traverse notes from the initial point - clsa · our guest speaker will be presi-dent-elect tom...
TRANSCRIPT
Officers: PRESIDENT Frank Borges (925) 682-6976 ext. 1036 [email protected] VICE-PRESIDENT
Craig Roberts (415) 283-8581 craig-
[email protected] SECRETARY
Jan Gill (510) 543-5950
[email protected] TREASURER
Dave Murtha (510) 627-1474
[email protected] IMMEDIATE PAST PRESI-
DENT John May (925) 476-2345
[email protected] NEWSLETTER EDITOR Greg St. John
(510) 544-2375 [email protected]
Inside this issue:
Joint Chapter Meeting 2
Bay Bridge Article 3
Job Announcements 4
May Meeting Minutes 5
Advertisers 8-9
Picture of the Month 10
California Land Surveyors Association—East Bay Chapter
Traverse Notes from the Initial Point May 2012
Chapter Directors: Steve Martin
Hal Davis Gwen Gee (Alternate)
Janine Hampton (Alternate)
Committee Chairs: MEMBERSHIP
Janine Hampton
GOVERNMENT LIAISON COMMIT-
TEE
Hal Davis
I once saw a picture of Mt. Rushmore
labeled “three surveyors and some
other guy”. While our profession (as
well as others involved in the geospa-
tial world) accelerates towards the
technical and electrical, it is important
to remember that we stand on the
shoulders of our mentors. Perhaps
more than any other profession, we
know that to realize your next station
in life, you need to know where you
are, and where you’ve been.
Thank you for everyone who came to
the last chapter meeting. I think the
turnout has been great and look for-
ward to our next meeting – a joint
chapter meeting with our friends in
the Santa Clara/San Mateo chap-
ter. Our guest speaker will be Presi-
dent-Elect Tom Taylor. Our chapter
picnic is also coming up on July 11th, to
be held at Lake Temescal in Oakland.
President’s Note
Mount Rushmore
(courtesy of National Park Service)
East Bay Chapter President,
Frank Borges
Page 2 Traverse Notes from the Initial Point
Wednesday, June 13, 2012 6:00pm-7:00pm: Social Hour
7:00pm: Meeting and Dinner 7:30pm: Speaker
Location:
Sinodinos 36665 Cedar Blvd.
Newark, CA 94560
(510) 797-7556
Banquet Menu Buffet All entrees include French bread, and soft drink.
SEARED TRI-TIP Seared on the broiler, then oven roasted for several hours. Served with auju.
ROTISSERIE CHICKEN Rotisserie chicken, seasoned with thyme, rosemary, and basil.
ROTELLE ALFREDO A savory blend of basil, garlic, nutmeg, parmesan cheese and cream, tossed with rotelle noodles.
ROASTED ROSEMARY POTATOES Red potato's infused with rosemary, basil, and olive oil.
FRESH VEGETABLES Fresh broccoli, carrots, zucchini, and cauliflower sautéed in garlic, basil and onions.
CLASSIC SPRING MIX SALAD Spring mix salad infused with vinaigrette, blue cheese crumbles, candied walnuts, and cranberries.
Cost: $30 per person
RSVP by Noon, Monday, June 8, 2012
to Dave Murtha [email protected]
(510) 627-1474
Speaker:
Tom Taylor, PLS, President Elect of CLSA
Chief of Surveys Coordination/New Technologies at Caltrans District 4
and CLSA Statewide President-Elect
Mr. Taylor’s career at Caltrans spans some 20+ years. He has worked in all capacities as a Surveyor at Caltrans, most notably as
Chief of Geodetic and Specialty Surveying (including Stationary and Mobile Laser Scanning) in the SF Bay Area, Chief of Right of Way
Engineering in the SF Bay Area, and Chief of Survey Standards. Some of his numerous accomplishments include: National Academy of
Sciences’ Project Panel Chairman for Terrestrial Mobile Laser Scanning; National Science Foundation Panel Member for Transformative
Undergraduate Education for Sciences and Engineering; Member of California Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors’
Land Surveyors Technical Advisory Committee; Author and Chief Editor of Caltrans District 4 Interim Guidelines on Mobile Terrestrial
Laser Scanning as well as Author of Caltrans’ Real Time Kinematic GPS Specifications. Mr. Taylor was awarded CLSA “Surveyor of the
Year” in 2005 and served as the CLSA Legislative Committee Chair from 2006 -2011.
