fG
ENGINEERING
TECHNICAL
SYSTEM
NOTESTECHNICAL REPORTS
DATA RETRIEVALMANAGEMENT
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
FIELD
P-i
VOLUME
Field
11
NUMBER
7
Notes
TOOL
FOR ENGINEERING MEASUREMENTS
MONITORING
SLOPE EROSION BY
CLOSE-RANGE PHOTOGRAMMETRY
AIR
VENT SIZING FOR REGULATED DAM
OUTLET
WORKS
FOREST SERVICE INVOLVEMENT IN
1-70 VAIL PASS
FOREST SERVICE
mws5ýý
RUýS
U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
JULY
1979
UýS
ENGINEERING
Volume
Information
FIELD NOTES
Number
11
7
in this publication
has been developed
for guidance
of employees
Department of Agriculture-Forest
its
Service
and its
contractors
and State agencies.
The Department of Agriculture assumes no
contained
respon-sibility
of
the
United
cooperating
for
The
use
Federal
the interpretation or use
of this information
of trade firm or corporation
convenience
Such
of the reader.
of any product
of others that
The
States
or service
may be
text in the
by the United
be construed
or policy
except
by
in this
publication
own
employees.
for the information
and
an official endorsement or approval
constitute
States
is
its
Department of Agriculture
to the exclusion
suitable.
publication
must not
names
use does not
by other than
as
FSM
represents
the
recommended
references.
personal
opinions
or approved
Because
should
and engineering technicians
not intended exclusively for engineers.
engineers
of the type
read
each
FOREST SERVICE
U.S.
of the respective
procedures
of material in the publication
issue
however
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Washington
D.C.
20013
author and
mandatory instructions
this
publication
all
is
TERRESTRIAL
PHOTOGRAMMETRY--A
TOOL FOR ENGINEERING
MEASUREMENTS
Wayne Valentine P.E.
Geometronics Engineer
Region
ENGINEERS
NEED
1
MEASUREMENTS
use--and make--measurements.
and technicians
Practically
of concern
to an engineer
such as design construction
The
maintenance or management require a measurement of some sort.
measure of size or shape the amount of volume or some base
is necessary
for technical analysis.
Engineers
all tasks
rela-tionship
PHOTOGRAMMETRY-A
MEASUREMENT
TOOL
Measurements
made from aerial photographs
aerial photogrammetry
have been made for engineering purposes for many years in the Forest
Service..
Most Regions and many-Forests have the ability and the
with aerial photogrammetry.
to make measurements
experience
of elevation and of X-Y coordinates
by photogrammetry have
been used to plan roads measure earthwork
locate boundaries and
describe rights-of-way.
Meas-urements
ex-plored
j
of habit.
We all have job pressures.
Most of us are creatures
The
to
with
and
learn
about
new
and
opportunity
experiment
techniques
the true potential of photogrammetry
tools is limited. Therefore
tool has not really been fully
as an engineering
measurement
used
in
the Forest Service.
or
developed
Many measurement
with
can
be
dealt
and
problems
easily inexpensively
accurately
through the use of photogrammetry.
However many engineers are not
familiar with the potential of aerial photogrammetry let alone
terrestrial photogrammetry.
What is terrestrial photogrammetry
The major technical difference
between aerial and terrestrial photogrammetry is that in the former
the camera is in an airplane while in the latter the camera is on
the ground.
Different cameras are used but the technical and
theoretical applications
of terrestrial photogrammetry are really
than
those
of aerial photogrammetry.
not very different
1
land-sli
re-quired
DIFFICULT
MEASUREMENT
JOBS
Have
you ever had trouble in accurately
measuring a quarry or borrow
Have
ever
been
asked
to
monitor
the movement
of a
pit
you
to
a
stream
channel
section
have
been
asked
Maybe you
cross
for erosion studies.
A bridge inspection program might have
accurate
measurement of bridge deflection
under load see
a
Maybe
gravel stockpile or even a log deck has been the
figure.
measurement
needs.
of
target
your
Or perhaps the problem of
to fit a cover
for an awkwardly
shaped opening has required
that you describe the shape by dimensions.
cut-ting
low-cost
measure-ments.
frag-ile
PHOTOGRAMMETRY
CAN HELP
These examples present a list of difficult measurement problems
the tool of
they can readily be attacked--in
many cases--using
terrestrial photogrammetry
This technique
offers a precise
It will permit
measurements.
graphic means of making accurate
in two or three dimensions of practically
measurements
any surface
In addition photogrammetry
allows noncontact
or shape.
