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A S IAN EC S T THE LOUISIANA I I U O O N L CIVIL ENGINEER ACADIANA BRANCH • BATON ROUGE BRANCH NEW ORLEANS BRANCH • SHREVEPORT BRANCH 1914 Journal of The Louisiana Section

Volume 13 • Number 3 May 2005

FEATURE: Horizontal directional drilling

FUTURE: Louisiana Civil Engineering Conference and Show September 15-16, 2005 Section Annual Meeting September 16, 2005

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2 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE: CONTENTS Kim E. Martindale, PE, Chair (225) 379-1345 President’s Message ...... 4 Branch Presidents, Members Horizontal directional drilling ...... 5 James C. Porter, PE, Editor (225) 242-4556 News from the Branches ...... 8 Yvette Weatherton, PE, Student Chapter News (225) 771-5870 Book Review: Unstuck ...... 11 PUBLISHER: Branches invest in high-tech ...... 11 Franklin Press, Inc., Baton Rouge, LA Highlights from the Annual Spring Meeting The Louisiana Civil Engineer quarterly journal is an official publication of and Conference ...... 12 the Louisiana Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers with an Student Chapter News ...... 15 average circulation of approximately 1900. The Section does not guarantee Section News and Information ...... 17 the accuracy of the information provided, does not necessarily concur with Engineers Without Borders ...... 19 opinions expressed, and does not claim the copyrights for the contents in this publication. Please submit letters and articles for consideration to be pub- TEA-LU: It’s now or never ...... 21 lished by facsimile to (225) 242-4552, by e-mail to jimporter@dotd. Editor’s Journal ...... 23 louisiana.gov, or by mail to the Publications Committee c/o James C. Porter, Professional Listings ...... 2, 30-31 PE • 2608 Terrace Avenue • Baton Rouge, LA 70806-6868. Services and Supplies ...... 2, 32 LOUISIANA SECTION • AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS Louisiana Engineering Center • 9643 Brookline Avenue • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809 • (225) 923-1662 SECTION BOARD OF DIRECTORS Secretary President-Elect President Joseph P. Kolwe, Jr., EI Ashley T. Sears, EI Norma Jean Mattei, PE Huval and Associates, Inc. Aillet, Fenner, Jolly and McClelland University of New Orleans Treasurer Secretary President-Elect Clint S. McDowell, PE Rusty L. Cooper, EI Kim E. Martindale, PE Site Engineering Inc. Alliance, Inc. Louisiana DOTD Past President Treasurer Vice President John E. Bosch, Jr., PE Elba U. Hamilton, EI Timothy M. Ruppert, PE Maritime International, Inc. Aillet, Fenner, Jolly and McClelland U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Baton Rouge Branch Past President Secretary-Treasurer President C. Eric Hudson, PE E.R. DesOrmeaux, PE André M. Rodrigue, PE Alliance, Inc. E.R. DesOrmeaux, Inc. ABMB Engineers, Inc. BRANCH TECHNICAL COMMITTEE CHAIRS Past President President-Elect Baton Rouge Barbara E. Featherston, PE Thomas T. Roberts, PE Structures Camp Dresser & McKee Waskey Bridges, Inc. Danny J. Deville, PE Directors-at-Large Vice President McKee & Deville Consulting Engineers, Inc. J. Keith Shackelford, PE Brant B. Richard, PE Geotechnical Chenevert Songy Rodi Soderberg, Inc. Shaw Group Gavin P. Gautreau, PE Ali M. Mustafa, PE Secretary-Treasurer Louisiana Transportation Research Center City of Shreveport Robert W. Jacobson, PE Environmental Patrick J. Landry, PE URS Greiner Woodward Cycle Louisiana DNR Stephen D. Fields, PE Christopher G. Humphreys, PE Directors Compliance Consultants, Inc. Professional Services Industries, Inc. Gregory P. Sepeda, PE Water Resources Sigma Consulting Group, Inc. Morris Sade Assigned Branch Directors Adam M. Smith, EI Miraj Envirotek, Inc. Daniel L. Bolinger, PE Owen and White, Inc. DMJM+Harris, Inc. Management Stephen M. Meunier, PE Michael N. Dooley, PE Thomas A. Stephens, PE Louisiana DOTD Stephens Engineering Sigma Consulting Group, Inc. Past President Branch Directors Pipeline David M. Burkholder, PE Roy A. Waggenspack, PE Kimberly Landry, EI Louisiana DNR Lafayette Consolidated Government Owen and White, Inc. André M. Rodrigue, PE New Orleans Branch Transportation ABMB Engineers, Inc. President P. Brian Wolshon, PE Deborah D. Keller, PE Deborah D. Keller, PE LSU Baton Rouge Port of New Orleans Port of New Orleans New Orleans Kurt M. Nixon, PE President-Elect Structures Smith and Raley, Inc. William H. Sewell, Jr., PE Mark H. Gronski, PE SECTION TECHNICAL COMMITTEE CHAIRS DPW City of New Orleans U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Geotechnical Vice President Geotechnical David P. Sauls, PE Christopher L. Sanchez, EI William W. Gwyn, PE Louis J. Capozzoli & Associates Consoer Townsend Envirodyne Engrs., Inc. Eustis Engineering Company, Inc. Structures Secretary Environmental and Water Resources Anthony F. Goodgion, PE Nathan J. Junius, EI David A. Cole, PE Linfield, Hunter & Junius, Inc. Linfield, Hunter & Junius, Inc. Montgomery Watson Harza, Inc. Environmental Treasurer STUDENT CHAPTERS IN THE LOUISIANA SECTION Brant B. Richard, PE Ronald L. Schumann, Jr., PE Presidents/Faculty Advisors C-K Associates, Inc. DMJM+Harris, Inc. LSU Jason Duhon BRANCH OFFICERS Directors P. Brian Wolshon, PE Benjamin M. Cody, PE La. Tech Daniel Hill Acadiana Branch Eustis Engineering Company, Inc. President Aziz Saber, PE Mohammed Tavassoli, PE McNeese Nick Pestello Kimberly D. Landry, EI Professional Services Industries, Inc. Lafayette Consolidated Government Janardanan (Jay) O. Uppot, PE Past President Southern Kevin Cowan President-Elect Christopher G. Humphreys, PE Yvette P. Weatherton, PE Dax A. Douet, PE Professional Services Industries, Inc. C. H. Fenstermaker & Associates, Inc. Tulane Joe Simpson Shreveport Branch John H. (Jack) Grubbs, PE Vice President President ULL Justin Peltier M. Jamal Khattak Paul A. Richards, PE University of Louisiana – Lafayette Kurt M. Nixon, PE Owen and White, Inc. UNO Eric Dallimore Gianna M. Cothern, PE

Section Delegates to District 14 Council The Louisiana Section is located in ASCE Zone II, District 14. Miles B. Bingham, PE Timothy M. Ruppert, PE Ralph W. Junius, PE URS Greiner U.S. Army Corps Linfield, Hunter & Junius, Inc. Zone II consists of Districts 6, 7, 9, 10 and 14. District 14 consists Woodward Clyde of Engineers of the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia Sections. THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 3 President’s Message Norma Jean Mattei, PE

Life Members have a stronger sense of community. I recently had the pleasure of inviting the Each of us is born with a happiness set Section’s newest Life Members by letter to point, a genetic level around which our SWB attend the awards banquet that is part of the tends to settle, regardless of what happens to us. Section Annual Spring Meeting Conference A study of identical twins reared in different hosted this year by the Acadiana Branch in environments suggests that the set point deter- Lafayette. There, as guests of the Section Board mines about half of our disposition to happiness. of Directors, they and their spouses were hon- “Happiness is genetically influenced but not ored and presented with their Life Member cer- genetically fixed,” says professor emeritus of tificates. This year there are 15 new Life psychology David Lykken. If we really want to Members in the Section — 3 from the Acadiana be happier, we have to learn the kind of things Branch, 3 from the Baton Rouge Branch, 6 from that we can do, day-by-day, to bounce our set the New Orleans Branch and 3 from the point up. SWB-raising tools range from Shreveport Branch. I would like to again con- • getting sufficient sleep and exercise gratulate these fine men on attaining their Life • nurturing close relationships Member status and to wish them well in all of • maintaining an optimistic outlook and their future professional and personal endeavors. • using your best skills in work and play You may be wondering — especially if you to — for some people — meditation and prayer. forgiveness, ingenuity, the love of learning... are a younger member — what you have to do to Regardless of which particular tools we The third zone consists of the use of one’s attain Life Member status. Life Member status choose to help lift our own set point, I found strengths in the service of something larger than is an ASCE membership grade. It is considered something curious in my research. Specialists in one’s self. an honor and a privilege that is conferred on the this area have found that we are better off aim- ASCE members who make and live a career ing for happiness moment-to-moment rather Work commitment to the civil engineering profession than trying to engineer happiness through long- Similar to happiness, there are 3 basic and who sustain that commitment with their term planning. This is because we human approaches to work that are independent of membership in the ASCE as an outward mani- beings are fairly hopeless at predicting what will occupation. Psychiatrist Howard Cutler says, festation of their commitment. To attain Life make us happy and how long our happiness will “People tend to see work as a job, a career, or a Member status, one must be a be sustained. Harvard psychologist Daniel calling.” As a job, work is seen as a means to an • Member Gilbert says, “We usually overestimate how end — money — offering no other reward. As a • Associate Member or things will affect us and rarely underestimate career work is seen as a deeper personal invest- • Affiliate Member them.” This discrepancy, known as the impact ment, marking achievements not only through of the ASCE who has bias, causes a great deal of miswanting. For monetary gain but through advancement within • reached the age of 65 years example, we work, scrimp and save for a better an occupation or profession. As a calling, work • paid dues in any membership grade other house, only to find ourselves too exhausted from is seen as a passionate commitment for its own than Student Member for 30 or more years overwork once we attain it to enjoy the new sake. People with a calling focus as much on and swimming pool. fulfillment — relationships; how their work • 10 years of continuous membership imme- Experts agree that a lifetime of chasing the affects the world — as on monetary gain. diately preceding attainment. almighty dollar rarely raises one’s SWB. Once Results of a study of people in various occu- Life Members are exempt from paying mem- middle-class comforts are in place, the link pations, from menial to high-level, found that bership dues. However, if they wish to contin- between income and happiness becomes surpris- reported SWB-levels were consistent with the ue their subscriptions to the ASCE’s Civil ingly weak. Gilbert agrees: “The first 40 grand approach each individual took toward his or her Engineering and the ASCE News that were paid makes a dramatic difference, but after basic work. Those who viewed their work as a calling for as part of their membership dues, they must needs are met, the next million does almost had a significantly higher SWB than those who pay for them. nothing.” Hmm, I don’t know about that! viewed their work as a job or a career. A single, consistent factor in SWB studies is Perhaps we are fortunate to have chosen Happiness the critical need for a close connection with oth- civil engineering as our profession. It is certain- No more ASCE dues! Now that would ers, the camaraderie of friendship and other ly a profession that allows us to use our strengths make me happy. Then I thought about it — hap- close relationships. Friends are good, and fami- in the service to something larger than ourselves. piness — in 20 years or so when I join the Life ly is even better in serving this need. In a survey Sometimes we lose sight of this because we are Member ranks, will I be able to say that I have of 23,000 Americans over the past two decades, so wrapped up in the details of getting that proj- been and that I am truly happy? Given the 41 percent of those who were married described ect completed on time and within budget. We unalienable constitutional right to pursue my themselves as “very happy,” while only 22 per- forget that the project on which we are working own happiness I wondered, how I am supposed cent of those who were never married, divorced, is ultimately going to benefit society — a sewer- to pursue it and what precisely do I have a right separated, or widowed would agree. age treatment plant, a pump station, a bridge, a to? Is happiness a fate or a choice? What makes Psychologist David Myers reports that (Continued on Page 14) anyone happy, if they can honestly define it for “Intimacy, commitment and support do — for themselves? most people — pay emotional dividends.” ______So being the engineering academic that I Martin Seligman, the godfather of the posi- About the cover: A visible part of the horizontal am, I decided to do a little research on happi- tive psychological movement, developed a 3- directional drilling project presented in the fea- ness. Subjective well-being (SWB) is the nick- zone model of happiness. The first zone — the ture article. The completed concrete termination name that experts in this field give to happiness. Hollywood view — is attained by getting as structure with its A-frame structure installed and Since your hell may be my paradise, subjectivi- much positive emotion as possible — more carrying the overhead transmission lines to the ty is clearly the single greatest variable in the money, more beauty, more power, more choco- existing system. Also visible at the top of the ter- happiness equation. For example, homeless late, more shoes, more of everything... The sec- mination structure are the 8 termination assem- people in Calcutta have been found to be less ond zone is attained through discovery of one’s blies transitioning underground transmission unhappy than those in California because they signature strengths, such as honesty, kindness, cables to overhead transmission lines.

4 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 Horizontal direction drilling By Arthur J. Smith, III, PE

Introduction crossing was energized May 1, 2004, 30 days In December of 2002 Entergy commis- ahead of schedule and under budget — a crown- sioned Waldemar S. Nelson and Company, Inc. ing achievement for this challenging and suc- to provide a screening study to determine if hor- cessful project. What follows are the highlights izontal directional drilling (HDD) could be used of the interesting and challenging design and to install an electrical transmission line under the construction details. Mississippi River just downriver from the City of New Orleans. The study was required to not Location only determine if the project was technically feasible and practical but if the regulatory agencies Siting could provide the required permits to meet The most logical site for the entry and exit Entergy’s schedule. In a few short weeks, it was points of the HDD was the batture close to where determined that the project was technically feasi- the existing electrical transmission towers were ble and practical, and that the governing agencies located. This would allow under-river transmis- could permit the project in a timely manner. The sion lines to connect directly to the land-side selected design called for a 40" diameter bundle transmission system and provide the shortest, of 12 high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes most direct path for the HDD operation. As the the constantly changing river bottom. The most forming a duct consisting of 8 - 10" peripheral detailed design progressed and geotechnical data obvious example would be ship anchors, espe- pipes, 3 - 2" pipes and 1 - 18" center pipe to be became available, it was quickly realized that the cially considering that there is an emergency installed under the Mississippi River. Once window required for a HDD installation did not anchorage located just upriver from the crossing. installed, 230 kV electrical transmission cables exist at this most logical and preferred crossing. It is interesting to note the river bottom in this would be pulled through the 8 - 10" pipes and The window required for the HDD installa- area is made up of mounds of sediment continu- fiber optic cables intended for future use would tion was defined by the U.S. Army Corps of ously moving downriver that are approximately 1 be pulled through the 3 - 2" pipes. The 18" cen- Engineers (Corps) and the regulatory agencies 1 ⁄2 stories high. ter pipe provided several important functions that responsible for the Mississippi River flood pro- The lack of a window required for the HDD include tection system. These requirements are a mini- installation in the preferred area required an • maintenance of the circular shape of the 40" mum 10' clearance above the bank stability curve investigation into adjacent alternate sites that pipe bundle and a minimum 25' clearance below the river would meet the required criteria while having the • sufficient cross sectional area to resist pull- bottom or the revetment. The bank stability least impact on the land-side transmission line back (discussed later) stress curve clearance is critical to protect the integrity tie-ins. The x-y-z coordinates from the river bot- • the spacing required to adequately dissipate of the river bank and the levee system because tom, revetment and batture surveys, and the loca- heat generated by the electrical transmission breaching the bank stability curve could compro- tion of the bank stability curves were used to cables in service and mise the integrity of the levee system leading to develop a three-dimensional model of the river • access for the 4" water line (discussed later) bank and levee failures. upstream and downstream of the preferred cross- used during pullback operations. The 25' minimum clearance under the river ing site. This investigation revealed a feasible In January 2003 the detailed design and per- bottom and the revetment is also critical to pro- route indicated by the profile view in Figure 1 mitting effort for the river crossing was initiated vide cover and protection for the duct from and the plan view in Figure 2. Located 1200' with a target completion date of June 1, 2004. marine activities and accidents on the river downriver of the preferred location on the west The under-river electrical transmission line resulting in items being dropped or dragged on bank, this route provided the required window

Figure 1. Profile view of the river showing the location of the planned drill line for the planned HDD river crossing project.

