Engineering Excellence Awards Competition

ACEC-KY

2004

Cemetery Road – The Gateway to Bowling Green – American Engineers, Inc.

The Cemetery Road project took a true context-sensitive design approach and the result was a prominent roadway that all of the community could take pride in.  The Partnership between the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), American Engineers, Inc. (AEI), local government and roadway opponents accomplished several goals.  The product was one that all stakeholders helped to develop.

Cemetery Road is a split rural and urban arterial roadway originating just east of the I-65 interchange and stretches west for 3.9 km.  The newly aligned, four-lane rural portion includes an interchange with I-65 and continues west for 1.6 km, incorporating a bike path and landscaping.  The remaining roadway is a five-lane urban section with sidewalks on both sides.  The roadway provides direct access between the Central Business District of Bowling Green and I-65, while maintaining the original residential aesthetic of the community.  It also has become the starting point for Bowling Green’s first Greenway and part of their Greenbelt System Master Plan.

The designers overcame several obstacles throughout the life of the roadway project.  The karst topography, landowner issues, and construction cost were a few of the hurdles that were addressed.  The design process never overlooked the interest of the residential community and the result was beyond expectations for much of the public.  The purpose and need of the project was never jeopardized.  The road has improved access to the central business district and has the capacity for increased traffic for future needs.  The economic future of Bowling Green is much enhanced due to the design and construction of Cemetery Road.

Six Phase Heating Treatability Study – CDM, Inc.

The DOE Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP), Kentucky has been producing enriched uranium since 1952.  In August 1988, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and radionuclides were detected in residential wells near the plant.  Two sources of VOC leaks and spills identified in and around the C-400 building have resulted in large subsurface accumulations of trichloroethylene (TCE) near the building.  CDM was contracted to conduct a treatability study to evaluate the effectiveness of electrical resistance heating (ERH) technology for TCE removal form soil and groundwater.  The technology uses electrical resistance to heat the subsurface environment in the treatment zone, raising the temperature above the boiling point of TCE and water, and vaporizing the TCE.  The ERH application at PGDP was the first ever application of the technology to near 100 feet below ground surface (BGS).  Prior electrode installation depths had been to 45 feet bgs.  TCS contamination at PGDP has been detected at depths up to 100 feet bgs.  A new electrode design was required for implementing the technology at PGDP.  A 99 percent reduction in TCE groundwater concentrations and a greater than 95 percent reduction in TCE soil concentrations followed the completion of the SPH treatability study.  There was a problem with the installation of the SPH electrode array in a congested industrial area.  The solution was to require a well development plan and close coordination with the drilling subcontractor to ensure that the borings and subsurface components were installed using a logical and safe approach to avoid penetrating subsurface structures or utilities.

Bluestone Dam Anchor Study – Fuller, Mossbarger, Scott & May Engineers, Inc.

The US Army Corps of Engineers has determined that Bluestone Dam, constructed in 1949, would be at risk of catastrophic failure under a new design storm.  If the dam failed, serious downstream flooding, loss of life and economic damage would occur rivaling any historic dam failure incident in the United States.  FMSM assisted the Corps personnel in the design and field trials of the largest rock anchors installed in the United States.  These anchors will effectively stabilize the dam under the new design flood and prevent failure.  A number of innovative approaches were employed to address complex design issues surrounding the massive rock anchors.  For example, each of the four installed rock anchors exerts a force of over 2.1 million pounds.  All of this load must be carried by the rock mass beneath the dam.  To understand if this was possible, eight smaller scale anchors were tested to near failure in the dam abutment and within specific target lithologies.  These tests proved that bonding forces within the rock were sufficient to transfer the stabilizing force from the anchor to the rock mass.  This effectively allowed the design and installation of the 61-strand anchors to be optimized with regards to bond forces while at the same time ensuring safety.

Another complex issue was the distribution of bond forces within the anchor and within the rock mass.  FMSM fitted two of the 61-strand anchors with 30 fiber optic strain gauges that could be used during stressing of the anchors.  These gauges helped confirm that bonded zones could be positioned at relatively short distances below known or suspected potential failure surfaces, thus shortening anchor lengths, increasing constructability and decreasing costs.

FMSM advanced the engineering profession in a number of ways by the successful completion of this project.  The results of the design and field trial effort provide the engineering community with a comprehensive understanding of anchor/rock interaction and will assist the corps design team and other practicing professionals in designing more cost-effective rock anchors in the future.  The success of this study plays an integral part in the rehabilitation efforts at Bluestone Dam and positions the structure for another 50 years of useful life providing critical flood control for the Kanawha River Basin.

Paris Pike Reconstruction – H. W. Lochner, Inc.

Lined with historic rock fences, springhouses, large trees and picturesque horse farms, Paris Pike is not just any roadway, but one of the nation’s most beautiful and historically rich highways.  Lochner was faced with a difficult challenge as design for Paris Pike began – to make it safe, make it wider, but not disturb the natural environment.  Making this highway safer had been deadlocked by public opposition for over 20 years.  Lochner’s first obstacle to overcome was to gain the affected community’s trust in their ability to design a four lane Paris Pike that would satisfy the demands of capacity and safety.