This can be important if the object
to be measured is
or hard to reach.
x.
How
can
the
bridge
deflection
2
be
measured
close-range
EQUIPMENT
READILY
AVAILABLE
Almost
all Regions
and several Forests have stereoplotting equipment.
the means of making measurements
by the use of
photogrammetry is within the reach of many Forest Service
units.
In addition to the plotting equipment
all that is basically
The camera should have a
required is a high-quality camera.
system and be of reasonably large format.
The Hasselblad
500C meets these requirements.
A camera of this type may be obtained
for about $1500 to $3000.
The price difference depends on extra
lenses film packs and other available accessories.
One drawback
to this approach
is that this type of camera is not
however
designed for photogrammetry.
Therefore
film-tensioning
spe-cifically
specifi-cally
Nevertheless
obtained
as
by using
noted
in the following
article
nonphotogrammetric
cameras.
good
results
can be
There
are several cameras and camera systems on the market
designed for terrestrial work.
Probably the least expensive
camera of this type is the Wild P-32 which
is in the $5000 price
class.
This camera mounts on a T-2 theodolite a provision that
allows all camera axes to be set to zero.
This feature helps to
set up the subsequent stereoplotter operations.
More sophisticated
and more expensive systems are available from Kelsh Wild Zena
and other manufacturers.
For most expected applications
in the
Forest Service
the lower-priced systems offer good potential for
measurements
at reasonable
achieving photogrammetric
cost.
Almost any stereoplotter can be used for terrestrial work.
The
Forest Service has many Kolshes Topocarts B-8s C-8s and even
Stereomicrometers that are suitable as plotting instruments
for many
applications.
USE
SUPRISINGLY
SIMPLE
Field operations
for terrestrial work are very simple.
Control
the same as for aerial applications.
points need to be established
This can be done by leveling between targets at the top and bottom
of the camera scene.
Another way is to measure a baseline parallel
with the camera base.
The ends of the baseline are marked with
targets that appear in the photo scene.
estab-lished.
A camera baseline
parallel with the object to be measured is
distance between camera stations on the base usually
1 - 4
is carefully measured
and exposures are taken from each
camera station.
Further operations
are performed in the photo lab
and in the plotter.
m
The
3
deter-mined
PLOTTER
HINTS
If
photogrammetry the focal length of the camera must be known.
camera is used the focal length can be
nonphotogrammetric
an object
of known
length at a known distance.
by photographing
Effective
focal length
The image size is measured on the negative.
can be computed from the known dimensions.
In
a
neces-sary
Cameras with short 65-mm or less focal lengths normally are used
for terrestrial work.
The wide angle of the short focal length will
Such a wide angle might be
provide greater model coverage.
in projection plotters
for the placement
of the photographs
such as the Kelsh.
In the Kelsh the model base needs to be greater
than about 1 foot 0.3 m.
For use in most plotters
except
the photos must be
or universal plotters such as the
to an equivalent
6- or 8.25-inch
15.2-cm or 20.955-cm focal
analyt-ica
en-larged
C-8
length.
can
If the camera has no fiducial marking systems the photo center
in
be established
at the intersection of diagonal lines connecting
each corner.
This will locate the photo center with enough accuracy
for most applications.
gen-erally
of the
on the focal length and focus characteristics
Depending
or perhaps even
camera the photo scale can be as large a
should
The base height ratio photo base to object
larger.
0.07 and 0.25.
be between
110
Engineers familiar with aerial photogrammetry should have little
The following
difficulty
relating to terrestrial applications.
article Monitoring Cut Slope Erosion by Close Range
with this technique.
A difficult
relates experience
task was successfully accomplished
using terrestrial
Photogram-metry
meas-urement
photo-grammetry
4
MONITORING
BY
CUT
CLOSE-RANGE
SLOPE-EROSION
PHOTOGRAMMETRY
Michael J. Cook
USFS Intermountain
Experiment Station
Missoula Montana
Wayne
H.
Valentine
P.E.