Arthur J. Smith, III, PE, earned his BS degree in electrical engineering from Tulane University in 1978. He is a licensed professional engineer in the states of Alabama, Alaska, California, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Smith’s professional experience includes many areas of electrical engineering with particular emphasis in electrical safety, power generation and power distribution. Smith is a member of the Society of Tulane Engineers, the National Fire Protection Association 70 National Electrical Code, Code Making Panel 11; and he is active in several components of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Smith joined Waldemar S. Nelson and Company, Inc. as a part-time student employee in 1975, and became a full-time employee upon graduation in 1978. He has since remained in continuous service with the Company and is currently a Vice President. Smith has authored and co- authored a number of technical papers presented at national and international conferences. Editor’s note: This article was extracted from the article by the author titled “Mississippi River 230 kV transmission line under river crossing” published in the “Consultant,” the newsletter of Waldemar S. Nelson and Company, Inc., Vol. 47, No. 4, July/August 2004. It is the basis for the author’s presentation made during the 2004 Louisiana Civil Engineering Conference and Show and titled “High-tech under the Big Muddy: Entergy’s Mississippi River crossing project.”

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 5 Figure 2. Plan view of the river crossing project site showing the planned location of the drill line. for the entire length of the HDD. The “jog” in Drill line American Vertical Datum.) The drill line then the west bank levee that is shown in the aerial The HDD route was planned to meet the crossed the remainder of the river at elevation photograph provided in Figure 3 was constructed minimum clearance criteria of the window. It -185 passing under 6 gas transmission pipelines a number of years ago when the existing levee required an 11º angle decline entrance slope of that cross the site and proceeded to a compound was relocated away from the river. This location the drill line at the west bank entry point to a curve - a 2000' radius vertical curve and a 1500' provided the required window for the HDD and 2000' radius vertical curve transition to a hori- radius horizontal curve. The compound curve an excellent site to locate the horizontal drilling zontal drill line at elevation -185. (All elevations was required to thread the drill line between 2 rig. provided are in feet and based on the North dolphins and achieve its planned 18º angle

Figure 3. Aerial photograph of the planned HDD river crossing proj- Figure 4. Aerial photograph showing an outline of the backstring fab- ect site. rication site.

6 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 Figure 5. Temporary bridge for the backstring to provide access to the Figure 6. Fusion machine for joining the 50’ high density polyethylene plant facilities on either side of the backstring fabrication site. pipe segments. incline exit slope as the drill line approached the bank facility was identified that would allow the uous backstring required to cross the river. To east bank exit point. This path not only meets the bulk of the backstring fabrication without signif- fuse the HDPE pipe segments, a fusion machine requirements of the Corps, it also provides max- icant interference with plant operations. To pictured in Figure 6 is clamped to the ends of the imum cover under the river bottom and revet- accomplish this, the fabrication site shown in pipe segments to be joined. Rotating knife ment, and maximum clearance from the gas Figure 4 required the location of one temporary blades shave the pipe ends to form smooth and pipelines. bridge as shown in Figure 5 to support the back- true matching faces. The rotating knife blades string and provide plant operations personnel are removed and a heated plate is inserted Backstring fabrication access to the facilities either side of the road dur- between the pipe faces to bring the HDPE mate- ing fabrication. rial to a semi-molten state — the fusion temper- Site location The plant road was not long enough to ature. The plate is removed and the fusion With an acceptable drill line found, the for- accommodate the fabrication of the entire back- machine brings the semi-molten pipe ends mal permitting process and the detailed design to string and a portion of the Port of St. Bernard together maintaining a specified contact pressure procure the permit and construct the crossing property along the St. Bernard Highway was until the pipe ends cool sufficiently to achieve an proceeded. The HDD process requires the pull- required to complete the fabrication. The condi- adequately bonded joint. back of a backstring in one continuous length tions on the Port property along the fabrication The fusion process leaves beads of the through the drill hole. The backstring is the duct site required a pontoon bridge to support the HDPE pipe material that is squeezed from the that would eventually carry the transmission backstring. joint during fusion. The bead on the inside sur- lines under the river. This required a fabrication face of the pipe joint must be removed to allow site for the backstring or duct adjacent to the east Process the electrical transmission cables to be success- bank exit point that is approximately 3900' long The 10" and 18" diameter pipes that form the fully pulled through the pipe. The bead on the and wide enough to accommodate its fabrication. duct are HDPE that are supplied in 50' lengths inside surface is removed with a manually oper- An existing plant road in an adjacent east and fused together to fabricate the 3900' contin- (Continued on Page 26)

Figure 7. Trailer mounted HDD rig shown in position to begin drilling Figure 8. End view of the drill bit oriented with its 2 open mud jets operations. located at the top and its plugged mud jet located at the bottom.

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 7 News from the Branches

SHREVEPORT By Kurt M. Nixon, PE, President

The April general membership meeting of implement it statewide. Way to go, Elba and Shreveport Chapter who helped arrange Bill’s the Branch will be held on the Louisiana Tech Ashley! So, if you have the joy of being under visit. University campus. It will feature a one PDH 35 and would like to hang with some of your fel- The March general membership meeting of ethics presentation to be made by Tech Professor low peers in the profession let us know so that we the Branch was very well attended and will be Aziz Saber and a catered meal will be served. can keep you apprised of the future YMC activi- remembered as one of the better meetings of the The planning for this meeting has been in the ties scheduled. administrative year. Professor Erez Allouche works for a couple of months as a cooperative The February general membership meeting from Louisiana Tech was our planned speaker, event between the Louisiana Tech ASCE Student of the Branch was a joint meeting with the however a family emergency required his return Chapter and the Branch. Shreveport Chapter of the Louisiana Engineering home to Israel. Our prayers and sentiments are The Branch’s annual spring golf tournament Society and it was an outstanding success. The with him and his family. In his place Professor is scheduled for May 9th at Southern Trace featured speaker was William L. “Bill” Reymond L. Sterling, Director of the Trenchless Country Club. This tournament is always a great Melancon, PE — an attorney and licensed engi- Technology Center at Louisiana Tech University, event held during a great time of the year. The neer. He made a very informative presentation provided a great overview of trenchless technol- proceeds from the tournament provide the fund- on how engineers can better protect their clients ogy including; new installations, rehabilitation, ing for two scholarships for civil engineering stu- and themselves from liability claims and contract and condition assessment. On behalf of the dents at Louisiana Tech — one for an outstand- disputes. From the number of members who Branch I wish to extend a hearty thank you to ing junior and another for an outstanding senior. attended — over 45 — this is an area that is and Professor Sterling for rearranging his busy If you have any questions concerning the tourna- should be of significant concern to many civil schedule to make his presentation to the Branch ment, please contact Ashley Sears at engineers. Hopefully, few have actually experi- with less than a 36-hour notice. [email protected]. enced any serious problems in this area and will If you have an interesting news item you Elba Hamilton has resurrected the Branch’s be able to reduce the risk of future problems would like to share with your fellow Branch dormant Younger Member Committee. Elba has because of Bill’s presentation. members, any ideas or requests for meeting top- made a great effort to plan and develop ideas for On behalf of the Branch, I wish to again ics, or you are interested in publishing an article both social and civic activities in which the mem- extend its appreciation to Bill for traveling from in the newsletter, please email me at bers of the Branch YMC will have the opportuni- Lafayette to Shreveport to make his presentation. [email protected]. I look forward to vis- ty to participate. One idea that she and Ashley Also, I wish to thank the Shreveport Chapter of iting with you during the next Branch member- Sears are planning to implement is so appreciat- the Associated General Contractors for the use of ship meeting. ed that there are plans at the Section level to their building and the members of the LES

BATON ROUGE By André M. Rodrigue, PE, President The Branch ventured away from its usual cfs flow through the river that is represented by • consider dredging requirements and general membership meeting luncheon venue the river model. This flow is at maximum flood • consider the impact of a rising sea level on and format in March to meet in the facilities of stage that is controlled by the diversion of flood the river stages. the Vincent A. Forte River and Coastal waters through floodways and control structures Though the model does not provide quantita- Engineering Research Laboratory. This new up river. tive results, the analysis of qualitative results laboratory facility, located on the LSU Baton Several scenarios have been evaluated for reflecting the impact of the river’s behavior for Rouge campus, houses a small scale model of the proposed diversion projects along the river delta. the various proposed diversion projects and sce- Mississippi River delta. Clinton S. Willson, PE, The scenarios studied are based on long-term narios provide intriguing and valuable results. the featured speaker, briefed the Branch mem- effects that are estimated to occur in time periods The results provided by the model thus far have bers present on the history of the river model that ranging from 10 to 100 years. The model cali- sparked interest in the evaluation of additional was built by Sogreah Consultants in France. The bration results in one hour of model time being diversion projects along the Atchafalya River and $1.1 million required to fund the river model and equivalent to two days of real river time. other major waterways. the laboratory facility to house it was provided The water level along the river model is The Branch awarded $500 scholarships to 2 by the Louisiana Department of Natural monitored using tiny stakes as river gauges. A civil engineering students during the Engineering Resources, the LSU College of Engineering and dye is injected into the river model’s water to Week banquet in February. The banquet held Forte and Tablada, Inc. trace flow patterns. A special sand-like sub- this year in the facilities of the Baton Rouge The river model is initially intended to per- stance manufactured by Sogreah is introduced Country Club is sponsored by the Baton Rouge form studies to predict large scale river behavior into the river model’s upstream channel to evalu- Chapter of the Louisiana Engineering Society. that is used to develop effective projects for the ate potential sedimentation. Civil engineering students Shannon Chambers of diversion of the sediment-ladened river water to Because of the large size of the river model, Southern University and Garrett Sutley of restore and maintain the subsiding Gulf coast a gantry walkway provides access to any area of Louisiana State University were the scholarship area of Louisiana. The scale of the model is the model without interrupting a test run. To recipients. exaggerated in elevation to a 1:500 vertical scale obtain a bird’s eye view, a camera is installed on compared to a 1:12000 horizontal scale. Willson a large gypsy crane giving a view of the entire ❖ Quote ❖ explained the difference between small and large model in one photograph. At the end of a model diversions in terms of the flow rates being divert- test run, the researchers Ethics: It is difficult to get a man to under- ed from the river — from 15,000cfs to 500,000 • evaluate the photographs stand something when his salary depends on his cfs respectively. For a frame of reference, the • perform a gradation analysis of the sand-like not understanding it. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers allows 1.2 million substance at outfall - Upton B. Sinclair, writer and politician

8 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 NEW ORLEANS By Deborah Ducote Keller, PE, President

The Branch continues to work on several ini- University of Louisiana at Lafayette Student scheduled for April 27, May 25, and June 22. tiatives to bring more meaningful programs to its Chapter in Lafayette in early April. The students Chris Sanchez, Branch Chair of the 2005 members and the civil engineering community. have dedicated many hours to showcasing their Louisiana Civil Engineering Conference and In February, many of our Branch members were civil engineering knowledge while learning and Show, is hard at work with the various commit- involved in the community outreach to middle applying valuable teamwork and leadership tees planning this annual event. This work is school and high school students. They partici- skills along the way. being done in cooperation with the Branch’s co- pated in the Louisiana Engineering Society spon- The Structures Committee, chaired by Om P. sponsor, the Louisiana Chapter of the American sored MATHCOUNTS competition and the Dixit, PE, has conducted several technical semi- Concrete Institute. The Conference is scheduled Greater New Orleans Science Fair. Both events nars and has tentatively scheduled additional for September 15th and 16th in Kenner. were held in the facilities of the University of seminars for May 5, June 9, August 16, and It was my privilege to attend ASCE National New Orleans. October 13. All of these seminars are scheduled Government Leadership Training in Government The Branch and its Structures Committee during the evening hours in the University of Relations in Washington, D.C. March 8-9 as the presented awards to the winners of the Greater New Orleans, College of Engineering auditori- Section’s representative. I was proud to repre- New Orleans Science Fair in the civil engineer- um. sent Louisiana’s civil engineers participating in ing and the structural engineering categories The regular attendance during the recent the discussions regarding America’s infrastruc- respectively. It was an honor to present the stu- Branch general membership meetings and lunch- ture crisis. There is a detailed account of this dents their awards as recognition for their eons has been approximately 90 people. This event provided elsewhere in this issue. achievement in researching and effectively pre- higher than usual attendance is apparently due to Information about many New Orleans senting their engineering topics. a winning combination of excellent topics and a Branch activities can be found on the recently re- The Tulane University and the University of selection of good restaurants housing the meet- designed Branch website, www.asceno.org. It New Orleans ASCE Student Chapters are both ings. During the March general membership includes a calendar of events and the links for the hard at work in preparation for the competitions meeting, the guest speaker was Joseph R. Becker, Branch officers, directors, and committee chairs planned during the upcoming Deep South PE, with the New Orleans Sewerage and Water provided for easy contact. Branch members are Conference. The Conference consisting of Board. He made a presentation concerning an encouraged to visit the website and register their ASCE student chapters from Louisiana, ongoing sewer system evaluation and rehabilita- email addresses to receive regular email notices Mississippi and Arkansas is being hosted by the tion program. Upcoming luncheons have been of Branch activities. Structures Committee By Om Dixit, PE The annual Greater New Orleans Science tions. At the end of the seminar, the nondestruc- is required every 5 years. Currently, all plat- Fair was held March 1, 2005 with over 500 tive testing equipment discussed was demon- forms in the Gulf of Mexico should have under- entrants presenting topics ranging from medicine strated and those in attendance were given the gone an exposure category evaluation, a platform to engineering. The Structures Committee of the opportunity to handle it. assessment initiator review, and a preliminary New Orleans Branch participated in the Science API RP 2A Section 17 (2003 Revision) — screening for further assessment. The presenta- Fair by providing judges for those projects relat- Recommended Practice for the Assessment of tion covered the logic of platform assessment, ed to civil and structural engineering and by Existing (Offshore) Platforms was presented the recent additions and clarifications to Section funding two awards each in the junior and senior January 27, 2005 by Paul Versowski with 17, and the work presently under way to incor- divisions. Om Dixit presented awards to the Chevron Texaco. The subject of the seminar pre- porate Section 17 into a new recommended prac- winners March 3rd in an evening ceremony that sented was the requirements to measure fitness was held on the University of New Orleans cam- in the assessment of all off-shore structures that (Continued on Page 16) pus. There have been 2 seminars sponsored by the Committee and held since the last journal publication. A brief summary follows: Non-destructive testing of concrete: Five test methods that can save you money was presented March 2, 2005 by Luke Snell, PE from Edwardsville, Illinois. The 5 concrete test methods were discussed in the context of their appli- cation and expected accuracy. The methods discussed are (1) Rebound Hammer — the quickest and easiest method to estimate concrete strength; (2) Moisture Meter — to estimate the moisture in concrete; (3) Metal Locators — to determine the location and depth of reinforcement/find safe coring/drilling locations; (4) Non-contact Thermometer — to determine concrete temperature and monitor curing temperature; and (5) Distance Measuring Devices — to measure dis- tances, areas and volumes electronically without a measuring tape. Snell explained that the use of the non-destructive methods discussed that use simple, portable equipment could save a significant amount of the money when compared to the Some of the participants in the hands-on demonstration of the non-destructive concrete testing cost of the more expensive, destructive investiga- equipment following the seminar are (from left) Norma Jean Mattei, 2 unidentified participants, Luke Snell, Darrell Elliot, and Bill Sewell.

