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Interchange

DesignEscalating traffic volumes mandatecreative approachesEscalating traffic volumes mandatecreative approaches

Issue 1, 2

PLUSPost-tensioning benefiBiloxi bridge

Panera Bread continue to rise

The road to completionU.S. 119 update

PLUSPost-tensioning benefitBiloxi bridge

Panera Bread continue to rise

The road to completionU.S. 119 update

7/27/2019 Winter 04

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/winter-04 2/162 Palmer News s Issue 1, 2004

Back Cover:

Grand opening of new corporate

headquarters

CONTENTS Issue 1, 2004

3 Focus on Interchanges

Transportation planners and officials are working together

to reduce traffic congestion through innovative interchange

design and improvements

8 Value Engineering: SR-605, Harrison County, Miss.

Post-tensioning provides advantages for structure over

Biloxi River

10 Site Development: Panera Bread

Effective site design keeps store grand openings on

schedule

11Design-Build Expedites Project DeliveryOhio bridges damaged by floods are replaced in less than six months

12 U.S. 119 Over KY 1441

Kentucky’s first curved steel box girder bridges take shape

13 News Briefs• David Tabor named W. Va. Young Civil Engineer of the Year

• Surveyors take part in Lewis and Clark celebration

• Northeast Kentucky Industrial Parkway opens

• Ohio project wins AASHTO honor

15 Personnel News• New Employees

• Professional Vitae

• Ralph Palmer inducted into UK Engineering

Hall of Distinction

National Engineering and Contracting

Co., Strongsville, Ohio, recently won a

project with the Kentucky Transportation

Cabinet to refurbish the historic Simon

Kenton Bridge spanning the Ohio River

and connecting Maysville, Ky., with

Aberdeen, Ohio. Palmer Engineeringprepared a detailed 3-D computer model

of this suspension bridge and used it to

demonstrate that a more economical

deck replacement sequence could be

used with no risk of damaging

suspension cables, stiffening trusses or

towers. (Hardesty & Hanover provided

peer review.)

Please see the full story as it appears in

the November 17, 2003 issue of ENR.

Maysville Bridge projectfeatured in Engineering News Record

WINCHESTER400 Shoppers DriveP.O. Box 747Winchester, KY 40392-0747Telephone: (859) 744-1218Fax: (859) 744-1266E-mail: [email protected]

NASHVILLESuite 3062416 21st Ave. S.

Nashville, TN 37212Telephone: (615) 297-8957Fax: (615) 297-8913E-mail: [email protected]

LOUISVILLE3403 Stony Spring CircleLouisville, KY 40220Telephone: (502) 491-2411Fax: (502) 491-2448E-mail: [email protected]

MIDDLETOWN146 N. Breiel Blvd.Middletown, OH 45042Telephone: (513) 424-0760Fax: (513) 424-6122E-mail: [email protected]

TEAYS VALLEY 3058 Mt. Vernon RoadHurricane, WV 25526Telephone: (304) 760-2151Fax: (304) 760-2313E-mail: [email protected]

ORLANDOSuite 890201 S. Orange Ave.Orlando, FL 32801Telephone: (407) 487-0417Fax: (407) 487-0419E-mail: [email protected]

CINCINNATI4242 Airport RoadCincinnati, OH 45226Telephone: (513) 533-3666E-mail: [email protected]

Palmer News is published twice a year for Palmer Engineering’s clients and employees.

Visit us on the Web at: www.palmernet.com

7/27/2019 Winter 04


If you can’t tell a spooey from aparclo, or are never quite surewhether you’re merging or divergiwhile executing a turning movemor motoring across a flyover, donlet your medians get depressed,you may simply be interchange-challenged!

The world of interchange design an art and science all unto itself,with its own unique vocabulary,geometry and culture (yes culturejust do a Web search on the word“interchange,” and you’ll find sitemeticulously maintained by roadgeeks enthralled with the subject

Simply put, an interchange is wheone road passes over another. Tmost distinguishing features ofinterchanges are ramps, which

connect the intersecting roadwayand allow access between them.