USFS Northern Region
Missoula
Montana
quar-ries
INTRODUCTION
It
close-range photogrammetry has been field tested.
currently being used to measure the amount of erosion from road
Additional
cuts and other surfaces.
uses such as measuring
channel erosion slides and slide movement appear to be
possible and practical.
A method using
is
con-trol
HORSE
CREEK STUDY
AREA
and erosion
Evaluations
of various types of road construction
conducted
the
Horse
Creek
area in the
on
are being
techniques
This
in
north-central
Idaho.
area has
Forest
Nezperce National
Research
watershed
as a large-scale
laboratory.
been established
there
the
soil
and
is being
conducted
on
hydrologic impacts of
construction
and
timber
kinds of road
harvesting
practices.
dif-ferent
Base values for
The watershed has been monitored for many years.
sediment
have
been established.
production
water quality and natural
construction
in
which
a
road
of
A number of subdrainages
variety
This
have
been
monitored.
are currently being applied
techniques
and
caused
of
the
erosion
sedimentation
will enable studies
by road
harvest
construction
and timber
practices.
EROSION
MEASUREMENTS
transporta-bility
of actual erosion
To meet the objectives of this study measurements
are needed to study erosion rates mechanisms and the
to make these
A variety of techniques
of eroded materials.
In the past measurements
of slope
measurements were considered.
reference pins in
erosion have been made by establishing
permanent
from these pins and direct
Wires were stretched
the slope.
This.
were made to the slope from the reference. wire.
in terms of reliability and accuracy.
has obvious drawbacks
Also the slope is disturbed during the measurement process.
measure-ments
pro-cedure
5
Another method has been to trap sediments from the slope which
has drawbacks
in terms of accuracy and reliability.
also
per-forming
ter-restria
sat-isfactory.
One logical solution to this measurement problem is the use of
close-range photogrammetry.
To develop field procedures
for
these measurements
by stereo-photogrammetry a special
camera that mounts on a theodolite was obtained.
It was
determined
that measurement
accuracies
of about 10 mm would be
Through several trials the final field procedures
for
the stereo-photography
A variety of photo
process were established.
bases distances between
camera stations was tried.
The most
base
photo
was 2
with this base the measurement
were met with ease.
sat-isfactory
accu-racies
m
re-quired
CAMERA
SYSTEM
As many as 50 sites must be measured.
The camera system that was
used in establishing
the field procedure was cumbersome.
It
two setups per site and the use ofspecial glass plates
rather than film.
A more efficient method for acquiring field
To solve this problem two electrically
photography was necessary.
driven high-quality cameras were mounted on a 2-m bar and attached
to a tripod figure 1.
These cameras do not possess calibrated
lenses and have no fiducial marking systems as do special
cameras.
have a film tensioning system
They do however
that assures flat film during exposure.
terres-tria
ý
a
a
Figure Z.--EZectriaZZy
driven
cameras on 2-m mounting bar.
6
To
test
the relative accuracy of these cameras against the special
The surface was measured
camera a flat surface was photographed.
in the first-order stereoplotting instrument.
photogrammetrically
A series of measurements were taken in a stereo model that was only
relatively oriented.
By using a regular aerial triangulation
flat plane was passed through the
program a mathematically
series of measurements.
The deviation of the model from flatness
was determined.
By this test it was found that the model was
at least within 3 - 5 mm.
This met the measurement
precision criteria previously established.
adjust-ment
in-deed
flat
FIELD CONTROL
distance
typical case the object
camera to cutslope is
the
m.
cut
By photographing
sloping
surface the net model
area appears as a wedge-shaped
Dimensions
figure.
range from 5 on the bottom 8 - 17 m on the top and 1 - 9 m high figure 2.
In
5
a
-
8
7
m
In photogrammetry the stereo models must be controlled.
At least
one distance and three elevations must be known for points in the
model.
base-line
To provide field control for the stereo models the following
scheme
A baseline which runs through the camera station
was employed.
was laid out.
A perpendicular
was erected from this baseline
through
the center of the model.
Two control lines parallel to the
in the model
were established
at the top out of the cut zone
and in the bottom along the ditch line.
Distances
between targets
on these control lines were measured.
The distance from the camera
stations to points at the top center and bottom of the model were
also measured
These targets enabled the scaling
figure 3.
and twist of the model to be adequately
controlled.