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 9 ACADIANA By Kimberly D. Landry, EI, President

The Branch Board of Directors had the treat — the annual crawfish boil at the Acadiana financial contributions made the Conference pos- opportunity to participate in the Region II Park pavilion in Lafayette. Jointly hosted by the sible, and our guest speakers for their support Science Olympiad on the University of Acadiana Branch, the Lafayette Chapter of the and participation during the Conference. A list- Louisiana at Lafayette campus February 19, Louisiana Engineering Society and the Lafayette ing of the Conference sponsors and exhibitors is 2005. The Board members and volunteers from Section of the Institute of Electrical and posted on the Branch website at www.asceacadi- the University of Louisiana at Lafayette ASCE Electronics Engineers the crawfish boil gives us ana.net/2005conference.htm. We are also grate- Student Chapter, provided judging for Divisions the opportunity to thank our members for their ful to Patrick J. Landry, PE, Section Director-at- B and C of the Storm the Castle competition. support by providing the food and beverages for Large, for presenting the Life Member certifi- Teams participating in this competition design, this event free. On behalf of the Board, I would cates during the Awards Banquet, and to Jerome construct, calibrate and operate a device capable like to thank our active members for their con- M. Klier, PE, the Louisiana Section Student of launching a projectile as far and as accurately sistent attendance and participation during the Awards and Activities Committee Chair, for pre- as possible using only the energy from a falling monthly membership meetings. senting the Student Awards during the banquet. counterweight. On behalf of the Branch, I would like to I would like to express my personal appreci- The February Branch membership meeting thank everyone who attended the 2005 Louisiana ation for the tireless work provided by my fellow featured special guest speaker Dee Stanley, Chief Section Spring Meeting and Conference hosted Branch officers in organizing the Conference. Administrative Officer for the Lafayette City- by the Branch from March 30 through April 1. They selected the topics for the technical ses- Parish Consolidated Government. He was invit- We hope that everyone who attended the sions, recruited speakers, and handled the big ed to discuss the progressive and controversial Conference enjoyed the presentations and took and small items on the to-do list that were essen- Fiber to the Home / Fiber for the Future initia- the opportunity to visit with their fellow ASCE tial to the success of the conference. The high- tive of the Lafayette Consolidated Government members. lights of the Conference appear elsewhere in this and Lafayette Utilities System. The ultimate On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank issue. goal of Fiber to the Home is for the local, pub- the Conference sponsors and exhibitors, whose licly owned utility provider, Lafayette Utilities System, to build a fiber-optic network that will provide its benefits directly to area homes and businesses. This would provide its customers — Calendar of Events — with a high speed Internet connection over a sin- June 2-3, 2005 ASCE Seminar * on Design and Strengthening of gle line from the Lafayette Utilities System that Shallow Foundations, Nashville, Tennessee. is faster than provided by June 2-3, 2005 ASCE Seminar * on Design of Waste Containment, • DSL or cable modem service Nashville, Tennessee. • the latest digital cable technology and • local and long distance telephone service. June 23-24, 2005 ASCE Seminar * Comprehensive Site Design The Board participated in the Engineering Workshop, Atlanta, Georgia. Day activities hosted by the College of Engineering at the University of Louisiana at June 26-29, 2005 Tri-State Engineering Society Meeting (Louisiana Lafayette on March 18, 2005 by manning an Engineering Society, and the Arkansas and industry booth and fielding questions about civil Mississippi state societies), Destin, Florida. For more engineering from visiting high school seniors. information visit the LES website. Engineering Day is an annual event intended to July 28-29, 2005 ASCE Seminar * on Earthquake Induced Ground introduce high school students from across the Motions, Atlanta, Georgia. state to engineering prior to their entering the university system. The students go on guided August 11-12, 2005 ASCE Seminar * on Pumping Systems Design, tours of all of the engineering departments, have Atlanta, Georgia. a chance to speak to college engineering students August 25-26, 2005 ASCE Seminar * on Bridge Rehabilitation, and practicing engineers, and participate in New Orleans. Engineering Day events such as the egg drop and the mystery design contests. September 15-16, 2005 Louisiana Civil Engineering Conference and Show, University of Louisiana at Lafayette ASCE Kenner. For more information visit New Orleans Student Chapter met its substantial Engineering Branch website. Day hosting obligations while planning to host the Deep South Conference April 7-9, 2005. September 16, 2005 Annual Meeting of Louisiana Section, New Orleans. Congratulations to the Chapter for doing such a For more information visit New Orleans Branch fine job in the midst of its significant obligations website. and best wishes to those universities who by win- September 22-23, 2005 ASCE Seminar * on Water Hammer in Transmission ning certain of the regional conference competi- and Distribution Systems, Dallas, Texas. tions qualified for — and are looking forward to — the national competitions. September 29-30, 2005 ASCE Seminar * on Finite Elements, Memphis, Due to the demands of the ongoing prepara- Tennessee. tions to host the 2005 Section Annual Spring September 30, 2005 Tulane Engineering Forum: Engineering in a coastal Meeting and Conference, the Branch did not environment. For more information visit have a membership meeting in March. However, www.eng.tulane.edu/tef. the April membership meeting and luncheon featured guest speaker Gerhard Lang whose topic *For more information, call ASCE toll free at was “Introduction to mechanized tunneling and (800)548-2723 or visit the ASCE web page pipe jacking.” www.asce.org. The May membership meeting was a special

10 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 Book review: Unstuck By André M. Rodrigue, PE

It is possible that you can find your profes- ing hard but see little accomplishment. This • Who is in charge and sional life — your career — stuck. You know the is caused by lack of a clear strategy. • Who has informal authority — not necessar- feeling. You are trying to get somewhere in your 4. You are hopeless. You feel defeated — unin- ily a title but lots of influence? career, but you are being hindered. Either you do spired. This is caused by no apparent pur- What is its formal process — the understood not know how to get where you want to go or pose for your work. method by which the team collaborates to get the there are barriers in the way of getting there. 5. You are battle-torn. You and your team can- work done? When this happens, you need to unstick your not get along. This is caused by a lack of a Your metrics and rewards. The activities career. healthy interaction between team members. and actions that get measured — or at least to You may want to stay with your current 6. You are worthless. You are unable to recog- which attention is paid — as indicators of employment situation but feel overwhelmed or nize success. This is caused by unclear whether your team or organization is delivering frustrated that you just cannot achieve all you measurement of results and commensurate on its purpose. Once measured, your organiza- would like with your current team. You may be rewards for achievement. tion rewards those who are part of the accom- seeking a new position that offers an environ- 7. You are alone. You and your coworkers do plishment. ment that fosters achievement. Authors Keith not feel a sense of belonging. This is caused Your culture. The largely unwritten set of Yamashita and Sandra Spataro have written a when your team loses its culture. rules that govern behavior. As one CEO offered, book, Unstuck: A Tool for Yourself, Your Team So let us say you experience to some degree it is how work gets done when you do not speci- and Your World, published in 2004 by the all of the above causes for getting stuck. What fy how the work should get done. Penguin Group which addresses these issues. can you do about it? The authors recommend Once you have evaluated how each of these For more information visit www.unstuck.com. that you evaluate your role in several areas to get areas in your work environment affect your abil- They assert, everyone who is trying to achieve back on your feet. This is relevant whether you ity to achieve, you can choose a course of action something gets stuck sometime. “Sometimes are seeking to improve the working environment in the areas that you deem to be problematic. getting stuck is merely a sign that you are in your current job or identify a positive working What can you do to change your performance attempting something ambitious and pushing environment in a new job. Yamashita and and what can you do to foster change in the per- your team hard.” The question is, How do you Spataro urge the reader to focus on the following formance of others when it comes to get unstuck? areas that together will get to the root cause(s) of • purpose To understand how to get unstuck, you have being stuck: • strategy to understand the causes for getting stuck in the Your purpose. The driving ambition that • teamwork first place. The authors describe the serious shapes what you and your organization aspire to • process seven causes of getting stuck: achieve and work collectively to make a reality. • metrics 1. You are overwhelmed. You are stuck because Your strategy. The smart way you go about • rewards and you do not know what to do next. This is achieving your purpose or the way you and your • culture? caused by having no process through which coworkers interact. How you and your team are The answers to this question can help you to attain your goals. assembled and rallied to execute the strategy and get unstuck in your current job or effectively find 2. You are exhausted. You are working very — as important — how you treat each other to a more fulfilling job to unstick your career. hard but politics and other factors keep get- get the work done. Editor’s note: This book review was André’s ting in the way of achievement. This is Your structure and process. How is your president’s message to his branch membership in caused by concentrating too much in certain team structured? - the Baton Rouge Branch Newsletter, March areas instead of balancing your effort in all • Who makes the decisions 2005. areas to achieve a common goal. • Who is included and who is not 3. You are directionless. Again, you are work- • Who has authority over whom

Branches invest in high-tech

The Baton Rouge Branch switched to an The New Orleans Branch has relied upon its From experience, the only thing worse than electronic newsletter sent by email to each of its website, www.asceno.org, for several years as a no website is an outdated one. The focus will be members in March 2005. It was noted in this cost-effective means to communicate with its not only on using the website as a communica- newsletter that the principal reasons for the members and others in the engineering commu- tion tool but a means to keep the Branch active switch were the additional cost to produce and nity. Broad acceptance of the webpage as a pri- and to archive information as a resource. publish (reproduce, address and mail) a paper mary communications source has been so com- The Acadiana Branch tentatively converted newsletter and the additional time and effort that plete that the Branch is hiring Carrollton to an e-newsletter during the 2003-2004 admin- is required to do so. The April Branch newslet- Technology, a full-service technology company, istrative year to conserve funds and eliminate the ter will be the first delivered exclusively by to re-design it. The new website expected to be time involved with mailing the paper version. email. The March newsletter was the transition in service sometime this Spring will have a more This was a trial period for both the Branch offi- issue published in both electronic and paper contemporary look and provide cers and members to determine which version form to give Branch members the opportunity to • a branch calendar that committee chairs can was preferred. Those responsible for publishing provide or correct their email address in the update the newsletter liked the ease of producing the national ASCE membership database accessed • an e-commerce capability for conference digital version and the Branch Treasurer was through its website, www.asce.org. The branch- registration and fee payment processing equally pleased. There were difficulties encoun- es and the Section rely on the national ASCE • a user-friendly, secure interface for officers tered in regulating the content and size of the membership database for all member contact and committee chairs digital file so that those with dial-up connections information. Branch members in need of addi- • a facility for customized reports and could quickly access it. It was discovered to our tional information are encouraged to contact the • a database of members and others who surprise that the more vocal of our active mem- Branch President-Elect, Tommy Roberts, PE, at attend Branch functions to email meeting 225-952-4451 or at [email protected]. notices. (Continued on Page 16)

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 11 Highlights of the Annual Spring Meeting and Conference By Kimberly D. Landry, EI

The 2005 Spring Meeting and Conference of ASCE National President — instituting a new, ship, and years of paying dues to qualify for the the Section hosted by the Acadiana Branch was long-term strategic plan, recruiting and retaining Life Member status. Landry introduced the Life deemed very successful with over 90 registrants, more government-employed engineers, and Members to the banquet audience by presenting 10 exhibitors, 11 sponsors, 14 guest speakers, encouraging more involvement from younger a brief biography of each as they were presented and a special guest and keynote speaker, ASCE members. their certificate. National President-Elect Dennis R. Martenson, The Awards Banquet scheduled that evening Arthur A. De Fraites, Jr., PE, earned from P.E. The Conference was kicked off on served to honor the Section members who Tulane University his BSCE in 1953 and his Wednesday evening, March 30, with an informal attained their Life Member status in 2005. They MSCE in 1958. He is President of GSE meeting between members of the Louisiana are: Associates, Inc. Engineers, Architects, Section Board of Directors and President-Elect Surveyors, Planners in Houma, LA. Art has Martenson followed by the crawfish boil ice- Acadiana Branch served in several volunteer leadership capacities breaker and social. The crawfish boil was well- William H. Hidalgo, Sr., PE in the Louisiana Engineering Society and the attended and boisterous despite the inclement Kam K. Movassaghi, PE National Society of Professional Engineers and weather. Our intrepid Conference photographer Paul A. Richards, PE he has received numerous awards from the LES, caught President-Elect and Wisconsinite Carroll G. Westbrook, PE the ASCE and the American Council of Martenson befriending a crawfish - albeit, too Engineering Companies recognizing his service late to save it. Baton Rouge Branch in and to the profession. Art and his wife of 40 The first full day of the Conference began Greer E. Coursey, PE years Helen Starnes have 5 children and they like Thursday at 7:30 am with registration and the James C. Porter, PE to travel. His favorite thing about his engineer- opening of the exhibitors’ display area that ing practice is his service to the public and his served as the break area between the concurrent New Orleans Branch profession. To graduating senior civil engineer- technical sessions during the Conference. The J. A. Badeaux, Jr., PE ing students Art advises that opportunities for Conference keynote speaker for the luncheon Arthur A. DeFraites, Jr., PE service are so numerous that he believes there is was ASCE National President-Elect Dennis Morris R. Heinzen a partial vacuum in the profession’s leadership Martenson. His speech primarily focused on the Leonce P. Waguespack, Jr., PE resulting in few limits to the extent one can rise 2005 National Report Card for America’s Thomas R. Wartelle professionally who seeks to serve. Infrastructure recently released by the ASCE. Lloyd G. Hoover, PE, earned his BS in 1965 Martenson cited both national and state statistics Shreveport Branch from LSU, studied in the Geotechnical MS pro- provided by the Report Card. He also addressed Lloyd G. Hoover, PE gram at LSU from 1968 to 1971 and he has been the ASCE governance issues, the ongoing devel- Gordon M. Naquin, PE President of Tetra Tech since 1971. Lloyd is a opment of the Body of Knowledge that is defin- Robert A. Neff, Jr. licensed real estate broker, a certified forensic ing the education required for a practicing pro- Donald F. Sorgenfrei, PE engineer, a geotechnical engineer and an envi- fessional civil engineer and that is associated ronmental engineer. Lloyd and his wife Bonnie with ASCE Policy Statement 465 — Academic After completing dinner, those in attendance — a real estate agent — have 4 children. In his Prerequisites for Licensure and Professional were introduced to Patrick J. Landry, PE, Section free time Lloyd likes to hunt, fish and play golf. Registration — and the public relations efforts Director-at-Large from the Acadiana Branch, The favorite part of his engineering practice is by the ASCE to familiarize the general public who presented the Life Member certificates to helping engineers and laymen alike to answer with the practice of civil engineers and its impact the 5 Life Members who were in attendance. questions and solve problems. Lloyd’s advice to on their daily lives. Martenson also outlined the Landry noted that Life Members must satisfy graduating civil engineering seniors is be profes- agenda that he plans to pursue his year as the combined requirements of age, years of member- sional. Put your profession first and be involved.

ASCE national President-Elect Dennis Martenson is introduced to a not- A small gathering in the Conference registration area. so-delicate Louisiana delicacy.