The goal of any well-designedinterchange is to keep trafficflowing smoothly. To accomplishthis, interchanges come in a varieof geometric forms with an arraydesign features. Understandingwhich form and features are bestfor a given application is the job the transportation engineer. w

The Art and Science of the

Interchange

7/27/2019 Winter 04


uring the past decade,highway congestionlevels have steadily

worsened as our nation’spopulation and need fortravel have grown at a faster rate thansystem capacity.

According to the Federal HighwayAdministration’s 2003 PerformancePlan, between 1992 and 2000 theannual number of hours that userswere delayed in metropolitan trafficincreased 46 percent, from 21.9 per-son-hours to 31.9 person-hours.

Congestion, of course, not onlyadversely affects travel, but also busi-

ness efficiencies, energy availability,and air quality.

While increasing roadway capacityis one approach to reducing trafficcongestion, there are limits to howmuch system capacity can beincreased. To mitigate traffic conges-tion more effectively, transportationplanners and officials are workingtogether to optimize the use of exist-ing systems through innovativeimprovements and designs.

Matching service levels

As Jim Zeigler knows, successfullyeasing traffic slowdowns and backupsrequires more than just adding lanemiles. While driving to visit hisdaughter one evening last year, theassistant chief engineer for theTennessee Department of Transportation found himself sittingon the Interstate 24 exit ramp to StateRoute 10 (U.S. 231) nearly a mile

from the ramp’s terminus.“It was 6 o’clock, well after rushhour, and traffic was backed upalmost to the interstate,” Zeiglerrecalled. While traffic slowly inchedforward, Zeigler used his cell phoneto call Joe Carpenter, TDOT projectmanager, to inquire whether the SR-10 interchange was included in thestate’s scope of improvements underway on this section of I-24. Told that

the project was “just to widen theinterstate and tie down as quickly aspossible on the ramps,” Zeigler coun-tered, “Not any more.”

Simulating success

Palmer Engineering, already in theprocess of designing the roadwayimprovements to this section of I-24,was asked to also study potentialsolutions to the interchange, a tradi-tional diamond configuration with oneloop ramp surrounded by heavy com-mercial development. The team beganby counting peak turning volumes onthe five-lane SR-10 corridor. Byinputting the data into a traffic simu-lation tool, very quickly the engineerswere able to simulate the peak hourswhen backups occur. The next stepwas to model the effects of modifica-

tion options.“You can literally pre-build changeson the computer, like add or subtractsignals, add lanes to ramps, or extendturning movements,” explained DavidLindeman, Palmer Engineering vicepresident and director of transporta-tion. “You can put ‘real’ people in‘real’ cars doing random things andsee how it all works. As an engineer,it lets you narrow down solutions that

are not only viable, but also desir-able.”

For traffic to flow smoothly, one of the basic tenets every engineer under-stands is that an interchange’s lanecapacity should exceed its servicevolume. At I-24 and SR-10, the solu-tion involved adding and extendinglanes at the on- and off-ramps, as wellas extending those used for merging.

Sometimes, however, more complexsolutions are called for, such as theinterchange improvements plannedalong SR-162, the PellissippiParkway, in Knox County, Tenn.

Working in synergy

As part of its statewide planningcontract with TDOT, in 2003 PalmerEngineering was selected to perform a justification study for an interchange

at the Pellissippi Parkway and SR-475, a proposed beltway aroundKnoxville to reduce traffic volumeson I-75 and I-40.

Interchanges are rarely mutuallyexclusive. Traffic flow on any giveninterchange is easily affected by traf-fic flow on other interchanges,especially when they are located inproximity. Going in, the study teamrealized that its study for SR-475

Changing times for interchanges

DBackups occur frequently on the I-24 exit ramp to Tennessee Route 10 (U.S. 231).

