About the NCS Reston Branch

The National Capital Section's Reston Branch hosts regular monthly technical meetings at ASCE Headquarters in Reston at lunch time. Formerly a Committee of the Section, it was, in late October 2017,  anointed a Branch in recognition of its successful track record of serving members from the Reston area with well-attended PDH and networking opportunities. Several Branch Officer positions have opened up for our member volunteers to fill. Take advantage of these emerging leadership opportunities!

Case History - Mitigation and Allocation of Unusual Design/Construction Risk

 
Speaker - Wayne R. Bergstrom, Ph.D, P.E., D.GE., F. ASCE
Principal Engineer and Assistant Chief Civil Engineer Bechtel Infrastructure

Space constraints on a large industrial project in the US Mid-Atlantic region required blasting and excavation of rock directly adjacent to two, very shallow, in-service, high-pressure natural gas pipelines. A permanent soil/rock nail wall, roughly 1000 ft long and 35 ft deep, was installed directly on the right-of-way boundary for these adjacent gas pipelines. The excavation and related retaining wall required:

  • Blasting of rock within 50 ft of the pipelines
  • Mechanical breaking and excavation of rock within 32 ft of pipelines
  • Drilling soil nails where the top rows of nails passed closely beneath the nearest pipeline
  • Supporting of the pipeline right-of-way and related construction equipment operating in that right of way, without any significant movement of the pipelines

As a consequence, site development obviously incurred significant risk. Steps were taken throughout design and construction to mitigate these unusual risks, and contracting/insurance provisions were developed to allocate risks to appropriate project partners.

Date: Monday, September 11, 2017
Time: 11:45 AM Registration - 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM, Lunch/Speaker
Place: ASCE Headquarters, 1801 Alexander Bell Drive Reston, VA 20191
Cost: $25 per person (member/nonmember)
Attendees will receive 1 PDH
RSVP: Please RSVP by Wednesday, September 6th, to Lisa Anderson: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 703-429- 6631.
Cash or check made out to “ASCE National Capital Section” may be paid at the door.

Wayne is a principal engineer and Assistant Chief Civil Engineer at Bechtel Infrastructure. His work is focused on civil site engineering and geotechnical construction. He has 39 years of engineering experience in governmental, industrial, and private consulting employment, the last 11 years of which have been at Bechtel, where he has been named a Bechtel Distinguished Engineer. Wayne holds a BSCE degree from Michigan Technological University, an MSCE from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He is a licensed professional engineer in six states and a certified Diplomate in Geotechnical Engineering. A Fellow of ASCE, he is also the current President of ABET, Inc.

Welcome to the Reston Branch

We're always on the lookout for volunteers to help in the planning of technical meetings in Reston. The Branch hosts technical meetings monthly for ASCE members in the Reston area, including surrounding counties, looking to network with other professionals, sharpen their technical and professional skills, and earn Professional Development Hours. For more information, contact the Branch Chair, Lisa Anderson, at lmanders@bechtel.com or 703-429-6631.

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