph Platt, Traffic Planning & Design, Inc.

Jennifer K. Walsh, McMahon Associates Inc.* Jeremy D. Colello, Pennoni Associates, Inc.*

* In accordance with our Constitution and Bylaws, only the immediate Past President will serve on the Board, and only for a one-year term. We show the most recent three Past Presidents as has become our tradition.

COPY DEADLINE FORMARCH 2016 ISSUEFEBRUARY 19, 2016

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEHappy New Year everyone! I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to the New Year. For our section, our 2016 program is in full swing. I would like to give a great big shout out to our friends at ASHE for hosting another great, well attended January joint meeting. These joint meetings provide us with a great way to network as well as catch up with old friends and meet new ones.

As we end January and its unpredictable weather, we look forward to Febru-ary which has become a very busy month for Engineers in the Delaware

Valley. We start the month out by visiting our friends at WTS-Philadelphia for our February lunchtime program and continue right into Engineers Week. Since 1951 the National Engineers Week has helped increase public understanding and awareness on what the more than 1.6 million engineers in this country do. Engineers Week has become a strong venue to inform our citizens of the value of Engineers, celebrate Engineering technology and innovation and cultivate interest in math, science and engineering among the nation’s youth. Delaware Valley Engineers Week will start off on Friday, February 19th with the annual Awards Luncheon, followed by the Young Engineers Social on Tuesday, February 23rd and will conclude with the Celebration of Engineering Reception on Thursday, February 25th. Details for all of these events can be found at http://www.dvewc.org/.

Some other upcoming events to put on your calendar are the March Dinner Meeting which will be back at Maggiano’s on Thursday, March 10th and will feature a presentation of the Manayunk Bridge, the April Technical Group Multi-Topic Meeting featuring our popular breakout sessions which will be held on Thursday, April, 14th at The Mansion at Villanova Conference Center and our annual Spring Social which will be on Thursday, May 5th at Le Meridien. On top of all these great events, our Technical and Institutes also have a full calendar of events in the coming months. Be sure to check our website and keep an eye out for our email blast for information on these events.

Finally, it’s time for a little John update. It’s amazing how much of a personality he has developed in the past month. His smiles and hardy laughs are enough to melt the three feet of snow in our backyard. He has recently learned to give affection by giving hugs and kisses and putting his arms up for us to pick him up. He rolled over from his back to his tummy which was a big accomplishment and he experienced snow on his face for the first time while he was sleigh riding with his daddy in the driveway. We look forward to his new adventures every day! Sincerely, AnnMarie Vigilante, P.E. President, ASCE Philadelphia Section

If you want to annoy your neighbors,

tell the truth about them.– Pietro Aretino

NEWS FROM ASCE NATIONALDON’T FORGET TO RENEW

Retaining membership in ASCE allows you to stay connected to the latest industry trends and keeps you linked to the best professional development programs and engaged with a worldwide network of peers. Your continual involvement builds a solid foundation to keep your career on track and moving toward achieving your professional and personal goals.

Dues for the current year were payable by January 1, but, if for whatever reason, you have not renewed, please avoid an interruption in your benefits and renew now. Choose the renewal option most convenient to you: online at asce.org/renewal (the quickest and easiest way), by phone at 800-548-ASCE (-2723), or by mail, using the invoice sent to you last fall (if you still have it). Ensure a positive return on your investment in a Civil Engineering career by renewing with ASCE.

SCIENCE FAIRS COMING UP – JUDGES NEEDED

Our Section will once again be offering Special Awards at the Delaware Valley Science Fairs, as we have done for over 20 years. The Fairs will be conducted on Wednesday, March 30 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks. Four Special Awards for individual student projects that have a Civil Engineering theme will be awarded, with two prizes for Grades 6 through 8 and two for Grades 9 through 12.

Volunteer judges are needed for this effort. The judging will require you to spend most, if not all, of your day (approximately 8 am to 3 pm) at the Fairs, examining and short listing possible projects in the morning and then interviewing the students who assembled them and finalizing the selections in the afternoon. It is always a very interesting and enlightening experience.

If you are interested in being a Special Awards judge for the Section please contact Chris Rood at crood@drjtbc.org. You will also need to register for this and this can be done through the Fairs’ website www.dvsf.org.

For more information on the Fairs please visit the above website.

We hope you can join us for a rewarding and interesting day.

