Click HERE for details (venue, time, cost, PDH) or to register.
The 70-Mi Bering Strait Tunnel and the 1890 Cosmopolitan Railway
The 70-mile Bering Strait Tunnel may be the most exciting, and challenging, tunnel rail project ever conceived. Its narrow four-month-per-year construction window and permafrost foundations for connecting railbeds are barriers that can be overcome, if the geopolitical issues that have slowed this project from the start can be surmounted.
This presentation will cover the origin of the 1890 Cosmopolitan Railway in the 1860s, its proposed joining of the U.S. Transcontinental Railway and Russian Trans-Siberian Railway to its progression into the planned InterContinental Railway (ICR) project in the 2020-30 era. We will examine the route of the proposed 5,000-mile new rail extension to existing rail, including the tunnel crossing of the Bering Strait.
We will examine the results of an ICR Bering Strait geotechnical survey, the tunnel preliminary plan-and-profile and proposed locations of four shafts along the 70-mile tunnel route. We will see an ICR depiction of a rail station where the dual tunnels and service tunnel emerge from underground.
This topic of the 1890 Cosmopolitan Railway arose from the November, 2024 ASCE meeting at Catholic University of America (CUA) in a conversation among worldwide ASCE transportation engineers who had not heard of the century-old plan to join the continents by continuous rail: U.S., Russia, China, Ethiopia, Africa, India, Australia, South America, Europe and Asia.
About the Speaker
Gordon C. Evans, PE, Retired Program Manager Tunnel Design, D.C. Water
Gordon C. Evans, MBA, PE: Now retired, Gordon Evans was a 2013-2024 public sector employee of DC Water and Sewer Authority in Washington, DC, serving as Program Manager Tunnel Design, for DC Water’s Clean Rivers Project. The Clean Rivers program implemented a Long Term Control Plan to construct a system of combined sewer overflow (CSO) tunnels approximately 100 feet below the District’s streets to alleviate surface flooding and discharge of untreated wastewater into the District’s waterways to satisfy terms of a Consent Decree.
Mr. Evans is a registered professional engineer who has served as a private sector consultant on numerous water and wastewater, collection, treatment, and conveyance projects in multiple states. He has also worked as a public works construction contractor building water and wastewater treatment and conveyance systems.
Mr. Evans received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Valparaiso University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Indiana University. He has made previous public works presentations before the American Public Works Association (APWA) the World Environmental Forum Technical Exhibition Congress (WEFTEC), the Rapid Excavation & Tunneling Conference (RETC), and schools, universities and professional groups, including ASCE.
PT Presentation & Plant Tour
Learn about Post-Tensioning (PT) directly from the source
Click HERE for the registration link.
CCL USA team members will explain different PT systems, hardware, and equipment. They will discuss how PT designs are turned into shop drawings and describe the subsequent manufacturing process for PT tendons. The plant tour will follow, showcasing the manufacturing procedures and the quality control measures used to achieve and maintain PTI plant certification.
Date: Thursday, September 18th, 2025
Schedule:
- 11:30 AM: Arrival
- Noon: Lunch, Technical discussion, Q&A
- 1:00 PM: Fabrication Plant Tour
Location: CCL USA, 8296 Sherwick Ct, Jessup, MD
Dress Code: Active fabrication plant. Please wear pants, closed-toed shoes. Bring PPE (safety glasses)
**Limited capacity! Please sign up in advance and provide 24-hour notice if you need to cancel
CCL USA is the U.S. subsidiary of CCL International, established in 1935, and recognized as a pioneer and expert in post-tensioning worldwide. In addition to being a leading PT company, CCL USA is involved in specialized structural repair and strengthening projects. The company takes pride in its quality, innovation, expertise, and high customer satisfaction. CCL USA operates two PTI-certified plants in Maryland and Georgia, serving clients across the Northeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast regions.
Analysis and Design of Support of Excavation (SOE) Systems
Click HERE for the registration link.
This ASCE session is designed to introduce participants to the dynamic and rapidly evolving field of underground construction, with a special focus on the analysis and design of Support of Excavation (SOE) systems. The session will provide an overview of commonly used SOE systems and the various methods employed in their analysis, offering valuable insights for both students and professionals interested in geotechnical and structural engineering applications in underground construction.
Supporting excavation (SOE) is a critical engineering discipline at the intersection of geotechnical and structural engineering. This presentation explores the principles, methods, and innovations in designing temporary structures that enable safe excavations while protecting adjacent infrastructure.
