REConews

TechSpan Construction Fort Hunter-Liggett Army Base, California

Crown of TechSpan Munition Igloo

RECo Technology Aids U.S. Army

In this Issue
Cover Story:
RECo Technology Aids U.S. Army.......... 1
Shored Reinforced Earth Walls.............. 4
RECo Around the Globe............................. 5
Upcoming Events......................................... 5
HA Reinforcing Strips - RCC Dam......... 6
Affiliation News............................................ 7
AMSE................................................................. 7
Meet Your Division Managers............... 8

REINFORCED EARTH

www.reinforcedearth.com
ContactUs@reinforcedearth.com
1.800.446.5700

Spring 2012

Mission for Weapons Accountability and Destruction

A design developed by The Reinforced Earth
Company (RECo) which employs TechSpan
arches for use as the key component of a sound,
efficient and modern design alternative for
constructing hardened concrete munitions
storage magazines has been approved by
the Army Corps of Engineers (COE). In 1998
following a formal design review process the
COE and the Army Defense Ammunition Center
granted approval of RECos design designating
the alternative as USACE Std. 421-80-05,
Magazine Precast Concrete Earth Cover. This
modern magazine design, commonly referred
to as munitions igloos, is further enhanced
with Reinforced Earth (RE) wing walls used
to retain the earth cover installed atop and
alongside the arches. The TechSpan design has
now been constructed at 18 military installations
nationwide comprising more than 180,000
square feet of floor-space storage capacity.
TechSpan arches consist of segmental precast
concrete units forming a three-hinged arch.
Generally, the design approach is fixed on
the concept of a funicular curve, defined as
imitating a rope in tension. With this concept

in mind, FEM programs are used to develop the

funicular curve equation which in turn is used to
determine the optimal Techspan arch shape and
cross sections based on the loading criteria for
the specific application. In the case of designing
for secure munitions storage, several special
case conditions are addressed including blast
loads which are analyzed using time-history
analyses via 3-dimensional modeling.
Advantages when constructing a magazine in
this manner when compared to traditional pourin-place methodologies are:

Time and onsite resources required

to achieve installation of the storage
magazines primary components, the
concrete arches and wing walls, is
dramatically reduced.
Construction efforts are not hampered
during inclement weather that would
normally impact concrete placement.
TechSpan arches and RE wall are
particularly well suited for use in
seismically active areas.
Flexibility of the system allows for more
Continues on page 2...

Continued from cover

Munitions Service Magazines.- Pueblo Chemical Depot,, Colorado

effective transfer of stress, thereby

minimizing the required size of footings.
High quality of in-plant workmanship
and certification thereby reducing
resources needed for onsite inspections.
Ease of dismantling, salvage, and
remediation work in an environmentally
conscious manner.

The above advantages all combine to

substantiate the efficient and cost effective
means for this method of construction of storage
magazines.

requirements from RECo and their suppliers

for design, materials, and technical assistance.
RECo, having established an exacting project
team to manage their part of the project met
all demands on time and within budget. The
Bechtel team consists of Bechtel National Inc.
(BNI) as lead systems contractor along with
teaming members URS Corporation, Parsons,
and Battelle Memorial Institute. Manufacturing
of the precast TechSpan arches and Reinforced
Earth wing wall panels was undertaken at
Castillo Ready Mix Concrete Inc., Belen, New
Mexico.

U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, CO

Fort Hunter-Liggett Ammo Supply Point, CA

The construction of four TechSpan arch

magazines has now been completed for the
Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives
programs Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction
Pilot Plant (PCAPP). The project site is located
at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in
Colorado. Unlike previous TechSpan storage
magazines designed by RECo, these structures
will serve a very distinct and sustainable
purpose. PCAPP is being built to safely and
efficiently destroy a stockpile of chemical
weapons with the objective to destroy more than
2,600 tons of chemical agents in mortar rounds
and projectiles.

