Agenda

Tuesday, February 4

8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Registration
Sponsored by Aksela Foundation

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Speaker Ready Room - (by appointment)

Noon - 1:00 PM

Symposium Field Trip Lunch (included with Field Trip registration)

1:00 - 6:00 PM

Symposium Field Trip - DART Silver Line (separate registration required)
The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Silver Line is a 26-mile regional rail service that traverses seven cities – Grapevine, Coppell, Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson, and Plano – with a final connection at DFW Airport. The new service will include ten stations and several bridges, retaining walls, and noise walls. The Silver Line crosses three counties (Collin, Dallas, Tarrant) and provides a service that will improve accessibility to major employment and educational opportunities in the area while supporting economic development. The Silver Line will share much of the rail corridor with freight operations, although no freight will traverse North Dallas. Hence, the vehicles are compliant with all Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requirements. Unlike DART’s LRT vehicles, overhead catenary cannot be used on the Silver Line as it is incompatible with freight clearances. Passengers can expect Silver Line revenue service to begin in late 2025 to early 2026, with vehicle testing beginning in Q3 2024. Bus Transportation and lunch will be provided. Space is limited. Separate registration required.

Stops on the tour include:

Stop 1 - Auger Cast Pile Bridge 1750 E. Belt Line Road, Coppell, TX 75019

Stop 2 - BNSF Bridge & Downtown Carrollton Station 1015 N. Denton Drive, Carrollton, TX 75006

Stop 3 - Josey Lane Steel Thru Girder 1910 N. Josey Lane, Carrollton, TX 75006

Sponsored by Archer Western Herzog

Wednesday, February 5

7:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Registration
Sponsored by Aksela Foundation

7:00 - 7:45 AM

Continental Breakfast

7:45 - 8:00 AM

Safety Briefing 

8:00 - 9:00 AM

Keynote Address - Building Bridges to Better Lives
Nicola Turrini, Corporate Program Senior Manager, Bridges to Prosperity
Sponsored by Bridges to Prosperity and the National Steel Bridge Alliance

FEATURED PRESENTATIONS          

Moderator: Walt Bleser, PE, ARE Corporation

9:00 - 9:30 AM

Railroad Bridges: A Fabricators Perspective 
Tanner Genenbacher, DeLong's, Inc.

9:30 - 10:00 AM

Metro-North Railroad Moodna Viaduct: Life extension of an iconic structure on a limited budget.  
Glenn M. Greenberg, PE, HDR, Inc., Jay Juh, PE, MTA Construction & Development 

10:00 - 10:30 AM

Coffee Break

CONCURRENT SESSION 1

ENGINEERING: INNOVATIONS IN BRIDGE ANALYSIS

Moderator: Duncan Paterson, PhD, PE, Benesch

10:30 - 11:00 AM

Using AREMA Seismic Design Provisions in High Seismic Regions: A Case Study comparing AREMA’s Force-Based Design Methods to Caltrans Displacement-Based Seismic Design Criteria 
Sean Cooney, PE, HNTB 

11:00 - 11:30 AM

Soil-Structure-Interaction: Railroad Bridges 
Mark Converse, PE, Benesch 

11:30 AM - Noon

Member-Level Redundancy for Steel Railroad Bridge Girders 
Christopher L. Johnson, PE, and Duane Otter, PhD, PE, MxV Rail, Cem Korkmaz, Ph.D, Purdue University 

MAINTENANCE: BRIDGE MANAGEMENT               

Moderator: Brandon Chavel, PhD, PE, American Institute of Steel Construction

10:30 - 11:00 AM

Rehabilitating Norfolk Southern’s B-184.50 Nickel Plate Viaduct 
Luke Kazmer, PE, Michael Baker International; Ruth Brown, PE, Norfolk Southern 

11:00 - 11:30 AM

Emergency Steel Bridge Replacements 
Ronald D. Medlock, PE, High Steel Structures, LLC 

11:30 AM - Noon

Advancing State of the Art: Drone Surveys for Rail Bridges 
Nicholas Elliott, PE, Benesch 

