President’s Note IN THIS ISSUE: President’s Note 1 Upcoming Events 2 West TN Branch 2 Knoxville Branch 3 Holston Branch 4 Nashville Branch 6 Chattanooga Branch 7 Transportation Forum 8 2015 ASCE Convention 10 TNSAVE Report 10 Section Officers and Committees 11 Branch Officers 12 America Society of Civil Engineers Tennessee Section 2015—SPRING NEWSLETTER OFFICERS: Thomas B. Lawrence President Brandie Cookston President Elect Ashley Smith Vice President Sandra Knight Secretary Ted Kniazewycz Treasurer Thanks to all of you who read the first TN Section newsletter of the year in March! In that newsletter, I asked for one reason why someone should join ASCE. I received one response, which was a great response from David Bayer who gave his reason as “leadership opportunities that can directly impact your personal and professional life.” He also gave several examples, such as committee memberships, being a Chair of a group, opportunities for younger members, and being an officer at the local, state and national level. If asked to give my own one reason, I would say that it is a great place to meet people you would most likely not get a chance to meet otherwise. I have met and gotten to know well over 100 engineers through ASCE, many of whom I see outside of work and ASCE events. On the subject of getting to know people, the 2015 Tennessee Engineers’ Conference is scheduled for September 17 th and 18 th this year. This is a great place to meet new people and to reconnect with others, all of whom are interesting because they are engineers! It is also fun to meet people in person that you have only met by e-mail or over the phone. To register or to find out more about the conference, go to the ASCE TN Section webpage at www.tnasce.org or do a search for “Tennessee Engineers Conference” and click on the link that goes to a Constant Contact page (starts with “events.r20.constantcontact.com”). The TEC is also a great place to get professional development hours (PDHs) to help with getting the total needed for your license renewal. There will be the opportunity to get at least 12 PDHs and we are working hard to try to add some more into the packed schedule. To go full circle, getting PDHs is another reason to join and stay involved in ASCE. Most of the monthly Branch programs throughout the State are eligible for a PDH and a few Branches offer additional education events during the year. Also, I said last time that I would answer the question about the difference between an ASCE Branch, Section and Region. ASCE is an international organization with 10 regions, 9 of which are in the United States. The 9 regions are geographic in nature and we are included in Region 4, which includes 8 other states. Within Region 4, each State is a Section (although the division of one Section per State is not necessarily the same in other parts of the country). The Sections are divided into Branches, which is the local group with which most of the members interact. Tennessee has 5 Branches and their Branch reports are included later in this newsletter. Until the 3 rd Quarter Newsletter or until I see you at a Branch meeting… Sincerely, Thomas B. Lawrence, PE President, Tennessee Section [email protected]901-237-4819
12
Embed
America Society of Civil Engineers Tennessee Sectionsections.asce.org/tennessee/sites/sections.asce.org... · Thanks also to American Bridge, Stacy Date Engineering, and Qk4 for helping
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
President’s Note
I N T H I S I S S U E :
President’s Note 1
Upcoming Events 2
West TN Branch 2
Knoxville Branch 3
Holston Branch 4
Nashville Branch 6
Chattanooga
Branch 7
Transportation
Forum 8
2015 ASCE
Convention 10
TNSAVE Report 10
Section Officers and
Committees 11
Branch Officers 12
America Society of Civil Engineers Tennessee Section 2 0 1 5 — S P R I N G N E W S L E T T E R
O F F I C E R S :
Thomas B. Lawrence
President
Brandie Cookston
President Elect
Ashley Smith
Vice President
Sandra Knight
Secretary
Ted Kniazewycz
Treasurer
Thanks to all of you who read the first TN Section newsletter of the year in March! In that
newsletter, I asked for one reason why someone should join ASCE. I received one
response, which was a great response from David Bayer who gave his reason as “leadership
opportunities that can directly impact your personal and professional life.” He also gave
several examples, such as committee memberships, being a Chair of a group, opportunities
for younger members, and being an officer at the local, state and national level. If asked to
give my own one reason, I would say that it is a great place to meet people you would most
likely not get a chance to meet otherwise. I have met and gotten to know well over 100
engineers through ASCE, many of whom I see outside of work and ASCE events.
