2000 ASCE DFW Golf Classic
This year's joint Dallas and Fort Worth golf classic will be held on Friday May 26, 2000 at the Grapevine Municipal Golf Course to benefit the ASCE Scholarship Fund. For more information, please contact Lissa Whitehead at (214) 948-4592 or e-mail her at: lwhitehe@dwu.ci.dallas.tx.us

• For golf rules see: Rules
• For sponsorship information see: Sponsors
• For entry form see: Form

May Meeting
May Day's meeting of the ASCE Dallas Branch was an informative one. From Sophia Iliadou rallying the Members to protest raising ASCE dues and Roger Behgam reminding everyone about the June 12th Joint Meeting/luncheon with the Ft. Worth Branch to learning about one of the industry's newest construction materials, all who attended were able to find something which interested them. In particular, the speaker gave an informative presentation. Dr. Robert Yuan, a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, presented his research on fiber-reinforced polymer (FPR) composites. His goal is to test all types of FRP composite products to determine the characteristics of the sections and to help create a design standard. The work he has completed is thorough and very fascinating. The Dallas Branch thanks him for his time and effort and thanks all those who were able to attend the Meeting.

Symposium for Alternative Construction Delivery Systems
The Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), Dallas Post will sponsor "Symposium for Alternative Construction Delivery Systems" on Monday, June 19,^, 2000 at the CityPlace Conference Center. The symposium consists of a panel discussion on the design/build program and implementation by the participating agencies as well as lessons learned. The agencies include:

• Texas Turnpike Authority
• UT System
• Texas Instruments
• US Corps of Engineers
• Arizona Department of Transportation

Facilities directors from the above agencies will be among the panel members and will discuss each agency's specific program and implementation strategies. The symposium moderator is Ron Capps, VP Marketing of Beck. The symposium will end with a lunch and presentation by the keynote speaker, Dr. Jim Broaddus, President/CEO of Design/Build Institute of America, Washington, D.C. Early registration (by June 1) is $85. For more information, please contact Linda Summers, the Dallas Post Program Chair at (214) 638-2888 or Ginger Williams, the Dallas Post President at (214) 327-5332.

CEC Engineering Excellence Awards
The Consulting Engineers Council of Texas awarded its annual "Engineering Excellence Award" for transportation to the engineering teams that completed the North Central Expressway. The teams included: Carter Burgess/LAN Joint Venture, Bridgefarmer & Associates, Brown & Root Services, HDR Engineers, HNTB Corporation and Halff Associates. The environmental award was presented to Halff Associates for the American Airlines Center Brownfields Remediation for cleanup of the industrial site to construct the new Dallas arena. The project has also received recognition from EPA. Turner Collie & Braden and Fugro South received the water resources award for Sun City Bridge Detention Facility. The bridge is designed to detain additional runoff from the newly completed upscale 5300 acre retirement community. For a complete listing of the awards as well as information on the projects, see the CEC Texas News of April 2000.

Engineers and Television – It’s Not Just a Nerd Thing Anymore
By: Rhonda Hurst

Until recently, the only engineering shows were found occasionally on PBS and were dull. These shows reminded you of being stuck in science class watching an outdated movie. Today, things have changed. PBS started a new trend in educating people about all aspects of engineering. They have taken engineering and brought it to the public in an interesting, educational and most of all fun way. The latest craze on PBS is "Robot Wars". This is a British game show where people of all ages design destructive robots and then battle it out to the "robot" death. The show has a medieval/"American Gladiators"/WWF feel. There are house robots that are weekly "characters" with very wicked weapons and competition robots shot fire, use powerful saws and big hammers. You know it’s a big show when one of the top rated sitcoms, "Malcolm in the Middle," does an entire show about "Robot Wars". The History Channel, the Learning Channel and the Discovery Channel have also started riding the wave of mainstream engineering shows.

The History Channel has a series called "Modern Marvels". The series covers great engineering feats, such as the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. It also investigates how the ancient engineers built structures such as the Great Pyramids and Stonehenge. "The Modern Marvel Challenge" takes modern-day engineers and challenges them to construct ancient structures using the same techniques and technology of that time. The latest addition to this series is "Modern Marvel Disasters." This is the Fox version of "World’s Greatest Crashes." The show chronicles famous engineering disasters, such as the Kemper Arena roof collapse and the Tacoma Bridge Failure, with incredible real life footage and computer animation. The show also states how durable engineering structures are and that a series of conditions must be in alignment before a disaster occurs, something that is rare but when it does happen there can be catastrophical consequences. And most importantly, the show stresses how the modern-engineering community has learned from past mistakes.

