2016spring vol86 print

Spring 2016 | Volume 86| No. 2

State Highway 290 Historic Masonry Retaining Wall Refurbishment

“Serve the Engineering Community�

President Audra Morse PhD, PE University of Texas at Arlington Student Chapter Volunteers For Habitat For Humanity Roma-Ciudad Miguel Aleman International Suspension Bridge

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Texas Civil Engineer | Volume 86, No. 2 -Spring 2016

On the Cover: Soil nails/rock anchors installed on a historic retaining wall on Highway 290 in Crockett County. Photo courtesy of GeoStabilization International (GSI) TEXAS SECTION OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Crespin Guzman PE OPERATIONS MANAGER: Elizabeth R. Greenwood COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER: Annemarie Gasser 1524 S. Interstate 35 Suite 180 Austin, Texas 78704 Phone: 512-472-8905 E-mail: office@texasce.org Website: www.texasce.org 2015–2016 OFFICERS PRESIDENT: Audra N. Morse PhD, PE PAST PRESIDENT: Curtis B. Beitel PE PRESIDENT ELECT: Craig B. Thompson PE VP-EDUCATIONAL: Brian D. Bresler PE VP-EDUCATIONAL ELECT: Brett A. Pope PE VP-PROFESSIONAL: M. Isabel Vasquez PE VP-PROFESSIONAL ELECT: Travis N. Attanasio PE VP-TECHNICAL: Edward M. Penton PE VP-TECHNICAL ELECT: Oscar Lopez PE TREASURER: Curtis R. Steger PE DIRECTORS AT LARGE SENIOR DIRECTOR AT LARGE: John A. Tyler PE SECOND YEAR DIRECTOR AT LARGE: Melanie D. Gavlik PE FIRST YEAR DIRECTOR AT LARGE: Tyler P. Dube PE FIRST YEAR DIRECTOR AT LARGE: Kathryn S. Osborn EIT SECTION DIRECTORS Travis S. Isaacson PE, Austin Branch Robert Lys Jr PE, Brazos Branch Russell R. Carter PE, Caprock Branch John A. Simcik PE, Central Texas Branch Anthony B. Gavlik PE, Corpus Christi Branch Anthony D. Luce PE, Dallas Branch Yvonne C. Conde-Curry PE, El Paso Branch Kimberly K. Cornett PE, Fort Worth Branch Joseph W. Shehan PE, High Plains Branch Paul A. Voiles PE, Houston Branch Russell W. Gibson PE, Northeast Texas Branch Dora E. Marin-Robles EIT, Rio Grande Valley Branch Kara J. Heasley PE, San Antonio Branch Robert C. Hickman PE, Southeast Texas Branch Brady M. Standford EIT, West Texas Branch

In This Issue

Spring 2016 | Volume 86 | Number 2 Calendar of Events 4 CPD Opportunities 4 President’s Message 5 Message From the Executive Director

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Report From Region 6 7 Student’s Center 8 State Highway 290 Historic Masonry Retaining Wall Refurbishment

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Meet Your Board Members

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Branch News 14 Younger Members’ Corner 16 Legislative News 18 Membership Report 19 ASCE News 20 Roma International Suspension Bridge

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Business Directory 22

ASCE - Region 6 Kenneth B. Morris PE Director and Board of Governors Chair 2013-2016 Jeremy P. Stahle PE Governor—Oklahoma Section 2013-2016 Daniel B. Hartman PE, F.ASCE Governor—Texas Section 2014-2017 Jerry B. Paz PE Governor—New Mexico Section 2015-2018 David F. J. Calabuig, Sr. PE Governor—Texas Section 2015–2018 Sean P. Merrell PE Governor—Appointed (Texas Section) 2013-2016

TexASCE.org

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Calendar of Events

CPD Opportunities

Texas Section Meetings

To enhance communications between ASCE and ASCE’s Regions, Sections, and Branches, Geographic Services is pleased to advise you of the following seminars scheduled in our area:

Student Symposium

April 7 - 9, 2016

ASCE Texas Section Leadership Training

July 16, 2016

National Concrete Canoe Competition in Tyler, Texas

June 9-11, 2016

CECON 2016 - San Marcos

Sept. 21 - 23, 2016

Houston May 2-5, 2016

Offshore Technology Conference

May 3, 2016

OTC Hall of Fame Gala

June 26-29, 2016

International Conference on Transportation and Development

June 26, 2016 Transportation Camp Texas Detailed descriptions of seminars are available at www.asce.org/continuing_education/

Texas Civil Engineer Deadlines Summer 2016 - Volume 86, No. 3 May 25 Ad Insertion Deadline May 11 Copy Submittal Deadline Fall 2016 - Volume 86, No. 4 August 24 Ad Insertion Deadline August 10 Copy Submittal Deadline

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Texas Civil Engineer | Volume 86, No. 2 -Spring 2016

President’s Message My ASCE service career began my freshman year of college at Texas Tech. Having decided to attend Texas Tech for an environmental engineering degree and to be approximately 550 miles away from home, I was looking to make Texas Tech my new home. My acclimation to college was smooth because of the friends I met through ASCE. The fall of my freshman year, the Texas Tech Student Chapter hosted the steel bridge competition.

Even though I had no clue what I was doing, I showed up and helped in any way I could. I recall learning a lot, meeting new people, being utterly exhausted and completely excited about my future profession. At the end of the fall semester, I was elected the Secretary of the Student Chapter and was responsible for writing the Chapter’s annual report. I know I learned a lot about ASCE that semester by taking notes and reporting on the Chapter’s activities. I learned how to coordinate a big project by writing the annual report. My writing skills greatly improved as I worked to clearly and concisely relay the Student Chapter’s exciting activities in the report.

value. I believe one could even call it priceless. The management, communication and team building skills I learned as a student in ASCE Student Chapter, a member and officer in the Texas Section and Audra N. Morse PhD, PE committee member on an ASCE Texas Section President national committee has helped me grow. So the times spent on my Texas Section duties are truly priceless to me.