In October, 2010 RECo contracted with J & P

Construction, Santa Anna, to supply the TechSpan
precast concrete arches and Reinforced Earth
wing walls for construction of an ammunition
storage magazine for the US Army Corps of
Engineers at Fort Hunter-Liggett Army Base near
King City, CA. The magazine was constructed
with Techspan arches forming the storage area
with MSE walls at opposing ends to retain
the embankment built over the arches. Once
completed, the ammunition storage magazine
would be 80 in length with a maximum ceiling
height of 14 and span of 26. The Techspan
arches are designed to provide the flexibility

required to absorb explosive energy while

remaining structurally intact.
The completion of this ammunition storage
magazine followed the successful construction of
3 previous magazines at the same Ammunition
Supply Point (ASP), all being supplied by RECo
for installation by J & P Construction. The
10-year, four-phase investment by the Forts
DPW comprised replacements of outdated ASP
magazines with construction in each of the years
2001, 2002, 2003, and 2010.
Because of the sheer size of the precast arches,
the dimensional tolerances were very tight to
ensure proper alignment of the pieces once
erected at the site. This was accomplished with
very close coordination between RECo and the
precaster, Pro-Cast Products, Inc., Highland,
CA. Erection of the 80 long TechSpan arch
was completed in less than two days. RECo,
the owner, and the contractor were able to
partner together in all four phases, absent an
outside consultant, and successfully achieve
operable structures utilizing the Corps Standard
Design for TechSpan Magazines. All agreed
that this coordinated approach represented a
significant savings in both time and labor costs
when compared to the traditional cast-in-place
construction method.

The three magazines shown above serve

to store and ready the chemical munitions
elements before dismantlement and separation
processes. These three structures are termed
MSMs or Munitions Service Magazines. The
fourth magazine, not shown, is termed the
ESM, or Energetics Service Magazine. The ESM
is designed to store, protect and prepare the
energetic materials for the final stages of the
destruction process which involves state-of-theart neutralization and biotreatment processes.
On this project the U.S. Army and the Bechtel
Pueblo Team demanded the highest level
of quality control and quality assessment

2 |REConews

Completed Ammunition Storage Magazine Fort Hunter-Liggett

Fort Riley Ammo Supply Point, Kansas

Fort Riley Ammo Supply Point, KS

The origins of Fort Riley date back to the
1850s, conceived as a military outpost offering
protection along the major routes of migration
and commerce. The Fort has operated as a
key training center for military personnel in all
US-involved wars since the Civil War, and now
since 2006 leads the Military Transition Teams,
or MiTTs Training missions. Following training
at Fort Riley, these 10 to 15 person teams from
across the Army, Navy and Air Force in turn train
in-country security forces to ensure effective
military leadership following the departure of the
US forces.
The infusion of the MiTTs mission conbined
with the return of the 1st Infantry Division to
the Fort in 2006 warranted a major upgrade to
the ammunition storage facilities. In October
2009 the Corps Kansas City District advertised
a request for bids to construct six new storage
igloo magazines. The Corps bid documents
allowed contract bidders the option of
constructing the igloos either as cast-in-place or
as precast. In April, 2010, the successful bidder,
JRH Development, Overland Park, selected the
precast option and awarded RECo a contract to
provide design-build assistance and materials
for the precast TechSpan arches and Reinforced
Earth wing walls for the six igloos.
RECos design-build services entailed siteadapting the Corps standard precast design
to meet the unique site conditions. First, the
desired footprint for the ASP called for two
different length igloos - four at 60 long, and
two at 80 long, detached from one another and
arranged in a roundabout plan. Second, the
geotechnical conditions called for three distinct
design parameters for structure footings with
variable allowable bearing pressures of 2 TSF, 5
TSF, and 10 TSF and therefore three dissimilar
footing and wing wall designs were required.
Precasting was undertaken at American Precast
Inc., Omaha. The project was completed and
released by JRH to the Forts DPW in August,
2011. Upon completion of the work Chris Doyle
of JRH noted, RECo was definitely a pleasure to

work with and we would like the chance to build

these again with RECo wherever they might
exist.
Air National Guard Munitions Complex, OH
In 2008 the180th Air Force Fighter Wing
based at the Ohio ANG Base adjacent to the
Toledo Express Airport was selected to stand
up an Air Sovereignty Alert mission. The long
anticipated mission will aid in the protection of
the Continental United States and Canada under
the direction of the North America Air Defense
Command.

undertaken by Norwalk Concrete Products Inc.,

Norwalk, Ohio. Having previously furnished
RECo precast for a similar project built for the
Wisconsin ANG in 2006, the work at Norwalk
assured excellence in quality control and
optimized production scheduling. The overall
project is scheduled for completion during the
summer of 2012.

