1
"Covered Roadways in Urban Settings -
Reflections of a Structural Engineer"

• Harry A Capers, Jr. P.E.

2
Topics to be discussed

• Issues of structural engineering related to
  public policy specifically dealing with context
  sensitive design issues in the design of
  structures.
• Focus will be on individual experiences during
  the planning, design and construction of two
  urban covered roadway projects built in new
  jersey around 2000.
• Comments will reflect concept development,
  planning of the project, funding issues and
  determination of architectural and structural
  scheme

3
Core Principles of CSS

• Thinking beyond the pavement conference in
  maryland in 1998
• Outcomes - core principles about CSS product and
  process that can be applied to both project
  implementation and evaluation.
• The definition of css was defined by
• "qualities that characterize excellence in
  transportation design,"
• "characteristics of the process that yield
  excellence."
• These "qualities" and "characteristics" are goals
  for any css project, and can also be used as
  evaluation criteria upon its completion.

4
"Qualities that Characterize Excellence in
Transportation Design"

• The project satisfies the purpose and needs as
  agreed to by a full range of stakeholders. This
  agreement is forged in the earliest phase of the
  project and amended as warranted as the project
  develops.
• The project is a safe facility for both the user
  and the community.
• The project is in harmony with the community, and
  it preserves environmental, scenic, aesthetic,
  historic, and natural resource values of the
  area, i.e., exhibits context sensitive design.
• The project exceeds the expectations of both
  designers and stakeholders and achieves a level
  of excellence in people's minds.
• The project involves efficient and effective use
  of the resources (time, budget, community) of all
  involved parties.
• The project is designed and built with minimal
  disruption to the community.
• The project is seen as having added lasting value
  to the community.

5
The Characteristics of the Process that will
Yield Excellence in Transportation Design"

• Communication with all stakeholders is open,
  honest, early, and continuous.
• A multidisciplinary team is established early,
  with disciplines based on the needs of the
  specific project, and with the inclusion of the
  public.
• A full range of stakeholders is involved with
  transportation officials in the scoping phase.
  The purposes of the project are clearly defined,
  and consensus on the scope is forged before
  proceeding.
• The highway development process is tailored to
  meet the circumstances. This process should
  examine multiple alternatives that will result in
  a consensus of approach methods.
• A commitment to the process from top agency
  officials and local leaders is secured.
• The public involvement process, which includes
  informal meetings, is tailored to the project.
• The landscape, the community, and valued
  resources are understood before engineering
  design is started. A full range of tools for
  communication about project alternatives is used
  (e.g., visualization).

6
NCHRP Report 480 A Guide to Best Practices for
Achieving Context Sensitive Solutions
http//www.contextsensitivesolutions.org/content/r
eading/nchrp-report/ http//onlinepubs.trb.org/on
linepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_480.pdf
7
Large Project Details for Atlantic City
Brigantine Connector

• Atlantic City Brigantine ConnectorAtlantic City,
  NJProject Start 1997 Project Complete
  2001Project Value 190,595,000Joint Venture
  CompanyYonkers/GCCOClient New Jersey Dept. of
  TransportationSouth Jersey Transportation
  AuthorityAtlandia Design Furnishings, Inc.(A
  Mirage Resorts Inc. Co.) c/oParsons Brinckerhoff
  Quade Douglas, Inc. 506 Carnegie Center
  Blvd., 2nd FloorPrinceton, NJ 08540

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Project Description

• The joint venture team of Yonkers Contracting
  Co., Inc. and Granite Construction Company also
  constructed a 2,900-foot cut and cover tunnel
  with open depressed roadway sections on either
  end. The tunnel, which goes under Route 30 and a
  residential area, included storm water pump
  stations, ventilation and related
  electrical/mechanical systems.
• The fast-paced project allowed 13 months for
  design and 28 months for construction and was
  expected to spur development in the citys
  expanding casino area, where three new
  casino-hotels were to be built.