By implementing many techniques that are now known as Context Sensitive Design, the character of the Pike, including its fragile, historic surroundings, would remain intact, if not enhanced.  While Context Sensitive Design (CSD) is a term that has almost become a cliché’ in the transportation engineering field, it was this process by which the Paris Pike design and construction was modeled upon.  By no means was Paris Pike the first project to use this concept, but because of its scale and notoriety, Context Sensitive Design has become synonymous throughout the transportation industry with the Paris Pike design process.  Characteristics of Lochner’s CSD Design include:  Community based planning, Partnering, Development and use of a Design Task Force, Utilizing safety and aesthetically pleasing design features.  Results are phenomenal, this beautiful and historical corridor has been preserved, while satisfying the demands of capacity and safety and satisfying the public’s concerns.

Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges – HMB Professional Engineers

For nearly thirty years, public debate has been ongoing regarding the need for a new Ohio River crossing in the region.  In 1996, the Ohio River Major Investment Study (ORMIS), recommended construction of two new bridges – one parallel to the Kennedy Bridge (I-65) between downtown Louisville and Jeffersonville, Indianan and one several miles to the east, linking the Gene Snyder Freeway (I-265/KY 841) in Kentucky with SR 265 in Southern Indiana – as well as reconstruction of the Kennedy Interchange.

In 1998, the KYTC and INDOT announced the selection of Community Transportation Solutions, a joint venture of HMB Professional Engineers; DeLeuw, Cather & Company; and Beam, Longest and Neff.  Upon completion of Preliminary Design and the EIS, the FHWA’s Record of Decision was published in September 2003, recommending construction of the above-described improvements.  Distinctive project aspects included:  An estimated $1.9 billion project cost – the largest joint transportation project ever undertaken by Kentucky and Indiana;  Complex public involvement, with over 50 consulting parties in the federally-required consultation on historic properties, a Regional Advisory Council, four area work groups and representation from nearly 150 organizations; Evaluation of over thirty Alternatives, including No Action, Transportation Management (TDM, TSM, & Mass Transit), Existing System Improvements, One-Bridge, and Two-Bridge Alternatives; and Inclusion as one of the first seven projects in the nation slated for the FHWA’s accelerated environmental review process.

While scope alone justifies its consideration for an Engineering Excellence Award, what makes this project truly exceptional is its historic and professional position at the forefront of the national initiative to implement context sensitive solutions for major, signature-type transportation improvements.  As the firm providing the crucial and unique interface between a nationally-renown consulting team’s capabilities and the specific concerns of the local community, HMB displayed outstanding leadership and distinguished engineering and planning capabilities.

George W. Arnold Membrane Filtration Plant – Strand Associates

Safe, reliable drinking water is a precious commodity and unfortunately, it was in jeopardy.  The citizens of Logan and Todd Counties know this all too well.  Before the completion of the George W. Arnold Membrane Filtration Water Treatment Plant (WTP), some communities were frequently under boil-water notices and the reliability and safety of their water source was in question.  Water shortages were making water use restrictions to homeowners and curtailment of use by industries a fairly common occurrence.  Effective economic recruitment was out of the question with a limited water supply.  Population growth, particularly in the rural areas also fueled demand for source water.  The lack of an abundant water source in the two-county area proved to gbe the primary problem.

These challenges spurred the formation of the Logan-Todd Regional Water Commission (LTRWC) and ultimately, the successful design and completion of the WTP.  The LTRWC project is unique in many ways.  Serving approximately 40,000 people in a 950 square mile serve area through 12 water entities, it was the first and is the largest regional water ocmmission in KY.  The publicly owned WTP was the first to use membrane filtration in KY, is one of the largest applications in the US, and was the first regional WTP in the state.  In addition to serving populations in three counties, the project involved two states, as the selected water source is located in Tennessee.

The LTRWC is now the model for regionalization, and the WTP is an example of an effective solution through innovative design.  These communities now have a sufficient raw water source, and can attract businesses that will stimulate their economies.  Strand is proud to be part of this vital project, which will provide reliable and safe drinking water to these communities for generations.

RIVERMorph Stream Restoration Software – Fuller, Mossbarger, Scott & May Engineers

In the past decade, the stream restoration profession has trended towards “natural” solutions focused on cross sectional, planform and longitudinal geometry best suited to exist in the natural landscape.  A popular method for designing natural stream channels includes measuring geomorphic parameters from a reference reach and then applying the reference reach parameters to the design reach through the use of dimensionless ratios.  To properly use the reference reach method, extensive geomorphic data must be collected and analyzed during the design process.  This data collection and analysis is tedious, time consuming and usually requires several iterations to ultimately achieve a design with adequate ability to transport sediment.

