I NS I D E T H 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 -Vol ume 3 I ssue 11
Ri chmond Br anch - ASCE
http: //www. ascevi rgi ni a. 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 2
ASCE Richmond Branch - February Newsletter


.

The ASCE Virginia Section, Richmond Branch and the Virginia Geo-Institute Chapter held our
3
rd
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 ASCEs
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 Commonwealths 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

3
rd
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 4
ASCE Richmond Branch - February Newsletter

16
th
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
Careers 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
16
th
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