February 26, 2010 by Treadwell & Rollo
View of Proposed New Transbay Transit Center (Courtesy of TJPA)
In 2007, Treadwell & Rollo was selected by Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) to conduct As-Needed Environmental Consulting Services for the construction of the new Transbay Transit Center in downtown San Francisco. The Center will serve 10 Bay Area transportation systems: AC Transit, BART, Caltrain, Golden Gate Transit, Greyhound, Muni, SamTrans, WestCAT Lynx, Amtrak and the future High Speed Rail from San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim.
Prior to building the new Transbay Transit Center, a new temporary terminal facility was built at Block 3739 (Site). The Site is approximately 275 feet by 550 feet in plan dimension and is bound by Main Street to the northeast, Howard Street to the northwest, Beale Street to the southwest, and Folsom Street to the southeast.
Peter J. Cusack, REA, is the Project Manager, and Dorinda C. Shipman, PG, CHG, is the Principal leading our environmental services on these projects. As part of our contract with TJPA, we performed a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment; Phase II Environmental Site Characterization, Site Mitigation Plan (SMP) and oversight during the construction activities. Based on the analytical results from the site characterization work, some of the fill material contained elevated total and soluble lead levels at concentrations exceeding Federal and State of California hazardous waste criteria.
Temporary Terminal (Courtesy TJPA)
We also performed a Limited Environmental Site Characterization and prepared a SMP and assisted with specifications for the demolishing of the current Transbay Terminal building and the construction of the Transbay Transit Center. The new Transbay Transit Center development will centralize the regional transportation network, and consist of below grade levels for the trains, above grade levels for buses and a park on the roof.
The property is bayward of the original historic San Francisco shoreline and subject to the requirements of the City’s Article 22A (Maher) Ordinance. Article 22A states that construction projects which are bayward of the historic 1852 high tide line and disturb more than 50 cubic yards of soil, require assessing the site history and subsurface soil quality.
Posted in Environmental | Tagged AC Transit, Amtrak, Article 22A, BART, Bay Area, Block 3739, Caltrain, dorinda shipman, Environmental Consulting Services, Golden Gate Transit, Greyhound, High Speed Rail, Maher Ordinance, Muni, Peter Cusack, Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, Phase II Environmental Site Characterization, SamTrans, San Francisco, Site Mitigation Plan, subsurface soil, temporary terminal, TJPA, Transbay Joint Powers Authority, Transbay Transit Center, transportation, WestCAT Lynx | Leave a Comment »
February 19, 2010 by Treadwell & Rollo
Treadwell & Rollo was pleased to attend the 2010 San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists Party, honoring top Bay Area business leaders who were featured in this year’s edition of the publication. Treadwell & Rollo was ranked as the 11th largest environmental firm and the 24th largest engineering firm and in the San Francisco Bay Area. This is the 10th consecutive year that Treadwell & Rollo has received recognition in the San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists.
On behalf of Treadwell & Rollo, Jeffrey Ludlow, PG, Principal Geologist, and Julie Frankel, Marketing Director, attended this year’s Book of Lists party at the Four Seasons Hotel, Veranda Ballroom. Nearly 1,000 top Bay Area business executives and non-profit organizations were in attendance. Among them were representatives from Chevron, AT&T, Mechanics Bank, Golden Gate University, Howard S. Wright Construction, Turner Construction, Studios Architecture, and Hood & Strong LLP.
Mary Huss, Publisher of the San Francisco Business Times, addressed business owners, managers, and executives during the reception to celebrate the achievements of Bay Area businesses despite the current economic climate. The reception brought together an array of business development opportunities in a variety of industries.
To read more on the 2010 Book of Lists, please visit the Press and Awards section of our website.
Posted in Environmental, Geotechnical | Tagged Bay Area, Book of Lists, Environmental, Geotec, Jeffrey F. Ludlow, Julie Frankel, Party, Press and Awards, San Francisco Business Times, treadwell & rollo | Leave a Comment »
February 12, 2010 by Treadwell & Rollo
Image displays a typical micropile installation
Treadwell & Rollo is currently performing Quality Control services while observing micropile installation and testing for the BART Earthquake Safety Program, North Oakland Aerial Structures.
Micropiles are being installed to resist uplift loads due to seismic forces created during an earthquake. A typical micropile consists of 10-inch diameter, drilled, grout-filled shafts with steel bars embedded in the grout. The micropiles develop their uplift resistance from friction between the perimeter of the shaft and the surrounding soil.
