INSIDE/OUT ISSUE 61
SPRING
NEWSLETTER
APRIL 2016
First Freight Trains Travel through the West Vancouver Access Rail Trench The new rail entrance is part of a larger effort to relieve congestion and increase freight capacity throughout the region. The first freight train made its passage through the new West Vancouver freight access (WVFA) rail trench at the Port of Vancouver USA on 14 July 2015. The trench is part of the overall WVFA project aimed to improve rail movement on the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad mainlines. Prior to the inception of the WVFA project, trains entering the port blocked the mainline, causing local-, regional-, and system-wide delays. The purpose of the WVFA program was to create a new, grade-separated access directly into the port and to increase the capacity of the internal port rail system. After an extensive alternatives analysis, the location for the new entrance landed on the north bank of the Columbia River and underneath the existing 100-year-old BNSF mainline rail bridge that crosses the river and on which passenger trains, such as Amtrak, mainly travel. Before the new entrance could be built, however, strict requirements had to be met. A 23.5-foot clearance below the bridge was required for the new rail line. Because of this, it had to descend more than 14 feet below the 100-year flood elevation. The Port wanted trains to remain in operation during a flood event, so protecting the rail line from flood waters is vital. As a result, the quarter-mile-long rail structure was built with reinforced concrete flood walls that extend above the 100-year flood elevation. Buoyancy, seismic, and
Trains entering the port now travel under the Columbia River Bridge, improving freight capacity and relieving congestion of the mainlines.
lateral earth loads are resisted by 410 steel piles supporting 14,000 tons of concrete. During construction of the trench, there were many in-water work timing restrictions that had to be considered and adhered to. A very low-impact approach to construction was crucial due to several species listed under the Endangered Species Act that consider the river home. Other restrictions included a very confined site with limited access. Also, interruptions to current tenants and their operations had to be taken into careful consideration and minimized. (continued on page 2)
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When the WVFA program is fully constructed in the spring of 2017, the trench will carry up to 10-unit trains per day—almost all for the purpose of exporting bulk commodities. This innovative and efficient solution to rail congestion will provide lasting benefits to the Port and its tenants, as well as to the many users of the west coast heavy rail transportation system. As a subconsultant to HDR, Inc., BergerABAM provided structural engineering, civil engineering, demolition planning and engineering, pump station design, conflict resolution, construction sequencing, right-of-way acquisition assistance, land use planning, natural resources permitting, contract document preparation, cost estimating, and construction phase assistance for this project. BergerABAM team members were James Bohanek, Tim de Boer, Shawn Ellis, Jeff Hammond, Don Hardy, Bob Harn, Matt Huxley, Darrell Joque, Bob Mast, Brian Maxwell, Nicole McDermott, Scott McMahon, Tony Pritchett, George Sheng, Jyotirmoy Sircar, Hod Wells, and Tom Wilcox. The rail trench allows 23.5-foot clearance beneath the bridge, 14 feet below the 100-year flood level.
In January 2016, the WFVA rail trench project received the 2016 Engineering Excellence Grand Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies (Oregon).
Ruba Zumut Transitions to Buildings and Transit Department Head BergerABAM is pleased to announce the transition of Ruba Zumut to head of the firm’s Buildings and Transit Department. She succeeds Bob Griebenow who has assumed the role of senior principal responsible for transit projects. Bob steps into this position after leading the Buildings and Transit Department for the past 10 years.
Ruba Zumut, PE Vice President
“This is a great opportunity for both of these individuals,” said Lee Marsh, PhD, PE, BergerABAM president and chief executive officer. “For Ruba, leading the department will be an exciting new challenge. For Bob, the ability to focus his attention on the pursuit of large transit projects will likewise be a great opportunity.”
Ruba, who holds a bachelor’s in civil engineering from the University of Jordan, has 27 years of experience in the architectural/engineering industry, working directly with architects, developers, contractors, and various public and private clients. Her project experience includes military installation, institutional, correctional, and industrial building facilities. For the past 17 years, she has played a significant role in building a solid relationship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, managing multiple on-call contracts. In addition, Ruba has been managing and developing business for the firm’s San Diego, California, office since 2012. As the regional government client director, she also manages a large on-call contract with Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest.