On the subject of getting to know people, the 2015 Tennessee Engineers’ Conference is
scheduled for September 17th and 18th this year. This is a great place to meet new people
and to reconnect with others, all of whom are interesting because they are engineers! It is
also fun to meet people in person that you have only met by e-mail or over the phone. To
register or to find out more about the conference, go to the ASCE TN Section webpage at
www.tnasce.org or do a search for “Tennessee Engineers Conference” and click on the link
that goes to a Constant Contact page (starts with “events.r20.constantcontact.com”).
The TEC is also a great place to get professional development hours (PDHs) to help with
getting the total needed for your license renewal. There will be the opportunity to get at
least 12 PDHs and we are working hard to try to add some more into the packed schedule.
To go full circle, getting PDHs is another reason to join and stay involved in ASCE. Most of
the monthly Branch programs throughout the State are eligible for a PDH and a few
Branches offer additional education events during the year.
Also, I said last time that I would answer the question about the difference between an
ASCE Branch, Section and Region. ASCE is an international organization with 10 regions, 9
of which are in the United States. The 9 regions are geographic in nature and we are
included in Region 4, which includes 8 other states. Within Region 4, each State is a
Section (although the division of one Section per State is not necessarily the same in other
parts of the country). The Sections are divided into Branches, which is the local group with
which most of the members interact. Tennessee has 5 Branches and their Branch reports
are included later in this newsletter.
Until the 3rd Quarter Newsletter or until I see you at a Branch meeting…
In January, we had our Branch Lunch meeting, where John Hastings with the TDOT Structures
Division and Brian Hall with AECOM presented an overview of the design and construction
challenges encountered during the rehabilitation of the Wolf Creek Bridge, a historic concrete arch
structure located in Cocke County, TN.
February was a very busy month for the Nashville Branch. The Younger Members Group has
organized a P.E. Civil Exam Review Course for the last five years. This year’s course kicked off on
February 2nd. There were 20 participants in the course. We do not have a regular Branch Lunch
meeting in February. Instead, we encourage Branch members to participate in the activities that
occur around E-Week. The snow in February caused some of the activities to be rescheduled, but we
still had some good participation. The Younger Members Group sponsored a table at the Adventure
Science Center’s annual Engineering Day where children of all ages were introduced to the Civil
Engineering profession. On February 24th, we held our 14th annual Bowling Tournament, which
raised approximately $1,500 toward our Scholarship Fund. Despite the snow and school closings, the
Nashville Branch once again hosted the Music City Bridge Building Competition for high school students. Eleven students from three different schools participated. The E-Week School visits had to
be postponed due to the snow.
The Nashville Branch was awarded a SPAG grant. We used our grant to host a Transportation
Infrastructure Forum at the Adventure Science Center. The Forum served as our Monthly Lunch
meeting. The panelists included State Senator Jim Tracy (R- Shelbyville & Chair, Senate
Transportation and Safety Committee), State Representative Courtney Rogers (R – Goodlettsville &
Vice Chair, House Transportation Committee) and TDOT Commissioner John Schroer. Over 100
people attended and heard the panelists discuss transportation investments and funding, transit, failing
infrastructure, freight, economic development and its relationship to transportation and the like.
Nashville Branch Past President Monica Sartain also gave a great summary of the Tennessee
Infrastructure Report Card from 2009 and ASCE’s “Failure to Act” initiative. Finally, in March we
accepted applications for our annual scholarships and Branch awards. Scholarship and award winners
will be announced at our April Awards Dinner.
Our Branch continues to hold regular monthly meetings which are typically the third Thursday of the
month and Board meetings are the following Wednesday. Everyone is encouraged to visit our
website at www.nashvilleasce.org to learn more about the Branch’s upcoming events and activities.
