IN THIS ISSUE

** RENOVATION OF I-40/ARKANSAS RIVER BRIDGE PROJECT WINS OKLAHOMA ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARD; ZAHL-FORD, ATKINS BENHAM RECEIVE HONOR AWARDS

** GAS/DIESEL TAX INCREASE INTRODUCED

** GOVERNOR-ELECT ANNOUNCES TRANSITION TEAM

** UNIONS TRY TO ORGANIZE PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING FIRMS

** ARCHITECTS WANT TO DESIGN HIGHWAYS

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RENOVATION OF I-40/ARKANSAS RIVER BRIDGE PROJECT WINS OKLAHOMA ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARD; ZAHL-FORD, ATKINS BENHAM RECEIVE HONOR AWARDS

The "I-40/Arkansas River Bridge Reconstruction" project has been awarded the GRAND CONCEPTOR AWARD for the 2003 CECO Engineering Excellence Awards. HONOR AWARDS were awarded to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and the Oklahoma City Ford Center.

The "I-40/Arkansas River Bridge Reconstruction" was a joint project of Cobb Engineering, Poe and Associates, and White Engineering Associates. The project was for the emergency redesign and rebuilding of the I-40 Arkansas River bridge which collapsed Memorial Day weekend after being struck by a 200-ton river barge.

The project required and received an unprecedented commitment of time, resources, manpower, coordination and cooperation between the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, contractors, consulting engineers, and numerous other state and federal agencies. The scope and magnitude of the project mandated virtually all of the project-related functions happen simultaneously rather than sequentially, and, at a greatly accelerated pace. With an average daily traffic count of 20,000 vehicles, officials estimated that the user cost for the closed bridge at $430,000 per day and the closed waterway cost at $300,000 in lost revenues.

Poe and Associates was selected to provide full, turnkey design work with drawings within 16 days through a selection process that took less than 24 hours from interview to contract.

As part of Poe's agreement, White Engineering Associates was retained by Poe to design a retrofit of the original steel design on the fourth span. To save valuable time, a structural detailer was also brought into the team which resulted in 90% of the shop drawings being completed with the design and resulting in preliminary plan submittal in an astounding 11 days.

Cobb Engineering was retained by ODOT to perform emergency bridge inspection of the primary bridges on the I-40 detour route. Cobb's duties were expanded to include prioritization of bridge repairs, daily monitoring of the worst bridge until repairs were made, and weekly monitoring of all other bridges, and ended up requiring operating three different inspection crews 24-hours a day, seven days a weeks and covering a total of 44 bridges along with 100-plus miles of the detour routes.

Poe and White Engineering Associates remained on the job through completion of the bridge reconstruction responding to project design and plan questions, submitting plan revisions, and overseeing special procedures. At the same time, Cobb provided construction management services for the reconstruction of the I-40 bridge along with round-the-clock inspections, repairs, and upgrading all along the detour route.

On July 29th, just 65 days after the collapse, the I-40 Arkansas River Bridge was reopened to vehicular traffic.

The Honor Award winners were Zahl-Ford, Inc. for the structural systems design for the new Oklahoma City Museum of Art, and, Atkins-Benham for the structural systems for Oklahoma City's new arena, The Ford Center.

Zahl-Ford, Inc., designed the renovation and addition of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art which included salvaging, renovating, and demolishing portions of the 1947 Centre Theatre The project included demolition of the majority of the interior finishes and 60% of the existing structure. Renovation of the original structure required that the strengths and other engineering properties of the existing materials be determined and the remaining portion of the structure be evaluated or current Code criteria. Reinforcement solutions were developed to eliminate deficiencies.

In the west addition, limited structural depth and column-free gallery spaces forced the 40" steel girders that spanned up to 70' to be designed with web openings. These openings allowed the integration of other building systems to occur within the depth rather than below the structure. Structural steel tubes, in lieu of vertical reinforcing bars, were placed in the corners of the concrete corewalls in a unique technique which provided shearwall boundary steel without the need for pilasters. This innovation also created simpler and more ductile steel girder connections and eliminated some of the forming complexities in the concrete walls. A foundation system utilizing augered cast-in-place piles was selected because of its versatility in locations of limited headroom and its ability to limit vibrations that could potentially cause consolidation in the soils under the existing footings.

Atkins-Benham was selected by the City of Oklahoma City as principal architect and engineer for the Ford Center Arena, the crown jewel of Oklahoma City's MAPS program. The facility design would need to accommodate the ability to host a wide variety of sporting events as well as music, entertainment, family shows, exhibitions and other large events. The Arena would need to have the ability to be changed quickly from one event to the next with a minimum of effort and contain modern spectator amenities. Plus, the Arena must meet the facility requirements for the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League which included seating capacities, specific building amenities, facilities for media coverage, restaurant facilities and luxury suites.

For a building of this size, many complex challenges faced the design team from initial site development on a very tight footprint; structural solutions for the foundation, Arena bowl and roofing system; mechanical systems capable of providing proper air handling, humidity considerations, and acoustics for event ranging from hockey games to concerts; and, unobstructed sight lines for up to 20,000 spectators, to mention a few.