February 2016 Page 3T H E N E W S

YOUNGER MEMBER FORUM NEWSMeredith Lis, Forum EditorChris Renfro, Forum President 2015-16Philadelphia Department of Streets1401 Kennedy Blvd., Room 830Philadelphia, PA 19102cjrenfro84@gmail.com(610) 246-4444

ASCE/ASHE JOINT HAPPY HOURThe YMF joined forces with the ASHE

Delaware Valley Section on Wednesday, December 16 at the Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery in King of Prussia for an evening of networking, socializing, and last minute mall shopping. The event had a great turnout where attendees enjoyed specially crafted micro-brews and seemingly never-ending appetizers. Thanks again to everyone that came out to co-mingle despite the approaching holidays!

POTTSTOWN HIGH SCHOOL CIVIL ENGINEERING PRESENTATION

YMF members Charlie Mumford (K-12 Outreach Chair), Kolleen Backlund, and Daniel Bhaumik visited Pottstown High School in December for both a hands-on activity and an introduction to Civil Engineering for students interested in Engineering. Having focused on engineering disciplines other than civil thus far, the 10th and 11th grade Intro to Engineering students were excited to hear about what Civil Engineering entailed and enjoyed watching ASCE’s “What is a Civil Engineer” video as well as getting an overview from the YMF’s volunteers. The students also got to perform a hands-on geotechnical engineering activity as part of the YMF’s 3-hour visit to Pottstown. The day seemed to be a success for the students and volunteers alike; thank you to Charlie, Kolleen, and Daniel for volunteering your time for such a successful outreach event!

2015 ASCE STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARD – JACOB NICHOLS, TEMPLE UNIVERSITY

Our Section would like to acknowledge Temple University’s ASCE Student Chapter Presi-dent, Jacob Nichols, for being awarded the 2015 ASCE Student Leader-ship Award. The YMF nominated Jacob because they believe that he is one of the major reasons for the steady increase of Temple students’ participation in ASCE events and conferences. YMF Vice President, Kevin Brown said, “Through Mr. Nichols’ superior leadership, he managed to create a more organized and cohesive Student Chapter at Temple that is more involved with the YMF and ASCE National.” This award is given by ASCE National which means nominations for this award was received from all of the country. Congratulations Jacob, you truly deserve it!

THISSSSS CLOSE..... ENGINEERS WEEK EVENTS

The Delaware Valley Engineers Week Commit-tee will be celebrating Engineers Week 2016 from February 19 through February 27 and will contin-ue its schedule of three events which will highlight the various contributions of Engineers and Engi-neering students in the Delaware Valley. The events have been set and reservations are now open.

AWARDS LUNCHEONFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19DoubleTree Hotel, Center City

This event is both the kickoff event of Engineers Week and the main event of the Delaware Valley celebrations. A poster session, with presentation of student paper winners, will be conducted starting at 11:00 am, with lunch and formal festivities starting at 12 Noon. All Delaware Valley Awards and Scholarships will be presented. Project and individual awards of all participating engineering societies in the Delaware Valley will be recognized.

The 2016 Delaware Valley Engineer of the Year, Kevin Johnson, and the Young Engineer of the Year, Daniel Sujo, will make brief remarks.

COST: $65 ($45 for government agency employees)

YOUNG ENGINEER SOCIAL EVENTTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23Buffalo Billiards, Center City

This event will be a happy hour/networking event geared to Younger Engineers. The Young Engineer of the Year will make brief remarks.

COST: $35

CELEBRATION OF ENGINEERING RECEPTIONTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25Drexel University, Philadelphia/University City

The culminating event of Engineers Week is a social/networking gala event to celebrate engineering, with cocktails, appetizer stations, and dessert stations. Award recipients will be honored with posters/exhibits/running PowerPoint in the networking area. Future City Competition Region-al winners will display their first place model.

The Engineer of the Year and Young Engineer of the year will provide brief remarks.

COST: $80More information and the reservation options

are available at www.dvewc.org. Tables of 10 can be reserved for the Luncheon.

Reservations for all three events are due by Friday, February 12. Late reservations will be accepted starting February 13, space permitting, but costs for the Luncheon and Reception will increase by $10 on that date. The cost of the Social will increase by $5.

Financial support of Engineers Week is very much appreciated. Levels of donation are provided in our sponsorship brochure on our website.

And, if you want to help with the various activities and functions of Engineers Week, which extend all year round, please visit www.dvewc.org to see what volunteer positions and opportunities are available.