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Work Items

• 72,000 linear feet permanent piling
• 116,000 cubic yards structural concrete
• 74,000 tons asphalt pavement
• 7,400 linear feet AASHTO bridge girders
• 1,060 tons bridge structural steel
• 7,300 tons sheetpile shoring
• 4,330 tons excavation steel bracing

• 580,000 cubic yards excavation
• 650,000 cubic yards embankment
• 50,000 square feet MSE walls
• 17,000,000 pounds rebar
• 20,000 linear feet reinforced concrete pipe
• 24,840 linear feet permanent concrete barrier
  rail
• 630,000 square feet waterproofing

12
Bids Received On A.C./Brigantine Connector
Project

• Bids for the design/build contract on the
  Atlantic City/Brigantine Connector project were
  received by Atlandia Design, a subsidiary of
  Mirage Resorts Incorporated (MRI),
• The low bid of 190,595,000 was submitted by
  Yonkers Contracting Company/Granite Construction
  Company in association with URS Grenier
  Consultants, Golder Associates, and Schlessinger
  Associates.
• Bids of 229,775,000 from Perini
  Corporation/Slattery Associates in association
  with E.E. Cruz Co., and Howard Needles Tammen
  and Bergendoff,
• Bids of 329,710,000 from Schiavone Construction
  Co./Buckley Company, Inc./Parsons
  Transportation Group in association with Gannett
  Fleming, Converse Consultants East, and Parsons
  Engineering Science

13
Funding

• NJDOT contributed 95 million from the
  Transportation Trust Fund.
• 65 million was donated from the Casino
  Reinvestment Development Authority
• 60 million was donated from the SJTA.
• Payoffs
• The project permited the development of Marina
  lands, which when combined with the roadway
  construction, were estimated to have generated
  63,000 construction and supply industry jobs and
  33,000 other related jobs. Three proposed
  casinos slated to be developed on Marina lands
  were estimated to generate 16,500 permanent jobs
  and result in 275 million a year in new state
  and local tax revenues.
• Borgata opened shortly after the roadway was
  completed

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Design/Build DewateringProgram for the
BrigantineConnector, Atlantic City, NJ

• Construction of the 3000 foot long cut and cover
  tunnel section of this project for NJDOT required
  significant groundwater lowering for cuts as deep
  as 40 feet directly along side the Penrose Canal.
  The presence of widespread organic silt deposits
  throughout the this area of Atlantic City raised
  the concern about settlement due to widespread
  groundwater lowering that would be expected with
  conventional dewatering in highly permeable
  soils.
• The contractor installed a system of 100 deep
  wells within the tight interlocking steel
  sheeting that was driven to a 60-foot depth to
  provide a partial groundwater cut-off. The
  installed dewatering system provided dry sub
  grade down to elevation 30 for a period of 16
  months. The project was completed with no
  interruption in groundwater lowering or
  subsequent excavation and structural work. No
  settlement was experienced.

15
BUILDING THE CONNECTOR

• The tunnel, which has a 14-foot clearance,
  travels under a landscaped park and a residential
  area.
• It parallels a canal where the excavation ranged
  between 10 and 35 feet deep, and extends into
  loose sands some 30 feet below the water table.
• Supporting the sub-grade structure are storm
  water pump stations (one of which is 45 feet
  deep), ventilation systems, and related
  electrical and mechanical systems.

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DESIGN COMPROMISES

• The Atlantic City-Brigantine Connector has
  four 12-foot-wide lanes (two lanes in each
  direction), with each carriageway separated by a
  three-foot-high concrete ("Jersey") barrier.
  There are no shoulders along the section near
  Brigantine Boulevard, and limited-width shoulders
  on the elevated section and in the tunnel itself
  (only on the curves).

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Other Design Compromises

• In order to have the ramps for Bacharach
  Boulevard placed without having steep grades from
  either the Atlantic City Expressway or the Marina
  Tunnel, a two-track railroad grade crossing was
  constructed at this location. Advance warning
  signals alert motorists of trains approximately
  one-quarter mile before the crossing.
  Nevertheless, one pro-transit group, the Delaware
  Valley Association of Rail Passengers, raised
  questions about the railroad crossing located
  near the Atlantic City-New Jersey Transit rail
  terminal.