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Inside/Out Newsletter
Leudinghaus Bridge—New, Improved, and Worth the Wait Lewis County residents waited eight years for a replacement to the old Leudinghaus Bridge that was destroyed by a flood in 2007. In December 2007, record rainfall in the Pacfic Northwest caused a devastating flood that washed out Leudinghaus Bridge that had been built in 1922 and crossed the Chehalis River in rural Lewis County, Washington. For eight long years, residents of the unincorporated neighboring communities of Doty, Dryad, and Meskill—approximately 15 miles west of the city of Chehalis—had been anticipating the bridge’s replacement. On 11 February 2016, their wish was realized with the grand opening of a new and improved Leudinghaus Bridge, also known as Mays Bridge. Relocated further upstream, about a quarter mile away from its original location, Leudinghaus Bridge is a 200-foot-long structure connecting Hatchery Road off State Route 6 with Leudinghaus Road. Although the new bridge was constructed at a relatively new location, some features remained the same as with the old bridge. When it came to design of the new bridge, the roadway profile could not be raised to maximize the debris clearance between the underside of the bridge and the flood elevation of the river, so the original steel truss design fit the conditions best. The steel truss allows for more debris clearance, because it has a shallower depth (i.e. distance from the roadway surface to the bottom of the structure) than a girder bridge for the span being used. While aesthetically appealing, steel truss is a less common bridge design today—versus more modern bridge types, such as precast concrete—because of its high-maintenance requirements. Ultimately, it was the best option all around for the replacement bridge and worth the wait for local residents. The 2007 flood event that demolished the original bridge during a severe winter storm was declared a
Residents celebrate completion of the new Leudinghaus Bridge that will significantly shorten their commute times.
major disaster, making funding eligible through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The project, with a nearly $6 million price tag, wasn’t approved until 2012. However, despite the long delay, locals welcomed the new bridge with much fanfare at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on 11 February 2016. More than 100 people turned out for the event, including members of a local classic car club who drove their vintage vehicles ceremoniously over the bridge. The maiden crossing, however, was reserved for a long-time Lewis County resident who chose to walk her way across.
Editors/Contributors Lynn Enebrad Nora Bretaña Karen Harbaugh Lauren Hurst Jana Roy Renée Stiehl Amanda Schweickert Dee Young
BergerABAM served as prime consultant and provided structural engineering and design for the project. During the event, Lewis County recognized BergerABAM Project Manager Chuck Spry and Construction Manager Bob Lee who described the project as technically challenging but very rewarding.
Design and Production Lynn Enebrad To update your contact information, please e-mail newsletter@abam.com
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Higher, Better Wind Turbine Research The U.S. Department of Energy forecasts wind power supplying 35 percent of the nation’s energy by 2050. With the second largest installed capacity, the United States is ranked first in the world in annual wind power production. However, the nation’s coastlines currently lag behind the Midwest in wind energy production, with many southeastern states having no wind energy potential at all.
BergerABAM has been involved in the development of tall, concrete wind turbine towers since 2004 and has been recognized in the precast concrete industry as a leader in concrete tower design. BergerABAM has supported the research team in foundation design and tower construction methodologies. The project team’s research was featured in Precast Concrete Institute’s PCI Journal, November-December 2015 edition. The article on wind turbine towers tackles the problem of finding a more cost-effective and sturdier solution than building taller steel towers whose fatigue and wear will result in having to be decommissioned after 20 to 25 years. The research team developed two options for the Hexcrete towers: one incorporating a steel tower (hybrid model) and the other made of concrete, which have many advantages including the following. • • •
• A constructed portion of the Hexcrete combination tower. Photo courtesy of Sri Sritharan.