The points
so established
monumented
were permanently
targets.
level-ing
STEREO
MEASUREMENT
Erosion
measurement utilizes a series of stereo models taken at
The first year provides the base or no erosion
yearly intervals.
situation.
It was expected
that the change in the surface could be
measured by contouring--or
more properly profiling--a series of
equally spaced lines along the cut slope.
Thus the profiles from
The area between
the two profiles
year to year would be compared.
could be measured
and the average
end-area method could be applied
in computing the net volume change of the surface.
To test the
feasibility of this system an attempt was made to profile then to
surface.
In attempting
exactly reprofile an unchanged
to do this
the difficulty of precision
profiling became apparent.
It is very
difficult for the plotter operator to follow a previous path exactly
with his measuring mark due to the extreme convergence
angle of the
This convergence
is caused by the short object
measuring mark.
distance.
7
8-17m
cut
slope
1-9mupto
16m without
changes
or
in
camera
control
setup
ditch
ý-- 5-7m
--Figure
2.--Typical
stereo
model.
Baseline
Top
Cut
of
Parallel
Baseline
Normal
Ditchline
Rood
ý
ý
Shoulder
-
-4-1
-i-
-
-
ý-
Baseline
---
Camera
- - - -- -- - - -
-ý--
Station
3.--Plan view
8
Baseline
Permanent
Camera
Figure
Parallel
i
-
of control.
Reference
Location
-
Due
was
to these problems the method of measuring erosion by profiles
abandoned.
Instead the digital approach was selected.
In this
process a computer program sums a large number of volume elements.
The total volume of the figure bounded by the camera plane the cut
The length of each volume
slope and the model limits are computed.
element is measured photogrammetrically.
The size of each element
to a uniform grid placed in the model.
corresponds
In following
A subtractive
years the same area is digitized on the same grid.
program computes the amount of change comparing volume of the first
This program
year against volume of the figure at succeeding years.
measures positive and negative volume change.
The
is proving very satisfactory.
It allows rapid
digital technique
Work on this project is proceeding with actual
processing of data.
digitizing being performed on analytical stereoplotters at the
Forest Service Geometronics Service Center in Salt Lake City Utah.
pre-cise.
SUMMARY
For this measurement
problem close-range photogrammetry clearly
offers significant
It is reliable accurate
advantages.
and
It is repeatable and most important
provides a noncontact
means of making measurements.
In addition a comparatively
large
sample area can be measured in a narrow timespan.
This allows
studies of slopes that have experienced
the same weather conditions.
After the initial investment is made in acquiring field control
future measurements
can be made at relatively low cost.
The use of
a high-quality
camera permits stereo measurements
to be made within
specified accuracy limits. The digital approach
offers the most
practical way of measuring volume change.
ob-tained
Additional
information regarding costs necessary
field control
to specific needs and other possible uses can be
adaptation
from the authors.
9
WORKS--A
AIR VENT
PROGRAM
SIZING
FOR
THE
FOR
REGULATED
DAM
HEWLETT-PACKARD
67
OUTLET
HAND
CALCULATOR
Herbert A. SmaZZwood
and Sanitation Engineer
Hydraulic
Region 2
The determination
of air requirements and the sizing of vent pipes
to prevent cavitation
in regulated
dam outlets has been complicated
Recent work by Dr. Henry Falvey of the
test data.
by conflicting
Bureau of Reclamation
has clarified much of the confusion and forms
the basis for some of the relationships in this program.
The work
done by Dr. Falvey should be published in the near future.
con-dition
This
for the
program is actually two three-card programs--one
where the controls are at the inlet end and one where the
controls are within the length of the outlet conduit.
The programs
are so similar that a single description is adequate
for both.
assum-ing
inser-ted
first card calculates the flow upstream of and through the valve
conditions.
It calculates
assuming no reduction due to downstream
the maximum possible gravity flow downstream
from the valve
the conduit just flows full but not under pressure.
If the
that
flow
is
than
calculated
for
the
downstream
upstream
greater
portion the program displays a series of 2s to indicate that the
second card for pressure flow in the entire system is to be
If the flow calculated
for the downstream portion is
next.
series
of 3s to indicate that the
the
a
greater
program displays
if applicable
third card for pressure flow upstream
and gravity
flow downstream is to be inserted next.