Geo Grout, Inc. is scheduled to install a total of 757 micropiles around multiple railway overpass foundation elements for the BART North Oakland Aerial Structures. The North Oakland portion of aerial structures being seismically upgraded runs between the east and westbound lanes of the Highway 980/24 corridor between 29th Street, close to downtown, to Patton Street, located in the Rockridge area.
Map of North Oakland Aerial BART Structures that are part of this project
Our team includes Project Manager Antonio Mencarini, EIT, Senior Staff Technician Ron Reindl, Project Engineer Lisa Splitter, PE, and Staff Engineers Kristen Lease, EIT, LEED AP, and Rachael Severn, EIT. As part of our assignment we are observing and documenting all micropile drilling and installation procedures and are in daily communication with the BART project team.
The BART Seismic Retrofit Project is scheduled for completion in late 2010 and is expected to cost approximately $33.5 Million.
Posted in Geotechnical | Tagged 29th Street, Aerial Structures, Antonio Mencarini, BART, Bay Area Rapid Transit District, California, earthquake, Earthquake Safety Program, engineering, Geo Grout, Geotechnical, Highway 24, Highway 980, Inc., installation and testing, kristen lease, leed, Lisa Splitter, micropile, North Oakland, Patton Street, quality control, Rachael Severn, Rockridge, Ron Reindl, seismic engineering, Seismic Retrofit, soil, treadwell & rollo | Leave a Comment »
January 22, 2010 by Treadwell & Rollo
Treadwell & Rollo, Inc. is pleased once again to participate in Battelle’s International Conference on Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds this May in Monterey, California.
Recognized as an industry leader, this Battelle Conference focuses on theoretical and practical application of emerging remedial technologies. Attendees include over 1,750 scientists, engineers, regulators, and other environmental professionals representing engineering firms, universities, and government agencies from around the world.
Jeffrey Ludlow, PG, Principal Geologist
For the fourth consecutive conference, Treadwell & Rollo staff members are taking an active role in chairing technical sessions, and presenting platform papers and poster sessions on a variety of remedial and mitigative technologies, as described below.
- Jeffrey F. Ludlow, PG, Principal Geologist, will co-chair the Platform Session titled: Vapor Intrusion Mitigation.
- Dr. Sigrida Reinis, PhD, PE, Senior Associate Engineer, will present a platform paper titled: Comparison of Estimated Versus Actual Vapor Intrusion Management System Performance.
- David G. Dixon, PG, Senior Associate Geologist, will present a platform paper titled: In-Situ Chemical Oxidation and Enhanced Anaerobic Biodegradation of a PCE Plume.
- Matthew B. Hall, PE, Senior Project Engineer, will present two poster sessions titled: Performance Data from an Existing Building (“Retro-fit”) Vapor Intrusion Mitigation System and Accelerated Site Characterization and Large-Scale Groundwater and Soil Vapor Remediation.
- Michael Chendorain, REA I, Senior Project Scientist, will present a poster session titled: Vapor Intrusion Management System Monitoring Techniques for a Multi-building Brownfields Project.
For more information on this conference, please follow this link or contact Jeffrey Ludlow at Treadwell & Rollo.
Posted in Environmental | Tagged Anaerobic Biodegradation, Battelle International Conference, brownfields, California, David G. Dixon, engineering firms, environmental professionals, Jeffrey F. Ludlow, Matthew B. Hall, michael chendorain, Monterey, PCE Plume, Principal Geologist, remedial technologies, Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds, Senior Associate Engineer, Senior Associate Geologist, Senior Project Engineer, Senior Project Scientist, Sigrida Reinis, treadwell & rollo, Vapor Intrusion Mitigation | Leave a Comment »
January 15, 2010 by Treadwell & Rollo
Installing Geotextile fabric over injection pipe and drain rock
When a global technology company asked us to complete a soil remediation project in less than four weeks—inside a building being renovated for office space, beginning work three days before Christmas Eve, and with a firm completion date of January 2—we knew it would be difficult, but not impossible.
Environmental Services Manager Phil Smith, RG, CPGS, REA II, Senior Scientist and Project Manager Josh Graber, REA I, and Senior Staff Geologist Louis Arighi, PG, pulled the program together in less than three weeks, including verifying the extent of contamination and contracting Pacific States Environmental Services to perform the excavation and backfill.
Excavating around structural footings, area partially backfilled with controlled density fill
An excavation approximately 70-feet-long by 30-feet-wide and 11-feet-deep was saw cut and dug out, and the VOC-impacted soil was removed in sections. Soil vapor extraction and monitoring wells were abandoned as they were encountered, and two foundation footings were carefully excavated around. Contaminated primarily with high concentrations of chlorobenzenes, all soil, which was characterized in situ, was removed as Class II waste.