The Learning Channel and the Discovery Channel have many series about engineering. They have just started broadcasting the British game show "Scrap Heap Challenge." A very successful show for which that they are now looking for an American counterpart, "Junkyard Wars," (read next article to see how you can be a part of this show). Junkyard Wars is the perfect forum for those who believe they can build anything out of junk, engineers or not. After the machine is created the teams battle it out in knock out competition. Another educational but interesting show is "Extreme Machines." This series focuses on one type of massive machinery each week. It explains the design and performance of monster trucks, tanks, fighter jets and cruise ships. The visual film footage and simplified explanations of how these machines work and withstand the harsh conditions they perform in keep the viewer interested and entertained.

Television has recently brought the world of engineering to the mainstream America. The engineers are now not looked at as human calculators or nerds. These shows have shown how important engineers are and how a part of everyday life we are to most Americans. You now see engineers on television with, of all things, a personality and a sense of humor, qualities that more people can relate to and find interesting. Complex structures and machines have been de-mystified and explained in more simple and fun principles. We are now becoming part of everyday water cooler conversations in all type of offices. Hopefully, this new interest in engineering on television will let the public see why need funding for research, need the gas tax and have to ask city councils to pass bond programs for infrastructure improvements. Tune in and see what the talk is all about.

Junkyard Wars 
The Learning Channel is looking for a few good engineers to be on Junkyard Wars, an engineering game show challenge, that’s right, a game show, to air this fall in prime time. The program has been very successful in the U.K., and they are looking to duplicate success in the U.S.

Junkyard challenges two teams to construct extraordinary machines – all out of junk – and in only 10 hours! These machines could be anything from a cannon, to enormous floating salvage rigs capable of lifting cars off the bottom of lakes. You do not find out until the morning of the challenge. If the constructions were not difficult enough, they put these machines through their paces in a scrap showdown. The two teams are made up of three like-minded friends – they might know each other from working together or through a shared interest of hobby – but share the belief that their mechanical skills ingenuity and teamwork are second to none. It is fun and educational for viewers as the contestants explain the engineering principles they used.

If you can put a team together and want to prove your prowess to everyone, you must apply by May 28. There will be a series of auditions held, nationwide, in June. A few lucky teams will be chosen and will be flown over to England this summer to a purpose built junkyard in London. E-mail the producer Chris Kelly for more information.

ASCE National News

Gas Tax Repeal
Efforts to repeal the 4.3 cents per gallon tax were not successful in the House and Senate. The proposed temporary gas tax repeal was designed to aid consumers during the recent higher gas price environment. ASCE opposed the bill since gas tax revenues are directly deposited into the Highway Trust Fund under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and any reduction in those taxes directly impacts highway funding to all states. The 4.3 cents tax on gasoline and diesel fuel generates $7.2 billion annually for the Highway Trust Fund while the same tax on aviation fuel provides about $700 million per year for the Aviation Trust Fund. Under TEA-21, all highway programs are decreased proportionately if tax revenues fall short. Though the 4.3 cents per gallon increase in 1993, is labeled as a tax, it is really a user fee - it helps to ensure that highway users pay for highway programs and air travelers pay for airport infrastructure.

International Symposium to Focus on Innovation in the Design and Construction Industry
Moving innovation into practice for a sustainable future in the construction and design industry will be the theme of the " International Symposium and Innovative Technology Trade Show," hosted by the Civil Engineering Research Foundation (CERF). The symposium will convene professionals from around the world in Washington, D.C., August 14-17 to develop practical guidelines on how organizations can expedite the transfer of innovation into practice and to participate in an innovation tradeshow. The Symposium is organized in three program tracks: Building/Facilities, Environment and Transportation Infrastructure & Public Works. All events take place at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C. For additional information, contact William P. Carr at 202-842-0555 or 2000@cerf.org. Or visit the Web site at www.cerf.org for all the latest information.