See you at the meeting!
June Meeting!!!
Joint Meeting with Santa Clara /San Mateo Chapters
Oakland, CA by Greg St. John
On May 4th East Bay Chapter members assembled at the Caltrans offices at the Oakland approach to the Bay Bridge.
The 45 minute boat tour was given by Steve Pallila, educational outreach coordinator. Bay Bridge staff have been
outreaching to the keep the public informed about the construction process.
The $6.3 billion project comes with a $900 million contingency and is expected to open Labor Day 2013 and is headed
by main contractors American Bridge and Fluor. The total bridge length is 8.4 miles and conveys 280,000 vehicles
each day. Bridge construction was divided into six separate projects: the West Span, the West Approach, the Skyway,
the Oakland Touchdown, the Yerba Buena Island Transition Structure and the Self-Anchored Suspension Span.
After Loma Prieta Caltrans determined that the twin suspension bridges of the West Span could be seismically retrofit-
ted to sustain a 1500-year credible earthquake event. In 2004 the first project was to replace rivets with bolts and add
steel plates on the West Span of the bridge. One-half million rivets were replaced with one million bolts, increasing life span on this span by 75 years.
In 2009 the one-mile stretch of Interstate 80 in San Francisco, including six off- and on-ramps was demolished in complex stages. New structures with inde-
pendent foundations were constructed in the exact same footprint in each stage for this second project. The West Approach was challenged by demolition and
construction within feet or even inches from South of Market apartments and offices and used extremely complicated lane reconfigurations and traffic shifts
onto temporary roadways. Extensive plans were needed for dust control, safety monitoring, milestone tracking, public outreach and risk mitigation.
Caltrans decided that the easterly span of the Bay Bridge needed to be rebuilt. Originally the bridge was designed as one long skyway, not unlike the Benicia
Chapter Bay Bridge Boat Tour
Page 3 Traverse Notes from the Initial Point
www.baybridgeinfo.org
June 13: Tom Taylor, President Elect of the CLSA, joint meeting with SM/SC chapter
July 11: CLSA picnic at Lake Temescal
August 8: Annette Lockhart, Surveyors and their involvement in GIS
September 12: Open
October 10: Open
November 14: Open
December 12: CLSA Christmas dinner.
Events at a Glance
Mark Your Calendars!
The following CLSA webinar has been scheduled for June 13th.
Webinars are free to current (paid) members of the State CLSA, but cost $45 for non-members.
Digital Map Submittals
Speakers: Annette Lockhart, PLS & Landon Blake, PLS
June 13, 2012 at 12:00pm Registration can be done online at the CLSA website: http://www.californiasurveyors.org/index.asp
This 1 12 hour webinar will provide information and a brief exploration of the potential benefits and requirements regarding a
progressive move to submitting required mapping in a digital format. Topics will include current practices, concerns, and
opportunities land surveyors have to influence the future of vital record keeping practices.
CLSA Webinar Scheduled for Wednesday, June 13th!
California Land Surveyors
Association
Continued on page 6
contact information to Chapter Secre-
tary, Jan Gill [email protected]
Do you have an idea for future speak-
ers at the East Bay Chapter meetings?
Please contact Chapter Vice Presi-
dent, Craig Roberts craig-
Are you or your firm interested in
advertising in Traverse Notes from
the Initial Point? Do you know some
one that might be interested? Please
contact Newsletter Editor, Greg St.
John [email protected] Advertis-
ing Rates are as follows:
Quarter Page : $10 per month or $90
per year; Half Page: $20 per month or
$180 per year; Full Page: $30 per
month or $270 per year.
Sustaining Membership: Now $200
East Bay Chapter Membership
If you haven’t had the opportunity to
renew your membership to the East
Bay Chapter, a membership form is
attached as a part of this newsletter.