SOE systems are temporary engineered structures designed to stabilize deep excavations, typically exceeding 6 feet in depth. These systems allow for vertical or near-vertical cuts, significantly reducing the earthwork volume and minimizing the construction footprint. In urban and metropolitan areas, SOE systems are particularly critical as they protect adjacent buildings, utilities, and infrastructure from potential damage due to ground movement. They enable construction in confined spaces where traditional sloped excavations would be impractical or impossible.
Design Principles and Analysis Methods
| Methods of Analyzing SOE Systems |
Common Types of SOE Systems |
- Limit Equilibrium Method (LEM)
- Classical Earth Pressure Theories
- Beam on Elastic Foundation (BEF) Method
- Finite Element Method (FEM)
- Finite Difference Method (FDM)
|
- Soldier Pile and Lagging
- Sheet Piles
- Secant Pile Walls
- Diaphragm Walls
- Soil Nailing
- Tieback Anchors
|
An Example of Designing a SOE System (PLAXIS 2D):
The choice of SOE system is a function of engineering design, site constraints, environmental considerations, and economic factors. A proper geotechnical investigation and site assessment are essential to selecting and designing the most appropriate excavation support method to ensure safety, minimize risks, and optimize construction efficiency.
The design of Support of Excavation (SOE) systems requires a detailed understanding of soil-structure interaction, ground behavior, and construction staging. Numerical modeling tools, such as PLAXIS 2D, offer powerful capabilities for simulating complex geotechnical conditions and evaluating the performance of excavation support systems under realistic loading scenarios.
In the following example, we demonstrate the use of PLAXIS 2D to design and analyze an SOE system for a deep excavation in an urban environment. This example highlights the modeling workflow, key input parameters, boundary conditions, construction stages, and interpretation of results, including deformations, bending moments, and ground surface settlements.
If you don’t have access to a PLAXIS license, you can request a free temporary license from Bentley Systems. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to apply. Depending on whether your company already owns Bentley solutions, you may need to provide both your business and personal email addresses for the license assignment.
Meeting Format: In-person
Location: The Catholic University of America, Maloney Hall (620 Michigan Ave NE, Washington, DC), Room TBD
Time: Monday, September 8th at 6:00 PM-8:00 PM
Cost of Attendance: $0 Students, $10 Life Members, $20 Members, $25 Non-members
(Note: Metered parking is available around the building.)
All in person participating attendees will be provided a PDH at their request.
About the Speakers
Parsa Heydarpour Ph.D., P.E.,PMP
Tunnel Specialist- COWI North America
Parsa Heydarpour, Ph.D., P.E., PMP
Tunnel Specialist, COWI NA
Dr. Parsa Heydarpour is an accomplished structural engineer and educator with a robust background in civil engineering, specializing in structural and geotechnical analysis and design. As a Tunnel Specialist with COWI NA, Dr. Heydarpour leads complex underground engineering projects, including large-scale transit systems, urban resiliency initiatives, and critical infrastructure development. His expertise encompasses advanced structural modeling, geotechnical assessments, and the development of innovative solutions for challenging engineering problems.
Dr. Heydarpour is a licensed Professional Engineer in multiple states (DC, MD, and NC) and a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). He is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and a Top Expert Engineer Member of the MIDAS Expert Network. His contributions to the engineering community include hosting expert workshops and publishing extensively in peer-reviewed journals on topics ranging from seismic analysis to geotechnical modeling.
The National Capital Section encourages you to browse through content on this site to get a feel for how we can be of value to you through our educational, networking, and leadership development opportunities for civil engineers in our region.
Here are some resources to get you started:
- Click the links for our Recent Section Meetings listed below. These are educational events allowing you to earn a Professional Development Hour that counts toward your PE license renewal requirement. We hold eight Section Meetings each year. Our Reston Branch holds eight Branch Meetings each year. Both Section and Branch meetings have returned to in-person over catered dinner (Section) and lunch (Branch). These had been conducted online since March 2020 but have reverted to in-person meetings. Our technical committees, such as architecture, transportation, construction, among others, host additional meetings.
- Read our monthly newsletter, issued eight times a year. Locate them in the NCS Newsletters module located toward the middle, on the right sidebar of this page. These serve as a window to our world and the people behind the activities we undertake.
If you're ready to engage with us and wish to learn more, to volunteer your time, or to run for office as a technical committee leader or a Section/Branch board member, reach out to our President by selecting Board of Directors under Contact Us, then click the President's name, open the Contact Form to email your message.
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