What I like best of all is the positive impact I can have on the Texas Section and to ASCE. I want to keep ASCE relevant for future generations as it was relevant for me. I want future generations of civil engineers to have a group to protect and enhance the public perception of civil engineers while advancing the profession and serving the public good. Please give to the Section. Have an impact. Make a difference. Serve. 

During my junior year, I served the chapter as President.

Never having served an organization as president, I learned how to work with and inspire others to fulfill their volunteer duties. Although not everything worked out as I would have liked, the year as president was a great learning opportunity that I built upon in my remaining academic career and into my professional career. As an active member of ASCE, I benefited by receiving an ASCE National scholarship to fund my education.

Through my service to ASCE, I learned how to work with others, lead teams to complete projects, fundraise, manage meetings (truthfully, I am still working on my Robert’s Rules of Order competency), and communicating with others. Meanwhile, I have made life-long friends that I still talk to, receive Christmas cards from and receive Facebook updates (I know, it is oldschool). My service has enriched my life and provided a safe place to grow skills I have used as a professional. Moreover, I have used those skills to better serve ASCE. I believe some see service as a bad seven letter word.

Others see service a synonym for burden or hard work.

Even worse, who thought up of voluntold for volunteer?

A typical dictionary definition of service is an act of helpful activity and a volunteer is a person who performs service willingly and without pay. IS volunteering for ASCE without pay? I suppose in the strictest financial meaning, yes it is. But service to ASCE provides intrinsic

Audra peeks out from a fence with April Huff and Stephen Morse at the Concrete Canoe competition in Houston, Spring 1997.

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Message From The Executive Director A Better Year Ahead for YOU…

It seems that a majority of economic prognostications indicate a good forecast for 2016! This bodes well for the Texas Section and ASCE Crespin Guzman PE Executive Director overall. Even this early in the year, if our non-dues revenue initiatives are any indication, we have much to be excited about concerning the fiscal future of the Section!

This translates into greater Section support to our Branches amid expectations that indicate good growth potential on the horizon. How does this affect the local Branch level?

Your leadership can be more aggressive in pursuing projects, therefore increasing member participation in your local activities and the major Section level activities like CECON, the Student Symposium, Leadership Development and the Texas Civil Engineer. These activities foster the well being of the Section and that wellness will translate directly to the Branches and their subsidiary components.

From what I have mentioned so far, all these activities are still in our immediate future, you still have a great

opportunity to influence their outcome in a positive manner. Do not miss your chance to contribute your time and talents to those things that you and ASCE believe will be helpful to your personal and professional development in your career. Additionally, do not forget the wealth of information already available and accessible to members in our website library and archives 24/7. These are resources that are easily accessible at the end of your fingertips.

Finally, our communications with the membership is a two-way street. We want to be able to share information with you that is timely, helpful and we want to hear confirmation that we are on the right track. The Section seeks to engage its members throughout the year and we have developed various ways to accomplish that with a variety of media, social or traditional. Now that ASCE global has developed a fourth primary initiative via the Grand Challenge venue, I suspect that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg with Dream Big! Will you become part of that new initiative in 2016?

ASCE Global, the Texas Section and your Branches value your input and participation. At the end of the day, it is still all about YOU, after all. 

Become a FPA Member!

Learn About Foundations, Drainage, Structural & Code Issues

www.foundationperformance.org FPA – The Best Value in PDHs

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Texas Civil Engineer | Volume 86, No. 2 -Spring 2016

report from region 6

Kenneth B. Morris PE, PTOE Region 6 Director

Region 6 represents three Sections (Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas), 19 Branches, and 22 Student Chapters. We are one of the largest regions in terms of populations, and we are definitely one of the most complex in terms of the number of geographic units represented.

An ASCE Board of Direction meeting was held in Chicago at the 2016 Multi-Regional Leadership Conference (MRLC) on January 13-14, 2016. The Committee on Education (COE) presented a report on the Civil Engineering Technologist Body of Knowledge as produced by their Task Committee. The committee is reviewing the qualifications that would be required for a Civil Engineering Technologist (CET). The CET would receive an accreditation recognizing the individual as having a significant responsibility for civil engineering design, planning or construction but at the same time would not have a professional license. The individual could have a four year degree which would distinguish them from a Civil Engineering Technician. This accreditation ties into the ASCE Strategic Initiative of Raise the Bar. A Technical Region Director was added to the Board of Direction starting in the 2016-2017 fiscal year. Due to this additional, the Task Committee on Geographic Regions was instructed to review the region boundaries that currently divide the U.S. into nine regions. Region 10 is countries outside the U.S. It is possible that two regions may be combined with each other in order to keep the Board of Direction at its current 17 members. The Task Committee will make a report to the Board of Direction at our meeting in Washington, D.C. in conjunction with the annual Legislative Fly-In, March 18-19. A final report is expected in July at the ASCE Board of Direction summer meeting in San Diego, California.

On March 8-9, a Region Idea Exchange was held with various ASCE Regions. The purpose of the idea exchange is an opportunity to share ideas, discuss concerns, and learn from other Regions. Some of the subject matter will include: 1. Region Governor Talking Points 2. Student interaction, 3. Collaboration with the Institutes 4. Struggling Branches or Chapters and 5. Region Websites If you have any suggestions or ideas concerning our Region governance, please feel free to contact one of your Region 6 Governors. Our goal is to provide the best service to our members.

Below is International Boundary Marker #1 as mentioned in the Winter TCE.