Please send forms to Chapter Treas-
urer, Dave Murtha dmur-
Does the East Bay Chapter have your
current email? Please send updated
Job Announcements
Page 4 Traverse Notes from the Initial Point
California Land Surveyors
Association
―Chapter
Membership is
separate from
State Membership―
Assistant Land Surveyor Central Contra Costa Sanitation District has a job opening for an Assistant Land Surveyor. The posi-
tion closes on June 4, 2012. Anyone interested should review the CCCSD website at this link:
http://agency.governmentjobs.com/cccsd/default.cfm?
action=viewjob&JobID=469447&headerfooter=1&promo=0&transfer=0&WDDXJobSearchParams=
Central San
Panoramic from Top of Caldecott (P224)
Location: Pyramid Alehouse, Berkeley, CA
MEETING MINUTES (Submitted by Jan Gill, Secretary)
Called to Order: 7:00 PM by Frank Borges, President
Introductions. There were 25 attendees.
April 2012 Meeting Minutes: Approved.
Committee/Director Reports
State Directors’ Report:
The State CLSA Board Meeting was held on April 28, 2012. A hard copy synopsis
written by Janine Hampton was handed out at the meeting. Some of the items
and highlights were discussed as follows:
Steve Martin reported that the Directors were asked to take an oath. He stated
there was some dispute over taking the oath since there was no forewarning. A
short version of the oath was read at the board meeting. Hal Davis explained
“Representatives” are different than members of the board of “Directors”.
There is always an oath for Directors in that Directors run the organization. The oath makes sure the Directors are aware of their responsibilities.
One highlight of the Legislative Committee’s report is the proposed language in 8741 of the B&P codes which would exempt on ly CA civil engineers registered prior to
Jan. 1, 1982 from bypassing the need for an LSIT to sit for the PLS exam.
Steve Martin also reported that since the NSPS has withdrawn from the ACSM, the NSPS made a proposal to require mandatory membership in NSPS for all professional
land surveyor state members.
Treasurer’s Report
Dave Murtha announced the Chapter is ahead on dues by $400 from last year. He mentioned that one result of the Chapter’s LS Review Classes is that the Chapter now
has more Corporate members. Other revenue sources have been the Mini-Seminar put on by Janine Hampton, the Bay Bridge Boat Tour, and Newsletter Advertising. At
this time, the Chapter has made more money than it has spent.
Old Business
Bay Bridge Boat Tour was May 4, 2012
Frank Borges said the Boat Tour was a very successful event, and it was a beautiful day.
New Business
Seminar at EBMUD
Steve Martin announced that David Wooley will present an 8 hour seminar on August 16, 2012 entitled “Land Surveying Boundaries & Legal Principles”. The seminar will
be held at EBMUD facilities and will accommodate about 20-30 attendees.
USGS Open House
Duncan Marshall announced that the USGS in Menlo Park is having their Open House on May 19 th and 20th, 2012 from 10am – 4pm. He encouraged everyone to attend this
free public event. There will be interesting and informative exhibits and presentations as well as interaction with USGS Scientists.
Announcements
Next Month’s Meeting June 13, 2012 - Joint Meeting with San Mateo/Santa Clara Chapter
CLSA President-Elect Tom Taylor will be the guest speaker. The meeting will be held in the Newark area at a location TBD.
Art & Wind Festival – Volunteers still needed!!
When: May 27-28, 2012 (Memorial Day Weekend) Where: San Ramon Central Park, 12501 Alcosta Blvd., San Ramon
What: Discuss the past, present and future of surveying to the 70,000 to 90,000 visitors who attend each year. If interested in volunteering contact Mike Foley @[email protected].
Duncan Marshall mentioned that CLSA and the Mt. Diablo Surveyors Historical Society will have a joint booth. Both Duncan and Ross Kinnie encouraged people to attend
this family oriented event that will have lots of kid-friendly activities.
Business Meeting Adjourned: 7:30pm. The business meeting was followed by the guest speaker.
Guest Speaker
The Guest Speaker was Leonard A. Rifkind, Esq. Len’s presentation was ―Can’t We Get Along—Adjoining Property Disputes‖. A very engaging presentation, Len
discussed the legal aspects and actual cases on several topics including Boundaries and Encroachments, Agreed Boundary Doctrine, Easements, Civil Harassment, and
Adverse Possession.
Raffle
Following the speaker, a raffle for several prizes was held. Proceeds from the raffle go to support the Chapter Scholarship Fund.