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And More Compromises

• The ramp from Bacharach Boulevard to the
  eastbound connector lacks an acceleration lane
  all traffic entering the connector must come to a
  full stop. Construction of such a lane would have
  required a prohibitively expensive relocation of
  the Atlantic Energy power facility.
• Owing to these design compromises, the speed
  limit along the length of the connector is 35
  MPH. Also owing to the design of the roadway,
  vehicles carrying hazardous materials are
  prohibited from using the connector.

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Route 29 Waterfront ImprovementsTrenton, Mercer
County
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Route 29 Waterfront ImprovementsTrenton, Mercer
County

• Project Start 1998 Project Complete
  2003Project Value 71 million (Roadway only)
• 15 Million for Deck Park
• Contractor Joint Venture CompanyPKF Mark
  III/NCI joint venture
• Designer DMJMHarris
• Client New Jersey Dept. of Transportation

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Project Need

• The long-time residents of historic Lamberton
  Street in downtown Trenton N.J., live in
  100-year-old brick row houses that are surrounded
  by mature trees.
• Lamberton Street connected State Route 29,
  primarily a four- to six-lane freeway running
  along the Delaware River, with Interstate 295.
• In the mid-1990s, the New Jersey Department of
  Transportation recognized that the situation
  was unacceptable from the traffic, environmental
  and human perspective, and undertook the Route 29
  tunnel and its companion deck park project to
  ensure efficient traffic operations and improve
  the quality of life in the area.

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Community Cooperation - CSD

• NJDOT began working with the community in 1996
  Original proposal was to expand Route 29 into a
  six-lane highway.
• The meetings outcomes included
• a park on the deck over the Route 29 tunnel
• input in the design, safety, maintenance,
  recreation and historical and architectural
  elements for the deck park.
• Construction on the deck park, South River Walk,
  began in the Summer of 2002 with construction
  completed in December 2003.
• Community Partnering Team was established and
  meetings continue

24
Context Sensitive Design

• NJDOT formally incorporated it into its
  procedures in 1999.
• Community Partnering Team Goals were identified
  and sub-committees formed to address
• Steering
• Landscape and design
• Project coordination - Natural resources
• Bikepath - Pedestrian - Multimodal
• Safety - Security - Maintenance
• Funding
• Local issues
• Parking

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Community Partnering Team

• The Community Partnering Team focus
• Shoreline mitigation at Duck Island
• Boat docks and pedestrian access at Waterfront
  Park
• Parking garage for the stadium and office
  buildings
• South River Walk Park
• Bike path from Stacy Park to the Assumpink Creek
• North River Walk

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Bike Path

• All of the facilities will be linked by a
  continuous bicyclist and pedestrian path from
  Stacy Park to Duck Island.
• Signs will direct bicyclists and pedestrians to
  other waterfront amenities.
• Will link to the Trenton Marriott Hotel,
• the Heritage Trails to the Philadelphia East
  Coast Greenway to Newark,
• the capital to coast connecting the shore trails
  to the east and
• the Delaware Raritan Canal to Lambertville/New
  Hope to the north.

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Boat Docks

• The Mercer County docks, located on the Delaware
  River starting in front of the Waterfront Park
  Baseball Stadium, will add 1,000 feet of access
  to the Trenton waterfront on the Delaware
  River.
• A second phase of this project will include an
  amphitheater for programmed or informal events,
  an interactive fountain for family fun and a
  waterside plaza that will be a focal point for
  the north and south river walks.

28
North River Walk

• A fishing wharf, is located immediately south of
  the Northeast Corridor railroad bridge. This area
  will accommodate fishing and passive recreational
  activities.
• The southern portion will be a landscaped
  esplanade with benches. The northern section has
  been designed with fishermen in mind.