The Region 6 Board of Governors attended the MultiRegional Leadership Conference (MRLC) in Chicago on January 15-16, 2016. There was very good representation from Sections, Branches and Student Chapters in Region 6 and a positive response to the event. At the MRLC, the Region 6 Nominating Committee met to discuss the candidates for Region 6 Director who will serve from 2016-2019. The two candidates will be Nancy S. Cline PE and Gary L. Struzick PE. Both are past Texas Section Presidents and past Region 6 Governors.

Voting will be from May 1 – June 1, 2016. Please show your support for these candidates by voting when you receive your ballot.

Sincerely,

Kenneth B. Morris PE, PTOE Region 6 Director

Civil Engineers are Global Leaders building a better quality of life.

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Student’s Center ASCE student members across the state have been active this academic year preparing for the upcoming 2016 Student Symposium, Steel Bridge and Concrete Canoe Competition, hosting professional engineers at Chapter meetings, fund-raising tournaments, and planning and participating in events in their local communities. Four chapters describe their members’ efforts and recent honors that embody the missions of their organizations while forming the foundations of their future careers in civil engineering.

Tyler P. Dube PE First Year Director at Large

Photo courtesy Angie Fealy

opportunities while getting to know each other in a more relaxed setting. Our Chapter also focuses on providing students with some hands-on experience through the Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge Competitions.

During the Chapter meetings, we give professionals the opportunity to give presentations on different topics including the professional environment, job opportunities, major projects, and their lives as engineers. Students are encouraged to ask professionals questions after their presentation and gain more insight on the various fields that civil engineering has to offer.

Photo courtesy Angie Fealy

Texas Tech University

By Alan Salazar Since 1957, the Texas Tech University J.H. Murdough Student Chapter of the ASCE has focused on educating students about the civil engineering profession and promoting professionalism through interaction between students and professional engineers. To do so, our Chapter hosts biweekly meetings, a golf tournament during the spring semester, and a new tradition was born in the Fall of 2015 when the Chapter hosted its first ever skeet shoot tournament. The tournaments, which are also the Chapter’s major fundraising events, are designed for both students and professionals to randomly pair up into multiple teams giving them the opportunity to network and discuss employment

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This year, the J.H. Murdough Chapter will host the annual Student Symposium. For the first time in the Texas Section’s history, both the steel bridge and concrete canoe competitions will be held by the same school during the same weekend. The Symposium will comprise the concrete canoe and steel bridge competitions, a career fair geared specifically towards civil engineering students, and soft skills seminars. In addition, recreational activities have been arranged to encourage communication between schools and professionals. The activities will include concrete bowling, concrete frisbee, a mystery event, a professional mixer, and scavenger hunt. Our Chapter leaders are excited about this opportunity to show our leadership skills and encourage all members to become more involved in these events.

The University of Texas at Arlington

By Pr apti Sharma The University of Texas at Arlington Student Chapter has been very active! Fall 2015 kicked off with a Habitat for Humanity volunteer event, allowing many members the chance to give back to the community.

The Student Chapter hosted its first ever dodgeball tournament to raise money for the steel bridge and concrete canoe teams and was a huge success. UTA

Texas Civil Engineer | Volume 86, No. 2 -Spring 2016

Photo courtesy Jay Garris, Staff Photographer, Chi Epsilon National Headquarters

ASCE held an ethics seminar to educate its members on the importance of ethics in the industry. Students also had the chance to visit a project site to learn about drainage. In addition to these events, multiple general meetings are held each semester to inform members about current civil engineering projects and to facilitate interaction of the civil engineering student body. In the spring, the chapter will continue to partner with Trinity Habitat for Humanity to give back to the community.

UTA ASCE is looking forward to hosting fun events like pie-a-professor, a dodgeball tournament, site visits, and joint events with other organizations on campus.

The steel bridge and concrete canoe teams have been hard at work over the past several months. The steel bridge team is finalizing the design and preparing to order materials for fabrication. The concrete canoe team has poured the canoe and is working on the display portion of the competition. Both teams are looking forward to this year’s competition in Lubbock!

Southern Methodist University

By K aitlyn Thomas The Southern Methodist University Student Chapter has been preparing for the upcoming ASCE Steel Bridge Competition at the 2016 Student Symposium. This year’s team started with four senior civil engineering students managed by a structural engineering advisor, Dr. Brett

Story, and structural engineering graduate student (former co-captain of the SMU 2015 Steel Bridge team) Kaitlyn Thomas. To date, the team has chosen their bridge design, modeled it using SAP2000, and purchased the steel required for the bridge fabrication. The team plans to carry out the fabrication process, recruit more students to participate in the competition, and practice assembly leading up to the competition in April 2016. In the 2015 ASCE Steel Bridge Competition, the SMU team won the Keith McBride Spirit of Competition Award. SMU received a plaque from the Texas-Mexico competition along with $300. Our chapter was excited by this honor and plans to use this award to support the upcoming team with their competition bridge.

Building the steel bridge. Photo courtesy Akiko Shimizu

In the Spring we intend to hold monthly meetings featuring presentations from civil and environmental engineering companies that operate in the Dallas area.

Continued on page 17

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State Highway 290 Historic Masonry Retaining Wall Refurbishment in Crockett County, TX By: Vasco Duke PE, GeoStabilization International vasco@gsi.us

n the early 1930’s, a series of dry stack masonry retaining walls were constructed along a portion of state Highway 290, in Texas. This road descends along the side slopes of a mesa leading into the Pecos River Valley and accesses the Fort Lancaster Historic Site.

Most of these original walls have performed satisfactory with no major signs of distress or need for repairs.

However, one of the walls had experienced significant retained material loss creating voids underneath the existing road surface. These cavities caused significant washout areas that produced “sinkhole” like features in the existing pavement and led to a partial closure of the roadway.