Noon - 1:30 PM

Lunch 

CONCURRENT SESSION 2

ENGINEERING: BRIDGE REPLACEMENT 1          

Moderator: Mark Shafer, PE, Ames Construction

1:30 - 2:00 PM

Complexities of Replacing Metra Milwaukee District North Bridge A32 and Grayland Station in an Urban Environment 
Tina Revzin, Gannett/TranSystems; John Leary, Gannett/TranSystems

2:00 - 2:30 PM

Eramosa River Bridge Replacement 
Shayne Renaud, Hatch

2:30 - 3:00 PM

Weekend Replacement of Highly-Skewed, Double-Track Conrail Bridge UG-2.99 
Manuel J. Vera Caraballo, PE, Dewberry; Nicole T. Byrne, Dewberry

MAINTENANCE: IN-SERVICE SUBSTRUCTURE STABILIZATION

Moderator: Laura Bloomberg, PE, SE, RINA

1:30 - 2:00 PM

Union Pacific Railroad, Choctaw Subdivision 642.12: A Case Study in Abutment Restoration and Scour Mitigation 
Travis M. Schafer, PE, Olsson, Inc.; Brandon Loeffler, Union Pacific Railroad

2:00 - 2:30 PM

Wingwall Stabilization of NS Bridge S-293.30 
Solomon Brown, PE, SE, Michael Baker International; Ruth Brown, PE, Norfolk Southern

2:30 - 3:00 PM

In Place Stabilization of Flood Damaged Bridge Structures 
Jordan Harris, PE; Kyle Guenther, GeoStabilization International

3:00 - 3:30 PM

Coffee Break

CONCURRENT SESSION 3

ENGINEERING: FOUNDATIONS                                             

Moderator: Mark Giesmann, PE, HDR 

3:30 - 4:00 PM

Construction sequence considerations of soil-structure interaction on rail bridge projects 
Eric F. Dues, PE, SE, Gannett Fleming; Jordan Christensen, Gannett Fleming

4:00 - 4:30 PM

Testing Methods of Bridge Deep Foundations for Geotechnical Load Bearing Capacity and Structural Integrity Evaluations 
Ryan Allin, P.E., Pile Dynamics, Inc.

4:30 - 5:00 PM

Benefits of Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA) Testing to Determine Pile Capacity in Railroad Bridge Projects 
Timothy D. Jensen, PE, Olsson; Ryan Allin, P.E., Pile Dynamics, Inc.; Allison Crawford, PE, Olsson

MAINTENANCE: TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS                       

Moderator: Ted Kettlewell, OCCI, Inc.

3:30 - 4:00 PM

Change Detection in Tunnels for Railroad Infrastructure Utilizing Tunnel Scanning 
Mark P. Allen, A5 Rail LLC; Jerome Steinkuehlerm, Dibit Measuring Technique USA, Inc

4:00 - 4:30 PM

Technology Application to Create Current Structural Record Plans and Facilitate Load Rating 
Lisa Hoekenga, PE, SE, Michael Baker, Inc.; Ruth Brown, PE, Norfolk Southern

4:30 - 5:00 PM

Externally Bonded Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) for Railroad Structure Repair 
Ahmad Alshwaiki, Henkel Corporation; Scott Arnold PE, Henkel Corporation

6:00 - 7:30 PM

Symposium Welcome Reception and Meet Up
Big Shots Golf 
Sponsored by The Reinforced Earth Company

Thursday, February 6

7:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Registration
Sponsored by Aksela Foundation

7:00 - 7:45 AM

Continental Breakfast

7:45 - 8:00 AM

Safety Briefing  

CONCURRENT SESSION 4

ENGINEERING: BRIDGE DESIGN, REHABILTATION, AND LOAD RATING

Moderator: Dean Whitfield, PE, Benesch 

8:00 - 8:30 AM

Automated Load Rating and Monitoring System (ALRMS) for Railroad Bridges 
Yuliang Zhou; Hai Huang, Penn State

8:30 - 9:00 AM

Rehabilitating the Historic East Cambridge (Lechmere) Viaduct 
Kristofer G. Kretsch, PE; Patrick Veale; Brian Frazier, VHB