RIVERMorph stream restoration software contributes to the advancement of the stream restoration profession by efficiently processing geomorphic data for stream assessment, monitoring and design.  RIVERMorph stores and retrieves geomorphic data through the use of a comprehensive database and a state-of-the-art geographical user interface (GUI), combining technological and environmental considerations to reduce erosion and sediment and improve water and air quality.  This revolutionary new program rapidly processes geomorphic data typically collected on stream restoration projects including biological and channel stability assessments.  Relying on proven design techniques, this software streamlines the stream design, allowing the engineer to maximize performance and minimize expenses.  The outcome is a natural appearing stream system with variability in its planform, longitudinal profile and cross-section dimensions.  The Buffalo Run in the Cedar Grove Business Park case study, a natural channel design approach to stormwater management, is presented to document the successful use of RIVERMorph for even the most complex stream mitigation projects.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Office Building Roadway, Site & Utilities Improvements – HMB Professional Engineers

The new Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Building is visually striking, central component in the revitalization of Kentucky’s capital city.  Yet, locating this state-of-the-art office facility alongside Downtown Frankfort’s Commercial and Old State House Historic Districts presented formidable challenges, including:  Simultaneous coordination of interrelated roadway, site/civil and utilities engineering projects covering a wide variety of disciplines; Substantial involvement with numerous state and local agencies and other interest groups; An already-convoluted city street system required to handle new traffic patterns and increased use; and Unmapped and deeply buried utilities – some over one-hundred years old.  As the only consultant involved in virtually all projects related to development of the new building, HMB met these challenges by fostering cooperative, informed working relationships between clients, community, and consultants.

Utilizing our uniquely well-suited multi-disciplinary capabilities, our professionals seamlessly integrated various aspects of the overall design process.  For example, when contractors unexpectedly unearthed the 150-year-old Old Frankfort Cemetery, HMB helped coordinate a volunteer archaeological team and immediately updated over 260 grave locations on project documents – resulting in no construction delays.

In another instance, the City’s combined stormwater/sanitary sewers in the area presented a health hazard.  HMB Utilities and Highway Design staff worked together to cost-effectively separate and replace these outdated lines as a component of our KYTC street improvement project.

Ultimately, in diverse, yet related roles, HMB served as a focal point for collaboration and teamwork.  The result is an exceptional building and associated infrastructure improvements that meet and exceed the KYTC’s needs, while maintaining sensitivity to the scale and character of the surrounding area.  Our success if perhaps most clearly demonstrated by state and local leaders’ recent decision to designate the project corridor a “Gateway to Frankfort” – a signature community space for the capital and the Commonwealth.

A Class Operation – Photo Science, Inc.

Natural gas pipeline companies are faced with a real challenge in safely moving their product to market.  The federal Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) requires operators to classify each segment of their pipeline into four class locations based on the population density around the pipeline.  These class locations play an important role in assessing risk and providing for the safety of the public that lives and works around the pipeline.  Operators once approached the task of determining class locations by dispatching crews to walk the pipeline and manually note development on paper-based maps.  With over 278,000 miles of transmission lines and some 20,000 miles of gathering lines in the US, the task is slow, costly and prone to inaccuracies.

In cooperation with its client, Panhandle Energy, the aerial photography and mapping specialists at Photo Science, Inc., successfully automated the risk assessment process by creating and optimizing the firm’s proprietary ClassWORKS™ class location software.  New programming code written into the tool enables operators to leverage aerial photographs of their pipelines and other information contained in their database to monitor developing areas, streamline annual notifications to persons living in the vicinity of their pipeline facilities, and share mapping and tabular data online with field personnel.  The ClassWORKS modifications have reduced the time required to perform risk analyses from months to minutes, and the class determinations are more accurate thanks to precise mathematical models incorporated into the software.  This solution ensures that operators, such as Panhandle, are equipped with the vital information they need to anticipate and take measures to protect the environment and ensure the safety of the public.

2002 Kentucky Statewide Rail Plan – Wilbur Smith Associates

Wilbur Smith Associates, working with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, conducted the 2002 Kentucky Statewide Rail Plan.  The Kentucky Statewide Rail Plan was prepared for two main reasons.  First, it presents the modal plan that (1) identified system-wide strategies and policies and (2) conforms to the goals established in the 2001 Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Strategic Plan and the 1999 Kentucky Statewide Transportation Plan.  Second, it provides a vehicle to identify future rail issues to meet Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requirements for federal funding, as it becomes available.

The Kentucky rail system is comprised of 18 freight railroads, one United States Government rail line, Amtrak, and several tourist/excursion rail lines.  These railroads comprise a state system of just over 2,800 route miles.  As part of describing the railroads operating within Kentucky, The Kentucky Statewide Rail Plan summarizes the types and volumes of commodities transported.

Throughout the preparation of the Kentucky Statewide Rail Plan, the Steering Committee, Kentucky’s rail carriers, public officials and representatives of government resource agencies were given the opportunity to provide input for this plan.  Railroad issues and needs identified included the following:  the need to upgrade or replace infrastructure such as track and bridges, safety and economic concerns, and concerns with sharing trackage with passenger service.

To help achieve the goals established for the project, a set of recommended actions were developed.  Examples included:  assist in preserving rail service and rights-of-way; coordinate maintenance of system information; provide technical assistance to local and state agencies; encourage MPOs and ADDs to identify rail specific projects; actively address rail safety/accident issues; and improve system convenience through access and mobility.