In late 2014, the Texas Department of Transportation let a project to permanently renovate the retaining wall and repair the road voids beneath the pavement. The tasks consisted of installing soil nails through the existing boulder stacked facing, repairing the existing voids under the pavement by over-excavating and backfilling, preparing a new reinforced gunite (pneumatically placed concrete/shotcrete) fascia, and finishing the wall with a sculpted facing that would resemble the existing, nearby walls.

GeoStabilization teamed up with Gibson and Associates, an established General Contractor in the Dallas, Texas, area. The team completed the project ahead of schedule and within 5% of the estimated bid price.

Some of the challenges surmounted by the project team included:

“Sinkhole” like features caused by loss of retained material.

Photo courtesy of GeoStabilization International (GSI)

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• The original contract specified that either solid bar or Hollow Bar Soil Nails (HBSNs) be employed in the project. However, installing a solid bar in these drilling conditions would have required a permanent casing for the installation. GeoStabilization chose to use the HBSNs as these nails have a sacrificial bit on their end that actually drills into the ground while pumping grout. This grout flow flushes the drill tailings and penetrates the fractures in the surrounding soils to increase the bond strength values between 110 to 300 percent. When installing the first few HBSNs, difficulties arose. The existing wall was completely full of voids and no grout return was observed at the face; but grout could be observed coming out of the bottom of the wall. GeoStabilization’s solution was to install rock anchors instead of soil nails. Because of the existing geology and how the road was built, up to 60-ft long rock bolts were used to traverse all the way through the roadway fill and into the existing

Texas Civil Engineer | Volume 86, No. 2 -Spring 2016

Completed wall with carved and stained finish. Photo courtesy of GeoStabilization International (GSI)

native limestone bedrock. This created a rock socket at the end of each nail that provided the necessary bolt pullout resistance and allowed a much faster installation procedure. • Because of the historic nature of the site, during construction the production crews were not allowed to disturb the land beneath the wall and had to access the wall from above. Therefore, every project task had to be performed from man lifts in a constrained space. The logistics for having multiple pieces of equipment working simultaneously in this area posed multiple sequencing challenges that had to be addressed to successfully complete the project on time and within budget. • The project’s location was hundreds of miles away from any major city or transportation depot. This limited access to materials and equipment created a logistical challenge for the operations crew.

Additionally the project site was so remote that no cell phone service existed, which severely limited communication at the jobsite. Therefore satellite phones were employed and all shipments had to be properly scheduled and managed.

Overall, the project was a great success and the Texas Department of Transportation was very pleased with the results.

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Meet Your Board Members The Texas Section ASCE Board Members were asked to fill out a questionnaire so that the Section’s members might get to know them a little better on a more personal level. The series will run in each of the 4 editions of the TCE and each edition will highlight a couple of the Board Members with the goal that by the end of the year each Board Member has been introduced.

President Elect: Cr aig Thompson PE Craig is currently serving as the President Elect. He is a project manager at Naismith Engineering, Inc., where he has worked for over 16 years.

Q: What was the weirdest/hardest/most interesting interview question you have been asked? How was your answer?

A: Wow, it has been a while since I have been interviewed, but I remember being asked “Where do I see myself in 20 years?” What’s interesting is, looking back on it, I am right where I thought I would be!

Q: Given the choice of anyone in the world, past, present, or future, whom would you want as a dinner guest?

A: Since I don’t get to go out with her as much as I would like, my wife. I know, not an interesting answer but with 2 boys (8 and 10) I cherish our alone time!

Q: For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

A: My family and friends Q: What is your favorite part of or top interest in the civil engineering profession?

A: The diversity of projects.

Q: What concept in civil engineering have you found especially hard to grasp?

A: I am always struggling to be a better communicator with clients, employees, etc.

Q: What do you do to de-stress?

A: I think about something my boys have said or done that makes me laugh and puts things in perspective. Also, there is nothing like a round of golf with friends.

Q: What sports team(s) do you support, or what team(s) do you love to see lose?

A: I love my Texas A&M Aggies and Houston Astros. I also have season tickets to the Corpus Christi Hooks (AA affiliate of the Astros).

Q: If you could master one skill that you don’t have right now, what would it be?

A: Painting. I saw a van Gogh in the Art Institute of Chicago 15 years ago and have been mesmerized ever since. My wife is an artist and retired Art Teacher, so she drug me into the museum and had to drag me out after staring his brush strokes and colors for hours!

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Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?

A: The Himalayas, I absolutely love mountains. I would take a vacation in the mountains over the beach any day.

Q: If you could travel anywhere in Texas, where would it be?

A: I would visit my nieces and nephews in Houston and Dallas. I don’t do it enough.

Q: What teacher inspired you the most, and how or why?

A: I had a math (geometry) teacher in 9th grade named Mr. Ruble. He was a retired engineer that went into teaching. Great teacher and a fun, competitive class. It was there that I learned that it is OK to be a nerd!

Q: What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in the last year?

A: Never assume something; you never know what might happen if you continue to follow your plans.

Q: What’s your favorite type of cuisine?

A: Italian, for sure. I took my wife to an Italian restaurant for our first date.

Q: What’s the one thing you’ve waited in line the longest for?

A: Football tickets as a freshman at Texas A&M. Q: Were you the former winner of any previous competitions?

A: I won a golf tournament when I was 7 years old!

Q: Why did you choose to become a civil engineer?

A: I was talked into it by the Dean of Engineering at Texas A&M. I thought I wanted to be an Architect…what a disaster that would have been!

Texas Civil Engineer | Volume 86, No. 2 -Spring 2016

Kathryn S. Osborn EIT First Year Director at Large

Q: What is your biggest achievement? (in civil engineering or in life) A: Coaxing my wife into marrying me! For my professional life, it feels like a lot of small successes and a few mistakes all piled up to get me where I am today. I am not sure there is one really big achievement.

Q: What tool or method do you miss using? (i.e., now obsolete or changed jobs so no longer use it) A: Encyclopedias, the hard bound versions. There was something authentic and authoritative about getting information from them. I mean if you looked it up in the Encyclopedia there was no disputing it!