7/27/2019 Winter 04


Issue 1, 2004 s Palmer News 5

would need to take into account anexisting interchange less than a milenorth at Solway Road, as well as a

planned interchange located just southat Hardin Valley Road.“What we had brewing here was the

possibility of a lot of merge anddiverge movements that would behappening at three locations along ashort stretch of the parkway,”Lindeman pointed out.

Turning to their skills in traffic sim-ulation, Palmer’s engineers were ableto strike a balance. The solution iswhat is called a collector/distributorroad, an isolated road running parallel

to the parkway between and throughthe SR-475 and Hardin Valley Roadinterchanges. Motorists travelingbetween the two interchanges wouldutilize this lighter-trafficked, lower-speed road to safely exit and mergeonto the parkway.

“Developing” solutions

Increasingly, the demand forredesign is driven by rapid growth inthe area of the interchange. As inter-changes provide good access to theareas around them, it follows thatthey attract development. The chal-

lenge is to keep pace with developingareas and providing timely, cost-effec-tive solutions.

In Louisville, Ky., officials arestriving to control sprawling develop-ment while at the same time reducefuture right-of-way costs at I-265(Gene Snyder Freeway) and U.S. 60(Shelbyville Road). In 2002 theKentucky Transportation Cabinetasked the team of HNTB and PalmerEngineering to fast-track the prepara-tion of a right-of-way “footprint” forthe interchange. The project is closelylinked with the reconstruction of theI-265/I-64 interchange, just 1 mile

south.A single-point urban interchange

with four to eight lanes of collector/ distributor roads was selected for theU.S. 60 interchange. Nicknamed a“spooey,” for the acronym SPUI, thisnewer type of diamond interchange isdistinguished by diagonal rampsplaced as closely as possible parallelto the highway. Effectively, all ramptraffic meets at a single point on theintersecting street directly above (orsometimes below) the highway.

To ensure that the C/D roads andSPUI will safely handle the expectedtraffic growth, Palmer developed asimulation of the proposed system.“During the simulation we addedlanes to the merging movements andlengthened them until the congestionpoints were eliminated; then wewatched to see how adjacent move-ments or combinations of movementswere affected,” said Lindeman. “Thishelped us spot bottlenecks that we

might not have been able to see hadwe used traditional, empirical-basedcalculations.”

In West Virginia, Palmer’s designteams are using a similar strategy tostudy options for reconstructing theinterchange at I-79 and U.S. 250 inFairmont. In the past several years,

INTERCHANGES

Classic Diamond

Partial Cloverleaf

Turbine

Three-level Stacked Diamo

A collector/distributor road has

been proposed to allow safe travel

between three tightly spaced

interchanges on Tennessee’s

Pellissippi Parkway.

7/27/2019 Winter 04


Do you speak interchange?Braid A design feature where two nearly parallel ramps must cross each other and a

grade separation is used to avoid weaving (see “weaving” below).

Buttonhook A j-shaped ramp that connects to a parallel or diagonal street or frontage road.

Collector- A one-way road parallel to the main traffic lanes that provides access to orDistributor from more than one ramp; collects traffic from on-ramps or the main lanesRoad and distributes traffic to off-ramps or back to the main lines.

Directional A ramp or interchange where left-turning movements are handled by leftexits instead of flyovers or loops.

Flyover A directional ramp where the left-turning movement passesover the main traffic lanes.

Gore The thin triangle of pavement between the through lanes and the exit lanesas they diverge; often diagonally striped to remind traffic to stay off.

Stack A four-level semi-directional interchange with no loop ramps.

Weaving A type of conflict where traffic veering right and traffic veering left mustcross paths within a limited distance.

6 Palmer News s Issue 1, 2004

what was once a little-used inter-change has experienced a surge intraffic volumes with the expansion of the nearby I-79 Technology Park.With over 500 acres under develop-ment, the park is leading thehigh-tech diversification of northernWest Virginia’s economy. Tenants todate include the National Aeronauticsand Space Administration/WestVirginia University’s IndependentVerification and Validation facility,the Federal Bureau of Investigation’sInternet Fraud Complaint Center, andthe West Virginia High TechnologyConsortium Foundation.