CANSTRUCTION CALL FOR VOLUNTEERSThe YMF will again participate in

Philadelphia’s annual CANstruction event this spring. Historically, the YMF has donated a large number of cans to Philabundance, a local food shelf, thanks to donations from sponsors. Last year’s design, “To Philabundance And Beyond”, took canned food design to the next level, and the YMF will be brainstorming ideas for this year’s category, “Decades,” at the first group meeting. Email team captains Eammon Farley (efarley@mccormicktablor.com) or Scott Cepietz (scott.cepietz@mbakerintl.com) if you are interested in joining the YMF team for this fun event.

DVEW YOUNG ENGINEERS SOCIALTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23BUFFALO BILLIARDS, PHILADELPHIA

As part of the Delaware Valley Engineers Week, the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia is again sponsoring one of the popular events of the week: the Young Engineers Social. Join us to network with your young engineer friends, while enjoying food and drinks along with a presentation by the Delaware Valley Young Engineer of the Year, Daniel Sujo. This is one of the DVEW events you won’t want to miss! To check out all events and announcements, visit http://www.dvewc.org/. For more information on the Young Engineers Social, visit http://www.dvewc.org/events/social/.

ASCE MID-ATLANTIC REGION STUDENT CONFERENCE COMING UP

The 2016 ASCE Mid-Atlantic Region Conference will bring together over 250 students from 16 different Universities in the Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware area. The three-day conference, scheduled for April 22-24, will showcase our profession, our city, our sponsors, and our universities. Events will take place at Drexel University and the Camden County Cooper River Boathouse. This is being coordinated by the Drexel University Student Chapter.

EVENTS – SOCIAL, CONCRETE CANOE COMPETITION, STEEL BRIDGE COMPETITION, GEOWALL COMPETITION, TECHNICAL PAPER COMPETITION

How can your company get involved – in addition to attendance at the events, you can assist with the judging of the competitions and provide financial sponsorship. Sponsorship levels of Silver ($500), Gold ($1500), Platinum ($2500) and Diamond ($5000) are available, with appropriate levels of recognition and benefits associated with each.

For more information and the complete fundraising packet, please email the Drexel University Student Chapter at MidAtlanticASCE @gmail.com.

We look forward to having your company become a part of our conference planning. Thank you for the support.

Page 4 February 2016T H E N E W S

The right to be heard does not automatically include the

right to be taken seriously.– Hubert Humphrey

The only people who claim that money is not important are

people who have enough money so that they are relieved of the

ugly burden of thinking about it.– Joyce Carol Oates

TIME FOR NOMINATIONS FOR SECTION OFFFICERS

It seems like we just did this, but... If you have an interest in being a part of the Section’s governance, your opportunity has arrived. In accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Section, President AnnMarie Vigilante will be appointing a Nominating Committee to recommend a slate of officers for all Section elective offices for the 2016-17 administrative year. The positions which will be open for nominees are President Elect, Vice President, Secretary, Membership Secretary, and at least three Director positions.

Please feel free to nominate yourself or a colleague if you are interested in serving the Section in one of these capacities. We are looking for hard-working, dedicated volunteers who have fresh ideas.

The deadline for nominations is Friday, February 26. Any inquiries or nominations should be submitted to the Section's Secretary, Angelo Waters, whose contact information is given on page 2.

CALLING ALL WANNA-BE POETS…SUBMISSIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR OUR SECTION’S SAINT PATRICK’S DAY MESSAGELAST CHANCE (MAYBE...)!

If you’ve been reading THE NEWS for any length of time, you know that we attempt to cite both Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day with specific messages. We have conducted contests for these messages in the past and, thus far, the response has been consistent (i.e. none). If we don’t get any submissions, the task then falls into the lap of our Editor, which does not always result in something good. So, once again, we’re casting the net for anyone who wants to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, or chalk to the pavement…) and opening our annual competition for a St. Pat’s message, also known as our “Lightly Amusing Message from Eire” and its acronym, LAME) to be published in the March edition of THE NEWS.

This has been a poem and limerick in the past, and we’re open for anyone who’s feeling creative, festive, maybe a little seasonally-affected (by natural, alcohol, or other means – we aren’t judging!) to submit his/her messages. We welcome team efforts as well. If we get enough of them, we’ll conduct a contest (and determine what prize goes to the winner – usually the prize is the winner gets the job for life), or maybe we’ll print them all – we’ll see how this goes. We don’t have much in the way of criteria – it should be “G” rated, and have some sort of St. Pat’s connection, but we’re fairly wide open otherwise. The “winner(s)” will be given the opportunity to have this published anonymously if they so choose.