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Shoreline Mitigation

• NJDOT's Open Water Mitigation Project created a
  shallow water habitat along the eastern bank of
  the Delaware River in the vicinity of Duck
  Island. The habitat area is twice the size of the
  original habitat located at the foot of the
  tunnel.The enlarged shallow water marsh is
  incorporated as part of the Hamilton-Trenton
  Marsh and will provide additional habitat
  diversity for the approximately 234 species of
  birds found in this area.This work is in
  keeping with NJDOT's mission to build
  transportation projects in an environmentally
  responsible manner. It also satisfies the permit
  requirements set forth by the Army Corps of
  Engineers and the NJ Department of Environmental
  Protection for the construction for the Route 29
  tunnel.

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The Roadway Project

• The NJ 29 project included construction of four
  12ft-wide lanes (two lanes in each direction),
  12ft wide shoulders and a concrete ('Jersey')
  barrier to separate opposing traffic flows.
• The NJ Route 29 project was included as part of
  the 1998 'TEA-21' Federal transportation bill.
  The contractor's bid for the project was 71
  million.
• The entire project was completed in 20 months.

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Route 29 Tunnel

• The design build contract was awarded to PKF mark
  III/NCI joint venture
• DMJMHarris designed a bonded post-tensioned
  solution
• The contractor was able to increase the pours
  from 50 to 100 thus reducing the overall
  project schedule by 50 using mass concrete
  placement methods
• Longitudinal PT was used in the tunnel base slab,
  walls and roof slab. Additional transverse PT was
  added to the roof slab to provide reinforcement
  for the 3 soil backfill for a community park.
• The multistrand PT system consisted of 3 strand
  tendons in the center wall, 12 strand tendons in
  the east wall and 17 strand tendons in the base
  slab. Larger, 31 strand tendons were used in the
  roof slab where the tunnel reached a maximum
  width of 110. The tunnel west side was designed
  with equally spaced 3 columns creating an open
  view of the Delaware river.

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RIVERFRONT PARK

• The engineering consulting firm Vollmer
  Associates, the NJDOT built a 15 million,
  6.5-acre park atop the deck of the NJ 29 tunnel.
• Completed in 2003, the park features trees,
  landscaping and an interpretive area highlighting
  the history of the South Trenton waterfront.

34
South River Walk

• A 6.5-acre urban park was constructed over the
  tunnel section of Route 29. The park offers a
  bicyclist and pedestrian walkway, lawn areas,
  pavilions, a children's playground, an historic
  interpretive area and an urban streetscape plan
  along Lamberton Street.

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Park Design

• The park features
• permanent historic exhibits composed of
  sculptural arches representing five centuries of
  Trenton area history,
• a timeline of date stones,
• informative bronze plaques and signs
  commemorating the history of the Trenton area.
• The project involved complex, multi-faceted
  historical and archaeological issues, significant
  research, subsurface testing, data recovery and
  monitoring during construction.

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Safety, Operations Emergency Response
Underground Transportation Systems
by Harry A. Capers, Jr. PE Office of
Transportation Security

• International Technology Scanning Program

NCHRP
National Cooperative Highway Research Program
American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials
Federal Highway Administration
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Current US Practice

• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
  standards
• NFPA 130 Standard for Fixed Guideway Transit and
  Passenger Rail Systems
• NFPA 502 Standard for Road Tunnels, Bridges, and
  Other Limited Access Highways
• No AASHTO Standards exist

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UTS Scan Countries
Rome
September 23 October 9, 2005
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Findings

• 34 technologies of interest
• 9 for further consideration
• Key
• Innovative design and emergency management
• Used for both natural and man-made disasters

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Human Factors video
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Gotthard Tunnel Fire on October 24, 2001
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Gotthard Tunnel Fire on October 24, 2001
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Findings - 1

• Escape Route Signs that are Universal and
  Consistent Visual, Audible, Tactile
• Widespread uniformity promotes understanding.
• In an incident, confusion is minimized.
• Use of combined senses (visual, audible, tactile)
  increases effectiveness.
• U.S - National Fire Protection Association codes
  should include human factors considerations.