According to Dave Clevenger, whoworks in the Engineering Division of the West Virginia Division of Highways as head of the consultantreview section, the state is “open tosee” which of the several schemesPalmer is developing will handle traf-fic best. “Whatever solution iseventually chosen will be uniquebecause of how you have to accessthe technology park,” he said.

Changing times call for creative s

I-265 and U.S. 60 (Shelbyville Road),

Louisville, Ky.

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tions


As it now stands the interchange,which also accesses a mall, has verytight ramp curves and short mergeand diverge movements. Traffic back-ing up along the ramps onto theinterstate has been a problem, andaccidents have occurred.

“We’re being very wide open in ourideas,” said Paul Martin, a projectmanager who works in Palmer’s WestVirginia branch office. “We’re think-ing it’s going to take something out of the box to handle the traffic travelingboth to and from the mall and the I-79Technology Park.”

Ramping up

As these projects reveal, anymoreit’s not just about designing standarddiamond interchanges and construct-ing quick-fix modifications. More andmore, as traffic volumes grow andright of ways become squeezed, com-plex configurations are required.Transportation engineers must exploremany different types of solutions,simulate the various schemes, andcompetently discuss their merits with

planning officials as well as thepublic.

“Today’s interchange situation andthe problems of getting cars from A toB have become a very important partof our process and a large part of our

expenditures,” said TDOT’s Zeigler.“Our thinking has changed,” he

continued. “Where we used to just

throw in a couple of loops and dia-mond ramps and say ‘There you go,’now we have to be more innovative.Right now, for example, we have twovery large interchange projects on theboard that feature flyovers and othersophisticated movements — one inNashville and one in Memphis, repre-senting a combined cost of more than$50 million. Just a couple of yearsago, having even a single interchangeof that size and scope was unheard of.”

Improving the safety and usefulness

of our nation’s interchanges will con-tinue to remain center stage for sometime. But what’s promising to engi-neers like Zeigler, Clevenger,Lindeman, and their peers is the wayimprovements are being approached.

“I think we will always need to beimproving our roadway systems,”Zeigler remarked, “but now everyoneis looking at projects from a futureperspective.”

“We’re exploring what we can do toimprove the interchange beyond 20

years,” Lindeman added. “The goal isto find the best long-term solution andbalance it with safety, the environ-ment and total cost.”

INTERCHANGES

Full Cloverleaf

Single-Point Urban

Trumpet

Semi-Directional T

Existing I-79

and U.S. 250

interchange,

Fairmont, W. Va.

7/27/2019 Winter 04


8 Palmer News s Issue 1, 2004

Congestion on Interstate

10 and other routes lead-

ing to Gulfport, Miss.,should be eased by next

summer when the con-

struction of 8.2 miles of

State Route 605, a new

four-lane highway, is completed

from I-10 to Highway 67—hope-

fully in time for the city’s big draw.

Gulfport is home of the Mississippi

Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, billed as

the “world’s largest” and held each

year as part of the Gulf Coast’s 4thof July festivities.T.L. Wallace Construction, Inc. of

Columbia, Miss., was awarded the$24.1 million project, which consistsof grading, drainage and bridge-work. Palmer Engineering partneredwith TLW to value engineer a 3,158-foot-long bridge over the BiloxiRiver, which includes a 491-footriver unit with spans of 147, 197 and147 feet.

John Carnes, manager of business

development for Palmer’s bridgedivision, spotted the project on theInternet and initiated the contactwith TLW. “We had never workedwith them before. But the proj-ect was a good candidatefor post-tensioned con-crete, and our teamsworked welltogether,” he said.

The redesign forthe river unitreplaced five lines

of welded steel plategirders, called for orig-inally, with five lines of post-tensioned concretespliced I-girders. Although post-tensioning systems requirespecialized knowledge and expertiseto fabricate and install, they provideexceptional strength, especially inlong spans.