As we’ve done for the Lightly Amusing Yuletide Message (LAYM) in December, given the lack of interest, this will be the LAST message contest unless a groundswell of submissions is realized. (And, in our world, a groundswell can be one...). We at THE NEWS can take a hint, but as you’ve seen, sometimes it takes a while...

Please feel free to consult past March editions of THE NEWS (available on our website if your collection isn’t up to date) to see what’s passed for this in years gone by.

Submissions are due by February 19. Please send these to our Editor at newseditor@asce-philly.org. As always, staff members of THE NEWS and their families are certainly welcome to submit but are not eligible for any prize, just to keep this fair.

N-ASCE*HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MUTCD

You may have missed this, but back in November (the 6th, to be specific), the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD) celebrated its 80th “birthday”, and this octogenarian is still going strong. The secret of its vitality? The Manual remains active by helping the rest of us get to where we need to go safely and efficiently.

For those of you not in the transportation field, the Manual is basically the “bible” for the use of traffic control devices, which includes all of the signs, signals, pavement markings, and other features that communicate with drivers all along America’s road system (which, unfortunately, too many drivers these days tend to ignore). From city streets to interstate highways, and covering a variety of shared-use facilities, this system moves our country’s economy forward and gives us all a key freedom that has become part of the American ethos: mobility. The Manual doesn’t simply promote the mobility of goods and services; its guidelines and standardization help drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians get where they’re going and get there safely –no matter what part of the country they’re in.

From the first road signs in ancient Rome --literal milestones that ticked-off the distance to the next city-- traffic control devices have helped direct travelers on their journeys for centuries. The arrival of the automobile early in the last century revolutionized travel, but the explosion in automobile traffic also created a need for the road signs and traffic signals that now populate our streets and highways. The new ability to travel rapidly from state to state, however, meant that some degree of uniformity was needed so drivers from Pennsylvania would be able to understand traffic signs and signals in Colorado.

That’s where the Manual comes in. From day one, it has been a faithful, albeit silent, companion to road users.

The Manual arrived on the scene in 1935, just in time to help America travel better, safer, and more efficiently. It is continuously being updated to reflect the ever-changing needs of the people and the equally dynamic advances in technology. Ten editions have been published in its “lifetime” which, by any measure, is a lot of makeovers.

The first edition, published by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO, which has since added “Transportation” to its title, now known as AASHTO), classified signs as regulatory, warning, or guide. It also introduced America to the importance of pavement markings and adopted rules for the three-color traffic signal, one of the most underrated safety advances in roadway history. And, it offered a degree of local flexibility; although the manual is the law governing all traffic control devices, it does includes three levels of mandate -“shall,” “should,” and “may”- which affords local transportation authorities a high degree of leeway to accommodate differing roadway environments.

Over time, the Manual has showed cities and towns the way to go when it came to traffic control devices used during various situations, such as

blackout conditions in wartime in 1942. In 1954, it ushered in the modern “STOP” sign as we now know it, with white letters on a red octagonal background, which replaced a similar version with black letters on a yellow background. The Manual set the bar for a variety of construction and maintenance operations in 1961, placed a new emphasis on signs near schools in 1971, and updated traffic control devices for highway-rail grade crossings and bicycle facilities in 1978. Another “push” in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s was the movement to symbols instead of words on many signs.

Of course, any uniform compendium of devices designed to address, alert, and inform travelers across a vast nation in an era of rapidly evolving technologies is bound to require revision. In the years ahead, this will mean developing and refining messages uniformly for those who need to navigate newer roadway features such as managed lanes, separated bike lanes, and other environments. As songwriter Bob Dylan famously sang, “The times, they are a-changing,” and our road signs and other traffic devices will no doubt change with the times. As will the Manual.

So, happy belated birthday, MUTCD, and many thanks to all of the transportation engineers who have made its first 80 years so successful.

Thanks to the Federal Highway Administration for this information.* N – ASCE – not always something concerning engineering…

February 2016 Page 5T H E N E W S

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains.

The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.

