Railway Track & Structures - May 2008 - (Page 17)

State of Kansas by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP). Formal consultation with USFWS or KDWP was not required regarding these species. KDWP issued an Action Permit that authorized the project, with conditions applying to protection of these species. The Transcon capacity improvement included a new bridge over the Ninnescah River in Sumner County, Kansas. No fish removal activities were required, and the only project effect in connection with the fish was that no in-stream work could be conducted during the fish spawning period of April 1 to August 31. The Streckers Chorus Frog is currently known to occur in only Barber and Harper Counties in Kansas. Habitat at known locations usually consists of shallow, run-off pools of relatively unpolluted water where some wetland vegetation is present and no predator fish occur. Breeding colonies are subject to impacts by cultivation, siltation or drainage of wetlands. The Transcon capacity improvement through Barber and Harper Counties, Kansas, included track embankment construction that required filling several wetland areas that required individual permits from the Corps and consultation with KDWP. The KDWP Action Permit included conditions applying to protection of the Streckers Chorus Frog. Project effects in connection with the frog were limited to prohibiting work within the wetlands during the frog breeding period of February through March. At one location, KDWP determined that a small pond that had formed in an intermittent stream that would be filled by the new track embankment was likely habitat for the frog. KDWP personnel seined the pond to collect frogs and fish that were present and relocated the collected animals downstream of the construction activity. According to KDWP, no Streckers Chorus Frogs were observed and the area was authorized for construction. At another location, a small pond was excavated to create frog habitat. The Transcon capacity improvement encountered habitat of the Eastern Spotted Skunk near Cowskin Creek in Sumner County, Kansas. Preliminary informal consultation was conducted with KDWP, including a KDWP site survey that determined the skunk was likely present. The KDWP Action Permit included conditions that required skunk habitat replacement. After completion of project earthwork, buckbrush shrubs were planted every five feet along the right-of-way fence line for 500 feet on either side of the creek in order www.rtands.com to restore skunk habitat. The presence of threatened and endangered species could have significantly affected construction of the Transcon capacity improvement project. Agency consultations President's Column continued from page 11 regarding endangered species did lengthen the permitting processes on these projects. Endangered species management conditions included construction restrictions within certain spawning or breeding periods, as well as requiring physical mitigation activities such as fish and frog removal, excavating a pond to create frog habitat and specific shrub plantings to restore skunk habitat. However, early coordination with the regulatory agencies established good relationships with the agencies, reduced the consultation times and identified most of the permit conditions that would be imposed, enabling BNSF to plan its construction activities and schedules to minimize effects to endangered species with the least adverse effects to the projects. officials) is required. Rapid construction is generally conceded to be a railway industry strength and a great challenge going forward is to continually improve the techniques of rapid construction. Also, the availability and increasing cost of timber, cement and steel materials has recently promulgated the investigation of advanced alternative materials for bridge superstructures and decks. The industry and the SFG are not sitting idle, but at the forefront of such initiatives. It is an exciting time to be in the expanding and dynamic railroad industry in the area of infrastructure management and, in particular, bridges and facilities engineering. The first AREMA (formerly AREA) specifications were developed for steel bridges between 1903 and 1905, and it is inspiring to see that more than 100 years later railway engineers remain actively involved in AREMA and its important work. I thank all the dedicated members and leaders of the SFG for their continued work and invite young engineers with an interest in structures to attend the Annual Conference or a committee meeting. I’m sure you’ll find the experience professionally rewarding as the AREMA SFG remains the best opportunity for railway facility and bridge professionals to have input and effect change. Thanks, John, for your report. John mentioned the AREMA Bridge Inspection Handbook, which will be the first publication available that is devoted exclusively to the inspection of railroad bridges and structures. Watch for announcements by AREMA as the publishing date (anticipated mid-2008) nears. Committee 24, Education & Training, has asked that I make a call for case studies developed from actual railway engineering projects brought to completion. The case studies would serve as models for young engineers searching for an approach to a problem in conjunction with the use of the AREMA Practical Guide to Railway Engineering and for use by university professors to train future railway engineers. The case studies do not have to be for large, complicated projects, but could be a portion of such a project. Case studies should include things that went right and things that didn’t go as planned and could be improved upon the next time. The types of projects include but are not limited to: • Connection track • Siding or switching track • Industrial track • Road crossing • Roadbed issue • Environmental issue • Intermodal terminal • Yards • Bridges Case studies should be submitted in a format developed by Committee 24. Templates, along with examples, can be found at http://www.arema.org/eseries/ scriptcontent/custom/e_arema/comm/ c24.cfm?activesection=commpage. If you have any questions please e-mail J. Gray Chandler at chan840@bellsouth.net. Have a safe and productive day. - Larry Etherton Railway Track & Structures May 2008 17 http://www.arema.org/eseries/scriptcontent/custom/e_arema/comm/c24.cfm?activesection=commpage http://www.arema.org/eseries/scriptcontent/custom/e_arema/comm/c24.cfm?activesection=commpage http://www.arema.org/eseries/scriptcontent/custom/e_arema/comm/c24.cfm?activesection=commpage http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - May 2008

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