12 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 Art DeFraites receives his Life Member certifi- Lloyd Hoover receives his Life Member certifi- Kam Movassaghi receives his Life Member cer- cate from Acadiana Branch President Kim cate from President Landry. tificate from President Landry. Landry. Don’t think that it will function well without vice as a civil engineer. During this time, he be professional.” Paul plans to retire in your support. served 6 years on the faculty of the U.S. Air December 2005 and work hard at playing golf, Kam K. Movassaghi, PE, earned his BS in Force Academy, 2 years as Associate Dean of the fishing, and traveling; and then for variety he 1963 from the University of Louisiana at School of Civil Engineering of the Air Force plans to travel, play golf and fish; then fish, play Lafayette and his MS and PhD from Louisiana Institute of Technology and 2 years on the golf and travel with his stated goal of “...improv- State University in 1965 and 1971 respectively. Tactical Air Command Inspector General Team. ing my golf game, compete in amateur events, He is currently President of C.H. Fenstermaker Paul was appointed to the faculty of the and hopefully qualify for a senior PGA tour & Associates, Inc. in Lafayette and President and University of Southwestern Louisiana Civil event.” CEO of Movassaghi Group, PEC, in Baton Engineering Department in 1984 — the year he Leonce P. Waguespack, Jr., PE, earned his Rouge. Kam worked as an engineer in several retired from the Air Force. During this time Paul BS from Louisiana State University in 1963 and engineering firms early in his career then joined served as Acting Head and Head of the Civil accepted employment with the Louisiana DOTD the University of Louisiana at Lafayette faculty Engineering Department and Director of the involved with the I-10 Bridge over the Industrial and ultimately served as head of its Department Department’s Center for Louisiana Inland Water Canal. In 1964 he began employment with New of Civil Engineering. In 1998 Kam was appoint- Studies from 1989-2004. Paul and his wife Ann Orleans Public Service Inc. — now Entergy New ed by Governor Foster as the Secretary of the — married for 39 years at the time of her death Orleans Inc. — in the Engineering Department Louisiana DOTD where in his 6 years of service in 2003 — have 2 children, Paul Jr. and Christine as an Assistant Engineer. Leonce held many he led and facilitated a 78 percent increase in the Marie, and 5 grandchildren. The most gratifying titles at Entergy working for many of its sub- rate of construction project lettings with no achievement in his practice was co-authoring of sidiaries including Louisiana Power and Light increase in annual revenues, and led the imple- the text, Unit Operations and Processes in Company, Entergy New Orleans Inc., and mentation of a comprehensive management plan Environmental Engineering, adopted for use by Entergy Gulf States Inc. He retired from Entergy to expedite the TIMED program — the largest civil engineering and chemical engineering fac- Services Inc. in November 2004 after nearly 40 highway construction program in the history of ulties in their courses in many universities in the years of service specializing in the design and the Department. Kam and his wife Mazie have 2 U.S. and abroad. Paul’s advice to graduating planning of gas distribution and transmission children. civil engineering students is “Be professional in pipeline systems. Leonce served in the ASCE Paul A. Richards, PE, earned a PhD in civil everything you do — at work, at play, in your becoming President of the New Orleans Branch engineering during his 21 years of military ser- relationships with others and in life in general — (Continued on Page 14)

Paul Richards receives his Life Member certifi- Leonce Waguespack receives his Life Member Jeanne Arceneaux accepts her commemorative cate from President Landry. certificate from President Landry. plaque for the Section’s Outstanding Civil Engineering Senior Student award from President Landry.

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 13 (Continued from Page 13) and of the Louisiana Section. He and his wife Linda are now enjoying retirement. It was a pleasure to meet these distinguished engineers from around Louisiana who have con- tributed so greatly to our profession, learn of their personal experiences and appreciate their words of wisdom and encouragement to the graduating civil engineering seniors. Congratulations again to all of the Section’s new Life Members. The evening was also dedicated to acknowledging and celebrating the accomplishments of outstanding senior civil engineering students from the ASCE student chapters and civil engineering departments in the Section. The Distinguished Civil Engineering Senior Student awards were presented during the banquet by Jerome M. Klier, PE, Chair of the Section Student Awards and Activities Committee. The civil engineering department faculties of each university in the Section with a student chapter may nominate one graduating senior student for this honor. Klier presented each recipient present with a $100 award and a commemorative plaque acknowledging him/her as their respec- The Distinguished Civil Engineering Senior Student award recipients from their respective student tive university’s Distinguished Civil Engineering chapters who received recognition and commemorative plaques are (from the left) Eric J. Dallimore, University of New Orleans; Jeanne C. Arceneaux, Louisiana Tech University; Shannon Chambers, Southern University; Bart D. Grasso, Tulane University; and Justin C. Peltier, — net surfing— University of Louisiana at Lafayette. ASCE national organization: http://www.asce.org Senior Student. These deserving students are Student Chapter each received a $250 cash • Jeanne C. Arceneaux, Louisiana Tech award. Note: Most ASCE-related pages can also be University The last day of the conference began at 8:00 addressed through links at this website. All • Shannon Chambers, Southern University am with the opening of the exhibitors’ display section and branch officers are listed at: • Clayton R. Colmier, McNeese State area followed by concurrent technical sessions http://www.asce.org/gsd/localofficers University starting at 8:30 am. The Section’s Annual Spring • Eric J. Dallimore, University of New Membership Meeting to elect officers was held ASCE Acadiana Branch: Orleans prior to the scheduled luncheon that also featured http://www.asceacadiana.net • Bart D. Grasso, Tulane University our second keynote speaker, Section President ASCE Baton Rouge Branch: • Justin Charles Peltier, University of Norma Jean Mattei. Her presentation was the http://branches.asce.org/batonrouge/ Louisiana at Lafayette and Conference’s Ethics seminar, titled Engineering index.htm • Anna Wheeler, Louisiana State University. and Business Ethics: Is There A Difference? Jeanne C. Arceneaux was announced and Following Mattei’s presentation, door prizes ASCE New Orleans Branch: recognized as the Louisiana Section’s were raffled off to lucky winners after which the http://www.asceno.org Outstanding Civil Engineering Senior Student. 2005 Annual Spring Meeting and Conference Louisiana Tech ASCE Student Chapter: Arceneaux additionally was presented with a officially came to a close. Following the lunch- http://www.latech.edu/tech/orgs/asce/ special plaque commemorating her award and eon, the Section Board of Directors held its UNO ASCE Student Chapter: she and the Louisiana Tech University ASCE scheduled meeting. http://www.uno/~engr/asce/asce.html ULL ASCE Student Chapter: (Continued from page 4) http://www.engr.usl.edu/cive building, a cruise terminal... I view civil engi- thoughtful consideration he observed that he Tulane ASCE Student Chapter: neering as a profession that easily lends itself to liked being an engineer but he loved playing the http://www.tulane.edu/~asce becoming a calling. market. However, if he became a stockbroker, LSU ASCE Student Chapter: What if what it is you seek is true bliss and playing the market would not be so much fun. If http://www.ce.lsu.edu/~asce you are in the “career” mode? Are you doomed engineering is not a calling, it can, as in this case, to average happiness? When I was an under- allow the monetary freedom to indulge in a ASCE Louisiana Section: graduate engineering student in the late 1970s, I hobby or other activity after work that may be a http://www.lasce.com worked one summer at the U.S. Army Corps of passionate commitment. Louisiana Engineering Society: Engineers New Orleans District office. One day In the end, I conclude that happiness is a http://www.les-state.org I got into a conversation with an engineer who choice. It is the lens through which we choose to had been with the Corps for over 20 years. Since see the world. My hope for you is that your lens Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land civil engineering was my planned future profes- is — or will become — rose-colored! Surveying Board: sion, I was curious to find out if he loved his This article is dedicated to the memory of http://www.lapels.com work. He told me that what he really loved was Greer Eugene Coursey, PE, 2005 ASCE Life dabbling in the stock market on the weekends. Member, Baton Rouge Branch. So I asked, why didn’t he change careers? After

14 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 Student Chapter News SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY By Kevin Cowan, Jr.

The Chapter enjoyed a busy semester begin- ner violated the code of ethics because in doing ning with its delegates attending the Zone II so they place profit before people and jeopardize Workshop for Student Chapter Leaders in public safety, health and welfare by providing Orlando, Florida. We have held a few successful service in an area in which they are not compe- fund raisers and social events, participated in the tent. Deep South Conference and will be hosting an UL Lafayette did an excellent job in hosting Order of the Engineer Ring Ceremony April the conference this year; from the careful plan- 27th. ning and organization of the events to the tasty crawfish. Everything was fantastic! Deep South Conference The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Member receives national recognition could not have picked a better weekend to host In February, Past Chapter Vice President and the 2005 Deep South Conference. The weather current member Shannon Chambers was recog- was beautiful — not too hot and not too cold. nized as an Outstanding Young Leader in The threat of rain held off so that the activities Technology during the Black Engineer of the and competitions scheduled for outside venues Year Awards Conference in Baltimore, were not compromised. As a result, all the par- Maryland. As a part of this honor, she was fea- ticipants were able to thoroughly enjoy the com- tured in the March/April 2005 issue of US Black petition and other activities. It was disappointing Engineer & Information Technology magazine. that the water resources/environmental competi- Shannon has received numerous honors, includ- tion was cancelled, but we were still able to par- ing the Civil and Environmental Engineering ticipate in two other events for which we were Department’s Student Achievement Award for prepared to compete — the land surveying com- the student with the highest grade point average petition and the Daniel W. Mead paper contest. and the Southern University ASCE Student Chapter member Phillip Salaam presented Chapter’s Distinguished Civil Engineering his Mead paper addressing computers and ethics. Senior Student awarded by the Louisiana More specifically, he addressed whether or not Section. Shannon is scheduled to graduate in engineers should use computers to solve prob- May and she is planning to attend graduate Shannon Chambers lems that they cannot solve by hand. He con- school. tended that engineers using software in this man-

Phillip Salaam presents his paper in the regional Daniel W. Mead paper Chapter members pictured near the University of Louisiana at Lafayette contest as the judges observe his oral presentation. Student Union following the business meeting of the Deep South Conference are (from the left) Jacques Gilbert, Yvette P. Weatherton, PE (Faculty Advisor), Danielle Cooks and Kevin Cowan, Jr. UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA AT LAFAYETTE By Justin Peltier The results of the competitions held during • Louisiana State University - Steel Bridge The teams from the winning student chapters the Deep South Conference hosted April 7 - 9, Competition of the concrete canoe and steel bridge competi- 2005 in Lafayette by the University of Louisiana • Tulane University - Daniel W. Mead Paper tion, and the individual from the winning student at Lafayette Student Chapter reflect the winning Competition chapter of the Mead paper competition qualify to student chapters and the competitions: • University of Memphis - Surveying compete in the respective national competitions • Tulane University - Concrete Canoe Competition scheduled later in the year. Competition • University of Memphis - Asphalt Pigeons Competition

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 15 TULANE By Joe Simpson

Recent Activities hours went into the design and construction of The Chapter’s intramural sports team, Strike the competition steel bridge and concrete canoe. Force, has been “rollin’ on” and “lightin’ it up” There was a record number of members prepar- again this semester both on the basketball court ing for the Conference and the Chapter continu- and on the soccer field posting undefeated regu- ally strives to increase participation each year to lar seasons in both sports. Both teams qualify for more effectively compete in every event. The the playoffs in their respective sports and they Chapter considers its performance this year as contribute to the Chapter’s aim to claim its 1st outstanding. Senior student Steve Shira ever Reily Cup. Also, the Engineering Student received the top award for the Daniel W. Meade Council hosted the 1st annual Elympics this year Paper contest. The steel bridge team, headed by pitting the various engineering departments on Ben D’Arensbourg, had fastest construction campus against each other in several athletic time and drew the largest crowd for assembly competitions. Coming out on top, as expected, and loading, despite its lack of experience in was the civil engineering department. design, fabrication, and the timed building effort. The Chapter’s Mardi Gras celebrations were Unfortunately, due to a tragic pre-assembly well represented with 20 plus members in atten- event, the competition steel bridge was disqual- Tulane Student Chapter steel bridge competi- dance for the various parades. Also, the Chapter ified for exceeding maximum vertical deflection tion team confers during the competition. had a St. Patrick’s Day party and it plans to tra- under load. ditionally close out the academic year with the The Chapter returned to the surveying com- the future. The Chair of the concrete canoe com- annual End of the Year Party on April 29 on the petition again this year with a team of 3 sopho- mittee, Bart Grasso, wishes to thank the concrete Mississippi River. The next Chapter member- mores who had a great time and learned a lot. canoe team: Joel Dixon, Reilly Thompson, ship meeting scheduled is the Chapter’s annual The highlight of the Conference for the Chapter, Jenna Addis, Kristin Moan, Bridget Kelly, meeting with the election of officers on the agen- however, was the concrete canoe competition. It Josh Moore, and Courtney Miller; and the da. The guest speaker will be Deborah D. Keller, was the Chapter’s first-ever regional victory in team’s corporate consultant Bennet & PE, President of the New Orleans Branch of the this competition. The concrete canoe competi- Associates. Those wishing to provide any mon- ASCE Louisiana Section. tion team is anxiously looking forward to partic- etary donations to assist in covering the team’s ipating in the national competition June 25-27 costs to participate in the national competition 2005 Deep South Conference hosted by Clemson University. T Boat and “The please inquire at [email protected] or at The Chapter enthusiastically anticipated this Smaller the School the Better the Boat” will be a [email protected]. All donations will be year’s Conference in Lafayette. Many long staple in the fabric of Chapter’s organization in greatly appreciated.

LSU (Continued from Page 11) By Garrett Sutley bers simply preferred the paper version in the mail. The Branch has since returned to publishing the paper version by mail. At the inception The Chapter competed and managed to do • 1st in lightness of the Branch website in 2002, a Newsletter well in the steel bridge and concrete canoe com- • 1st in efficiency page was created to publish the current issue and petitions held in conjunction with the Deep • 1st in construction speed archive past issues. South Conference in Lafayette. The thoughtful • 2nd in stiffness The Shreveport Branch has not considered organization of the Conference events and the • 2nd in aesthetics an e-newsletter. It enjoys a very good relation- efforts of the host chapter, the University of The Chapter managed an overall 3rd place ship with a local printer that takes care of the Louisiana at Lafayette Student Chapter, to keep finish in the concrete canoe competition by plac- printing, folding, addressing and mailing of its the conference on schedule and an outstanding ing newsletter for a reasonable price plus the experience for all the participants was greatly • 1st for design paper postage, minimizing the cost and effort to the appreciated. The Chapter placed 1st overall in • 1st in the women’s sprint race Branch. This year the Branch started a modest the steel bridge competition by placing • 2nd in the men’s sprint race email reminder and RSVP for general member- • 1st in economy • 2nd in the coed sprint race ship meetings. It only states the who, what, when and where and requests a reply from those planning to attend. (Continued from Page 9) tice, RP 2SIM - Structural Integrity Management. structures — details and assembly, by Alvin on exhibit at this year’s New Orleans Jazz Fest. The seminar attracted 70 engineers, mostly from Ericson. Materials for the Box City project were partially the offshore industry. • August 16, 2005, Wind design seminar by provided by funding from the national ASCE. There are 4 seminars currently scheduled for Marc Levitan, Director of LSU Hurricane The committee has also received funding the remainder of the calendar year. All will be Center. from the national ASCE to continue its efforts to held on the University of New Orleans campus. • October 13, 2005 Offshore seminar, topic promote civil engineering in some form of public Those who attend will receive a certificate for 2 and speakers to be announced. announcement. Last year, the New Orleans PDHs for each seminar they attend. The semi- Information for all Structures Committee Branch partnered with its Structures Committee nars are as follows: seminars scheduled is maintained and updated on to produce a television commercial. Methods • May 10, 2005 Annual David Hunter Lecture: the New Orleans Branch website discussed this year range from extending the TV Architecture’s dream is an engineering www.asceno.org. commercial to renting billboard space. The nightmare — Solutions to gravity defying Norma Jean Mattei, PE, will once again advertisement may be used to publicize upcom- architecture, by Jon Magnusson, PE. direct the effort to foster awareness of civil engi- ing ASCE events planned in the New Orleans • June 2, 2005 Advances in precast concrete neering in young students by sponsoring a hands- area.