RECo was contacted by the ANG Civil Engineer

Squadron in 2002 to provide a rough order
of magnitude (ROM) for the construction of
a series of munitions storage igloos. Further
along in the planning process Woolpert,
Cincinnati was hired as the A/E firm to prepare
the contract documents. The ANG insisted
that Wooperts design meet Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Silver certification requirements as well as
developing a Low Impact Design (LID) which
would minimize disturbance to the ecological
and natural resources on and around the site.
During the design period RECo worked closely
with Woolpert to arrive at an optimal design for
the complex.
The unique design of the storage igloos
comprises four TechSpan arch enclosures each
80 long and efficiently spaced in close proximity
of 25 apart. The enclosure units are connected
by continuous concrete walls, cast-in-place for
the entry portions and Reinforced Earth MSE for
the earth-filled separation portions. This optimal
design footprint accomplishes the LID objectives
while satisfying the Air Force explosive safety
requirements and quantity distance areas for
such a complex.
In June, 2011, culminating nine years of
programming, planning, and design, RECo
was awarded a contract from the general
contractor T.B. Pennick/Nordic JV, San Diego for
the design and supply of the TechSpan arches
and Reinforced Earth walls. Precasting was

Techspan Construction - ANG Complex, Ohio

Aerial View I-215 On-Ramp to Southbound I-15 Ramp

Shored Reinforced Earth Walls

I-215 On-Ramp to Southbound I-15 Ramp Widening

Location: Salt Lake County, Utah
As more and more D.O.T.s are struggling to find
space to accommodate the increasing traffic
flows in their regions, roadway and ramp
widening projects are becoming more common.
This has led to the more frequent use of
Shored Reinforced Earth Wall (SREW) systems.
This was such the case on I-215 on-ramp to
southbound I-15 ramp in Salt Lake City, UT.

which was checked using a FLAC numerical

analysis. Due to the high seismic loading and
the close proximity of the two walls, using
ladder soil reinforcements increased pullout
capacity, thereby decreasing the number of soil

reinforcements required by design and number

of connections needed on the existing walls.
The construction began in mid 2011 and is
slated for completion by mid 2012.

The Reinforced Earth Company was contracted

in early 2011 by Ralph L. Wadsworth
Construction to design and supply 17,000 SF
of Reinforced Earth (RE) retaining walls for the
widening of the two existing ramps currently
being supported by Mechanically Stabilized
Earth (MSE) walls. The existing walls were
located merely 11-0 behind the new RE wall
alignment. The wall heights range from 6 to 30
which is a width to height ratio ranging from
0.35H to 0.55H. The close proximity between
the two walls required the use of a SREW
system.
For this project, a sandwich connection type
of SREW system was utilized. This consisted
of overlapping ladder soil reinforcements that
are connected to the back face of the new walls
(just like conventional MSE construction), and
to the front face of the existing walls via the use
of mechanical anchors (clip angles). Another
unique aspect of the project is the high seismic
loading (0.4g) that was considered for the walls,

4 |REConews

Existing MSE Wall with Clip Angles Attaching New Precast Panels for Lane Widening

RECo Around the Globe

Spain - Benazaire Viaduct, Badajoz
Acciona Infrastructures awarded the contract for the
manufacture, supply and installation of lintels and beams
for the Benazaire viaduct in Badajoz to Tierra Armada
Espaa. This viaduct was designed to connect the
opposite banks of a branch of the Garcia Sola reservoir,
replacing the old viaduct. The engineering solution
consisted of six spans of 34.50 m each on lightened lintels,
and adopted a double T-type beam structure. Among
other features, the viaduct (of isostatic construction) was
erected without intermediate expansion joints. The project
was completed in October 2011.

Brazil BRT Transoeste , Rio de Janeiro

On December 2011, Terra Armada (Brazil) completed
3,300m of TerraClass walls for the BRT (Bus Rapid
Transit) Transoeste in Rio de Janeiro. The project
consists of a 32 km express corridor that will connect
Barra da Tijuca to Santa Cruz, in the western zone of Rio
de Janeiro. It is part of Rios Urban Mobility Plan, designed
to prepare the city for the 2014 World Cup and 2016
Olympic Games. These RE walls (false abutments) were
constructed by Odebrecht, as part of 3 viaducts designed
to eliminate level crossings.

South Africa A story of the unexpected

In 1982 Reinforced Earth South Africa (RESA) completed
a contract for two Reinforced Earth roads over river
bridges in Mpumalanga Province. The bridges carry
National Road 4 (N4) over the Vis and the Cairn Spruits
(streams). The Visspruit abutments are 17m high while
the Cairnspruit abutments are about 6m high. The
structures each supported a single carriageway of the N4
and were designed to be widened by future generations
when the need for two carriageways would arise. Thirty
years later the future generation turned out to be the
same generation for RESA which was awarded the
contract for the widening in late 2011.