If you’re heading down to Gulfport for t

How Post-Tensioni

1 Concrete beams are cast ahead of time at a specialty

fabricator’s plant. Long open tubes, called ducts, are

into the beams along carefully selected alignments. O

the beams have been transported to the job site and

erected on the piers, the small gaps between individu

beam segments are filled with concrete.

A number of individual steel strands, collectively refe

to as a tendon, are next threaded through each of theopen ducts, normally extending from one end of the

bridge to the other. Once all of the concrete has reac

adequate strength, usually 4,000 to 6,000 pounds pe

square inch, the tendons are anchored on the far end

then pulled to a very high tension using a hydraulic ja

the near end (shown at right). Once the tendons have

been stretched the required amount, the strands are

anchored at the near end and the jack is removed. Th

anchorages at both ends keep the tendons from snap

back like rubber bands. Lastly, a highly liquid concret

grout mixture is pumped into the ducts, completely

covering the tendons and permanently bonding all of

strands to the concrete beams.

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ig Fish Rodeo ...

orks

2

3

The fact that the tendons are

both anchored and bonded to

the concrete keeps them tightly

and permanently stretched.

This, in turn, causes an equaland opposite reaction on the

concrete, keeping it

permanently compressed, or

squeezed together. This

squeezing helps counteract the

tension that normal bridge

loads (cars, people, the weight

of the bridge itself) would

otherwise cause on the

concrete beams. Because

concrete is very weak in

tension, this “prestressing”

effect significantly increases

the load-carrying capacity of

the beams.

In conventional concreteconstruction, when a load is applied

to the beam, the beam will naturally

deflect, or sag slightly. This

deflection causes the bottom of the

beam to stretch, which in turn

causes the concrete to crack when

the load gets large enough. In

conventional concrete construction,

reinforcing bars—called “rebars”—

are cast into the bottoms of the

beams. The rebars then resist the

load once the concrete has

cracked. But prestressed concrete,

such as the post-tensioned bridge

in Biloxi, puts a carefully balanced

“pre-load” into the bottom of thebeam so that it will not crack. The

prestressing also reduces the

amount of sag in the beam when it

is under load.

Pictured above right, Mike Ellis of

T.L. Wallace Construction and Jim

Gallt of Palmer Engineering ensure

the proper placement of a drop-in

segment on Highway 605.

“Strongbacks” temporarily connect

the segments.

7/27/2019 Winter 04


PANERA BREAD BAKERY-CAFESare expanding quickly acrossAmerica—good news for the publiclyheld (NASDAQ: PNRA) companywho states its mission as “A loaf of bread in every arm.”

According to the company’s Website, Panera Bread freshly bakes morebread each day than any bakery-cafeconcept in the country. Every day ateach location trained bakers hand-craft and bake each loaf from scratch,

using all-natural ingredients to ensurethe highest quality breads.

Palmer Engineering has been work-

ing with Panera to bring three newlocations online: 21st Avenue Southin Nashville, Tenn.; Glenbrook Centre in Hendersonville, Tenn.; andWillow Creek in Canton, Mich.

According to Randy Perry, a sitedevelopment manager who works inPalmer’s Nashville branch office, thenumber one priority in site designwork is to keep the ball rolling. “Eachday that a store isn’t open, it costs the

operator money,” he said. “Our job isto keep the project on track.”

The key, Perry added, is to developgood working relationships with themany different permitting authoritieson the project.

“Permitting is really 50 percent of the effort,” he noted. “Once you havethe design work done—the plans forhow the building is going to physi-cally occupy the site—the rest islargely submitting all the paperwork

and plans for approvals and respond-ing to questions and requests forchanges.”

On projects such as the 21stAvenue South store in Nashville,which is located in an urban overlaydistrict across from the VanderbiltUniversity campus, site plans weresubmitted to nearly a dozen city, stateand local agencies. One of these per-mitting agents was the city’s WaterServices Office, which approvedPalmer’s plan to tie storm drainage

for the site into the city’s combinedstorm and sanitary sewer system.