16 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 Sections News and Information

Highlights of the November Board of Directors meeting Some decisions concerning the Section web- financing of its normal hosting duties for the PE, and operated in conjunction with — and in site have been made. The website development Section Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The support of — the District 14 Director who is cur- and the webmaster will be provided through Section Annual Meeting has long been hosted by rently Steven C. McCutcheon, PE, of the Georgia Gator-T and the website host will be Crystal the Branch in conjunction with the Louisiana Section. The progress toward District 14 merg- Tech. With some relief it was noted that the con- Civil Engineering Conference and Show that it ing with District 10 — also the Florida Section tents of the previous website were preserved and now cosponsors with the Louisiana Chapter of — to form the new proposed region appears to be can be incorporated onto the new website when it the American Concrete Institute. Since the ACI moving rapidly forward and may be completed in is activated. joint sponsorship and the trend toward a large effect well ahead of the scheduled time line. It was mentioned that one benefit of the new difference in those who attend the two events — The infrastructure report card as it may be ASCE Regional alignment anticipated will be the the Conference and the Annual Meeting — successfully implemented in the Louisiana replacement of the Zone leadership conferences merging their registration on the same form has Section was discussed. To successfully accom- with a series of alternating 2-region conferences. become difficult. Accounting the revenues col- plish its purpose, the infrastructure report card The 2 regions participating in each conference lected in fees for both events and then disbursing must not be viewed as a political document but as from year-to-year will be different with the inten- these revenues between the Branch and the ACI an effective communication tool. The participation of cycling through all of the permutations. Louisiana Chapter has become difficult to tion and review of state and local governments This will give the leadership of each region the administer. For this reason, the registration should be sought. There would appear to be opportunity to network with the leadership in all forms and the revenues and expenses of the two opportunities for workshops to enhance the con- of the other regions over time. events will be accounted and managed separate- tent and quality of the report card. A photography contest was proposed and it ly by the Branch. The past sporadic and limited participation is being further considered for implementation. The Shreveport Branch is investigating the of the branches to recognize the outstanding It will be limited to images of the civil engi- feasibility and member interest in annually hold- members in their communities in a parallel neered infrastructure in Louisiana. The partici- ing one of its regular membership meetings in awards program with the Section and to advance pation will be limited to high school students. Ruston. Its purpose is to make participation in them for consideration in the Section awards pro- The winning photographs and those of honorable Branch activities and professional development gram was noted. The branches were asked to mention will be compiled to produce a calendar seminars more available to the ASCE members consider making more of an effort to make the for sale by the ASCE student chapters as a fund- and other civil engineers resident in the Ruston- branch level awards to their outstanding mem- raiser. Monroe region. bers and submit their candidates to the Section The New Orleans Branch is making an The District 14 Council is currently chaired for consideration as the Section award recipients. administrative revision in the operation and by a Louisiana delegate, Timothy M. Ruppert, District 14 Council News A meeting of the Region 5 Formation Team District 10: SPAG funds. They are now only intended to pro- was planned as part of the March 2005 District • Florida 7399 vide funds to start new programs and not to sus- 14 Council meeting. However, due to the inabil- If you are interested in the political realign- tain existing programs that have previously ity of key R5FT members to attend, the meeting received SPAG funding. The section or branch had to be postponed. The R5FT did have a con- submitting a proposed program for SPAG fund- ference call meeting early in March to form coming is expected to independently sustain the pro- mittees to write the Region 5 bylaws and begin gram if it is to be continued into future years. As planning. The next R5FT meeting is being a result, several sections and branches discovered planned and scheduled for either April or May. that their ongoing programs that had been previ- James C. Webb. PE, is the Louisiana Section rep- ously funded from year-to-year with SPAG funds resentative to the R5FT. were not approved in the last funding cycle. As it can be observed from the accompany- It was reported that the national ASCE ended ing map, two current districts — District 10 and the 2005 fiscal year with a surplus of approxi- District 14 — will be combined to make up the mately $5 million of which the bulk will be new Region 5. District 14 covers a larger area placed in the ASCE reserve fund. With these than District 10 — the Florida Section — and it funds added to the ASCE reserve fund, it is contains 4 sections including the Louisiana expected to reach approximately 26 percent of Section and it contains a total of 7014 members. ment of the sections that will reorganize the the annual operating budget. The reserve fund District 10 — the Florida Section — though political structure of the ASCE from 15 districts has been below 25 percent of the annual opera- smaller in area contains a total of 7399 members. and 4 zones to 10 regions, both maps can be tion budgets in recent years though its desired These demographics are expected to affect the found on the ASCE website at amount is between 25 and 50 percent of the outcome of the R5FT negotiations covering rep- www.asce.org/files/pdf/governance/uszonesre- annual operating budget. resentation and governance in the new Region 5. gionssections.pdf. The ASCE Finance Committee is developing The 5 sections and their total membership in The District 14 Council currently has a bal- the national ASCE budget for the 2006 Fiscal District 10 and District 14 that will remain intact ance of $1380 in revenue that is budgeted entire- Year and it is considering either a $5 increase in to form Region 5 are: ly to cover the travel expenses of the District 14 annual dues or no increase in annual dues using a District 14: Director and the Council’s Secretary-Treasurer. portion of the surplus to balance the FY ’06 • Louisiana 1903 Steven C. McCutcheon, PE, District 14 budget. The District 14 Council passed a resolu- • Alabama 1723 Director, reported on the State Public Affairs tion recommending no dues increase and using a • Georgia 2571 Grant program administered by the national modest portion of the surplus funds to balance • Mississippi 817 ASCE. He noted a major shift in the national the operating budget. Total 7014 ASCE view of — and policy for — the use of

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 17 - Career Benchmarks - Section members Samuel D. Amoroso, PE, C.H. Fenstermaker and Associates Thomas A. Cancienne, III, PE, Stephen M. announces the appointment L.G. “Bo” Walters Chandler, PE, Travis A. Fox, PE, Timothy F. as manager of its business development division Gaines, PE, Michael J. Lanclos, PE, Chien B. to expand its business in its oil and gas and gov- Ly, PE, Jason P. Phillips, PE, Russell J. Rome, ernment services. He will work to refine and Jr., PE, Daniel L. Rosenquist, PE, Shaun R. enhance the marketing and sales focus, to Simon, PE, Jarrod C. Tramonte, PE, Jeffrey expand business through strategic long-term D. Wilson, PE, recently earned their civil and/or relationships with current and future clients, environmental engineering license in Louisiana. and to strengthen professional relationships If you are in contact with any of them, please with the departments of transportation and nat- offer them your congratulations on their accom- ural resources in several states. plishment. Providing consulting services at Louisiana residents Christopher A. Arts, Fenstermaker since 2003, Walters, a graduate of PE, Kiley F. Bates, PE, Jacquelyn M. the University of Houston in Electrical Baumann, PE, Todd E. Baumann, PE, David Engineering, has over 25 years of experience. C. Besselman, PE, Jennifer D. Branton, PE, His experience includes defining market Brandon S. Breaux, PE, Andree F. Cortez, PE, requirements and coordinating efforts with the Rados B. Croom, PE, Staci L. Danna, PE, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department Dennis J. Dean, PE, Joffrey E. Easley, PE, of the Interior, and the Texas General Land Kenneth R. Ferachi, Jr., PE, Rhonda S. Bo Walters Office prior to which he worked in sales and Fetters, PE, Kimberly A. Fitzgerald, PE, John marketing for and with major corporations serv- E. Guidry, PE, Robert B. Harrell, PE, James ing the pipeline, electrical transmission, ship- B. Heaslip, II, PE, William S. Huffstetler, PE, building, architectural/engineering and con- Traci L. Johnson, PE, Heather R. Klingman, struction industries. Early in his career Walters PE, Scott M. Lobell, PE, Kimberly M. Martin, served as a lead engineer and project manager PE, Edward H. Miessner, PE, Jinyoung Park, for the design and manufacture of products in PE, Christopher L. Rogers, PE, Clarence J. the pipeline and airline industries. Savoie, III, PE, Scott M. Schoolmeyer, PE, Ehab Meselhe, PE, received the Coastal Michael L. Smith, PE, Scott C. Sollay, PE, Stewardship Award during the 10th annual Chad M. Stevens, PE, Kathryn M. Coastal Stewardship Awards Banquet. Meselhe Thibodeaux, PE, Robert F. Vinet, PE, Lisa D. is the Director of the Center for Louisiana Wadsworth, PE, Gordon L. Walters, Jr., PE, Inland Water Studies and an Associate Professor Clinton S. Willson, PE, Amber L. Wooten, PE, in the Civil Engineering Department at the recently earned their civil and/or environmental University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the engineering license in Louisiana and are not Assistant Engineering Division Manager at C. members of the ASCE. A copy of this issue of H. Fenstermaker & Associates, Inc. playing a the journal is sent to them as an informal intro- key role in the firm’s coastal restoration and duction to the Section. If they wish to join modeling efforts. and/or find out more about the ASCE, they are Editor’s note: There are three disciplines hereby encouraged to visit the ASCE national that are licensed by the Louisiana Professional website, http://www.asce.org. If you are in con- Engineering and Land Surveying Board and tact with any of these engineers, please consider Ehab Meselhe that may be considered closely related to civil formally introducing them to the Section by engineering. They are the environmental, struc- inviting them to attend a branch meeting as your M. Naquin, PE, Robert A. Neef, James C. tural and architectural engineering disciplines. guest. Porter, PE, Paul A. Richards, PE, Donald F. As of January 2005, the active engineering Section members J. Alvin Badeaux, Jr., Sorgenfrei, PE, Leonce P. Waguespack, Jr., licenses conferred by the Board were approxi- PE, Greer E. Coursey, PE, Arthur A. PE, Earl W. Wardlaw, Jr., PE, Thomas R. mately 6128 in civil, 746 in environmental, 51 DeFraites, PE, Dennis W. Godso, PE, Morris Wartelle, and Carroll G. Westbrook, PE in structural and 1 in architectural. R. Heinzen, William H. Hidalgo, PE, Lloyd G. recently attained the ASCE membership grade Hoover, PE, Kam K. Movassaghi, PE, Gordon of Life Member. - Observation - Environment: miles away. To the argument... that a ditch is not a The answer to the rhetorical question, How On September 10 the court similarly tributary... (it is) asserted that the word “trib- did a roadside ditch get to be part of the “waters asserted authority over a tract of land in utaries means what the Corps says it means.” of the United States?” is, A ditch is a federal Newport News, Va... (where) the waterway in Beats reliance on dictionaries... waterway whenever the U.S. Court of Appeals question is a spur ditch, leading to a drainage When a 3-foot ditch gets the respect says it is... according to columnist James ditch, leading to a culvert, traveling to anoth- accorded the Mississippi River, we have float- Kilpatrick on the op-ed page of the Baton Rouge er drainage ditch, reaching the Western Arm ed into a Wonderland indeed. Saturday 1/3/04. He reports: of Stony Run, which is defined as “not navi- I must share Kilpartick’s sense of derision On June 12 the court asserted federal gable-in-fact”... (It) intersects the Central concerning how the interpretation the 1972 law authority over a ditch (3 feet wide) along a Arm of Stony Run at a point where surface has evolved in the activist courts into something two-lane country road near Parsonsburg, water may intermittently enter the Western probably its writers never envisioned or intended. Md... It trickles into a culvert, thence to Arm. Stony Run eventually flows into the When will it get to the point, if it hasn’t already, another drainage ditch, thence through five Warwick River, which intersects with the that we are hugging trees so tightly that we stran- culverts, three ponds and five dams to the James River, which flows into Chesapeake gle our development and economy into jobless Wicomico River... (It was) found... sufficient Bay... The notion that the Clean Water Act of growth, regression or depression. - Editor that sediment created by the ditching “poten- 1972 covers every leaky hose in the United tially” could reach navigable water eight States is an absurdity...

18 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 Engineers Without Borders: Louisiana connection By Leah Lemoin

When it comes to engineering, volunteerism will be shared between the villagers and stu- has no borders. Engineering students from dents. The community will be able to plant and Louisiana State University are demonstrating grow more trees that will reduce wind and soil this while they dedicate their time and effort to erosion. The time now spent by the women in design and build a water supply system to pro- the community looking for water can be used vide the village of Nyamilu, Kenya with clean for business and farming. The rampant water- and reliable water year-round. borne diseases should be controlled, allowing The Engineers Without Borders LSU resources previously spent on hospitalization Student Chapter was chartered in the Fall of and medicine to be used for food and education. 2004. Engineers Without Borders is a humani- Members of the community will better learn tarian non-governmental organization. Through how to survive with minimum external interven- its student chapters, it gives student members the community garden in the village of Foutaka tion. opportunity to apply engineering skills through Zambougou. The EWB-LSU Student Chapter is present- hands-on projects that benefit people in develop- EWB-LSU is collaborating with EWB- ly finalizing the design and raising funds. The ing areas. “One of the most important purposes Dartmouth in the construction of a water supply Chapter continuously seeks the expert services is working in conjunction with developing coun- system in Nyamilu. It is a village of 10,000 peo- of professional engineers and the sponsorship of tries and training a new generation of globally ple in scattered homesteads and located in the companies willing to help cover the expenses. aware engineers,” states Andrea Stancliff, Vice southwest corner of Kenya. Villagers currently If you are interested in this effort, the Chapter President of EWB-USA’s West Coast collect water from rain and streams for drinking, would welcome your support, please contact Professional Partners. cooking, and washing. As a result, rampant out- [email protected]. For more information visit EWB-USA seeks out projects that involve breaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera, www.ewb-lsu.org or www.ewb-usa.org. the conceptual, design, implementation, and typhoid, dysentery, and diarrhea are common. monitoring phases typical of engineering proj- Using rainwater that is sparse, the villagers grow Editor’s note: The ASCE and Engineers ects. Many of these projects are ongoing and vegetables to sell. The only well in the village is Without Borders executed an agreement to may span several years. Projects are conducted shallow and it dries up during the dry seasons. establish a relationship to more effectively pro- by groups of students under the direction of uni- Our goals for the project are to vide assistance with the engineering needs for versity EWB-USA chapter faculty members and • supply clean drinking water to the commu- developing areas worldwide. This is to be pro- professional engineers from partnering engineer- nity vided through the involvement and training of ing firms. EWB-USA projects focus on water, • use sustainable and appropriate technology engineers and engineering students in the proj- wastewater, sanitation, and energy. and ects facilitated by EWB-USA. The execution of Projects are initiated by — and completed • give the community input into the design these projects sends engineering students into with — contributions from the receiving com- and a sense of ownership. developing countries to work on civil engineer- munity that is trained in the process to inde- Students from Dartmouth will travel in June ing projects under the supervision of profession- pendently operate the systems provided. EWB- to install a solar-powered pump in the existing als and provides the students with hands-on USA attempts to reasonably ensure that its proj- 50' well. The LSU students will travel in August training in the process. The ASCE does not pro- ects are appropriate and self-sustaining in scale to install a water storage tank and piping from vide the opportunity for its members to work in and complexity. A recent accomplishment of the tank to five distribution points in the town. developing countries. The memorandum of EWB-USA was in Mali. Students from The villagers will be trained in the operation and understanding signed February 27, 2005, gives Colorado University — Boulder teamed up with maintenance of the technology to reasonably the ASCE, through its association with EWB- engineers on a Mali assistance project to assure they will be able to sustain the system USA and its participating members, the oppor- • repair a water pump once the EWB volunteers leave. tunity to become more actively involved as • coordinate the drilling of deeper wells The project is anticipated to have many pos- good-citizen engineers around the world. The • construct a soil cement-lined water storage itive impacts on the community of Nyamilu. ASCE does bring two important assets to the basin and The project will bring the community together table, access to its vast network of civil engi- • build a pilot drip irrigation system for a during the implementation and cultural values neering department heads and student chapters, and a vast reservoir of talented professional engineers willing to mentor students in the YMC project advances classroom and in the field. The agreement brings together these two organizations with By Yvette P. Weatherton, PE common goals and objectives in a way that each can fill significant holes in the other’s needs. The Younger Member Committee chairs of be selected and the photographers submitting the Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport them will each receive $100. These 12 photo- Branches, and the Section have a mutual plan graphs will be distributed for sale to engineers Did you know. . . under way to organize and conduct a statewide throughout the state incorporated in a full-color photography contest. Participation in the contest calendar. The proceeds will be used to fund the ...that a recent Harris poll indicated that will be extended to high school and college stu- student chapters and YMC activities. over half of the U.S. public did not know what dents in Louisiana who will be invited to submit Professional photographers and retired engi- engineers are or what they do and further most amateur photographs that depict positive images neers are being asked to serve as judges. engineering works were not perceived or of civil engineering throughout the state. Corporate sponsorship is also needed to fund the acknowledged? It is conjectured that the envi- Southern University will host a website and an prizes and defray the anticipated printing costs ronmental problems publicized in the recent email address for contest entries to be submitted of the calendars. Anyone who is interested in past that are attributable to engineering works for consideration. The web and email addresses sponsoring this project should contact Yvette P. were ascribed to the engineering profession by will be publicized with the guidelines for the Weatherton, PE by email at the public promoting its negative public contest at a later date. [email protected] or by telephone at image. The Rx: a massive public relations ad The top 12 photographs judged to best (225)771-5870. recruitment effort. - EEE Spectrum 10/04 depict positive images of civil engineering will