A horizontal well system was installed prior to backfilling to provide for future groundwater treatment, if necessary. The pipe was covered with drain rock and geotextile, followed by approximately four feet of controlled density fill and six feet of compacted soil. Geotechnical Engineer Don Oman, performed oversight and compaction testing.
This project is an excellent example of what can be accomplished with a knowledgeable and motivated client, a highly experienced technical and contractor team able to rapidly adjust to changing field conditions, and by starting work at 3 a.m.!
Posted in Environmental | Tagged backfill, chlorobenzenes, Class II waste, contamination, drain rock, Environmental Services Manager, excavation, foundation footings, Geotechnical Engineer, geotextile, groundwater treatment, horizontal well system, in situ, monitoring wells, oversight and compaction testing, Pacific States Environmental Services, Project Geologist, Senior Scientist, soil remediation, Soil vapor extraction, VOC-impacted soil | Leave a Comment »
January 7, 2010 by Treadwell & Rollo
Patrick Hubbard, PG, CEG
On a number of Northern California projects, Treadwell & Rollo has been evaluating the impacts of chlorinated solvents on drinking water supplies.
Patrick Hubbard, PG, CEG, Principal Geologist, and Michael Chendorain, REA, Senior Project Scientist, have been working with water suppliers, responsible parties, and municipalities to detect, evaluate, and mitigate the impacts. We have been using a range of tools to meet multiple objectives to minimize the costs and maximize the benefits.
The first step has been to develop project strategies to understand the technical issues, develop a cooperative plan among the parties, and examine a range of potential strategic solutions. We then compile a conceptual site model that may include property use, the location of subsurface utility lines, and groundwater flow and pumping.
Because the cases typically involve drinking water supply wells, the range of tools to develop solutions includes sophisticated down-hole logging of flow rates and solvent concentrations, borehole geophysics, aquifer testing of the water supply wells, and groundwater flow and transport modeling. The results provide multiple lines of evidence to determine the most cost-effective remedial technologies.
Michael Chendorain, REA
For one project, we presented our work at a California Central Valley Groundwater Modeling Workshop at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory July 10 – 11, 2008. The results incorporated a city-wide approach to address four groundwater plumes with an integrated remediation system in Lodi, California. The remediation activities were scoped to reduce adverse pumping interference effects between the plumes and to minimize the amount of groundwater extracted.
Posted in Environmental | Tagged aquifer testing, borehole geophysics, central valley, chlorinated solvents, conceptual site model, down-hole logging, drinking water, flow rates, groundwater flow, imapacts of, lawrence berkeley national lab, lodi, michael chendorain, mitigate, northern california, patrick hubbard, property use, pumping, remedial technology, remediation, solvent concentrations | Leave a Comment »
January 1, 2010 by Treadwell & Rollo
- Ramin Golesorkhi, PhD, PE, GE
November 2009 was a busy lecture month for Ramin Golesorkhi, PhD, PE, GE, Principal Geotechnical Engineer and manager of the earthquake engineering services group at Treadwell & Rollo. Ramin presented three invited lectures, the first presented at the COSMOS Annual Meeting and Technical Session.
The session’s general theme was the “Practical Application of the New ASCE 7-10 Required Procedures for Determining Site-Specific Ground Motions.” Ramin presented a case study on the development of ground motions for a major hospital project in San Francisco incorporating the use of the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) relationships and development of site-specific time histories for use in the seismic design of the hospital. While these new provisions are not yet part of the current 2007 California Building Code (CBC), the California Office of Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) has adopted them for use in seismic design.
Later in November , Ramin presented lectures at Brigham Young University (BYU) and the University of Utah (UoU) as part of the Freidman Family Visiting Professional program of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI).
NGA relationships were developed during a five-year applied research program led by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) and are the most up-to-date approach in empirical prediction of site-specific ground motions. Ramin’s lecture at BYU focused on the development of ground motions using NGA, focusing on comparative studies on the differences in the ground motion prediction using NGA and the previously developed relationships circa 1997.
Ramin’s lecture at UoU was presented to a joint session of the local chapter of ASCE and the university. This lecture also examined in depth the effects of using NGA and the requirements of ASCE 7-10. A similar lecture was presented as part of the continuing education of the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC) in May of 2009.
Posted in Geotechnical | Tagged ASCE, ASCE 7-10, Brigham Young University, building code, BYU, California, CBC, COSMOS, earthquake engineering, EERI, ground motions, lectures, NGA, OSHPD, Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, PEER, ramin golesorkhi, SEAONC, seismic design, seismic engineering, site-specific, structural engineers, University of Utah, UoU | Leave a Comment »
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