All-in-all, the Ford Center Arena has received rave reviews from both tenants and customers. The Arena was completed both on time and some $3.5 million under the original budget estimate.

CECO congratulates all of our entrants in this years Engineering Excellence Awards competition, and wishes them best of luck in ACEC's national competition.

To see the 2003 CECO EEA entries, go the http://www.cecok.org.

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GAS/DIESEL TAX INCREASE INTRODUCED

Sen. Robert Milacek, R-Enid, and Rep. Larry Ferguson R-Cleveland, have introduced SJR 0001 for this coming legislative session to put a fuel tax increase to a vote of the people so additional revenues can be generated to improve Oklahoma's transportation infrastructure. SJR 0001 will gradually increase the rates to 22 cents per gallon with the rates increasing by two cents annually until that level is reached in 2007.

The proposal was presented to the Senate Finance Committee on November 14th as part of an Interim Study focused on motor fuel tax needs in Oklahoma.

At that time, Milacek said Oklahoma ranked behind other states in the region in assessing motor fuel and diesel taxes that would in turn provide more money for transportation maintenance. Kansas, for example, has a diesel tax of 23 cents per gallon and a motor fuel tax of 22 cents per gallon, while Oklahoma's rates are at 17 cents for gasoline and 14 cents for the diesel tax.

Of the proposed 5 cents increase in the gas tax, by 2007 ODOT will receive three cents which will generate $55 million per year. Rail, Aeronautics, Transit, Counties, Cities and Waterway will receive one-third cent each, amounting to $6.13 million per year.

Diesel fuel will go up from the current 14 cents to 21 cents. Of this increase, ODOT will receive 75%, or $35.7 million per year. The remaining 25%, or $11.9 million, will also go to ODOT but will be required to be dedicated to Interstate system maintenance.

Legislative Analyst Caroline Dennis said the apportionment of existing revenues wouldn't change, but the new revenues would be distributed to transportation only. Dennis said the proposed tax would generate $144 million in new revenues per year by 2007.

If passed by the Legislature, the issue would be placed on a Special Election ballot in the summer of 2003.

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GOVERNOR-ELECT ANNOUNCES TRANSITION TEAM

Governor-elect Brad Henry has tapped a diverse, bipartisan team of Oklahomans to help him assemble his new administration. The incoming state chief executive and his transition chairman, State Treasurer Robert Butkin, announced the transition team , saying they are looking forward to working with members to construct a bipartisan administration that will serve the needs of all Oklahomans.

"Oklahoma is blessed to have so many talented people who are willing to devote their time to this important mission. We are reaching out to Oklahoma's best minds, people from all walks of life and all political affiliations, to help us build the best administration possible ­ one that will foster and promote a better Oklahoma that offers unlimited opportunities to its people. With the help of transition team members and a lot of hard work in the days to come, I have no doubt that we will be able to successfully address the many challenges that our state faces," said Henry.

Henry has identified approximately two dozen Oklahomans to serve on his transition team and may add more in the days to come. The members will act as an informal advisory panel, identifying people and resources that can assist the new administration.

Butkin said the team would be divided into several different study groups and assigned different tasks to complete. The panels will address a wide variety of issues, ranging from cabinet appointments to policy questions, and forward recommendations to Henry.

"As transition chief, I look forward to working with team members to identify the pressing issues and the people best equipped to address them. This transition effort has already made considerable progress in the days since the election. With this new, bipartisan team in place, I anticipate that we will accelerate our work and finalize the framework of the Henry administration in a timely manner," said Butkin.

The transition team members include:

*James Kerr - Oklahoma Teacher of the Year 2002-03 - Tulsa
*Gayle Miles-Scott - UCO professor - Oklahoma City
*General Dennis J. Reimer - Director of Institute for Prevention of Terrorism, retired Army General Joint Chiefs of Staff - Edmond
*Ken Lackey - Co-CEO Nordham Group, former chief of staff for Gov. Frank Keating - Tulsa
*Kathryn L. Taylor - Business, investments and law, Trustee for Univ. of Tulsa - Tulsa
*Mary Marks - Southwestern Bell - Oklahoma City
*Prudence Little - Chair of the OU Foundation, former member State Ethics Commission - Madill
*Burns Hargis - Vice-chairman, Bank of Oklahoma - Oklahoma City
*Linda Edmondson - Healthcare specialist - Oklahoma City
*Nance Diamond - Oklahoma Arts Institute and community volunteer - Shawnee
*Leonard Benton - Education consultant and former president Urban League of OKC
*Dr. Joe Alexander - Dean of OSU College of Veterinary Medicine - Stillwater
*Fred Gipson - College professor and former OU chief counsel - Norman
*Bill Bullard - OG&E, former first asst. attorney general ­ Oklahoma City
*Jim East - Atkins Benham, former chief of staff Mayor of Tulsa
*Scott Meacham - CEO 1st National Bank of Elk City
*Andy Lester - Lester, Loving and Davies - Oklahoma City
*Steve Blain - CPA - Shawnee
*Francis Rooney - CEO Manhattan Oil - Tulsa
*Matt Hopkins - Henry, Canavan and Hopkins - Shawnee
*Tom Adelson - Investments, business and law - Tulsa
*John Canavan Jr. - Henry, Canavan and Hopkins - Shawnee
*Ken Levit - President OU-Tulsa - Tulsa
*Phil Tomlinson - Retired real estate investor - Shawnee