P A G E 6 A M E R I C A S O C I E T Y O F C I V I L E N G I N E E R S
June’s presentation will be on a wetlands mitigation bank project.
A stream cleanup is planned for the fall.
A M E R I C A S O C I E T Y O F C I V I L E N G I N E E R S
T E N N E S S E E S E C T I O N
Transportation Forum
On Thursday March 19th, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Nashville Branch hosted a
State-Level Transportation Infrastructure Forum at the Adventure Science Center in Jack Wood
Hall, part of the Tennessee Engineering Center. Distinguished panelists included State Senator Jim
Tracy, State Rep. Courtney Rogers, and TDOT Commissioner John Schroer. Over 100 individuals
attended the meeting to discuss transportation investments and funding, transit, failing infrastructure,
freight, economic development and its relationship to transportation and the like. The event marks
the first of what engineers hope to be many other conversations on these issues to raise awareness
and ensure continued investment in our nation’s infrastructure.
The meeting opened with an overview of Tennessee’s infrastructure grades by Monica Sartain,
Region 4 ASCE Governor, based upon the latest release of the Tennessee Infrastructure Report
Card from 2009 in which Roads received a grade of D- and Bridges had a C. Sartain recapped efforts
both locally and nationally by ASCE and others related to infrastructure awareness as well as key
legislative milestones related to infrastructure improvements. Of note is the ASCE’s series of
economic studies entitled “Failure to Act” which addresses transportation and other sectors. The
“Failure to Act” report on transportation identified an estimated need of $94 billion per year
investment to put our nation’s transportation infrastructure in acceptable condition by the year
2020.
Additionally, ASCE released a national-level report card on infrastructure in 2013 identifying
national needs for transportation and other sectors (http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/).
Tennessee is just one of many states grappling with the difficulty in securing funding to address
infrastructure needs. Among considerations discussed at the meeting were HOV and HOT lanes
with optional fees for use by for non-carpooling drivers, public-private partnerships for
infrastructure projects, and user fees. On the national level, ASCE and its members are supportive of
a gas tax to fund the ongoing need for maintenance and repairs to our nation’s transportation
systems which are currently performing beyond design lifetimes and at or near capacity. At present,
it appears that there is no intention at the federal level for a gas tax to be imposed or leveraged
according to Senator Tracy, who also supports investment in infrastructure as a means of economic
development and jobs and sees the solution as a holistic approach. Other considerations discussed
were user fees based upon vehicle miles traveled, which likely will not be pursued any time soon.
Other questions posed to the panel from the moderator, Bill Moore, chairman of the Tennessee
Infrastructure Alliance, included issues such as the viability of federal funding to assist with local and state infrastructure, HOV and HOT lanes to reduce congestion on the highways in the area,
investment in transit, leveraging economic development coupled with improved freight access, and
red light cameras. Attendees were urged to continue the conversation with their legislators and
the public to improve awareness about the issues related to transportation.
P A G E 8 A M E R I C A S O C I E T Y O F C I V I L E N G I N E E R S
A M E R I C A S O C I E T Y O F C I V I L E N G I N E E R S
T E N N E S S E E S E C T I O N
Other questions posed to the panel from the moderator, Bill Moore, chairman of the Tennessee
Infrastructure Alliance, included issues such as the viability of federal funding to assist with local and
state infrastructure, HOV and HOT lanes to reduce congestion on the highways in the area,
investment in transit, leveraging economic development coupled with improved freight access, and
red light cameras. Attendees were urged to continue the conversation with their legislators and the
public to improve awareness about the issues related to transportation.
The event was supported by a ASCE State Public Affairs Grant (SPAG) that was awarded to the
Nashville Branch. The SPAG is a competitive grant and intended to foster the conversations and
engagement of Thursday’s meeting.
The American Society of Civil Engineers is an international organization focused on issues that impact
infrastructure; the Nashville Branch maintains over 1,000 members in the Middle Tennessee area. For contact information, please email Eric Gardner, Branch President at [email protected].
For more information, check out the following websites: