California Highways and Public Works
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
California Highways and Public Works Public Works Bui/ding Official Journal of the Division of Highways, Twelfth and N Streets Department of Public Works, State of California Sacramento FRANK B. DURKEE GEORGE T. McCOY Director State Highway Engineer KENNETH C. ADAMS, Editor HELEN HALSTED, Associate Editor Published in the interest of highway development in Cali fornia. Editors of newspapers and others are privileged to use maller contained herein. Cuts will be gladly loaned upon request. Address Communications to CALIFORNIA HIGHWAYS AND PUBLIC WORKS P. O. BOX 1499 Sacramento; California Vol. 30 September-October Nos. 9, 10 Page Ma npower - -----------------------------------c------------------ By Chas. E. Waite, Assistant State Highway Engineer Footpath to Freeway, Illustrated . ~ _ 2 By P. F. Duffy, Assistant Highway Engineer Freeway Values, Illustrated____ _ _ 5 By W. Stanley Young, Headquarters Right of Way Agent Siskiyou Job, III ustrated _ 6 CHARLES HENRY PURCELL By H. Clyde Amesbury, District Construction Engineer Redding-Red Bluff, 111.ustrated________ _ _ 8 California Highways and Public By J. W. Trask, District Engineer Works dedicates the cover page of State Buys Spans, Illustrated __ 11 this issue to the revered memory of Ramona Freeway, IIlustrated____________ __ __ Charles Henry Purcell. Mr. Purcell, 12 By P. O. Harding, Assistant State Highway Engineer who retired as Director of Public New link, Illustrated ,____ __ __ 17 Works on July 31, 1951, died sud By R. C. Kennedy, Secretary, California Highway Commission denly from a heart attack in his In San Diego, IIIustrated _ _ 19 home in Sacramento on September By J. F. Jorgensen, Assistant District Engineer 7th. Brush Disposal, Illustrated _ 22 Informed of Mr. Purcell's death, By A. A. Miller, District Maintenance Engineer Governor Earl Warren epitomized Old Snow Removal Methods, IIlustrated________ __ 24 the deep feeling of loss of the people Headquarters Shop, III ustrated __ Calif~rnia 26 of in the following tribute: By Earl E. Sorenson, Equipment Engineer; and James A. Folline, Machine Parts Storekeeper "He was a great citizen. He de Maintenance, IfI ustrated _ _ 29 voted his entire life to public service By C. F. Woodin, Supervising Highway Engineer and eventually gave his life to his Mou nta in Road, lIIustrated __ 35 State. But the great public works he Highway Des,ign and the Business Community _ 36 planned will be a lasting monument By E. T. Telford, Engineer of Design to his memory." Example of the Development of a Test __ 39 By W. E. Haskell, Associate Materials and Research Engineer New Overhead, IIIustrated________ _ _ 42 By Howard M. Eichstaedt, Associate Bridge Engineer Out of the Mail Bag________________________________________ __ __ 44 Unusua I Fill" Illustrated . -------__________________ _ _ 46 By Percy A. Main, Assistont Highway Engineer COW Palace, Illustrated _ _ __ _ 54 Equ ipment Operator Gets Merit Award _ 55 R. M. Sh ilIito Resigns, Illustrated __ 56 Pu bl ic Parking Area in Rosevi lie, Illustrated __ 58 By Gilbert Mulcahy, District Right of Way Agent Hig hway Bids and Awards__ _ _ 59 Service Award Certificates Presented, IIlustrated __ 62 Turkish Engineer Studies Our Highways.. __ 63 Division of Highways Personnel Manpower Informed of Future Program By CHAS. E. WAITE, Assistant State Highway Engineer FOLLOWING World War II California on this important matter, you may inform whether we as employers are doing every entered into a tremendous program of them that in the event construction work is thing possible to retain men in this grade. highway development, unprecedented curtailed or reduced we wiU proceed to Current articles on the availability of in state and national history. The pro step up our planning and right of way new engineers (all types) during the next gram required a large increase in the programs to the fullest extent. few years emphasize the 1951 report of Our experience along these lines dur Division of Highways' engineering or the E!1gineering Manpower Commission of ing the last war clearly indicated the need ganization and associated personnel. the Engineers' Joint Council, which states of all of the available personnel we had that the number of engineering graduates With the continuing engineering man or were able to recruit. The. advantages is expected to drop from the high of power shortage following World War of having plans prepared well in advance 52,000 in 1950 to between 12,000 and II and because of the present unsettled are recognized by all. 17,000 in 1954. Nothing much can be world conditions which have caused We will continue our recruitment pro done to improve the 1954 figure, nor the further attrition of engineers, the di gram to be prepared for any contingency. 