– William Arthur Ward

JANUARY JOINT DINNER MEETINGJanuary 20, 2016 Radisson Hotel, Valley Forge

The “New” NY Bridge – Replacing a Critical Bridge via Design-Build Deliveryby Robert Wright, Editor

Our Section conducted our first meeting of the ’16 half of the 2015-16 season with our by-now traditional joint meeting with our counterparts of the Delaware Valley Section of the American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE), where we were the guests at ASHE’s usual meeting spot, the Radisson Hotel and Valley Forge Casino. A trip to that part of the world is always interesting given the rush hour traffic that must be endured to get there, but at least the weather cooperated. Over 170 attendees from the combined Sections gathered to take in a presentation on a project which, while not exactly local, was certainly of great interest to engineers, and close enough to our area that many of us have used the existing bridge and seen the construction.

Delaware Valley Section President Jeff Given managed to pry folks from a lively cocktail hour into the meeting room to welcome them and get dinner started. After a few announcements, dinner was served, and then President Given called the evening’s featured speaker, Ken Wright of HDR, to begin the evening’s program.

Mr. Wright gave an overview of the project, which will replace the existing Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge (the official name – most people know only the last part) with twin cable-stayed structures that are called The New New York Bridge. The new bridges will closely follow the existing alignment as the tie-ins at either river shore are fixed and development does not prevent any significant relocation. The new bridges will offer 4 lanes in each direction with adequate left and right shoulders, a transit lane in each direction, a shared-use path on the north side of the northern bridge, and the built-in capability to carry rail transit of some sort in the future. He showed the unique design for the accommodation of rail transit in the central area between the two bridges, which would require some structural modifications if pursued.

The project is a design-build effort and is being undertaken by the Tappan Zee Constructors, a joint venture of four construction contractors with HDR as the Design Engineer. The project cost is $3.1 billion. It was originally envisioned in the early 1990’s when it was found that ongoing expenditure on maintenance of the existing bridge would not be economically viable. The bridge, built in 1955, has 7 narrow (11’) traffic lanes with a movable center barrier and 1’ outside shoulders, and has presented safety concerns given the level of traffic (138,000 ADT), crashes, and the fact that maintenance expenditures cannot rectify the geometrics. Mr. Wright explained that the work could not be financed until New York State changed existing legislation to allow design-build as an implementation action.

Work was started in 2012 and design had to be performed carefully to meet the requirement of a 100-year structure and component life. Mr.

TECHNICAL GROUPS/CHAIRSInformation on the ASCE, Philadelphia Sec-

tion’s Technical Groups is given below. If you have any topics that you think would be of interest to the Groups, please feel free to pass this information along to the appropriate Group Chair.

CONSTRUCTIONDennis MacBrideSEPTA1234 Market Street, 12th FloorPhiladelphia, PA 19107-3780215-580-3404dmacbride@septa.org

DELAWARE VALLEY GEO-INSTITUTE (DVGI)Jay A. McKelvey IIIEarth Engineering115 W. Germantown Pike, Suite 200 Norristown, PA 19401jaym@earthengineering.com

ENGINEERING MANAGEMENTAlex ReinerSEPTA1234 Market StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19107areiner@septa.org

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCESEric Lindhult215-852-0068eric.lindhult@gmail.com

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING INSTITUTE (SEI)John MiliusAECOM1700 Market Street, Suite 1600Philadelphia, PA 19103john.milius@aecom.com

TRANSPORTATION AND URBAN DEVELOPMENTWilliam T. ThomsenUrban Engineers, Inc.530 Walnut Street, 14th FloorPhiladelphia, PA 19106215-922-8080 wtthomsen@urbanEngineers.com

Wright outlined the many investigations and evaluations of alternate materials and treatments that were needed to achieve strengths and durability to meet the 100-year stipulation. The magnitude and complexity of the project, with almost all of the work over the Hudson River, has resulted in many of the largest pieces of structural erection equipment, cranes and barges amassed on site to handle this work. Additionally, traffic must be maintained with no outages or stoppages at all times, which made the cut-over and transition phasing very intricate, as the northern structure will need to be complete and ready to carry all traffic for roughly two years while the tie-ins between the southern structure and the existing landfalls can be made. These tie-ins will require the removal of sections of the existing bridge. On the 400-plus-mile New York State Thruway System, this bridge accounts for over 20% of toll revenue, so it is an extremely critical element of the Thruway network.

Mr. Wright covered numerous project details and aspects, which include significant efforts to respect the Hudson River environment and habitat. Since the river is extremely brackish even at this point over 30 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, materials had to take salt resistance into account. Many of the piles cannot reach rock given the depth of bedrock (in some places 700 feet below the surface) and the tightness of locations where piles had to be driven. The northern structure should be ready for traffic in 2017 and the entire project should be ready for use in 2019.