“With the urban overlay and thecombined sewer issue, this was prob-ably one of the more difficult siteswe’ve worked on in Nashville,” Perryremarked. “But we kept it movingand received the necessary approvals,and most important of all, the storeheld its grand opening right onschedule.”

Helping Panera put “a loaf of

bread inevery arm”

This Panera Bread on

21st Avenue South in

Nashville, Tenn.,

opened in December.

North elevation

7/27/2019 Winter 04


“The damage was worsethan I was hoping—and much

worse than I thought.”

Those were the words voiced byPreble County Engineer SteveSimmons last June after a weekend of intense rainfall in southwestern Ohioleft many of the area’s culverts andbridges damaged, some beyond repair.

While residents set about cleaningup their homes, county officialsimmediately began assessing the dam-age and identifying the scope of therepairs. Bronson Funke, a projectmanager in Palmer Engineering’s

Middletown, Ohio, branch office, vol-unteered his expertise in the task. Forone full day, Funke and another vol-unteer checked out nearly a dozen of

the county’s most heavily damagedstructures.

According to Funke, many of thebridges were old and built by hand.“Most of the structures were builtusing laid-up stone and cast-in-placeconcrete. They were so old and deteri-orated, the unusually high flows thatweekend were more than they couldtake.” According to the NationalWeather Service, some areas receivedbetween 4-8 inches of rain in a 24-hour period—more than a 100-yearstorm.

Armed with the information they

needed to begin rebuilding, thecounty outlined the scope of work that was needed and let the projects tobid in mid-July. Palmer Engineering

and SK Construction of Middletown,who both recently participated in theCounty Engineers Association’sdesign-build pilot program, were thesuccessful bidders on five bridge andculvert replacements.

“The last bridge was completed inmid-December,” said Funke, whocredited the design-build approach forcutting the project delivery schedulein half. “Usually you’re looking at 8to 12 months just for design, thenanother 2 to 3 months to bid the work.We were able to deliver five completedstructures in less than six months.”


The damage to this old stone and concrete bridge on Stephen

Young Road (left) was typical of last June’s flooding in Preble

County, Ohio. The bridge was replaced with a new structure (right)

featuring a 10-by-6 foot concrete box culvert.

Design-build to the rescueDesign-build to the rescue

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Kentucky’s first curved steelbox girder bridges are nowunder construction, drawinglooks of amazement fromeveryone who sees themfirsthand.

At nearly 1,300 feet longand 210 feet from theground, the pair of two-lanestructures is one of themost dramatic features inthe 20.7 mile reconstructionof U.S. 119 that runs fromPikeville, Ky., to Williamson, W. Va.

Because the RaccoonCreek bridges must curveas they cross the steepmountainous landscape,Palmer Engineering’sdesign team chose steelbox girders because theyare many times stiffer thantraditional I-girders for torsional loads.

U.S. 119 over KY 1441 taking shape

Client: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet,

District 12

Bridge Contractor: Bush & Burchett Inc.,

Allen, Ky.

General Contractor: Bizzack Inc., Lexington, Ky.

7/27/2019 Winter 04



NEWS BRIEFS

home to prehistoric mammals towardthe end of the Ice Age.

The Palmer surveyors used precise

global positioning system techniquesto locate the marker. The coordinatesderived are part of the NationalSpatial Reference System, whichserves as the nation’s geodetic refer-ence framework for latitude,longitude and elevation.

In November, members of PalmerEngineering’s survey team, in con- junction with the National Geodetic

Survey and the Kentucky Associationof Professional Surveyors, took partin commemorating the 200th anniver-sary of the legendary Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery Expedition. Theteam set a brass survey marker at theentrance to Big Bone Lick State Park in northern Kentucky.

The Corps of Discovery’s objectivewas to locate the “NorthwestPassage,” a dreamed-about, all-waterroute connecting the trade routes of the Pacific to the Old World of theAtlantic.