25,000 and 19,000 figures for 1952 and vision has been hard pressed to meet Although there may be a curtailment 'of 1953, since these classes already are in the planning and construction schedule construction work, we plan to utilize. our college. To make matters worse, if pres for state highways. entire forces and no layoff of personnel ent draft pol.icies continue, out of the can be considered in the foreseeable 12,000 graduates in 1954, only 6,000 (not Believing that highway transporta future. just civils-all types!) may be available tion is the backbone of the nation's de G. T. McCOY to fill all of industry's needs. fense, the Division of Highways has State Highway Engineer felt compelled to proceed with correc To: Department Heads and Discouraging Figures tion of its most critical highway defi District Engineers ciencies. In the event that material These figures are very discouraging, particularly when it is realized that the shortages and other events result in a Our recent recruiting experiences, coupled with published information con present shortage of new engineers is esti slow-down of highway construction, cerning the number of engineering gradu mated to be 60,000 and that 30,000 per the division proposes to revise its pro ates who will be available during the ne.xt year are required for· normal replacement gram, and will utilize available funds few years, indicate that it will be increas and growth at the present rate. Aggra for completion of plans and purchase ingty difficult to secure as many junior vating the situation is the fact that the of rights of way for future projects. civil. engineers as we need. As a result, it ratio of engineers to production workers will be necessary for all supervisors to is increasing steadily so that the number Manpower Situation make every effort to see that the best pos of new engineers needed each year is To relieve the uncertainty in em sible use is made of all engineering per increasing more rapidly than total em and that as many functions as pos ployment. ployees' minds concerning the imme sonnel sible are performed by employees in other diate future highway program and also A national program for alleviating the classifications. shortage as soon as possible has been to inform all employees of the engi The last two junior civil engineer exami develope.d by the U. S. Labor Department, neer manpower situation, two letters, nations, which were given on a nation in cooperation with the Engineers' Joint dated March 28, 1951, and September wide basis in March and June of this year, Council and othe.r interested groups. This 25, 1951, which are published herewith resulted in lists of 927 and 373 names. program includes several. points, among for wider dissemination, were ad Out of these 1,300 eligibles, a total of 675 which are the following: (1) Making maxi dressed to the department heads and were appointed to positions. Of these, 476 mum use of engineers already employed, district engineers. were new to the organization and 199 (2) making better use of supporting 0.00. were promoted from lower grades. While It is believed the information in the engineering personnel, (3) making more the number of new recruits obtained from exhaustive use of training facilities. letters is of interest to all persons con these examinations was above average, it In order to maintain our organization cerned with California highway de was still about 250 less than the number velopment. as well as possible it is planned to con for which we have'requests. tinue an active recruiting program on a To: Department Heads and Employment Records nation-wide basis. Training and rotation District Engine.ers of engineering pe.rsonnel must be. given An analysis of empl.oyment records for more emphasis in order to reduce the turn Because of the possibility of some cur the first seven months of this year indicates over rate. In addition,. it will be necessary tailment of construction as a result of the that the turnover rate for junior civil engi defense program, many questions have neers is now between 25 percent and 30 for all supervisors to be alert at all times arisen concerning our manpower needs percent per year. While it is expected that to any opportunities for making better use and the possibility of a reduction in our the rate. for such a beginning professional of engineering personnel or substituting personnel. class will be higher than the 5 percent or other classifications. In order that all of our employees may less for which industry strives, this figure CHAS. E. WAITE be fully informed concerning our policy is high enough to raise the question of Assistant State Highway Engineer U. S. 99 in Siskiyou Footpath to Freeway Gets Improvements By P. F. DUFFY, Assistant Hig~way Engineer FROM A FOOTPATH to a freeway, would quired for the volume and type of traf Springs, and from there down the Sac in a few words tell the story of the fic daily using the highway, and the ramento River Canyon.