As the transition process progresses, more members may be added, "This is going to be a very deliberative, very intensive process that leaves no stone unturned. Obviously, we are facing a time crunch with the inauguration less than two months away, but with the talented people we have on board, I know that we can execute a thorough and orderly transition. It will take many late hours, but we will get the job done," said Henry.

Once the panels are developed and announced, CECO will monitor the activities of the panels and offer assistance as necessary or requested. CECO has already had contact with Transition Team Chairman Robert Butkin, and has offered our support and assistance.

Things will happen quickly in the next few weeks as Governor-elect Henry will be inaugurated on Jan. 13 at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City.

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UNIONS TRY TO ORGANIZED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING FIRMS

When a union is insensitive to professional practice issues, the organization of field representatives by that union is against the best interests of the public.  So says ASFE, in a position paper it developed in response to union organizing activities now occurring in Illinois and California, and reported also in Alabama, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Washington.

"The Illinois situation is particularly onerous," said ASFE Executive Vice President John P. Bachner. "The same union that's seeking to organize field representatives [International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150] already represents a number of construction trades.  Our Member Firms' field representatives would be put into the position of evaluating the work of fellow members of a union whose bylaws prohibit them from doing anything that would create dissension in the ranks.  The conflict of interest would be huge"

Bachner said that professional engineers and geologists "have to have 100% confidence in their field representatives.  Field representatives perform the construction QA/QC [quality assurance/quality control] services engineers and geologists apply to meet their legal and ethical responsibilities to preserve and protect public health, safety, and welfare.  Engineers and geologists could not possibly have the confidence they need were conflicts of interest to exist."

Professional engineers' and geologists' need for independence is another professional practice issues to which union agreements must be sensitive, ASFE says.  "The public's health, safety, and welfare are on the line," Bachner said.  "Field representatives review construction quality for any number of projects where hidden shortcomings could lead to tragedy on a massive scale.  Professionals have to be able to reassign or dismiss people without having to worry about the potential for grievances and months of costly red tape."

"Field representatives" include engineering technicians (also known as field technicians and soil and materials testers, among other terms) who typically have little or no formal engineering or geological training; often are active at several sites during any given day; and are in frequent communication with the professional engineers and geologists to whom they report.  But field representatives also include the "resident engineers" employed by civil engineering firms and, according to Bachner, Local 150 has made it clear that it will seek to organize resident engineers as well.  ASFE's position paper states that "[r]esident engineers usually are degreed or even licensed professionals who serve full-time during a major project's complete construction phase, and are capable of answering many technical questions on their own.  No matter what their education, training, experience, and degree of autonomy, however, field representatives provide the precise information professional engineers and geologists need to conclude that design conditions are being attained, or that design modifications or other intervention is necessary to achieve the specified results."

ASFE has established a Labor Relations Task Force that is in the process of assembling resource material ASFE members can use to protect themselves.

For more information, refer to ASFE's website (www.asfe.org) or contact the organization at info@asfge.org or 301/565-2733.

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ARCHITECTS WANT TO DESIGN HIGHWAYS

The big topic of conversation at the ACEC Fall Conference was radio ads being run by the American Institute of Architects promoting architects for highway design.

Paraphrasing, the ads basically said, "Your city has decided to build a new boulevard. Hiring the right architect to design this project......."

Needless to say, this was not well accepted by the assembled masses!

ACEC President Dave Raymond called his counterpart at AIA, Norman Koonce, to discuss this ad and express ACEC's concern with architects promoting themselves as highway designers.

Mr. Koonce responded to Raymond by letter in which he stated that, "First, I want to assure you that there was no intention on our part to claim the ability for architects to design highways. Rather, we were attempting to promote the collaborative spirit that exists between all of the professional participants in the design process. Further, neither The American Institute of Architects (AIA) nor the architecture profession has intentions to pursue the skills to expand into the highway design market, clearly the professional province of qualified engineers."

Koonce continued, "The current AIA advertising is designed to achieve public acceptance of two ideas: that an architect's APPROPRIATE involvement with client organizations and communities in the early PLANNING stages of projects related to the built environment can improve the outcome for everyone; and that architects can be helpful in the public sector planning process for community development as well as for individual, private sector clients. Nothing more intended."

Koonce concluded the letter by stating, "The radio advertisement under question represents a significant investment on our part. The professional relationship that exists between our organizations, however, represents a far greater value to us, and, I hope, to you."

So, AIA is going to pull their ads promoting architects for highway design work. But, one has to wonder if the "mindset" has changed?

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