The
require-ments
If the lower portion of the conduit flows under pressure the Froude
number is determined
for the flow under the gate and air
from the equation developed
are determined
from the Kalinske
and Robertson tests
diam-eter
g
where
and F
100
0.0066
F
-
11.4
the ratio of the quantity of air to the quantity of water
the Froude number.
The program then calculates the
of the air vent pipe required to keep the air velocity at
feet per second 1829 meters per minute.
This limitation is
S
is
is
11
imposed to keep noise
limited or protective
levels to a point
gear required.
where
time is not
exposure
dis-charge
If the lower portion of the conduit flows by gravity the assumption
is made that the air velocity at the discharge end is the same as
ratio is taken as
the water velocity
due to the drag and the
the ratio of the cross-sectional
of
air
to
water at the
areas
end.
While this assumption might not be true in a strict
sense it represents the maximum expected value.
Obviously for
of
this
assumed
condition
is not likely
shallow
depths
water
very
is
it
not
that
the
would
often
but
likely
system
operate in this
To
the
maximum
water
depth should
range.
prevent unsteady flow
not exceed three quarters of the diameter of the pipe.
ý-
assumptions are made to simplify the program most can be
entrance and trash rack losses are
changed if conditions warrant
combined and are represented as 1.8 times the velocity head for full
is the same for the
pipe flow the specific roughness coefficient
full length of the outlet conduit-and for the vent pipe air weighs
0.06 pound per cubic
foot 0.96.
kilograms per cubic centimeter
and can be changed for lower altitudes temperature and vapor
effects
are neglected because
the limit imposed on the air
makes
the pressure loss in the vent pipe extremely small
velocity
in most cases and the conduit flows at normal depth if it flows
partially full.
Certain
pres-sure
con-tracted
The
determination
of
the Froude
number
F
vl/2
Y9
is
based
on
valve
loss coefficients and the assumption that
commonly accepted
the losses are expansion losses.
From this the ratio of the
to
the
is found.
These same valve
pipe
velocity
velocity
The
is a term used in the Harris
specific roughness coefficient
method for determining the friction factor for turbulent flow in a
The method is similar to Moodys but has the
pipe of any diameter.
advantage
of a physical representation that the designer can grasp.
Due
to the
effect of particle distribution and varying size the
particle diameter selected in the Moody system probably does not
exist.
The Harris method says that in turbulent
flow
fac-tor
f
fl
0.0061
-
D1/3
where
f1
is
the
specific
roughness
of a 1-foot 0.3048-m
expressed in feet.
coefficient
diameter
12
pipe and
or
D
is
the
the
friction
pipe
diameter
per-cent
loss coefficients are used to determine an equation from which
the
This portion of
program calculates the loss for any valve opening.
the program would have to be modified for application
to butterfly
or plug valves but would be suitable for square gates if the
opening were accurate.
with-in
In the event the discharge conduit is not circular the assumption
of a pipe of equal hydraulic radius should result in a solution
the accuracy of the state of the art.
The
the
for the programs can be obtained
listing and documentation
author at the R-2 Regional office 11177 West 8th Avenue
Colorado 80225.
Box 25127 Lakewood
13
from
U.S.
FOREST
SERVICE
INVOLVEMENT
OF 1-70
VAIL
PASS
IN
THE
CONSTRUCTION
COLORADO
Charles H. MiZZer
Civil Engineer
White River N.F.
Region
2
INTRODUCTION
High-way
proj-ects.
This material developed
from a paper given by the author at the
58th Annual Meeting of the Transportation
Research
Board serves as
an introduction
to the liaison functions very often required of the
Forest Service.
While this discussion
is about an Interstate
most of the points made apply to other types of
Project
m
sub-alpine
en-vironmental
review-ing
The Vail Pass segment of Interstate Highway 70 was constructed
Forest in Colorado
across the Gore Range on the White River National
at an elevation of 10600 feet 3230.88
it is within the
The goal of the project was to construct
the
ecosystem.
in a manner that would be as unobtrusive
as possible.
As
highway
the land management
agency the Forest Service had responsibility
to ensure that the construction
would neither disrupt nor destroy
the lands resources.
The
Forest
Service carried out this responsibility by issuing
constraint
for the construction
stipulations
by
the construction
in relation to these
plans and specifications
work.
stipulations and by periodically reviewing the construction
A Forest Service Liaison Officer GS-12 Civil Engineer was assigned
to the project
and with the help of specialists expressed Forest
Service concerns.