Residential Development and Growth, Is there an end in sight?
By: Rhonda Hurst
As you have seen in recent years, the DFW area is BOOMING and more and more housing is popping up all over the Metroplex. I am sure you are wondering, where are all the people coming from, how long will this continue, and what does this mean for civil engineers? I recently had the opportunity to discuss these issues with Jody Reese and Ted Wilson, Principals of Residential Strategies, Inc. RSI is a leader in assisting builders, lot developers and lenders in getting a thorough understanding of the new home industry and market.

Where are all these people coming from?
According to RSI nearly 40% of homes being purchased in the DFW area are by people relocating to the area. Major corporations have made their headquarters here and technological boom has created entirely new careers. These factors have affected the large jump in the employment growth in all fields. The companies move in, the subdivisions are built, the stores follow, etc., creating a snowball effect of new jobs. Another large percentage of the new home buyers are existing area residents that are buying their "move-up" home. The "move-up" home is generally a larger home with more custom features. The average age of this population is 46 years, well established in their careers and their children are finishing college.

Why are so many people buying new homes?
The new home market is driven by employment, consumer confidence, resale availability and mortgage rates. In the past few years, consumer confidence has been at an all time high due to the high employment rates. There are not enough people leaving the area to provide enough resale property to fill the demand and despite the mortgage rates slowly inching up, the rates are still historically low. All these factors lead more people to purchase homes.

How does the rapidly growing population affect civil engineers?
The most noticeable effect from the growth is the new traffic problems created. This creates a need for traffic studies, design and construction of new roads and repairing and expanding existing roads. Farmland is now being zoned to handle the new subdivisions. This requires working directly with municipalities and feasibility studies on the land. The new subdivisions require studies on the adequacy of existing water and sewer services, design of new lines and facilities and rehabbing old systems. Even the expanding retail industry needs engineers to design their new commercial sites.

Where will the developments go when the land surrounding the Dallas area is developed?
The developments are making their way to Allen, McKinney, Frisco and beyond. According to RSI’s careful and thorough market research, the new home industry will keep increasing until at least 2007 and then the industry will begin to level out. Some reports show the DFW area growing for the entire century. Who knows, maybe we will be expanding to Oklahoma before too long.

Airport Construction Funding (AIR-21) Passage
 

The US Senate has passed (with a vote of 82-17) the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill (H.R. 1000) known as AIR-21. The House of Representatives is expected to pass the final
legislation on Tuesday. President Clinton is expected to sign the bill when he receives it.

The final conference report authorizes $40 billion over the next three years for the FAA, of which $33 billion would be guaranteed from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. The bill compels lawmakers to spend on aviation each year all the
annual Airport and Airway Trust Fund receipts and interest. A stipulation in the report would allow any legislator to raise a point of order against an appropriations bill that did not fully fund capital improvement programs for aviation.

ASCE supports spending all funds in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and providing general funds for FAA operations
so that all the Trust Fund money is used for its intended purpose - capital improvements to the nation's airports.

The legislation also included a provision to allow airports to increase the Passenger Facility Charge from $3 to $4.50 per flight segment, which is expected to raise approximately $700 million per year for safety, security, noise mitigation, and capacity projects that are not funded through other programs. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater noted that the
report includes the funding levels that the Administration requested for general FAA operations and said that the department plans to work closely with congressional appropriators to ensure that they allocate the authorized funding level.

Water Infrastructure Report
Members of the Congressional Water Infrastructure Caucus held a press
conference on Wednesday, April 12 to announce the release of a report on
funding needs for the nation's water and wastewater infrastructure. Caucus
leaders Reps. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Robert Borski (D-PA) and Michael
Bilirakis (R-FL) also said they plan to spend the next couple of years
drafting landmark legislation authorizing billions of dollars for water and
wastewater infrastructure improvements across the nation.

The report, "Clean & Safe Water for the 21st Century: A Renewed Commitment to Water and Wastewater Infrastructure," states that the nation's 54,000 drinking water systems and 16,000 wastewater systems face staggering infrastructure funding needs of nearly $1 trillion over the next 20 years and shortfall of a half of a trillion dollars. Although America's drinking
water and wastewater systems spend $23 billion per year for infrastructure,
they face an annual shortfall of another $23 billion to replace aging facilities and comply with existing and future federal water regulations.

"Clean & Safe Water for the 21st Century" is available through ASCE.