Q: If a Modern Wonders of Texas list was created, what would you put on it?

A: Probably the Cowboys Stadium would be #1. The Section did a project several years ago that each Branch had to put a picture of what icon represented the Branch on it and the Section adorned their office with the pictures framed. It might be interesting to go back and look at those.

Q: Best piece of advice you have received: A: Always get out in front of the situation and be honest.

Q: Describe your family: A: I have a beautiful wife, Kathryn, of 14 years and 2 boys, Jack (10) and Evan (8).

Q: Other random or interesting thing about you that would be fun to share: A: I know it doesn’t sound right but there isn’t anything that is more of stress relief than stressing over dozens of shots during a round of golf for 4 hours. I love it!

Q: What do you do to destress?

A: Early morning runs help me prepare for the workday and “unplugged” time spent with my wife and daughter helps me unwind after work.

Q: Have you completed any physical challenges?

A: I’ve run 2 marathons. Training takes discipline, mental toughness, and a partner/group to hold you accountable. Since becoming a parent, I have not had nearly the discipline as my wife has had in training for marathons, but my we do plan to run the Disney Marathon in January 2017.

VP-Educational Elect: Brett Pope PE Brett is serving as the Vice President – Educational Elect.

He is employed by Terracon Consultants, Inc., where he is the public sector leader for geotechnical services.

Q: For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

A: I’m blessed to have in my life my parents, my beautiful bride, and my baby girl. Although we moved from Texas to New Jersey at an early age, my parents raised me on the southern values of respect and hard work. My wife taught me humility, compassion toward others, and how to lead a healthy lifestyle. My baby girl has taught me to live in the moment and have fun in life.

Q: What is your favorite part of or top interest in the civil engineering profession?

A: I enjoy that as a civil engineer we make a direct impact on our communities through the projects we work on. We also have opportunities to make indirect impacts through STEM outreach and advocating on policy issues through ASCE and other professional organizations.

Q: If you could abolish one piece of modern technology, what would it be and why?

A: The smartphone. The convenience and access to information is great, but I see too many people looking down at their phones and missing out on moments that life brings in front of them, not to mention the dangers it causes on the roads. Believe me, I’ve been guilty of it too.

It was a difficult habit to break.

Q: Why did you choose to become a civil engineer?

A: Because I was gullible! Back in undergrad at Virginia Tech, a friend and I were eating a box lunch in the hallway after an information session on computer engineering, which we both wanted to major in. A janitor came up to us and said in a very scratchy voice, “You don’t want to be a Computer Engineer, kids. I used to be a Computer Engineer and look at me now” The gullible one I was took it as a sign and switched to Civil Engineering, while my friend stayed in Computer Engineering. 

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Branch News Br azos Br anch In January the Brazos Branch participated in a monthly joint meeting with TSPE where they had three presentations and a roundtable discussion on Plain Jointed Concrete Pavement (PJCP), a controversial topic in Texas. It was an outstanding discussion that really provoked a lot great conversation. The presenters were: Cory Zollinger PE, Timothy Martin PE, Jan Prusinksi PE and Dan Zollinger PhD, PE.

Melanie D. Gavlik PE Second Year Director at Large

Opportunities for Coastal Restoration in Texas after the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill”. Another exciting event is the Younger Member Camping Trip at Lake Whitney State Park. And lastly, the Branch will host the 2016 Charity Golf Tournament with proceeds benefiting the ASCE Fort Worth Branch Scholarship Fund!

Houston Br anch ASCE Houston hosted a “Shadow an Engineer Day” on Friday February 4th 2016, where students from a KIP Charter High School participated by visiting

Attendees gather after the Corpus Christi January 12 meeting, L to R: Melanie Gavlik PE, Texas Section Second Year Director At-Large; Anthony Gavlik PE, Section Director; Fred Heldenfels IV, President / CEO Heldenfels Enterprises, Inc.; Joe Minor PE, Corpus Christi Branch President; Michael York PE, Corpus Christi Branch Vice-President; Stephen Skrobarczyk EIT, Corpus Christi Branch Secretary, Daniel Mazoch EIT, Corpus Christi Branch Treasurer; Pat Veteto PE, Corpus Christi Branch Past President; Damalí Vera, Branch Member; and Joe Alvarez, Corpus Christi Branch Younger Member Chair.

Corpus Christi Br anch A crowd of 65 attended the third Annual Joint Society Meeting held at the Holiday Inn Marina Hotel on January 12, 2016. In addition to the Corpus Christi Branch, who coordinated the event, other societies participating in the meeting were TSPE, AIA-Corpus Christi, TAWWA-WEAT, PMI, SAME, AIChE, and AGC. Fred Heldenfels IV, TAMU ’79 and President/CEO of Heldenfels Enterprises, Inc., gave a very interesting presentation on his company’s key role in the very successful reconstruction of Texas A&M’s Kyle Field.

Fort Worth Br anch The Fort Worth Branch has some exciting events coming up in February, aside from their February branch meeting the branch is also hosting a webinar on “Navigating the

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local civil engineering firms and spending time with engineers to see what they really do. The purpose of the shadow an engineer program was to allow students to experience firsthand glimpse of what is involved in the field of civil engineering while observing the corporate skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are needed to be successful in the workplace. The students “shadowed” their respective engineering partner for the day and had a great opportunity to explore different facets of engineering. Students were introduced to different disciplines of civil engineering and gained insight into the day-to-day engineering atmosphere. In total almost 30 student and eight engineering firms were able to participate. This was a great event and big thanks to the firms that opened their office to the students.