Upcoming Events
VTCA
April 18 - 20, 2012 - Williamsburg, VA
DBIA in Transportation
April 25 - 27, 2012 - Phoenix, AZ
SEAOI Bridge Symposium
April 26, 2012 - Chicago, IL
GEO Virginia
April 30 - May 1, 2012 - Williamsburg, VA
Geo-Americas
May 1 - 4, 2012 - Lima, Peru
37th SW Geotechnical Conference
May 14 - 17, 2012 - Tulsa, OK
SAME
May 22 - 25, 2012 - St. Louis, MO
17th Great Lakes Geotechnical Conference
May 24, 2012
Cleveland, OH

Gap Dam at Thornton Reservoir

High Adherence Reinforcing Strips

Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) Dam Construction
Location: Thornton, Illinois
The Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) is a
multi-billion dollar construction project in
Illinois that aims to reduce flooding in the
metropolitan Chicago area, as well as reducing
the harmful effects of flushing raw sewage into
Lake Michigan by diverting storm water and
sewage into temporary holding reservoirs. One
of these reservoirs will be constructed in the
existing Thornton Quarry located in Thornton,
Illinois. The Northern lobe of the eastern area
of the Thornton Quarry is being converted into a
reservoir suitable for retaining combined sewer
overflow (CSO) while the Main (Southern) lobe
continues to be mined. This is achieved by the
installation of a roller compacted concrete (RCC)
dam to fill the existing gap in the rock formation
so that waters in the Northern lobe are isolated
from the remainder Main (Southern) lobe of the
quarry.
When completed the Gap Dam in the eastern
area of Thornton Quarry between the two lobes

6 |REConews

of unexcavated rock formation which serves

as the right of way of the Tri-State Tollway
(I-80/I-294) will be approximately 115 feet
in height, 240 feet wide at the crest, and will
contain approximately 32,000 cubic yards of
RCC.
RCC dams are constructed with concrete
that is compacted by roller compaction and
provided with a suitable facing system. In
RCC, the concrete mixture must be dry enough
to support a roller during compaction while
allowing the sufficient distribution of the binder
mortar in concrete. A number of processes
have been used to construct the upstream
and downstream faces of RCC Dam. For
the Gap Dam, the Grout-enriched vibratable
RCC (GEVR) was used for facing since GEVR
enhances the workability and/or durability
of RCC along the face. GEVR is no different
from traditional concrete and it is produced by
introducing into the placed, but uncompacted,
RCC a small amount of neat cement and water
grout resulting in increased workability that is

suitable for vibration with immersion vibrators.

The contract documents require that the
contractor, FH Paschen/CABO Joint Venture,
shall design the formwork for supporting GEVR
facing during construction. The contractor
elected to use the High Adherence Ribbed
Reinforcing Strips (HA Strips) embedded in
the RCC to internally support the climbing
formwork system that will be used to construct
the GEVR facing. The use of the HA Strips by
The Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) ensured
that the rate of RCC placement and the rise of
RCC surface were not impacted by the capacity
of the internal anchorage system that supports
the formwork during RCC placement. Since
external bracing was not a viable option, the
specially developed internal bracing system
employing HA Strips supplied by RECo
played a major role in improving the overall
constructibility of this 115-ft. tall RCC dam.

Affiliations-News Flash

Washington Aqueduct 3rd High Main

The Washington Aqueduct produces drinking water for approximately one million citizens living, working, or visiting in the District
of Columbia, Arlington County, Virginia, and the City of Falls Church, Virginia, and its service area.
The Corps of Engineers designed, built, and, in 1859, began operating the Aqueduct. Since then, the Corps has substantially expanded
and improved the capacity and function of the Aqueduct from its original mission of supplying raw river water to a sparsely populated
District of Columbia to todays mission of providing safe drinking water to a much larger and more populous service area.
Part of the Corps continual efforts in improving the Aqueduct included repairs to the 3rd High Main Bridge over the Dalecarlia
Reservoir, located in Washington, D.C. Freyssinet USA was contracted to jack a 48 water main, replace the water mains 29 supports,
jack the concrete bridge supporting the water main over the reservoir and
repair the concrete abutments and the four piers.
Freyssinet flat jacks were used as a design alternative to safely transfer
the pipe load to new cast-in-place saddles without settlement as existing
saddles were demolished. For pier and abutment jacking, high precision
displacement gauges as well as a dedicated survey crew measure and confirm
that deflections during jacking operations do not exceed limits. Temporary
jacks were installed on a steel jacking frame at each abutment in order to
support the bridge beams during the corbel demolition and replacement. At
the piers, jacks were used to temporarily support the bridge beams while the
existing pedestals were demolished and new bearings and pedestals were
installed.