This team assisted the Colorado Department of
in
Highways
minimizing or eliminating the adverse environmental
caused by the construction
of a highway built to Interstate
standards.
System
im-pacts
pro-fessionals
environmental problems generated by the
For many of the sensitive
solutions were found
highway
construction unique and innovative
and applied through the cooperative
efforts of many different
The result is an interstate highway
and agencies.
that
is compatible with the surrounding mountain environment.
Washington
D.C.
January
18
19 79
15
44
l
tlt
aant
s
0.BlzF.
tl
l
\
Ec
t4ý
-
ý.
1
ýf-ý
F
Figure 1.--Reinforced earth retaining waZZs near
proposed game crossing bridge iZZustrate the use
of new structural applications.
FOREST
RESPONSIBILITY
SERVICE
construc-tion
Forest Service is responsible
of the National
for management
this includes authorizing occupancy
of land and
activities.
A right-of-way or easement is granted after the
work is completed according
to the plans and specifications.
The
Forests
scope--was
Agri-culture
Forest lands to
During the course of legally transferring National
the Colorado Department of Highways
for construction
of the highway
there were three sets of stipulations or construction
requirements
The first set--rather broad in
agreed upon and implemented.
written into the Easement Deed between the Department of
and the Department of Transportation.
The second set of
more specific requirements was written into the Memorandum of
between the Colorado Department of Highways and the Forest
Service.
The third set consisted of construction
clauses included
with the Interim Letter of Consent
for construction which was
by the Forest Service to the Colorado Department of Highways as
but
These requirements were still more specific
a stipulation.
their exact meaning needed interpretation.
The Interim Letter of
Consent is no longer used.
It has been replaced by a Letter of
which accomplishes
the same end.
is-sue
Con-sen
Under-standing
construc-tion
EASEMENT
The
DEED
authorization
for the transfer of lands to a State for
of an interstate
highway was established
by an Act of Congress
16
manag-ing
right-of-way
Transporta-tion
dated August 27 1958.
Briefly this states that if the Department
of Transportation
deems it necessary for an interstate highway
to
cross Federal lands the Secretary of the Department of
must request an easement from the agency responsible
for
The Department of Transportation
the lands.
grants the
to the State after the easement
is issued.
responsi-bilities.
The granting of the easement to the Department of Transportation
carries with it certain considerations obligations and
The Easement Deed contains 11 stipulations agreed upon
the
two
These stipulations must be executed by the
by
agencies.
State highway
involved
before the Easement Deed is
agency
of
the
Implementation
stipulations becomes the
not only of the State highway agency involved but also of both
the Department of Transportation working through the Federal
Administration and the Department of Agriculture working
through the Forest Service.
consum-mated.
responsibil-ity
High-way
Examples
of the stipulations
are
1.
The State and the Forest
for archeological
surveys.
Service
will determine
the need
con-struction
For-est
2.
The easement will be used only for interstate
in accordance
with the approved
plans.
3.
The
highway
will
be built
to interstate
highway
standards.
4.
The plans and specifications
will be reviewed by the
Service and if necessary changes will be made to protect
National
Forest interests.
5.
The final plans and specifications
Service before construction.
must be approved
by the
con-struction
Forest
6.
Erosion must be prevented
scars must be revegetated
MEMORANDUM
OF
and
during construction
when the work is completed.
UNDERSTANDING
of responsibility is given to
Under the law a further delegation
the Regional Foresters of the Forest Service.
A Memorandum of
must be executed between the Forest Service and the
Understanding
for construction
State highway
of the highway.
agency responsible
This was done in June 1970.
This Memorandum established
and responsibilities from
procedures
the inception of Federal-aid highway
construction
or reconstruction
the environmental impact
through the location and planning stages
statements on-the-ground surveys and joint reviews preconstruction
17
Understand-in
high-way
estab-lished
meetings
and construction
activities.
The Memorandum of
includes the procedures
for coordinating
the transfer of
Nation
Forest lands to the State for the construction
of an interstate
The memorandum elaborates
on the stipulations
already
the
of
of Agriculture
by
Department
Transportation/Department
Easement Deed.
The Memorandum recognizes the need for cooperation
to solve the problems of building a highway
to the demanding
of the Interstate
terrain of
mountainous
the
System through
Colorado.