Texas Civil Engineer | Volume 86, No. 2 -Spring 2016

Houston Branch “Shadow an Engineer Day” Participants

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Younger Members’ Corner MultiRegional Leadership Conference The annual Multi-Regional Leadership Conference (MRLC), for the Central Regions (Regions 3, 6, and 7), was held in the beautiful “Windy City” of Chicago this year. This conference provides workshops for Section, Branch and Student Chapter leaders, giving them opportunities to exchange ideas to promote the organization and increase member value during open discussions and presentations.

The Younger Member leaders also attend this regional conference to take part in the Council on Younger

Fabian A. Herrera PE Younger Member Chair

Members meeting in which important issues can be discussed and voted on. The Younger Members voted on the location for the 2018 MRLC to be held in Omaha, Nebraska with Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas as the alternate.

If your Branch would like to host an MRLC and show off your beautiful city, discuss this among your board and prepare a short presentation to demonstrate your desire and capabilities to host a successful conference.

Younger Member Group Highlight – Corpus Christi Implementing some of the ideas shared in the MRLC, ASCE Corpus Christi Younger Members (CCYMs) kicked off the year by hosting an annual “Mardi Gras” Social at The Executive Surf Club. They invited several rising industry leaders to attend and facilitate discussion regarding past, present and future endeavors. Younger Members build lasting connections through shared experience and gained valuable insight on their career paths.

The CCYMs look forward to their upcoming St. Patrick’s Day Social, the Inaugural YM Camping Trip in Fort Worth, Student Symposium in Lubbock and volunteering at the Corpus Christi Science and History Museum Summer Camp.

Corpus Christi Younger Members Mardi Gras Celebration.

Photo by Joe W. Alvarez

Annually, the Corpus Christi Branch and Texas A&M University-Kingsville Student Chapter team up and host a joint meeting on the campus of Texas A&M UniversityKingsville. This year, William J. (Jay) Rohleder Jr. PE, SE, Sr. Vice President, Figg Bridge Engineers, Inc. presented on bridge design sytsems. Figg Engineering, Inc. is part of the design team for the new harbor bridge in Corpus Christi.

Holding diverse events helps to increase member involvement and broadens our outlook on the civil engineering profession. If you have a great event that you would like to share, please email me at fherrera@browngay.com so that your YMG/YMF can be recognized and other branches can provide their members with a similar experience. 

Corpus Christi Branch and Texas A & M University - Kingsville joint meeting.

Photo by Joe W. Alvarez

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Texas Civil Engineer | Volume 86, No. 2 -Spring 2016

2015 Texas A&M Baseball Social. Photo courtesy Samantha Marquez Continued from page 9

Our chapter also plans to participate in the ASCE Dallas Branch Younger Member events to expose our students to the ASCE Dallas Branch network and opportunities in the local area. The SMU ASCE student chapter is always searching for speakers to present at SMU about their career, company, or any recent projects that display the innovative problem-solving mindset that the SMU Lyle School of Engineering promotes in its students Texas A&M University

By Samantha Marquez The Texas A&M University J.T.L. McNew Student Chapter plays a crucial role of ensuring our students are prepared for a professional career when they graduate as civil engineers. Students have the opportunity to learn about the many different career paths they can take as a civil engineer by being a part of ASCE at Texas A&M University. They also have opportunities to network with a wide variety of engineering firms as well as participate in outreach events in our community. Our chapter is proud to have a membership of approximately 420 members.

In 2015 we hosted professional engineers from large and small engineering firms at our bi-weekly speaker meetings. Speaker meetings have allowed our students to be aware of the different specialties within civil engineering and opportunities available to them.

This semester our goal is to introduce companies who our students may not know about. In the Fall of 2015 we held two tailgate socials with Jones|Carter and Cobb, Fendley & Associates. The tailgates allowed our students to network by talking to professionals in a more casual setting. The spring semester was kicked off with a Super Bowl party social sponsored by KimleyHorn and Associates. We also hope to schedule more opportunities for our members to experience site visits.

As a part of the chapter’s outreach we participate in The Big Event—a campus-wide experience where students perform community service on a grand scale for which Texas A&M received the Governor’s Higher Education Community Impact Award for 2015 in recognition of their significant civic engagement and impactful volunteering effort. A program we have recently started is a committee for Camp BUILD. Camp BUILD is a partnership between the Zachary department and ASCE where we are helping to plan a summer camp for high school juniors and seniors to come to Texas A&M University and learn more about civil engineering and Aggie culture. Campers will get to work with current faculty and students to learn about the engineering design process, hear about the college admissions process, tour campus facilities, and experience dorm life and other fun recreational activities.

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Legislative News DECOUPLING OF THE PE EXAM AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT At the February 11, 2016, Regular Board Meeting, the Texas Board of Professional Engineers approved rules to allow the ‘decoupling’ of the experience requirements for licensure and the approval to take the PE exam. These rules will officially be implemented in May 2016.

This change will allow a Texas Engineer in Training (EIT) to register for the PE exam prior to meeting the full experience requirement. The May implementation date means the new system will be in effect for the upcoming October 2016 PE exam but will not be applicable for the April 2016 exam.

“TBPE is pleased to offer flexibility for taking the PE exam in passing the “decoupling” provision, said TBPE Chairman Daniel Wong PhD, PE “Decoupling does not change the current requirements for PE licensure or the PE exam itself but just offers a more flexible time line to accommodate different career and life paths of our future engineers”.*

SAVE THE DATE!

Call for Potential Speakers and Exhibitors!

We are proud to announce the dates for the 26th Annual Louisiana Civil Engineering Conference and Show. This event, a joint effort from the New Orleans Branches of ASCE and ACI, is the premiere gathering for the Civil Engineering community in the Greater New Orleans Area. We are in the process of soliciting sponsors and exhibitors and establishing the te technical program for the fall conference which will be held on September 28-29, 2016, at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, Louisiana.