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 19 Technical committee activity

The Section was recently advised that there any of these technical committees and wish to through these individuals. For brevity, the ASCE are numerous Section members who serve on use a Section member contact to facilitate your code or abbreviation is provided for the ASCE ASCE national technical committees, and the particular interest. committee or institute under which each techni- following listing was sent identifying these mem- Branch and Section technical committee per- cal committee listed is organized and operated. bers, their contact information and their respec- sonnel should also take note of these national The ASCE Official Register (available on-line) tive committee assignments. This information is technical committees and their members in the provides a full listing of the institutes and com- provided in the event that you may have a partic- Section for any parallel committee interests or mittees, and the technical committees including ular interest in the work and/or the activities of pursuits that may be of mutual value if pursued their mission, scope and personnel.

20 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 TEA-LU: It’s now or never By Deborah Ducote Keller, PE It’s great to be a civil engineer! It seems conducted focused on the nation’s declining than is returned to them are hoping to up their every time one attends an ASCE function with infrastructure and more particularly the effect of minimum share to between 92 and 95 percent. national president William P. Henry, PE, present the 2003 expiration of the $218 billion TEA-21 One quickly learns that in Washington, the haves he begins by addressing the audience of civil legislation which was kept alive by the Congress and the have nots are referred to as the donee — engineers with this signature opening line to through short-term extensions. A new trans- recipient — and donor states. Louisiana has his- energize the crowd. The March gathering in portation trust fund bill should have been author- torically been a donor state. Washington, D.C. for the ASCE’s 2005 Policy ized upon its expiration, but it became the victim I was fortunate to be able to witness the actu- Week was no exception. Over 100 ASCE mem- of election year political posturing. al voting process the evening of March 9 when bers representing their respective states con- Authorization of the new transportation trust the House of Representatives passed TEA-LU. verged on the capitol with 20 members of the fund bill for 2005 referred to as the There are over 4,000 special projects in the bill National Society of Professional Engineers for a Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users of which 1,000 or so were added in the final day of leadership training in government rela- (TEA-LU), will be the key to funding approxi- hours of debate before its passage. One of these tions. This training was in preparation for the mately $284 billion in transportation projects special projects is Louisiana’s I-49 project that following day of pre-arranged visits between the over the next 6-year period. The exact amount to will require a 20 percent state match for every engineers and their congressional delegations to be budgeted is still under debate. While federal dollar received. This could prove a con- discuss the dire need for federal funding for Congress and the President review the revenue siderable challenge for the state given the America’s infrastructure. projections for the Highway Trust Fund, as esti- demands within its own budget priorities once The highlight of the week was the public mated by the Congressional Budget Office, the the federal dollars start flowing again. release of the ASCE 2005 Report Card for states are marking time with many projects held Infrastructure funding that is competing with America’s Infrastructure on March 9th. Sad to in limbo until the new legislation is passed. TEA-LU in the President’s proposed budget is say, this year’s report card with a D average was If projecting the tax revenues generated by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean even more dismal when compared with the pre- the sale of gasoline is not complicated enough, Water state revolving fund program, the U.S. vious report card in 2001 with its D+ average. the debate over what minimum percentage Army Corps of Engineers’ civil works budget, Others attending the ASCE’s 2005 Policy Week should be returned to the donor states rages on. and the Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act. from Louisiana were ASCE members Shannon The TEA-21 stipulated that every state — partic- These are all areas of great concern to civil engi- S. Spell, PE, Marc Levitan, and Bobby E. Price, ularly the donor states — would receive at least neers. During the training session we were told PE, who is also the national President of the 90.5 percent of the fuel tax paid from its gasoline that the next hurdle for TEA-LU is Senate pas- NSPE. sales. However, the donor states that contribute The leadership training sessions that were a higher share of fuel tax to the trust fund monies (Continued on Page 23)

Investing for income? Consider long-term dividend-paying stocks By Thomas R. Thurmond Q I am more interested in investing for income Q What should I look for in a quality stock? to be reliable for income. A history of over the long term rather than in participat- growth in the dividend is equally impor- ing in the daily ups and downs of the stock A Consider 3 factors that can help limit your tant. market. What would be a good investment risk and keep your income growing when strategy for me? you are looking for income among stocks: However you choose your income stocks, the key is holding them for the long term, which A One choice for income seekers may be qual- • A low payout ratio gives the dividend room means that daily and monthly price swings may ity, long-term dividend-paying stocks. Many to grow. The payout ratio is the percentage not be as important. Remember that time in the name brand companies have not only paid of a company’s earnings per share paid out market, not timing the market, is most important dividends consistently since the early 1900s as dividends in the current year. The lower to investment success. If you would like more — in some cases they have also steadily the ratio, the more room for potentially information please feel free to contact the writer. raised their dividends. boosting the dividend. Remember, for a leading company to retain its leadership ——————————————————— Q What makes these stocks attractive to long- position, it will have to channel a good por- Thomas R. Thurmond, Senior Vice President, term investors? tion of its earnings toward growth. Thus, Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley in New payout ratios may be lower for these stocks A Consistent dividend growth stocks may be Orleans, Louisiana. He may be contacted by e- than they are for electric utilities or other mail at [email protected] attractive for long-term investors who can companies in slow-growth industries. hold the stocks as dividend payments rise. or by telephone at (504)587-9669 or (800)659- Although the stocks’ current yields may not • Capital appreciation potential can enhance 0009. This article does not constitute tax or seem competitive at first, growth in dividend returns. Regardless of whether or not they legal advice. Consult your tax or legal advisers payments can significantly increase the yield receive a dividend, most investors buy a before making any tax- or law-related investment on an original investment. stock hoping its share price will rise. decisions. Any particular investment should be Consider how the value of your investment analyzed based on the terms and risks as they Q Why is dividend growth so important? would increase if, in addition to annual div- may relate to your circumstances and objectives. A An investor seeking income could purchase idend increases, the company’s stock price Information and data in this article were conservative fixed-income investments, such also rose, for example, in line with the S&P obtained from sources considered reliable and as Treasury bonds. In fact, every well-bal- 500 average. published for general information purposes. Their accuracy or completeness is not guaran- anced portfolio should contain such invest- • Dividend payment history can provide ments. However, without the power of divi- teed and the giving of the same is not an offer or clues about the future. Although past per- solicitation to sell or buy any securities or com- dend growth, inflation will take its bite, and formance does not guarantee future results, these investors may end up losing ground to modities. Investments and services are offered a company with an unbroken record of pay- through Morgan Stanley DW Inc., member SIPC. inflation over time. ing dividends for 30-plus years would seem

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 21 Science and engineering: Only Einsteins need apply? By Deborah Ducote Keller, PE

I knew when I entered the College of side of the brain where spatial and mathematical Response to cognitive abilities are supposedly more dominant Engineering in 1975 that few women had gone Dr. Laurence Summers before me. My mother pointed out, there were in men due to genetics, according to the experts. no ads in the newspaper’s Help Wanted Female However, when my technical knowledge was January 18, 2005 column for engineers. For you post-baby honed through my engineering education, it met up squarely with the dominant right side of my Last Friday, Dr. Lawrence Summers, boomers — yes — classified employment ads President of Harvard University and an econ- were once segregated by gender. Yet, I was not brain where the same experts suggest that lan- guage and communication abilities are more omist, spoke before a meeting of the National deterred. It was probably because this was a time Bureau of Economic Research, about the when women were expected to do the unconven- dominant in women due to genetics. Therefore, with so few women in engineering, it is logical causes for women’s underrepresentation in tional. After all, it was the 1970s. science. He suggested that, since fewer girls In my 26-year career as a practicing civil that the engineer who can more easily absorb complex technical information and translate it than boys have top scores on science and math engineer in both the private and public sectors, I tests in late high school, perhaps genetic, have had my fair share of funny and not-so-funny for non-engineers, confidently make presentations and speeches, and write reports, studies, rather than social, differences explain why so experiences with prejudice, discrimination, and few women are successful in these fields. stereotyping that many of us encounter. From and even articles for a journal such as this, will be particularly valued, regardless of gender. my experience, however, there is one haven We would like to respond: where I can certainly attest that neither gender, Well-accepted, path-breaking research on race, creed, nor color have anything to do with learning (see, for example, Bransford, et al., one’s ability to participate, be heard, volunteer, “How People Learn,” and Claude Steele’s or serve. It is in the ASCE. ...my career was propelled work on “stereotype threat”) shows that This has not gone unnoticed on the national expectations heavily influence performance, level of the ASCE. I am often asked how it is not by my technical particularly on tests. If society, institutions, that the Louisiana Section has so many women in teachers, and leaders like President Summers, its elected leadership at the Section and branch abilities as much as it expect (overtly or subconsciously) that girls levels. I reply that there is so much to be done and women will not perform as well as boys and the gratification from the resulting activities was by my ability and men, there is a good chance many will not is so rewarding that we members are really too to communicate. perform as well. At the same time, there is lit- busy to notice our differences because of the tle evidence that those scoring at the very top larger issues. I believe that we simply share a of the range in standardized tests are likely to strong common bond of being civil engineers have more successful careers in the sciences. first. Summers was voicing his own opinion as to Too many other factors are involved. Finally, That said, I hope you were as taken aback as well-documented evidence demonstrates I was recently by the remarks this past January why there are not more women in science and engineering. He concluded it is genetics. As an women’s efforts and achievements are not val- made by Harvard President Laurence Summers ued, recognized and rewarded to the same as the speaker during a luncheon for a seminar on experienced woman engineer and the mother of a woman freshman engineering student, I can aver extent as those of their male counterparts (see, diversifying the science and engineering work- for example, Virginia Valian’s work on gender force. Summers suggested that innate differ- from my perspective that it is not genetics as Summers opined. I have observed over my schema). ences may account for the gender gap in employ- As leaders in science, engineering, and ment. His controversial remarks made headlines career gifted and not-so-gifted students graduate and become practicing engineers. The differ- education, we are concerned with the sugges- in the national media and triggered a formal tion that the status quo for women in science response by nearly 100 leaders in science and ence, in my opinion, is the guidance and the mentoring received by — and the support sys- and engineering may be natural, inevitable, engineering academics, technical organizations, and unrelated to social factors. Counter- and industry, that is re-printed here. I am pleased tems available to — the students that give them direction relative to what can be achieved. examples to this suggestion are drawn quickly that the coverage in Business Week included a from the fields of law, and of medical science. sidebar story that featured Patricia Galloway, the Nobody told me that I could not be an engineer when I was growing up. It may have been In 1970, women represented just 5 percent of ASCE Past President. It highlighted her career law students and 8 percent of medical school achievements and experiences as a woman engi- because nobody thought to ask a little girl in the 1960s what she wanted to be in the first place. students. These low percentages have neer. increased substantially in response to social I feel well-qualified to state my belief that Although the universities do have slightly more women enrolled than men, one fact is clear, changes and concerted institutional and indi- there are differences between men and women vidual effort. Obviously, the low rates of par- engineers, just as one could find differences many women students are opting for an education in professions such as medicine and law that ticipation in 1970 were indicative of social, between a Yankee engineer and a Southern engi- and not genetic, barriers to success. neer. My brain is wired distinctly differently are financially more lucrative than science and engineering. This may explain in part the low We must continue to address the multi- from that of my spouse’s. Like so many engi- tude of small and subtle ways in which people neer-couples, I see the subtle differences in how number of women students in the science and engineering curricula. of all kinds are discouraged from pursuing we problem-solve and the non-technical skills interest in scientific and technical fields. we bring to a solution due to what would appear If we want to see more diversity in our profession, we need to continue our outreach pro- Society benefits most when we take full to be genetic differences. Advice: Unless you advantage of the scientific and technical talent are an engineer, do not go on vacation with engi- grams by participating in career days, judging science fairs, letting students job-shadow us, among us. It is time to create a broader aware- neer-couples. The organization and the efficien- ness of those proven and effective means, cy can otherwise overwhelm the non-engineer. mentoring students, employing student interns, and volunteering in the schools from kinder- including institutional policies and practices, I often tell students that my career was pro- which enable women and other underrepre- pelled not by my technical abilities as much as it garten through college. The ASCE branches are often contacted by guidance counselors and sented groups to step beyond the historical was by my ability to communicate. This, I barriers in science and engineering. believe, is because our profession is full of the teachers begging for engineers to participate in technical genius that typically resides in the left (Continued on Page 25)

