Articles

Technical Seminars - January 2015

Geo-Institute Technical Session is at 11:15am

John Shively, P.E., is a geotechnical engineer and consultant with more than 30 years of experience. He began his career with McClelland Engineers in Houston, Texas.  He was the cost account manager for the main collider tunnel for the Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory in Waxahachie, Texas.  Shively created, owned and directed Shively Geotechnical, Inc.  Shively is presently employed by Millennia Professional Services and serves as a geotechnical consultant to Filtrexx International, a producer of a variety of products used as a plantable faces for reinforced slopes.

  
Mark Woolbright is an inventor and innovator of living walls with over 20 years in design, manufacture, marketing, and installation of plantable wall systems. He is passionate about educating the building community on the environmental benefits of LivingWalls and best practices for their use.  Mark has been a long time partner and collaborator of Filtrexx, and is the LivingWall Division Manager

Structural Engineering Institute Technical Session is at 1:15pm

North Tarrant Express 2010-2014
Construction Challenges/Lessons Learned

presented by Jack Furlong P.E.

The purpose of this presentation is to present some of the construction challenges and lessons learned with the North Tarrant Express project as witnessed from a construction manager’s perspective.  This presentation by its nature is not highly technical.  The means and methods employed by the constructor and his subcontractors is basic heavy civil construction techniques applied in a number of ways to accomplish the construction of a major roadway in Tarrant County that connects some 1.2 million people along its route.  Construction issues identified include:
• Construction of drilled shafts for Brown Trail bridge and drilled shaft walls
• Construction and erection of concrete girders in a highly trafficked area and missing other supporting structures
• Temporary drainage during construction
• Construction of interior bent without moving a bridge in place
• Planning for big bridge deck pours
• Building a major roadway in 15 minute increments
• MSE wall construction – the right way and the wrong way
• When traffic control jumps up and bites you.
• Untimely concrete and asphalt reports from the geotechnical lab.  
• What to do when the existing roadway sinks?  
These issues and other construction challenges will be presented. 

“From August 2014 project report here are a few statistics to demonstrate the scope and impact of the NTE project, which is now 97 percent completed:

1,408: number of people currently working in the corridor
177: number of companies that have directly worked on the project
196: number of Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) contracts awarded on the project
41.58 million pounds: amount of rebar tied
4.83 million cubic yards: amount of excavation/dirt moved within corridor
490,000 cubic yards: amount of concrete poured
1.441 billion: total dollars expended to date on the project”

As of 12-1-2014, the NTE project is almost 100% complete with service commencement to start 1-1-15.