M. Isabel Vasquez PE VP-Professional

EIGHTH ROUND OF TIGER FUNDING AVAILABLE Civil and Structural Engineer U.S.Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced $500 million will be made available for transportation projects across the country under an eighth round of the highly successful Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) competitive grant program.

“The TIGER program funds vital transportation projects that provide real benefits to communities all across the country. Every year, we see hundreds of compelling applications that have the potential to improve people’s access to economic opportunities, make people safer, and improve their well-being.” Said Secretary Foxx. “I am proud that for seven rounds, TIGER has been able to make a valuable contribution to improving our nation’s transportation infrastructure, and I look forward to this years competition.”† EL PASO WATER PLANT TO CONVERT DESALINATION WASTEWATER INTO FRESH DRINKING WATER Enviro Water Minerals Company (EWM) awarded Veolia a 10-year operations and maintenance agreement to manage its new commercial water plant in El Paso to enhance the city’s supply of drinking water. EWM has broken ground on the new water production and chemical manufacturing facility located next to the city’s Kay Bailey Hutchison (KBH) Desalination Plant, the world’s largest desalination plant.

This zero-discharge wastewater facility will be equipped with EWM’s technology to recover minerals and desalinated waste brine discharged from brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO). The innovative plant will take the waste brine concentrate from the KBH Desalination Plant, extract and transform salts and minerals into commercial products, and produce more than 2 million gallons of drinkable water a day for the region.†  *Texas Board of Professional Engineers website, http://engineers.texas.gov/ †civil + structural ENGINEER

For additional information on the conference, please visit our web site at www.LCECS.org

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Texas Civil Engineer | Volume 86, No. 2 -Spring 2016

Membership Report

Kayce C. Paul PE Membership Chair

What Can ASCE do for You?

With many different organizations to choose from, ASCE works diligently to advance our profession and provide resources to its members and partners. So, let us talk about a few of the resources available to you as an ASCE members and how to access them.

Educational Resources With your annual ASCE membership, you have access to 5 free PDHs a year. In addition to that, ASCE offers several other learning opportunities lead by industry leaders throughout the year. Below is information on how to access the free PDH’s and other training opportunities.

• Free PDH’s – www.asce.org/freepdh • Interactive Online Learning – www.asce.org/ webinars • P.E. Exam Review – www.asce.org/pereview • On-Demand Learning – www.asce.org/ondemand-learning • Face-To-Face Seminars – www.asce.org/seminars • Customized On-Site Training – www.asce.org/ onsitetraining • ASCE Week – www.asce.org/asceweek • MyLearning – mylearning.asce.org • Section and Branch meetings – great networking opportunity; most count as 1 PDH hour – check with your local branch for meeting times or remote access opportunities.

Membership Savings ASCE members have access to exclusive discounts on products and services that include a suite of comprehensive insurance options, shipping, car rentals, and technology. Below is a list of the products and services included in this benefit. For additional information, visit www.asce.org/memberadvantages.

• Health Insurance (short-term care, long-term care, group disability income, dental, and pet) • Life Insurance • Professional Liability Plan • ASCE Credit Cards • Geico Auto and Home (save up to an additional 8%) • Shipping with UPS (save up to 35%) • Business Owners Solutions • Prescription Card (card is free with membership and can be used alone or with your plan) • Car Rental Programs with Budge, Avis, and Hertz (complementary VIP service and discounts) • Technology Savings (save up to 30% off and free ground shipping on Lenovo)

Career Building Resources In addition to helping advance the profession of civil engineering, ASCE is striving to help engineers throughout the profession advance their careers through a number of resources, networking opportunities and programs. Below is a list of some of the career benefits offered to you by ASCE. For more information on this resource overall, visit www.asce.org/careers.

• Career Connections – Find the perfect job or the perfect person to fill a vacancy www.asce.org/careers • Career Resources – Website for tips, coaching, resume help, and more www.asce.org/careers • Mentoring Program - Free program designed to encourage professional and personal growth through shared experiences www.asce.org/mentoring • Supercharge your Career – Course developed to offer training in “non-technical” core competencies and facilitated by local section, branch or YM groups - www.asce.org/Supercharge-Your-Career This article lists some of the many resources provided to ASCE members. Other resources not mentioned here include the profession advancement, publication benefits, civil engineering news and stories, public and community outreach, or any of the opportunities to get involved with ASCE. If you’ve not had a chance to, I encourage you to reach out to your local branch and learn more about the opportunities and programs they are currently offering their members.

If you have not had a chance to sign up as a member, visit www.asce.org/join. If you’d like to renew your membership, visit www.asce.org/renew.

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News HOUSTON MAYOR NAMES D. WAYNE KLOTZ AS PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE CHAIR Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has named RPS Klotz Associates President D. Wayne Klotz PE, D.WRE, as chair of the Transition Committee for the Department of Public Works and Engineering. Along with Co-Chair Tony Council, Mr. Klotz will assist the Mayor in developing policy related to the city’s streets and drainage, production and distribution of water, collection and treatment of wastewater, and permitting and regulation of public and private construction. “Public works encompasses many of the most basic services that affect all Houstonians on a daily basis,” Mr. Klotz said.

“It’s an honor to work alongside the Mayor and some of Houston’s finest leaders to make such an impact in our city.” Mr. Klotz has more than 40 years’ experience in civil engineering, with a focus on public works and water resources. He has an extensive history of service within the industry and the community, and has been recognized with numerous awards and honors over the course of his engineering career. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree from the University of Houston, and is a licensed engineer in the states of Texas and Louisiana.

Ashley Fr ancis Promoted to Project Manager at LJA Engineering, Inc. Ashley has over eight years of civil engineering experience including expertise in drainage and floodplain analysis, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling and design, and development of studies and master drainage plans. She also has experience in storm water quality analysis, HEC-HMS and HEC-RAS, local and national permitting, and preparing engineering reports.