22 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 Editor’s Journal By James C. Porter Progressive Collapse Recent interest and discussion about pro- accomplished by structural redundancy, for originally provided then it may provide neu- gressive collapse of structural systems and the example. In the event of an anticipated compo- tral equilibrium. subject in general gives me reason to be curious nent failure, redundancy may be accomplished • If the redundant path of redistributed or redi- about how progressive collapse may be techni- by either the redistribution of the stresses in the rected support stresses activated by the antic- cally defined and characterized. Without failed support path or the redirection of the ipated component failure provides less load researching previous discussions of the issue in stresses into one or multiple alternate support capacity than the path of support stresses any detail, my best guess is that progressive col- paths to carry the load. originally provided then it may provide lapse can be conceptually defined as the total or The redundant capability to redistribute or unstable equilibrium. partial collapse of one or more components of a redirect support stresses alone is not enough to For a structural system to be fail-safe from structural system precipitated by the failure of characterize a viable fail-safe feature to avoid progressive collapse whether for an anticipated another component. The mechanism of the pro- progressive collapse. The additional capability strength failure or service load failure — fatigue gressive collapse of a structural system may be of providing stable equilibrium must occur after failure for example — the redundant support characterized by the lack of a fail-safe feature. the anticipated component failure. Equilibrium path in the structural system must provide stable Fail-safe describes a feature incorporated to is defined by its three conditions — stable, neu- equilibrium if it is activated by the anticipated automatically counteract the effect of an antici- tral and unstable. The conditions of equilibrium component failure. pated mode of failure. The effect to be counter- that characterize redundant behavior if activated The engineering would appear to be more acted here is progressive collapse. The fail-safe by the anticipated component failure are difficult than the technical concepts and may concept applied to the progressive collapse of • If the redundant path of redistributed or redi- require substantial creative thought beyond one or more components of a structural system rected support stresses activated by the antic- applying a standard specification. It may include may be characterized by two concepts — redun- ipated component failure provides a greater • anticipating causes and modes of progressive dancy and equilibrium — as they may apply to load capacity than the path of support stress- collapse and their probability of occurrence the structural system. These two concepts are es originally provided then it may provide to be considered for a given structural system typically covered — if not rigorously — concep- stable equilibrium. and tually and briefly in the first chapters of some • If the redundant path of redistributed or redi- • selecting a cost-effective structural system elementary structures texts. rected support stresses activated by the antic- that provides fail-safe conditions for the Fail-safe features in a structural system ipated component failure provides the same anticipated causes and modes of progressive intended to prevent progressive collapse may be load capacity as the path of support stresses collapse. (Continued from Page 21) sage, and it could possibly be the end of summer units of government such as port authorities and attentive, and appreciated the well-presented before the final bill is sent to the White House. levee districts. materials provided by the ASCE delegation. Whether TEA-LU is finally authorized at the President Henry likes to refute such allega- Some sections have also created individual proposed $284 billion or the $375 billion that tions by asking if someone would go to an infrastructure report cards for their states. some are seeking, my personal message to those accountant for a medical examination? We, as During a recent Section Board of Directors meet- I met was to please pass something! civil engineers, are the experts on the civil engi- ing, President Norma Jean Mattei, PE, discussed There is a reason the airports, bridges, dams, neered infrastructure and the ASCE provides the this possibility relative to the Louisiana Section. waterways, parks, railroads, roads, schools, tran- civil engineering profession the means through Daniel L. Bolinger, PE, a past president of the sit systems, drinking water, wastewater and solid the collective voice of its membership to effec- New Orleans Branch, accepted her appointment waste facilities are declining in the United States. tively reach those who set our nation’s policies to chair a task force to develop a Report Card for It is due to lack of major maintenance or replace- and agenda. This is the whole point of ASCE’s Louisiana’s Infrastructure. Later this year, he ment once their useful life has been exceeded. 2005 Policy Week and the ASCE 2005 Report will be recruiting help from the engineers in the The ASCE estimates that it would require as Card for America’s Infrastructure. And yes, various areas of government and from other much as $1.6 trillion to immediately and fully TEA-LU will create jobs — all sorts of jobs — sources to aid in developing the report card. address these needs. whether you call it trickle-down economics or Please consider volunteering your expertise and As the oldest engineering society in the spin-off benefits. Some estimate that for every data sources to aid the process and cooperating United States, the ASCE has taken a leadership $1 billion spent on transportation projects, it cre- with the process if your services are sought. role in exposing the poor condition and the ongo- ates 47,500 jobs. Is there anything wrong with ing state of its infrastructure since it released its creating domestic jobs and reaping the long-term first report card in 1998. President Henry economic benefits from repairing and re-building reminded us that for civil engineers there is no our nation’s infrastructure? Did you know. . . other organization better than the ASCE to objec- The ASCE arranged for us to visit with our ...that there is a suggestion to rename pro- tively assess the nation’s critical infrastructure respective congressional leaders. We were able gressive collapse disproportionate collapse needs in the public works arena. to collectively meet with the staffs of Senators since almost all building collapses are progres- Some in the media have questioned the Mary Landrieu and David Vitter. Part of our sive and should be of concern only when their motives of the ASCE in advocating infrastructure message was to volunteer the membership of the progressive collapse is disproportionate to needs, as if to imply that its vested interest is to ASCE as a resource on technical matters con- what caused it? As an example, the World create work for its constituent civil engineer and cerning the public works infrastructure in the Trade Center towers on 9/11 suffered progres- contractor members. I like to make the point that United States. We also separately met with our sive but not disproportionate collapse because the ASCE membership is comprised of more than representatives. I was able to discuss these same no rudimentary structural change in the design private sector civil engineers and contractors. issues with Representative Charles Melancon, would have been capable of reducing the scale One need only look at the diversity within the who represents my district. Preaching to the of the collapse. The three main structural leadership of the Louisiana Section that is repre- Louisiana congressional delegation in favor of methods to resist progressive collapse are sentative of the diverse membership of its these issues was like promoting the American redundancy or alternate load paths, local branches representing university professors and flag. They are keenly aware of the infrastructure resistance or the hardening of vulnerable com- government civil engineers employed at the fed- needs of Louisiana with respect to federal fund- ponents, and structural interconnection to eral, state, parish, and city levels, as well as other ing for transportation. They were cordial and boost redundancy. - ENR 04/12/04

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 23 Something of value

The Our Views column on the op-ed page of and commissions... appropriate practice of engineering but they just the December 28, 2003 issue of the Baton Rouge State boards and commissions and agen- happen to also unfairly limit competition in the Sunday Advocate lambasts Louisiana’s state gov- cies are stacked with thousands of members, private sector favoring those who are exclusively ernment’s propensity to create unnecessary many of whom are appointed by the gover- represented on the Board. I further believe this boards and commissions. The column focuses nor. How many boards do we need? If behavior results in conditions that “restrict com- on Louisiana’s retail florists who are a licensed boards act only to restrict competition, they petition... (and as a result unnecessarily) cost and regulated profession under the Horticulture cost every consumer something every day. every consumer something,” corrupt the integrity Commission of Louisiana. It was noted that the And that’s not counting the direct costs of of this important public regulatory asset and practice recently attracted national derision in a employees and executive staff in the more force licensed engineers in Louisiana into profli- Wall Street Journal article. The pertinent text affluent agencies... gate waste and behavior. notes It is interesting that a rare few state boards We can think of no good reason why the Introduction have demonstrated the courage of conviction and state of Louisiana ought to determine who is The Louisiana Professional Engineering and the insight not to succumb to thoughtlessness in qualified — and who is not qualified — to Land Surveying Board (Board) is one of the 534 developing their rules. It cannot be ascertained arrange flowers in a vase. boards and commissions in Louisiana and I sus- or known with any certainty whether conscious Yet under Louisiana law, every floral pect among the more “affluent” ones to which or base motive, or just thoughtless coincidence business must employ at least one licensed the article referred. We licensed engineers pay a led to some of the poorly considered rules adopt- florist. Business owners who fail to obtain a biennial license fee to sustain the cost of its oper- ed by the Board, but I believe that irrelevant of license personally must hire someone the ation independently of state funding. In reality culpability the adverse effects on licensed engi- state decides is fit to do the job. If that this fee is a state license tax paid directly to the neering practice in Louisiana are clear. employee quits, the business under law must Board rather than to the Treasury and disbursed close its doors until another is found... to the Board from the general fund. We like to Testing Obtaining a floral license is not as easy believe that the Board has a real reason to exist. Some 30 years ago the Board appears to as demonstrating one can cut stems off a rose I am confident that the intrinsic value of the have blindly lifted the model law of the National without slicing a finger. In addition to pay- Board would resonate with the public if its Council of Examiners for Engineering and ing $150, applicants must pass a difficult intended function as I understand it was placed Surveying (NCEES) that arbitrarily and incor- test, including a written portion and a floral under scrutiny. rectly assumed that the principles and practice arrangement portion... I believe in some important ways the Board examination (PE) measures the education Tests are graded by licensed florists. In can and does effectively regulate the character of obtained during internship after graduation. The other words, those with an interest in limit- the practice of engineering in Louisiana. NCEES recently renounced its own obviously ing the number of competitors in Louisiana’s However, in operation it may create serious incorrect premise doggedly held for 30 years. I floral industry... problems for itself and those it regulates by believe that the Texas Board of Professional Flower shops are not the only business adopting inappropriate rules and enforcement Engineers was one of the few that recognized the in Louisiana that are over-regulated. The practices. Ostensibly the rules are an extension obvious fallacy in the NCEES assumption and Legislature’s Internet site lists 534 boards of the enabling statutes to guide and regulate the (Continued on Page 25) Experience and instinct

It was reported in the New York Times near completing the structural details, for some or less diagonal wood grain structure in the 11/09/03 that some of the construction workers reason he asked my consultation on a nagging stringer was perpendicular to the diagonal (prin- sensed structural problems prior to the collapse concern he had. His explanation to me was, “I cipal) tension stresses caused by the imposed live of a parking garage on October 30, 2003, while it don’t know why but there is something about load plus dead load shear. This apparently pre- was under construction in Atlantic City, New these details that does not feel right. Would you sented the weak plane in the timber to the diago- Jersey. These construction workers, and not look at them and see what you think.” nal tension stress leading to failure. The conven- trained structural engineers, observed prior to the I reviewed the details he was referring to tional solution was to add stringers to either side collapse specifically which focused on the center bearing of the broken stringer — a difficult and time con- • false work supporting recently placed floors of the two-span continuous girder superstructure. suming maintenance procedure that was often “bent out of shape” After my review and giving the details some not successful. • concrete that had not set completely and thought without formal analysis it became clear A senior technician in charge of the mainte- • cracks in the floors and supporting columns. there was possibly a significant problem. The nance inspection and repair of many of these These observations led to such serious con- bearings for this very light pedestrian bridge, bridges with substantial experience in inspection cerns about the safety of the structure that the steel girder superstructure had no provision for and in making the repairs developed and inde- workers expressed them to their foreman. They uplift. The bridge was located in an open costal pendently field tested an efficient and effective were advised not to worry. The resulting col- area and a hurricane-prone region that would repair method. It required a small fraction of the lapse killed 4 and injured 20 workers. appear to make uplift an important issue for such cost, material, time and effort of the convention- Construction safety has been an issue in the past a light structure. The bearing was detailed very al repair and had the additional advantage of for the same concrete placement contractor when similarly to those used on intermediate span being more reliable. With some trepidation he in 1995 an incident resulted in it being found in highway bridges in the area for which hurricane shared his repair method with me. Upon review, “willful violation” that resulted in fines and a winds do not produce uplift in excess of their I discovered that the repair appears to essentially second incident in 2002 that resulted in OSHA substantial mass. Needless to say, uplift provi- behave like conventional stirrups in a reinforced violations being charged and another fine. sions were needed and made in the final design concrete beam intercepting diagonal cracks and This incident brings to mind an early experi- and structural details. could be analyzed and justified similarly. I still ence I had working in the bridge design environ- In another example, we were having chronic don’t know how we well-educated engineers so ment. There was a pedestrian bridge being problems with a large inventory of approximate- completely missed this simple, inexpensive solu- designed in the office in which I was not ly 3000, 19-foot, simple span, treated timber tion, but we did and this technician did not. It involved. However, one of the most experienced bridges many of which were seriously under- took the instincts and courage of this technician draftsmen in the office, whose desk was adjacent strength. Their stringers in or near the wheel to independently discover and test it inside of an to mine, was assigned to draft the structural path were routinely fracturing near their third engineering organization. He seemed to instinc- details for its steel superstructure. When he was points. This was where the direction of the more (Continued on Page 25)

24 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 (Continued from Page 24) never bowed to its model rules requiring that the who serve on the Board. Mandatory continuing jurisdiction of the Board. Whether intended or PE be administered only after 4 years of intern- education was deemed their solution to this prob- not, these rules and their enforcement in ship. The Texas Board realized the obvious that lem. Louisiana have the effect of selectively restrict- the test principally covered education obtained Having participated in the mandatory contin- ing the practice of individuals and small engi- prior to graduation and that it was only important uing professional development process, I believe neering businesses that are conspicuously not if, and not when, the required knowledge is that the education deemed acceptable is so spe- represented on the Board. The rules and their demonstrated. cious that apparently no one has the gall to refer selective enforcement undermine and discourage NCEES now openly admits that the only to it as education — hence, professional devel- the practice and competitiveness of small engi- effect the 4-year waiting period had was to opment. I suspect that the alleged education neering businesses — that same group of engi- impede qualified candidates in getting licensed problem identified among those certain engineers alleged to be “poorly educated, unethical and to discourage others from even applying neers can now be laid to rest with the ineffective and incompetent” by their competitors. because of the unreasonable rule that principally mandatory continuing professional development The Indiana Board of Registration mistaken- tests academic training prior to graduation and they have to purchase. I further suspect that this ly attempted to enforce essentially the same thus one’s memory to retain it for 4 years. Just is made possible because no significant continu- stamping rule against an engineer employed by a the notion of a prerequisite for testing of an arbi- ing education is required and no significant large engineering firm with the resources to trary 4-year waiting period to when it is arbitrar- incompetence problem ever existed. Needless to defend him in court and it did so successfully. In ily and incorrectly assumed that one possesses say, the alphabet soup of organizations (ASCE, 1992, the Indiana Court of Appeals in the case of the required knowledge to be tested goes beyond LES, et al) who are heavily represented on the Board of Registration v. Nord essentially con- reason. It is purely ridiculous considering it Board do not object to the seminar and confer- sidered the preparation of engineering drawings increased the failure rate and decreased the appli- ence registration fees they collect and are wasted (and written specifications) separate from the cation rate of many qualified people. This possi- by the audiences forced to attend them to meet engineering work required to prepare them — bly affected their career-long income and their the mandatory continuing professional develop- which it is! The Court ruled in favor of the engi- relative success in the profession. It also thwart- ment requirements. neer. (Civil Engineering, 3/93, p.32) ed an expressed interest in the engineering profession in more universal licensure. Plan stamping Conclusion News flash! I believe the right thing may The Board changed its rules concerning the Intrinsically, I believe there is clear justifica- have been done for the wrong reason. The acad- use of seals to be consistent with the NCEES tion for the existence of the Board to regulate and emicians who originally promoted this false model rules which I view as questionable in license engineers in Louisiana. This is particu- premise in the NCEES recently relented. It intent. In Louisiana the rules appear to be sub- larly true when compared to the commission that appears that they now wish to use the PE along ject to a wide and subjective interpretation that regulates and licenses retail florists. However, I with the fundamentals examination (FE) as a seems to change like the wind to mean whatever believe that some extrinsic acts of the Board to standard outcome assessment of their engineer- the Board wants them to mean and depending on regulate engineers appear to create the same ing curricula. Otherwise, this farce would be who is violating them. In any event, the literal shortcomings for which the regulation of retail thoughtlessly and indefinitely perpetuated by the rules are flagrantly and necessarily violated by florists is held to ridicule. It is my belief that if NCEES and most of its member state boards. all practicing engineers involved in plan and inappropriate rules and acts of the Board specification preparation because they essential- “...restrict competition... (and unnecessarily) cost Professional development ly have the effect of copyrighting every detail every consumer something every day...,” they I will not get into the incredibly convoluted and note of every set of engineering drawings weaken or destroy the intrinsic value of the story of architects and fire code, and the logic — and specifications that were ever produced and Board. These rules and acts increase the costs of or the lack thereof — that finally pushed the that by practical necessity are, for the most part, engineering services through inappropriate regu- Board into requiring full-blown, mandatory con- used repeatedly from project to project. This lation and offer no apparent value to the public tinuing professional development rules for appears to be an area of copyright law that I supposedly served and protected by the Board. I licensed engineers. It will suffice to say that the believe is completely outside of the Board’s also suspect that some of these rules and acts principal force that was never enough to make it statutory jurisdiction. may violate federal antitrust law by menacing the happen had long been the mistaken premise that I believe that the rules have been arbitrarily, practice on individuals and small businesses with a certain group of licensed engineers in conveniently and selectively enforced against stamping rules and increasing their overhead cost Louisiana were considered “poorly educated, one- and two-man operations that do not have the and reducing their efficiency by requiring their unethical and incompetent” by their competitors resources to defend themselves by appealing the purchase and participation in unnecessary and who are active in the engineering societies and Board’s ruling to a court of law that is beyond the irrelevant continuing professional development.