East Abutment Jacking Frame

AMSE works with the American Association of State Highway and

Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA), state departments of transportation, consultants and
owners to ensure that specifications are correct and that end
users understand how steel-reinforced MSE structures behave
AMSE members offer a single source of responsibility for design
and supply of fully engineered MSE retaining wall systems.
AMSEs mission is to promote the use of mechanically stabilized
earth (MSE) retaining structures using steel reinforcements,
supplied through a single source of responsibility.

WANT TO KNOW
MORE ?
AMSE
P.O. Box 9142
McLean, VA 22102
703.749.3033
www.amsewalls.org
info@amsewalls.org

Meet Your Division Managers

Sam Calabrese, P.E. Mid-Atlantic
Sam joined RECo in 2006 through the acquisition of L.B. Foster Geotechnical Group. He is currently the Division
Manager for the NE Division which includes the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic 1 and Mid-Atlantic 2 Regions. Prior to
joining RECo Sam was a Division Manager for L. B. Foster where his responsibilities include estimating, negotiating
contracts, cost control, billing and collections for all projects in the Northeast, and Midwest. His experience in the field
of Geotechnical Engineering started in 1974. Through the past 38 years Sam has held various Engineering, Project
Management and Estimating/Sales positions in companies such as Law Engineering, Driggs Corporation and Franki
Foundation Company.
Sam holds a BSCE and a MSCE from State University of New York at Buffalo and is a registered professional engineer
in MD, VA, NC, KY, DE, SD, NH, VT, CT, KS, WI, MO and TN. He is the holder of a U.S. patent for a method of driving a
pile using an external mandrel.

Jack Stewart, P.E. Southeast

Jack was employed by RECo in 1986 as an Assistant Project Manager. He was shortly thereafter promoted to Project
Manager and, eventually, Operations Manager for the Southeast Division, which at the time included AL, FL, GA, KY,
MS, SC, TN and Puerto Rico. In 1994, Jack became Regional Manager for the current Southeast Region. In 2006, he took
on the additional responsibility of Division Manager which includes the Southeast and Florida Regions. Jack has been
in the Atlanta office for his entire RECo career.
Prior to joining RECo, Jack received his BCE from the Georgia Institute of Technology and worked seven years for
Georgia Department of Transportation. Jack is a registered P.E. in the state of Georgia and is an active member of ASCE.

Alex Abraham, P.E. Mid-West

Alex was employed by RECo in 1995 as a Geotechnical and Regional Engineer. Prior to joining the RECo team he had
over 6 years experience in geotechnical engineering and construction. In 2000 Alex became the Mid-West Regional
Manger, and in 2010 was promoted to Mid-West Division Manager, which includes the Mid-West and Great Plains
Regions.
He has given presentations at several regional and national seminars and is an active member of the ASCE, GeoInstitute
and APWA. He is a graduate of National Institute of Technology, Tamilnadu, India with a BSCE, University of Cincinnati
with a MSCE, and Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University with a MBA. Alex is currently
a licensed PE in Alaska, Hawaii and Ohio.

Tom Schick, P.E. Central

Tom Schick graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland in 1977. The first 4 years of his
professional career were spent with Conrail where he gained experience in the railroad industry. Then in May of 1981,
he began his current employment with RECo. Tom is currently the Vice President and Division Manger for the Central
Division.
Tom has been based in RECos Dallas office for all 29 years of his tenure. During that time, Tom also earned an MBA
from the University of Dallas. Toms active membership in ASCE includes service as the Fort Worth Branch President.
He has also served on an AREMA structures committee. For the last 27 years, Tom has been a licensed PE in both
Maryland and Texas.

Larry Novak Western

Larry joined the RECo team in April 2010 as the Western Division Manager, which includes the Western and Southwest
Regions. Prior to his career at RECo Larry worked in the Sales and Estimating Department at Slaton Brothers, Inc. since
2003. Slaton Broths. is a RECo affiliate that provides construction services for earth retention, ground improvement
and soil stabilization needs.
Larrys career in the retaining wall industry started in 1986. His experience up until he joined RECo was in the
installation of structures and includes nearly every aspect of the business, including owner. Throughout those years
he worked with RECo on numerous projects. Now with RECo he has moved into the design and supply aspect of the
industry. Along with his Divisional Manager duties he is enjoying serving as the Regional Manager for the Western
Region for the states of AK, WA, OR, ID, MT, WY, CO, NE, and KS.

8 |REConews

Coming in Summer 2012-Meet your Engineering Managers