As a Project Manager, Ashley will be responsible for managing the analyses and approvals for Drainage Impact Analyses, FEMA Letters of Map Change, and detention pond analyses for site development and large scale, multi-phase land development projects. Ashley is also the Hydrology and Hydraulics Group Subject

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Matter Expert for Green Infrastructure Development.

Ashley is aLicensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas, a Certified Floodplain Manager, and a Certified Sustainable Building Advisor. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Water Resources Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Freese and Nichols selects Brian Coltharp as next CEO

Freese and Nichols, Inc. has selected Brian Coltharp PE, to serve as its next President and CEO. He is serving as Chief Operating Officer for 2016 and will become CEO on Jan. 1, 2017.

Coltharp most recently served as Water Practice Leader, coordinating Freese and Nichols’ comprehensive approach to delivering across-the-board services to clients. He has established a reputation for outstanding client service throughout his distinguished engineering career, in which he has overseen several billion dollars in design and construction projects.

He will maintain that commitment in his new leadership role, focusing on continuing Freese and Nichols’ legacy of responsiveness and top-quality work.

In Memoriam, Jim Nichols, 1923-2016 Jim Nichols, the longtime leader of the Freese and Nichols consulting firm and one of Texas’ most esteemed civil engineers, passed away Thursday, February 11. He was 92.

Throughout his 66-year career at Freese and Nichols, Mr. Nichols was instrumental in providing dependable water supplies to communities across the state. For the droughtravaged cities of West Texas, Mr. Nichols helped create multi-city water districts; raised project funding; and designed dams, pipelines and pump stations. For North Texas, his home for most of his life, Mr. Nichols oversaw the design of Richland-Chambers Reservoir, the largest lake in the system that supplies water to Tarrant County. His technical expertise extended to aviation as well; he played key roles in the creation of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and led Freese and Nichols’ development of the original infrastructure there in the 1970s.

Nichols is survived by Billie, his wife of 71 years; three children, Judy, Richard and John; and six grandchildren.

His brother, Bob, died in May 2015.

Texas Civil Engineer | Volume 86, No. 2 -Spring 2016

Roma International Suspension Bridge Melinda Luna PE History and Heritage Committee Chair

The Rio Grande Valley Branch dedicated the Roma International Suspension Bridge as a Texas ASCE Historical Landmark in March 2016. Much of the credit for the landmark dedication goes to Jorge Perez PE of McAllen, Texas and the Texas Section History and Heritage committee expresses their gratitude for taking the time to dedicate one of the newest Texas ASCE Historical Landmarks.

The Roma Suspension bridge is last remaining suspension bridge of its type along the Texas/US Mexican Border.

The table below shows the other suspension bridges built along the Rio Grande River.

Grande Valley. The Bridge connected Roma, Texas and Ciudad Miguel Aleman, Tamaulipas in 1928. The bridge cost $120,000 dollars (1.67 million In 2015 dollars). The population of Roma was about 1000 people and the main means of crossing was a Ferry. The ferry crossed approximately 3 vehicles and 12 pedestrians at time.

The bridge would mean that more people could cross and also that during time of flooding the people could cross with much less worry about weather. The Roma suspension bridge is about 50 feet above the Rio Grande and the bridge towers rise about 45 feet above the bridge. It is a two lane bridge with an 8 inch curb to separate the pedestrian walkway. The bridge was designed by George Cole, the same engineer who built the Royal Gorge Bridge in 1928.

The Roma Suspension bridge is a part of the Roma historic district which has many historic properties Hidalgo 1926 450 Damaged in1933 flood, demolished 1960 including Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church, the Mercedes 1928 260 Damaged in 1941 flood Old Roma Convent, Tino Ramieriz Residence and Zapata 1928 165 Inundated in 1953 by Falcon Lake Store, the Roma Plaza, Customs House, and many Roma 1928 629 Still standing others. Roma was settled in 1765. The bridge was taken out of service in 1979 with the opening of the newer Roma-Cuidad Miguel Aleman International There were three more suspension bridges built in 1924 Bridge. in New Mexico all with smaller spans. The suspension Bridge

Year Built

Main Span Length (ft.)

Status

bridge was a type of bridge mostly used by private entities considering building a bridge. This was due to other bridges that were built by more famous engineers as the John Roebling and Joseph Straus. While suspension bridges are expensive to build, the towers enable engineers to drape the main cables over long distances. Other advantages included the flexibility of span, reducing the number of piers, falsework is not required, and the parts could be transported to remote locations. It was Joseph Pate and the Starr County Bridge Company that started the effort to cross the Rio Grande River to simulate commercial development tin the Rio

The Roma Suspension Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic places in 1984. The bridge is on the Preservation Texas Most Endangered list since 2011.

Leaders in the area hope to find funding to rehabilitate the bridge so that it can be used again as a pedestrian crossing. The Roma Suspension bridge is the last of the International suspension bridges and the longest suspension span found built in the early days of road and bridge building in Texas. Every year the residents of Roma and Ciudad Miguel Aleman celebrate the anniversary of the Roma International Suspension Bridge. ďƒł

Kevin Stillman/TxDOT

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Business Directory

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L. Stephen Stecher, PE, President

Crespo is certified as an M/DBE and HUB 4131 Spicewood Springs Rd., Ste. B-2 Phone 512/343-6404 Austin, Texas 78759 Fax 512/343-8120

L. Stephen Stecher, PE, President

Crespo is certified as an M/DBE and HUB 4131 Spicewood Springs Suite B-2 Austin, TX 78759

Phone 512/343-6404 Fax 512/343-8120

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Texas Civil Engineer | Volume 86, No. 2 -Spring 2016

Advertise with us! Contact Lori Brix, 512-458-1191, ext 16 or tce@silentpartners.com

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Public Infrastructure Transportation Land Development Industrial Utilities

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