Some features recognized
this
memorandum
are
by
stand-ards
The need for joint cooperation in
the
satisfy
objectives of both agencies.
the highway
prelim-inar
1.
Forest Service review of
plans and specifications.
2.
3.
changes
4.
the Division
A joint office review to resolve
the plans and specifications.
in
The
recognition
a.
Locations of
haul roads.
b.
Air and water
of Forest
detours
locating
Service
any
of
Highways
differences
land management
and erosion
or to make
concerns
standards
and construction
pollution
to
for
control.
de-cided
c.
Aesthetic
terrain.
d.
Restoration
features
in harmony
of the disturbed
with
the
surrounding
areas.
1957 when the Interstate Highway System was expanded
it was
to extend Interstate
70 westward
the
Colorado
across
Rockies
the route of U.S. Highway 6.
Two alternative
generally following
corridors were tentatively selected for the Vail Pass segment where
it crossed the Gore Range in Colorado.
These corridors were the Red
Buffalo route and the Vail Pass route.
Because the Red Buffalo
route crossed through the southern tip of the Gore Range-Eagles
Nest Primitive Area now the Eagles Nest Wilderness
the Secretary
of Agriculture
determined
in May 1968 that this route was not in
the public interest thus the Vail Pass corridor was selected.
Construction
of this 17.3-mile 27.84-km segment of Interstate 70
began in September 1973.
In
The magnitude of the problem of fitting an interstate highway
into
the selected corridor became evident during the location phase of
the project.
The mountainous terrain in the corridor was steep and
unstable.
The route paralleled streams from which communities took
their water supplies and the corridor passed through the fragile
of Vail Pass.
subalpine ecosystem
The growing season was short and
the weather unpredictable construction
operations would be limited
18
Under-standing.
summer.
criteria to
to
Due
to these restrictions it was necessary to establish
the conditions of the Memorandum of
ac-complish
Inno-vative
implement
of the Memorandum and how to
Opinions varied on interpretation
its goal.
Many agencies
including the Colorado Division
of Wildlife
Federal Highway Administration Geological Survey
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environmental
Protection
Agency were involved in reaching final procedural decisions.
ideas were expressed and welcomed
and the final decisions
were agreed to and incorporated
into the construction.
FOREST
SERVICE
STIPULATIONS
Before
construction
of any segment of the highway
over Vail Pass
the
Forest
Service gave the State an Interim Letter of
commenced
Consent agreeing to the use of the land for the construction.
The
Interim Letter of Consent included a standard stipulation which
was a requirement of Department of Agriculture
regulations and was
implied in the stipulations of the Easement Deed between
the
of Transportation
and the Department of Agriculture.
Special
clauses or requirements can also be included in the stipulation
for
specific items unique to the project but these must be approved
first by the Chief of the Forest Service.
Depart-ment
stipula-tion
The
included in the Interim Letter of Consent was broad
stipulation
but
covered
most of the environmental concerns.
scope
Briefly
standard
some
requirements and conditions to be met in the
were to
in
Prepare before any construction
begins a fire protection
clearing plan that includes disposal of merchantable
timber
a landscape
and erosion control plan and a construction
plan that
specifies restrictions and delineates methods of construction
to
avoid environmental damage.
plan
1.
a
2.
Wildlife
Comply with recommendations of the Colorado Division
and Forest Service for wildlife and fish management
a.
Avoid
b.
Protect
c.
Install temporary bridges
live streams.
d.
Prohibit
streams.
e.
Not allow oil or greasy
a live stream.
damage
live
of
to
to fish habitat.
streams from soil deposits.
mechanized
for hauling
equipment
19
material across
operation
substances
to
in
live
be washed
into
f.
g.
3.
Permit no construction
activity
of the edge of a major stream.
within
Set up a cooperative
agreement with
Survey to monitor the water quality
Provide standard highway
and features.
25
feet
7.6
m
the Geological
in the streams.
signs to identify
Forest
Service
de-stroyed
boundaries
4.
5.
Permanently
monument
Establish or restore
during construction.
the
right-of-way.
public
land monuments
disturbed
or
rap-por
con-sidered
COOPERATION
OF AGENCIES
unique aspect of the Vail Pass Project was the opportunity for
agencies to provide input into the project plans.
many Government
Later as
When discussions
began ideas were argued zealously.
and trust developed
the pros and cons of each idea were
and decisions were made that were generally
objectively
from
innovative
ideas evolved
to
agreeable
everyone.