CLSA East Bay Chapter Meeting May 9, 2012
Page 5 Volume 1, Issue 1
East Bay Chapter would like to thank Len Rifkin, Esq. for presenting ―Can’t
we all get along—Adjoining property disputes‖ at the May Meeting
Bay Bridge Boat Tour (continued from page 3)
Page 6 Volume 1, Issue 1
Bridge, with a much more palatable price tag. But the public and local
communities insisted on an architectural icon in the bay and the self-
anchored suspension span (SAS) was the result. The SAS is hung on one
525-foot tower, which is actually four independent columns, embedded 187
feet into the bedrock close to Yerba Buena Island. The position of the tower
is the most easterly location where engineers could still hit bedrock. The
suspension system employs only one one-mile long cable, which wraps
through cable saddles and supports the deck using 114 suspension cables.
The 1.2-mile elevated viaduct Skyway portion of the easterly span, the
third project, is the longest section of the new East Span. The construction
will boast five traffic lanes in each direction with standard ten-foot shoul-
ders and a 15 ½ foot protected pedestrian and bike lane and will provide
sweeping views of the bay. This portion has 28 pier-table constructed
columns that were anchored as deep as 300 feet below the water’s sur-
face into the bay mud. The battered piles were driven by one of the world’s
largest hydraulic hammers, environmentally mitigated by the use of “bubble curtains” to deafen the damaging sounds. The Skyway was constructed using 452 sequen-
tially match cast concrete sections, fabricated in Stockton, which were carried by custom straddle carriers and were lifted by custom designed winches into place. The
sections are connected by hinge pipe beams that are designed to deform in an earthquake, preserving the structure, and can be easily replaced. Two 1,700-ton steel SAS
transition sections were lifted as part of this project, the heaviest lifts in California History.
The 4,429-foot Oakland Touchdown, the fourth project, connects the Bay Bridge Skyway to
Interstate 80 in Oakland. The project utilized 1.5 million cubic feet of concrete, 586,000 cubic
feet of which was lightweight, cellular concrete, engineered to 1/5 of the weight of concrete
that can float on water and is supported by 6-foot diameter steel shell piles at a length of
between 115 to 197 feet driven below the bay mud. The west bound portion has been complet-
ed, the east bound portion to be completed this year. Extreme care was taken to protect the
wetlands by constructing a trestle that kept cranes and equipment out of the bay. One of the
most challenging portions of this project was the Submerged Electrical Cable Reloca-
tion Project, which supplies Yerba Buena Island with power and was originally located within
the footprint of new construction.
The 1,542 foot Yerba Buena Island Transition Structure (YBITS), the fifth project, forms the
link between the SAS and the Yerba Buena Island (YBI) Tunnel and transitions the side-by-side
roadways on the SAS to upper and lower decks of the tunnel and is most notably remembered
by the S-curve detour in September 2009, where a 3,200-ton section of
the existing bridge was cut and replaced with a 3,600-ton section 150
feet in the air, known as the East Tie-In. Traffic was routed to the detour
so crews can demolish the conflicting portion of the bridge leading to the
YBI tunnel, and build the YBITS while traffic safely travels adjacent to the
construction. The project began on Labor Day 2007 when contractors
made a major hurdle with the viaduct replacement, where a 6,500 ton
football field sized portion was demolished and replace with a seismically
Boat Tour ready to shove off (photo by D.Murtha)
West Bound Approach Oakland Touchdown
(photo courtesy of Caltrans)
Left Coast Lifter (photo by D.Murtha) (continued from page 7)
Bay Bridge Boat Tour (continued from page 6)
Page 7 Volume 1, Issue 1
-retrofitted portion of the East Span, called the West Tie-In. The West Tie-In
was slid in on rails with only 3 inch tolerance on each side, a first in Cali-
fornia history. Construction on the 13 support structures is underway, and
crews are beginning to build the main YBITS, which will be followed by the
demolition of the S-curve detour once traffic has been shifted to the East
Span and the construction of the eastbound on-ramp.