9:00 - 9:30 AM

NICTD Double Track Project – Overcoming Challenges in Bridge Design 
Audra L. Rodgers, PE, AECOM, Kevin Dywan, NICTD; Tim Hedger, PE, AECOM

9:30 - 10:00 AM

A Case Study for Monitoring Operational Performance in Bascule Bridges 
Kyle Ramer, BDI

MAINTENANCE: BRIDGE DELIVERY                            

Moderator: Howard Swanson, PE, SE, Hardesty & Hanover LLC

8:00 - 8:30 AM

Brightline Trains Florida: Overview of the Bridge Structures on the East-West Corridor 
Scott W. Dean, PE; Kyle Ervin, PE; Ryan Rapp, PE, SE, HNTB 

8:30 - 9:00 AM

Bundled Bridge Improvements in Northern Maine 
Gordon Edington, VHB; James Macpherson, VHB

9:00 - 9:30 AM

Alternative Access Methods for Complex Situations 
Michael Seal, Collins Engineers

9:30 - 10:00 AM

Design and Construction of Temporary Access Trestles 
Matthew Struemph, OCCI, Inc.; Ben Pendergrass, Genesis Structures

10:00 - 10:30 AM

Coffee Break

CONCURRENT SESSION 5

ENGINEERING: BRIDGE REPLACEMENT 2

Moderator: Audra Rodgers, PE, AECOM

10:30 - 11:00 AM

Barmouth Metallics Replacement 
Jon Powell, Tony Gee Canada 

11:00 - 11:30 AM

120-Year-Old Truss Replacement with 187' TPG Span 
Austin Holub, PE, PCL  

11:30 AM - Noon

Springfield Rail Improvements Project — Long-span double-track through plate girders 
Michael N. Mendenhall, Hanson Professional Services Inc. 

MAINTENANCE: WALLS                                                       

Moderator: Bret Farmer, PE, Granite Construction, Inc.

10:30 - 11:00 AM

From Design to Construction: UPRR Edgewood Siding Extension and Pier Protection Wall under Texas Highway 19 
Kylie Steel, PE, Olsson 

11:00 - 11:30 AM

Full Steam Ahead in Tucson: Enhancing Safety and Traffic Flow with a New Railroad Underpass on UPRR's Sunset Route 
Ted William Buell, HDR, Inc.; Brent Kirkman, HDR, Inc.

11:30 AM - Noon

100-year-old Bridge Rehabilitation: Replacement of Seven DPG Approach Spans with an MSE Wall
Matthew Totarella, P.Eng, PMP, Hatch and Peter N. Duinker, P.Eng, M.Sc., Hatch

Noon - 1:00 PM

Lunch 

CONCURRENT SESSION 6

ENGINEERING: DESIGN FOR FATIGUE                

Moderator: Stephen Dick, PhD, SE, Wilson & Company, Inc.

1:00 - 1:30 PM

A Fatigue Refresher: Why it is so Import for Rail Structures & Lessons from the Field 
Duncan Paterson, PE, PhD, Benesch

1:30 - 2:00 PM

Fatigue Stresses in Riveted And Bolted  Connections Using Finite Element Analysis 
Kyle Kauzlarich, SE, PE, HDR, Inc.

MAINTENANCE: BRIDGE PLANNING AND PERMITTING                 

Moderator: David Fitzwater, PE, RailPros

1:00 - 1:30 PM

BNSF Trinity River Bridge 
Loc Truong; Dava Kaitala, Jacobs Engineering

1:30 - 2:00 PM

Brightline Zone 4 Fixed Bridge Construction 
Michael Leonard, PE, Colliers Engineering & Design

2:00 - 2:15 PM

Break

FEATURED PRESENTATIONS        

Moderator: Walt Bleser, PE, ARE Corporation

2:15 - 2:45 PM

Replacement of UPRR Bridge 23.84 over the Elkorn River, Waterloo, NE 
Nick Staroski, PE, SE, Gannett | TranSystems and Adam Studts, PE, Union Pacific Railroad

2:45 - 3:15 PM

Vessel Collision Design: A Designer’s Perspective 
Manab Medhi, PE, SE, HNTB, Inc.

3:15 - 3:30 PM

Closing Remarks