According to the historical record,in 1803 while traveling down theOhio River to meet William Clark forthe Pacific expedition, MeriwetherLewis stopped at the Big Bone Lick site to gather salt for the expeditionand fossilized bones for PresidentThomas Jefferson—the area was

Palmer surveyors take part in Lewisand Clark celebration

David J. Tabor, a project engineerin Palmer’s Teays Valley office, has

received the 2003 West VirginiaYoung Civil Engineer of the YearAward from the West Virginia Sectionof the American Society of CivilEngineers.

“David’s personal contributions onthe local, state and national levels arerare for a young professional, and Ianticipate great things to come in hisfuture,” said David Meadows, P.E.,P.S., a section chief in the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers, HuntingtonDistrict, and 2003 awards committeechair.

Tabor, currently vice president of the West Virginia Section, is seated toassume the position of president inSeptember 2004.

David Meadows (left) presents the Young Civil

Engineer of the Year award to David Tabor.

Craig Palmer collects satellite data with GPS equipment at Big Bone Lick State Park.

Tabor namedW. Va. YoungCivil Engineer of the Year

7/27/2019 Winter 04


NEWS BRIEFS

On Sept. 25, 2003, just 63 monthsafter ground was broken, theNortheast Kentucky IndustrialParkway was opened to traffic. This14-mile highway passes throughCarter, Boyd and Greenup Counties

and connects Interstate 64 with U.S.23 near Wurtland. The new road isseen as key to the economic revital-ization of the region and particularlythe success of the new 1,000-acreEastPark Industrial Park.

Designed by a team of engineeringfirms led by QK4 of Louisville, Ky.,and constructed at a cost of $80 mil-lion in four phases, the projectincludes a new semi-directional inter-change at I-64. The interchange andthe first phase of the project, whichwere opened to traffic October 12,1999, were designed by PalmerEngineering.

An innovative partnering process

Northeast Kentucky Industrial Parkway openshelped the state construct the projectat an unprecedented pace. Accordingto Palmer Engineering Vice PresidentJim Gallt, the consultant team wasempowered with the responsibility forall aspects of the project, from design

and right-of-way acquisition to con-struction engineering and inspection.

Ohio value engineering project wins AASHTO honorof Winchester, Ky., for their valueengineering achievements on theredesign of the U.S. Route 20 bridge

over the Ashtabula River.Located in Ashtabula County, Ohio,the project was originally designed asan eight-span, steel plate girder bridgesupported on hammerhead piers ondrilled shafts. The value engineeringteam of Ruhlin and Palmer, combinedwith Prestress Services of Decatur,Ind., reengineered the project as anine-span, prestressed concrete girderbridge supported on two-columnstepped piers with foundations of spread footings and piles.

The changes provided the OhioDepartment of Transportation with atotal savings of $960,000. Moreover,the addition of the ninth pier enabledthe piers to be repositioned, improv-ing the aesthetics of the main riverchannel while preserving an identifiedwetlands area beneath the new bridgealignment.

The American Association of StateHighway and Transportation Officials(AASHTO) has recognized Ohio

Department of Transportation District4, The Ruhlin Company of SharonCenter, Ohio, and Palmer Engineering

The ribbon cutting

ceremony for the

Northeast Kentucky

Industrial Parkway

was held Sept. 25,

2003.

The U.S. Route 20 bridge is 1,224 feet long

and crosses approximately 85 feet above the

Ashtabula River.

7/27/2019 Winter 04



New Employees

Jason Morelock, P.E., project

engineer – Jason joined the Nashville

site development staff on January 27,

2003. He earned a Bachelor of Science

in Civil Engineering from the University

of Tennessee. Jason lives in Nashville,Tenn.

Jennifer Morris, E.I.T., project

engineer – Jennifer joined the

structural department in Winchester on

February 3, 2003. She earned a Master

of Science in Engineering and a Master

of Arts in Secondary Education from

West Virginia University in December

2002. Jennifer resides in Lexington, Ky.

Bill DeHart, maintenance person –

Bill joined the Winchester office on

April 7, 2003. Bill is a graduate of

Morgan County High School. He and

his wife, Sandy, make their home in

Winchester.