The Self Anchored Suspension Span (SAS) is a 2,047 foot section with a
distinctive asymmetrical design that spans between the YBITS and the
Skyway, the largest span of its kind in the world. The roadways have been
held up by a 20,000 ton temporary bridge until the single cable is in place
to support it and are each comprised of 14 individual sections that range in
weight from 559 to 1,669 tons and 64 to 229 feet in length connected by 19
crossbeams. Construction was assisted by a custom built barge equipped
with a shear
leg crane
boasting a
328 foot long boom, which can lift 1,928 tons, the largest on the west coast. To connect all 28 sections
together, 4,500 bolts were used with a 1 mm tolerance. Later they will be connected by a total of 380,000
bolts. The 525 foot tower is constructed using 4 individual tower legs, fused together by sheer link beams
allowing it to flex in an earthquake event.
The 1-mile long steel cable consisting of 17,399 individual strands in 137 bundles is currently being compact-
ed starting at the top of the tower working outwards by custom hydraulic compaction devices 1.5 meters at
a time. The cable passes through the world’s largest cable saddles forming a complete loop anchored on the
easterly end, supporting the road decks like a giant sling. Once compaction is complete Bay Bridge crews
will attach 114 cable bands, which permanently hold the strands of the main cable and serve as anchor points
for the suspender cables. The last 3 month step will be to transfer the load of the deck onto the suspender
cables, which will lift the deck off of the false work. The transfer will warp the deck as it adjusts after which
the remainder of the suspension cables will be attached. False work will be demolished, pavement laid and
lights and signs installed, completing construction.
More information on this once-in-a-lifetime project can be
found at baybridgeinfo.org. This site was used for this article.
Anyone interested in submitting an article on something of
interest to a land surveyor should send it to Greg St. John,
newsletter editor. [email protected]
End of article
Steel Deck Section installed by Left Coast Lifter
(photo courtesy of Caltrans)
SAS tower. Steel Deck on False work (photo by
D.Murtha)
Demolition of West Approach
(photo courtesy of Caltrans)
Thanks to the following advertisers for their support!
Page 8 Traverse Notes from the Initial Point
Page 9 Traverse Notes from the Initial Point
Thanks to the following advertisers for their support!
Is Your Firm Interested in Advertising in the East Bay Chapter CLSA Newsletter?
Advertising Rates:
Quarter Page: $10 per month or $90 per year;
Half Page: $20 per month or $180 per year;
Full Page: $30 per month or $270 per year
Quarter Page: 3 ¼”w x 5”h
Half Page: 7.5”w x 5”h Full Page: 7.5”w x 10”h
If you are interested please contact newsletter editor, Greg St. John at [email protected]
Do you have an image for the ―Picture of the month‖? Please send it in .jpg format to news-
letter editor, Greg St. John [email protected].
CLSA East Bay Chapter CLSA
Page 10 Traverse Notes from the Initial Point
Picture of the Month
Skyway Meets Self Anchored Suspension Span
Oakland, CA
Submitted by Dave Murtha
Employee Recognition 2012
Steven J. Martin Surveying Supervisor Construction Division
Engineering and Construction Department
MANAGEMENT EXCELLENCE Steve Martin wears his passion for surveying on his sleeve. He has earned a reputation for being both technically credible and personable. He successfully led changes in the operation of the Survey Section while improving service levels to clients, enhancing the quality of the work products and maintaining safety for his field crews. Steve is an effective leader whose commitment extends beyond his excellent survey knowledge. He always looks out for the best way to get the work done while providing clear expectations for his staff. His guidance has resulted in consistently high quality survey work products that are reproducible and legally defensible. He values continuous education and sets up regular training sessions on surveying principles, techniques and software, and provides staff with opportunities for field and office experience. The preparatory course for the Licensed Land Surveyor exam held at the District made it accessible for his staff to participate and Steve even taught a few of the modules himself. Steve leads his staff with safety in mind. Not only does he conduct regular safety training during monthly meetings but he also has an established protocol for certain projects where multiple crews are assigned in order to reduce the safety risk. He participated in the “Lime and Tick Borne Disease Task Force,” and was instrumental in having the Survey Section become a test group for new protective coveralls. The results speak for themselves. Improved efficiency and higher quality products have become hallmarks for the Survey Section over the past three years. Under his leadership, the section’s credibility and reliability has become a model for other organizations. They have clearly distinguished themselves in the way things should be done. Congratulations, Steve!