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Visual AudibleTactile
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Escape Routeand Signage
Universal and Consistent Signs in Mont Blanc
Tunnel
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Universal and Consistent Signs
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Findings - 2

• Guidelines for Existing and New Tunnels
• Need AASHTO tunnel guidelines
• Planning, design, construction, maintenance,
  inspection, and operations
• Note AASHTO Subcommittee on Bridges and
  Structures created Technical Committee for
  Tunnels, T-20

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T-20 Technical Committee on Tunnels - Scope

• Scope
• This committee is concerned with all factors
  pertinent to the design and construction of
  highway tunnels and their components, including
  design, construction, inspection, maintenance,
  and security, including designing for and
  responding to manmade and natural hazards.
  Highway tunnels as recognized by this committee
  include covered roadways confined on both edges
  equal to or greater than ? feet in length along
  centerline of roadway regardless of type of
  structure or method of construction.

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T-20 Technical Committee on Tunnels -
Responsibilities

• Development and maintenance of design, inspection
  and construction specifications specifically
  related to highway tunnels.
• Coordination with other AASHTO Committees as
  necessary on cross cut issues.
• Deployment of and AASHTO approved Highway Tunnel
  Management System.
• Identification of research needs and development,
  review of and recommend for committee
  consideration research problem statements related
  to highway tunnels.
• Represent the SCOBS as necessary to other
  agencies on matters pertaining to highway tunnels.

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Issues to consider Emergency pull-out areas and
variable message signs
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Issues to consider Refuge room requirements
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Findings - 3

• Tunnel Emergency Management Guidelines
• - Human Factors
• Behavior hard to predict during emergency.
• People are their own first rescuers.
• People must react correctly and quickly.
• Guidelines must account for this human behavior.
• Guidelines should be included in tunnel planning,
  design, and emergency response.

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Tunnel Ventilation
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Findings - 4

• Education for Motorist Response to Tunnel
  Incidents
• Self-rescue is best first response in tunnel
  incident.
• It is important to react quickly and correctly.
• Motorists are not clear on needed action.

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Findings - 5

• Automatic Incident Detection Systems
• Intelligent Video
• Automatically detects, tracks, and records
  incidents.
• Tells operator to observe event in question.
• Allows operator to take appropriate action.
• This concept can also be applied to detect
  other activities and incidents in areas besides
  tunnels, from terrorist activities to accidents,
  vandalism and other crimes, fires, vehicle
  breakdowns, etc.

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Findings - 6

• Design Criteria to Promote Optimal Driver/ User
  Performance and Response to Incidents
• Designers - be aware of ways to minimize fire and
  traffic safety hazards
• Evaluate materials and design details

57
Emergencyalcoves sheltersevery 656 feet
A86 East Tunnel
Uniform Consistent Signs
One-way Traffic on Each Level
Independent Ventilation at each level
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Full-size Model of One Section of Paris A-86
Motorway Twin Tube
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Findings - 7

• One-Button Emergency Response Automated Sensor
  Systems
• To Take action immediately! the operator must
  initiate several actions simultaneously.
• Press one button
• Initiates several critical actions
• Eliminates operator chance to omit important step
  or perform action out of order
• Automated sensor systems are helpful in
  determining response, e.g., opacity sensors.

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Several actions are initiated by moving a yellow
line over the area of a fire incident
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Mont Blanc Tunnel Fire Fighting Truck
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Findings - 8

• Risk-Management for Tunnel Safety Inspection
  Maintenance
• European use of risk-based methodologies for
• Safety inspection time and frequency
• Maintenance/rehabilitation scope and timing
• Inspect less-critical or more-durable portions of
  system less frequently and concentrate
  inspections on more critical or fragile
  components.

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Findings - 9

• Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Lighting for
• Edge Delineation Safe Vehicle Distance
• Lights identify edge of roadway
• Blue lights identify safe vehicle spacing
• Blue lights are spaced among the edge delineation
  lights
• More reliable than speed-based guidelines

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LED Lights on Outside Roadway Edges in Grilstad
Tunnel in Norway
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LED Lights for Edge Delineation and Vehicle
Spacing in Mont Blanc Tunnel
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Semmering Tunnel, Austria
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Thank You and Good Luck!