Robert Oney, environmental

biologist – Robert joined the

environmental department on May 12,

2003. He earned a Bachelor of Science

in Wildlife Management from EasternKentucky University in December 2002.

Robert lives in Lexington, Ky.

Professional Vitae

Liz Bullock has successfully completed

the requirements for professional engi-

neering licensure in Kentucky.

PERSONNEL NE

Jennifer MorrisJason Morelock

Ralph Palmer (center) joins UK College of Engineering Dean Thomas Lester (left) and Dr.

Issam Harik, chair of the UK Civil Engineering Department, on the podium.

Ralph J. Palmer, Palmer Engineering

president and chief executive officer,

has been inducted into the University of

Kentucky College of Engineering Hall of

Distinction. He is a 1963 graduate of

UK with a bachelor’s degree in civil

engineering.

Initiated in 1992, the Hall of

Distinction recognizes and honors those

alumni who have demonstrated distin-

guished engineering professional

accomplishments, outstanding charac-

ter, and commitment to community

service. To date, 59 graduates have

been inducted.

Throughout his career Palmer has

distinguished himself as a state and

national leader in the promotion of

engineering education and the

engineering profession. This is demon-

strated by his professional memberships

in 14 societies, councils, federations

and associations, including the

American Congress on Surveying and

Mapping, National Society of

Professional Engineers, Kentucky

Society of Professional Engineers,

Kentucky Association of Professional

Surveyors, Kentucky Geological Survey

Advisory Board, Kentucky Transportation

Center Advisory Board, and the Society

of American Military Engineers. His

commitment to the profession culmi-

nated with his induction into the

American Council of Engineering

Companies (ACEC) College of Fellows

in 1995, an elite group of individuals

who have been recognized by their

peers as experts in their engineering

field.

“I was both surprised and delighted

to receive this prestigious honor,”

Palmer remarked after his induction

ceremony on April 25, 2003, held on the

UK campus in Lexington, Ky. “It is a

privilege both to be honored by my

alma mater and to be included among

this accomplished group of men and

women.”

Ralph Palmer inducted into UK EngineeringHall of Distinction

7/27/2019 Winter 04


PRESORTEDSTANDARD

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

LEXINGTON, KY

PERMIT NO. 850

P.O. Box 747Winchester, KY 40392-0747

C

lients, colleagues, com-

munity officials, families

and friends joined Palmer

Engineering in dedicating

its new corporate offices

in Winchester, Ky., on

July 10, 2003.Following an invocation by the Rev.

Bill Konstantopoulos of the FirstChurch of God, those gathered heardClark County Judge-Executive DrewGraham and City of WinchesterMayor Dodd Dixon congratulatePalmer not only on its new headquar-ters building at 400 Shoppers Drive,but the firm’s sustained commitmentto the community. Other guest speak-ers included Bob Babbage, formerKentucky secretary of state, andLuther Deaton, president and chief executive officer of CentralBancshares.

Ralph Palmer, who co-foundedPalmer Engineering with Dick Nunanin 1969, told the crowd that the firmis looking forward to its first full yearin its new home, which includesoffices for 70 corporate officeemployees as well as a fully equippedenvironmental laboratory.

“Highway-related projects are fore-

cast to grow long term,” Palmerremarked, “and Palmer Engineering islooking forward to serving ourclients’ needs. Our goal—as it hasbeen from the beginning—is to pro-vide innovative, effective design andsupport that exceed our clients’expectations,” he said.

New headquarters dedicated July 10, 2003

At 23,000 square feet, the new facility allows Palmer Engineering to consolidate its

headquarters staff under one roof.

Participating in the ribbon cutting

ceremony were (from left) David

Lindeman, vice president and

director of transportation; Randall

Palmer, vice president and director

of structures; Ralph Palmer,

president and chief executive

officer; Winchester Mayor Dodd

Dixon; Clark County Judge-Executive Drew Graham; and

Richard Nunan, senior vice

president.

Documents

Winter 04