To give these states the ability to generate more wind power, taller (328 to 459 feet high) wind turbine towers with larger blades need to be built to capture the faster and steadier winds at higher elevations. A multidisciplinary research team composed of scientists and engineers from Iowa State University; Siemens Corporation; Corslab Omaha; the National Renewable Energy Laboratory; and Markus Wernli, PhD, PE, and Miranda Hagadorn, PE, LEED AP, of BergerABAM, developed the concept of precast concrete Hexcrete hubs to create a more durable, taller wind turbine tower.
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Facilitate efficient on-site and off-site prefabrication Do not require specialized formwork Offer off-site prefabricated modules that can be tailored to avoid the need for specialized transportation that steel towers require Locally manufactured in United States precast concrete plants, whereas steel tubular towers often need to be produced overseas and shipped to the United States Offer increased versatility to elevate tower height Allow increased wind capture, decreasing the number of towers needed for the same amount of energy production, reducing capital and production costs Have twice the lifespan of steel towers
The research team recently secured grants and funding to develop and test these Hexcrete towers and advance the technology for commercial use. A section of the Hexcrete combination tower has been built and is now being tested. The next step will involve the design of a 459-foot-tall Hexcrete tower to support 2.3 and 3.2 megawatt turbines, and a commercialization plan will be developed to introduce the tower to the wind energy industry.
Inside/Out Newsletter
Nashville Park Awarded Highest Envision Rating Nashville Government West Park is the tenth awarded project in the Envision system and has received the highest level, Platinum, from the Institute for Sustainabile Infrastructure (ISI). Metro Nashville Water Services Department (Metro Water Services) planned to increase storage for wastewater collection to help eliminate unpermitted discharging. Unfortunately, the conditions at the remote site of the new storage facility changed when flood zone updates were required as a result of increased storms. The changes would require additional tanks and piping, increasing the project cost. A new solution was needed, which prompted Metro Water Services into communications, and later partnership, with Metro Nashville Parks and Recreation Department (Metro Parks). The agencies brainstormed the idea to relocate the new storage tank to a nearby park rather than the originally planned site. This is the first time the two agencies collaborated on a multi-benefit project. Because the park was in closer proximity to the agencies than the original remote project site, it created a surplus of project funds that were used to fund park improvements—an added benefit. The project fulfilled its original need of increasing wastewater collection capacity with a storage tank and provided the community with an enhanced recreational space that offers new walking trails, upgraded ball fields, and improved connectivity within the community. The interagency collaboration is an example of how Envision projects value leadership, collaboration, community, quality of life, and natural resources. Envision, developed by ISI, is a guidance tool that can help infrastructure stakeholders (e.g., public agencies, planning and design firms, and community
organizations) make decisions towards sustainable infrastructure. Focusing on five categories (Quality of Life, Leadership, Resource Allocation, Natural World, and Climate and Risk), this system offers a way to assess the sustainability of an infrastructure project by emphasizing the overall contribution to a community through stakeholder engagement, cultural awareness, business sustainability, and environmental stewardship. Hazen and Sawyer was the lead design firm that worked with Metro Water Services and Metro Parks to develop this Envision Platinum project. BergerABAM was the third-party verifier that reviewed the project documentation and rating for ISI. During the verification, BergerABAM held conference calls with the team to discuss the verification process and results of reviewing the credit documentation that the project team submitted. During their review, the verifiers saw documentation that could be used to support credits that the project team had not pursued. The project team resubmitted these credits that were in the Quality of Life and Leadership categories for the final verification. BergerABAM has three ISI verifiers on staff and they have been the verifiers for 2 of the 10 Envision-awarded projects to date. Besides contracting as verifiers for ISI, BergerABAM can provide training to prepare others to become Envision Sustainability Professionals and participates on the Technical and Accreditation committees. With the development of an updated Envision guidance manual due in 2018, BergerABAM has been involved with the Resource Allocation credits for the new manual and is helping with training materials and continuing education requirements.
Rendering of the Nashville Government West Park’s new ball fields and walking trails
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