Articles

CI July Technical Speakers

Time: 10:00am  - 10:50am

Topic: Overview of the DFW Connector Design-Build - The DFW Connector was TxDOT’s first Design-Build project in the North Texas Area. The original contract had a value of $917 million and included $250 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, making it the largest ARRA-funded transportation project in the US.  The project was delivered by NorthGate Constructors, a joint venture of Kiewit and Zachry Construction, with Parsons Brinckerhoff as the lead designer.

At its widest point along State Highway  114/121, between Texan Trail and International Parkway, the alignment contains up to 24 lanes, including 14 general-purpose main lanes (eight westbound and six eastbound), four toll-managed lanes (two in each direction), and six frontage road lanes.  The project reached substantial completion November 22, 2013, nine months ahead of schedule.  This presentation will provide a perspective of goals, the decision-making process and quality control process from both the owner’s side and the consultant’s side.

Speaker: Robert M. (Bob) Brown, P.E. with Parson Brinckerhoff - Robert Brown serves as the area manager for Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Dallas office, having served in that role since 2011. He manages business development activities and project operations and serves as Project Manager on numerous projects.

Beginning his engineering career with TxDOT, Mr. Brown advanced from assistant engineer to area engineer in north Dallas supervising reconstruction of North Central Expressway N1, N2 and M projects. Later, as a consultant, Mr. Brown served as a project manager for design of parking, streets and utilities for the American Airlines Center and Victory development.  He returned to TxDOT as deputy district engineer, and successfully led Comprehensive Development Agreement Procurement and Program Management for the TxDOT P3s and Design-Build projects in North Texas prior to retirement in 2011.

Time: 11:00 am - 11:50am

Topic: MSE Wall Construction, Distress & Repair -The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) constructs between 2 to 4  million square foot of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall per year. While these walls are proprietary in nature, the wall designer specifying the wall type is responsible for evaluating the stability of the proposed wall.  Although MSE wall failures are rare, a small percentage of the walls constructed have exhibited distress requiring repair.  This presentation will focus on the TxDOT design approach for MSE walls as well as cases of known distress and the approach to repair.

Speaker: Marcus Galvan, P.E. with Bridge Division, Texas Department of Transportation  - Marcus Galvan graduated from the University of Texas with a BS in Civil Engineering in 1988 and a MS in Civil Engineering in 1994.  Marcus has been employed by the Texas Department of Transportation for over 25 years.  He currently serves as the Geotechnical Branch Manager in the TxDOT Bridge Division.