Several insightful questions were posed by the audience and Mr. Wright provided responsive answers.

President Given thanked Mr. Wright for this informative presentation and gave him a token of Delaware Valley ASHE’s appreciation.

SPECIAL OFFER ON ASCE WEBINARSDid you know that, as a Section member, you

get a discount on ASCE National Webinars? Plus some of the registration fee comes back to help fund other Section activities! Live Webinars: http://mylearning.asce.org/diweb/catalog/t/2125/c/79 ASCE’s live webinars provide cost-effective training for large and small groups. Use Promo Code WEBPHISEC to secure your preferred rate. On-Demand Webinars: http://mylearning.asce.org/diweb/catalog/t/2135/c/79

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Page 6 February 2016T H E N E W S

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DIRECT LINE: 610-617-6267CELL: 610-761-1303EMAIL: rhorenburger@softdig.com

610-738-8762800-545-1531

24 Hagerty Blvd., Unit 11West Chester, PA 19382

Offices in PA, NJ, NY, MD and TX

Richard A. Horenberger, P.E.President

Subsurface Utility Engineers

UNDERGROUND SERVICES, INC.

www.hntb.com

HNTB Pennsylvania Locations:

1650 Arch Street Suite 1700 Philadelphia, PA 19103 215.568.6500

680 American Avenue Suite 100 King of Prussia, PA 19406 610.272.3310

4507 N. Front Street Suite 300 Harrisburg, PA 17110 717.526.7911

Services:» Transportation Planning & Permitting» Complete Streets & Trail Design» Bridge Design & Inspection» Traffic Signal & System Design» Environmental Services & Permitting» Construction Management & Inspection» Highway Design» Expert Witness Support for Crash Investigations www.TrafficPD.com | 215.622.2525

We are currently seeking professionals in various disciplines and locations.

Visit us at www.TrafficPD.com to check out our openings.

JBC ASSOCIATES, INC. Construction Management

120 S. Warner Road, Suite 100

King of Prussia, PA 19406

610.992.9090

Fax 610.992.9099

www.jbcassociates.com

“Success is in the details. We handle them for you.”

Integrated Engineering and Environmental Solutions

www.villanova.edu/VUSP

www.digioiagray.com

Pittsburgh, PA (Headquarters) Tempe, AZ Roanoke, VA CN ,ettolrahCAP ,nwotsttoP

Great Career Opportunities!

Consulting Engineers and Scientists

HARRISBURG3605 Vartan Way,

Suite 202Harrisburg, PA 17110

1.717.541.4001

WAYNE993 Old Eagle School Road,

Suite 408Wayne, PA 190871.610.293.0450

PHILADELPHIATwo Penn Center Plaza,

1500 JFK Boulevard,Suite 1208

Philadelphia, PA 191021.215.636.0600

MEMBERS/SPONSORS IN THE NEWSTRUMBULL CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES JOINS JMT

Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, Inc. (JMT) and Trumbull Construction Management Services (TCMS) are proud to announce that an agreement has been reached for the acquisition of TCMS by JMT. The addition of TCMS strengthens and broadens JMT's existing commitment in the Pennsylvania and Ohio construction management and inspection markets.

Founded in 1971, JMT is a 100 percent employee-owned firm based in Sparks, MD, with offices strategically located throughout the U.S., including Pennsylvania offices in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, York, Allentown and Philadelphia, and Ohio offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus. JMT, ranked #75 among the Engi-neering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firms, currently employs more than 70 construc-tion management and inspection employees in Pennsylvania and more than 370 in total. The firm’s staff of more than 1,300 engineers, architects, planners, environmental scientists, surveyors, construction and program managers, inspectors, designers, CADD technicians, and GIS and information technology specialists, is dedicated to exceeding our clients’ expectations with the highest quality of services. JMT is the 2015 ENR MidAtlantic Design Firm of the Year.

TCMS, founded in 1989 as a division of Trumbull Corporation, is regarded in the transportation industry as one of the leading construction management and inspection firms in Pennsylvania. The company has built an outstanding reputation for providing quality services, including managing several large projects ($420 million and $300 million) for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission on the Mon/Fayette Expressway corridor. TCMS employs approximately 40 professionals from its head-quarters in Pittsburgh, with multiple offices throughout the Commonwealth.

JMT President John A. Moeller, PE, said regarding the agreement: “We’ve had the pleasure to work with TCMS and to observe their dedication to excellence in construction management and inspection for many years. Now, we are excited for the opportunity to work together as a team every day.”