(Continued from Page 24) tively know with confidence that it would work operations and maintenance — that engineers because they lack formal training or because they before any engineer did, yet to this day he can’t tend to have an air of arrogance and certainty and may not even technically understand what they explain technically why it works even though I yet a lack of depth of understanding of the prob- may instinctively sense. tried with little success to explain it to him. lems that they are sometimes faced with. Not I believe that the message in these stories is The details of this repair were published being open to advice from — or discussion with that in engineering as in life native wisdom is some years later in an NCHRP synthesis report — experienced technicians and operators, they sometimes available from the most unlikely and dubbed as the “Wyoming” repair for timber sometimes make decisions that lead to pre- sources. Am I willing to have the humility and stringers. Its discovery is credited to the dictably unfortunate, if not disastrous, conse- patience to be open to its discovery? Wyoming Department of Transportation. While quences that are a direct result of their hubris. we may have independently discovered the same The war stories seem endless. (Continued from Page 22) repair, I suspect otherwise because I provided the I don’t know how the technicians in these repair details to an office of the U.S. Forest examples cited sense the problems they do any such activities. Given the opportunity, please get Service in Wyoming some years before the more than the construction workers sensed the involved. From my experience, engineering is an report was published. problems they did. However, I believe that the equal opportunity profession, so do not let a guy Living in an industrial area, I have often experience of the informally trained non-engi- from Harvard lead public opinion to the belief heard complaints expressing strong resentment neer technicians with long years in conscientious that engineering and the sciences are for baby from technicians — mostly in construction, service is real and should not be ignored simply Einsteins only.

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 25 (Continued from Page 7) ated cutter mounted on a 52' extension handle. throughout its length that prevents its collapse The removed bead is carefully inspected for each from the pressure of the river water and the river completed joint to verify that no beads or sharp bottom soil overburden. edges remain inside the pipe joint and that no constriction — reduction in the inside diameter - Steering 5 caused by the fusion process exists. The drilling rig used a standard 4 ⁄8" diameter With the backstring fabrication underway, drill pipe in nominal 30' lengths with industry the HDD operation under the Mississippi River standard couplings. The drill bit used and pic- began with a targeted completion to reasonably tured in Figure 8 is similar to those used in oil Figure 9. Accelerometer resting on the fender coincide with the completion of the backstring. well drilling. It was attached to a length of drill of a construction implement before being 1 inserted in the drill pipe directly behind the pipe with a bend that directs the drill bit 1 ⁄2º off Drilling of the axis of the drill string. The drill bit is drill bit. The drilling was accomplished using the equipped with 3 mud jets 120º apart about its ductor. As each added length of drill pipe is cou- HDD rig mounted on a flatbed trailer chassis axis of rotation one of which is intentionally pled to the drill string, a length of wire is also shown in Figure 7. It functions similarly to a plugged. Shims are inserted as required behind drawn through it and connected to the previous conventional oil drilling rig and it uses much of the drill bit as the bit is screwed on the drill pipe 1 wire in the drill string with a waterproof splice. the same standard drilling equipment and opera- to align the 2 open mud jets with the inside of 1 ⁄2º The magnetic field of the earth can be dis- tions used in oil drilling. The rig was situated bend in the drill pipe once the drill bit is attached. torted by large, nearby metal objects and electri- and elevated to provide the planned 11º angle To steer the drill string, the orientation of cal fields. To compensate for this possible dis- slope at the entry point on the west bank batture. pipe bend and open mud jets are indicated in the tortion, a loop of electrical wire is laid out on the The drilling rig was supplied with a separate drilling rig control room on an instrument that ground in the form of a delta with its apex angle hydraulic pump unit for powering a hydraulic resembles a clock. Steering of the drill string is 1 bisected by the design drill line path and the apex motor to rotate the drill string. This hydraulic accomplished by orienting the 1 ⁄2º bend and the located near the drill line entry point. A loop of pump unit also powered another hydraulic motor mud jets to the desired change in direction and electrical wire is similarly placed near the drill that was used to push or pull back the drill string pushing the drill string forward without rotation line exit point. A welding machine is used to as well as operate a set of chocks to tighten or and with the mud jets operating. impress a direct current through the loop causing loosen the drill pipe couplings. a static magnetic field that can accurately locate Throughout the drilling operation a mixture Location the drill within the loop. The trade name for the of river water and naturally occurring bentonite The location of the drill line is provided by loops and the accelerometer steering device is clay — referred to as drilling mud — is used to an accelerometer like the one shown in Figure 9. the true-tracker system. When the drill bit is maintain the integrity of the drill hole, and pro- It is installed in the drill string just behind the travelling between the wire loops near the entry vide lubrication for drilling and the fluid medium drill bit. The accelerometer measures the mag- and exit points, directional tracking relies entire- to remove the drill cuttings. The drilling mud netic field of the earth and is used to provide the ly on the magnetic field of the earth. used has a density of approximately 12 pounds x-y-z coordinates of the drill bit at the comple- After traveling approximately 3300', the drill per gallon compared with that of river water at tion of each 30' length of drill pipe. The string approached the east bank loop which was approximately 8 pounds per gallon. The drilling accelerometer installed in the drill string behind strung from the planned exit point to dolphins in mud being more dense causes a sustained hydro- the drill bit is connected to instrumentation in the the river. When the loop was energized, it was static pressure on the wall of the drill hole drilling rig control room via a single wire con- determined that the drill string was located 2'

Figure 10. Drill emerges 4" from the planned exit point. The point of the delta loop is visible to the right of the exit point as are the electrical wires that lead to the 2 dolphins — one shown Figure 11. 48" swab followed by the 54" reamer being pulled through the hole as it emerges at the in the background. drilling rig.

26 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 The first ream from the east bank — a 24" diameter reamer — was connected to the end of drill string followed by a drill pipe segment connected to the reamer. As the reamer was pulled through the drill hole to the west bank, drill pipe segments were progressively added and coupled at the east bank exit point. This required the drill pipe that was uncoupled and removed from the drill string at the west bank entry point to be trucked to the east bank where it was being added as the ream progressed. The initial 24" in diameter ream was followed by a 36" diameter ream with a 20" diameter swab. The swab was used to center the reamer in the hole and to remove cuttings and debris. A swab is a short piece of pipe with mud jets and cutting teeth located on end bells at each end of the pipe. Following a 30" diameter swab without a reamer to remove cuttings, a 48" diameter ream was made followed by a swab without a reamer. The reaming and swabbing were completed with a 54" diameter ream and a 42" diameter swab as Figure 12. View looking north away from the Figure 13. View looking south toward the river pictured in Figure 11. This was followed by 2, river of backstring ready for pullback opera- of backstring ready for pullback operations. 42" diameter swabs without a reamer. tions. Pullback operations higher than the planned drill line. To correct this was only 4" from its planned exit point as shown As drilling and reaming progressed, the error in elevation, the drill string was pulled back in Figure 10. fusion process for the backstring was completed. 3 drill pipe segments — approximately 90'. The After the reamed hole under the river was com- 1 1 ⁄2º bend and mud jets oriented to provide the Reaming and swabbing pleted, the pullback operations began using the steering required to correct the error and achieve With the drilled hole complete and the drill string and the drilling rig to pull the back- the desired exit point. The drill string was then accelerometer-surveyed HDD route matching string through the drill hole under the river. On pushed back without rotation until the error was the planned route, the drill hole was enlarged to October 14, 2003 pullback operations began with corrected. The drill bit rotation was resumed the 54" diameter required for the installation of the backstring shown in Figures 12 and 13 enter- after the correction was made and the drill line the backstring. To enlarge the size of the drill ing the hole as shown in Figure 14 at 12:32 pm. remained on the design drill line path until the hole, 4 progressively larger reamers were suc- Backstring installation was completed the morn- desired exit point was achieved. The drill bit cessively and individually pulled through the ing of the next day at 5:14 am when the pulling broke ground September 13, 2003 just 3 days drill hole with the drill string. Each reamer was head emerged from the west bank batture as after the HDD operation started. After the drill pulled by the drilling rig from the east bank to shown in Figure 15. string had traveled almost 3500' the exit point the west bank until it exited at the rig. (Continued on Page 28)

Figure 14. Backstring on the east bank batture at the beginning of the Figure 15. Backstring on the west bank batture at the end of the pull- pullback operation showing the 12-pipe duct bundle strapped with stain- back operation showing the 12-pipe duct attached to the pulling head. less steel bands.

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 27 Figure 16. Construction of a termination structure showing the end of Figure 17. Truck transporting one of the 72-ton cable reels from the Port the duct entering through the floor. of New Orleans to the east bank site.

(Continued from Page 27)

The backstring was bundled using 2" stain- the end of the duct from creeping back into the mission cable terminations and the A-frame less steel straps and the bundle was attached to a drill hole as a result of any potential relaxation of structure pictured on the cover. The termination pulling head as pictured in Figure 15. A 4" water the HDPE pipe. Upon successful installation of structures also provide for the transition from the line was inserted in the 18" diameter center pipe the backstring, the integrity of each pipe in the electrical transmission cables to overhead elec- to the pulling head which acts as a manifold to bundle was proved with a gauging pig that was trical transmission lines that connect to the exist- 3 distribute water supplied by the water line to the also used to pull a ⁄8" diameter rope through the ing utility transmission system via the A-frame pipes in the bundle as the backstring is pulled pipe to serve as a tag line. The tag line would be structure. under the river. Filling the bundle with water on used to pull a steel wire cable through the pipe to land would have added so much weight the back- pull the electrical transmission cables through string may have become very difficult if not the pipe. After the integrity of the pipes was con- Delivery impossible to handle. Water was added to fill the firmed, the ends were temporarily sealed with The 8 electrical transmission cables to be bundle to approximately the same elevation as the tag lines installed while the concrete termi- installed in the duct passing under the that of the river as it was pulled under the river. nation structures were constructed around the Mississippi River were manufactured in Japan. The water-filled bundle substantially reduces the duct ends on both banks as shown on the cover They arrived at the Port of New Orleans during buoyant effect of the backstring once it enters the and in Figure 16. the construction of the termination structures — hole reducing its vertical component of force on each on a 72-ton reel. The reels were transport- the top of the hole and thereby the sliding friction Cable installation ed by truck as pictured in Figure 17 arriving on on the backstring during pullback operations. The concrete termination structures serve to the east bank site in preparation for their instal- Following pullback operations, the bundle protect the electrical transmission cables exiting lation. For brevity in notation, the electrical was tied to the drilling rig for 24 hours to prevent the duct ends, and support the electrical trans- transmission cables will be referred to here for-

Figure 18. Ramp to support and guide the cable into its pipe from the Figure 19. Ramp to support and guide the cable from its pipe to the reel mounted on the handler on the east bank. crown of the levee on the west bank.

28 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 Figure 20. The cable haulers or caterpillars located near the entrance of Figure 22. The cable coil support structure inside a termination structure. the cable to the duct in the termination structure on the east bank. ward simply as cables. installed in the pipe and drawn by a winch on the of the duct to elevation -185' and through the Once the construction of the termination west bank The installation speed is therefore entire horizontal run at elevation -185' across the structures was completed, temporary ramps were determined by the winch pull rate. Control of the river. Once the cable started up the 11º angle installed to support and guide each cable into its cable reel play out speed is to prevent excessive incline to the exit on the west bank batture, the pipe in the duct. The ramps were placed from the axial tension or compression forces in the cable caterpillars started pushing on the cable as need- cable reel to the duct on the east bank as shown that would either add significantly to the pulling ed to minimize the pulling tension on the cable. in Figure 18 and from the duct to the crown of tension on the cable or cause the cable to buckle Reduction of the pulling force on the cable the levee on the west bank as shown in Figure 19. and kink. caused by its weight was also achieved by filling When the cable installation preparations were Cable haulers shown in Figure 20 also its pipe with potable water. The displacement of complete, the first cable reel was moved to the known as caterpillars were installed just before this water by the cable reduces its weight by the reel handler that is powered by a hydraulic pump the cable entered the duct in the east bank termi- weight of the water displaced. Thus the forces unit and positioned to feed the cable from the nation structure. These caterpillars have the are reduced that would otherwise result from the reel to the duct as shown in Figure 18. The oper- capability of holding back or pushing on the gross weight of the cable and the higher sliding ator of the reel handler controls the play out cable during its installation. Since the first leg of friction throughout the installation. speed of the cable off the reel to closely match the cable’s travel in duct under the river is at an the cable installation speed. 18º angle decline, there was a concern that the Racking weight of the cable would tend to pull cable from Once all the cables were pulled through the Process and control the reel. Actually, the caterpillars were needed duct they were coiled in the termination struc- The cable is pulled through its pipe in the during cable installation to hold back on the duct by attaching it to the steel wire cable cable as it traveled through this downward slope (Continued on Page 30

Figure 23. The strands at the end of a cable Figure 24. A termination assembly is being Figure 21. A cable is being lowered by a crane are being manually splayed in preparation for lowered to attach it to a sandblasted and rewo- and coiled or racked on the coil support struc- sandblasting to remove the enamel insulation. ven cable end and complete the termination. ture.

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 29 PROFESSIONAL LISTINGS

(Continued from Page 29) tures. The coiling of cables known as racking is shown in Figure 22. To facilitate this installa- strands at the end of the cable as pictured in done to address two needs. The first is to provide tion, removable panels are provided for each ter- Figure 23 and sandblasting them to remove the a sufficient length of cable should re-termination mination structure for unobstructed access. enamel. The splayed strands are then rewoven to of a cable ever be required. The second is to their original shape to complete the termination address the thermal cycling movement of the Termination by attaching the termination assembly shown in cable and the resulting tendency of the cable to After all the cables were racked, each one Figure 24. The installed termination assemblies snake in the duct throughout the life of the instal- was terminated. This is accomplished by a crane are shown extending above the top of the com- lation. The maximum cable extension out of — lifting each cable end and securing it to scaffold- pleted termination structure shown on the cover. and retraction into — the duct was calculated to ing for support and access to allow termination. Once all of the terminations were completed, the accommodate this movement in the rack design. One interesting aspect of the cable design is that A-Frame structures were erected and the final The cable racking required a crane with a 255' each copper conductor strand in the cable is insu- overhead connections were made to the trans- boom to lift each cable by the end and lower it as lated with an enamel to increase current carrying mission grid on both sides of the river and the shown in Figure 21 into a coil supported by a capacity. For termination, however, the enamel river transmission line crossing was energized. series of racks designed for that purpose and has to be removed by splaying a length of the

30 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2005 PROFESSIONAL LISTINGS

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