Many sound
this approach.
One
pre-pared
Serv-ice.
associ-ated
land-scaping
LANDSCAPE
AND
EROSION
CONTROL
MANUAL
International Engineering Company
a private
consulting firm
Input
and Erosion Control Manual for the State.
the Landscape
for the manual came from several sources including the Forest
The manual addressed specific environmental problems
for
to be followed
with Vail Pass.
It provided concepts
and erosion. control.
It emphasized the molding of
undulated
such as slope rounding
slopes
staggered benches
draws or ridges.
It addressed leaving rock in place
and accentuated
to blend with the natural
surroundings and specified methods for
erosion control and treatment of sediment-laden water.
land-forms
be-came
in the manual was conceptual it
the information contained
Although
to mitigate
to
stimulated innovative
develop
procedures
thinking
Manual
Erosion
Control
The
and
Landscape
particular problems.
The State
work.
for
the
environmental
an integral
guideline
specifications.
used the manuals concepts to develop contract
is recommended
was a useful tool a similar approach
critical.
where
environmental
are
problems
any project
The
manual
20
for
sculp-turing
speci-fied
2.--Section of irregular rock cut
Trees visible
just above Timber Creek.
below top ledge had just been watered as
in Landscape
and Erosion Control Manual.
Figure
pro-visions
stip-ulation
informa-tion
Con-trol
SPECIFICATIONS
Colorado Department of Highways wrote special specification
to cover the
with assistance
from the Forest Service
Consent.
The
of
in the Interim Letter
sources of
included
the
for the specifications
Landscape and Erosion
Manual specialists proposals tempered by engineering concerns
and who
and engineers who are cognizant of the problems involved
them.
know how to cope with
The
Memoranda of Understanding and stipulations would have
to give to the contractor.
the specifications
been fruitless without
had
to
be
written
to avoid confusion
carefully
The specifications
what
A
and to indicate precisely
was required.
great deal of time
the
as
clear
As
as possible.
was spent in making
specifications
alterations
were
made
to
the
the project progressed
specifications
due to unforeseen
Furthermore specifications
misinterpretations.
were modified to fit the different locales.
Planning
DESK
REVIEW
OF
PLANS
of
A desk review of plans was an essential part of the development
It was important for the Forest
the Memorandum of Understanding.
Service to provide an experienced
engineer who could interpret the
and
understand
what was proposed.
and
specifications
plans
with
the
included
were not
preliminary plans so it was
Cross-sections
21
topog-raphy
necessary to interpret the extent and locations of cuts and fills
from the plan and profile sheets.
The sheet plans included
and the boundaries
of existing vegetation.
By extrapolating
from profile elevations
it was possible to determine the size of
cuts and fills.- With this knowledge
erosion treatments could be
made for a particular area and landscaping
could be planned
before seeing the area.
For specific questions regarding
cuts or fills cross-sections were available at the desk review.
In
one instance the cross-sections showed that long sliver fills were
The length of the sliver fills was shortened
planned.
considerably
low timber-crib retaining walls where the natural ground
by placing
line approached
the face of the fill.
A desk review of the plans
with all interested parties is highly recommended the reviewers
must have a background
in engineering
to respond intelligently to
the plans.
concep-tually
FIELD REVIEW
A field review
must be made with the plans in hand.
Not every inch
of the project must be covered
but critical areas should be seen on
the ground to visualize the appearance
of the final product.
land-scape
de-veloped
Some-times
addi-tional
con-tractors
fol-lowing
con-straints.
decision-making
This phase required that a Forest Service engineer be a member of
the team.
At the time of the field review
and
hydrologists
architects
were asked to contribute their ideas.
On Vail Pass
field reviews a geologist often had to identify potential problems
due to the unstable conditions brought about by a north-south
fault
the
location.
paralleling
highway
During the construction
phase of the project
periodic field reviews
were continued
due to changing field conditions.
Latent problems
that could not be foreseen during the initial design.
there was excess material for disposal at other times
borrow had to be obtained.
for revegetation
was
Topsoil
and
had
to
be
topsoil
identified
and
saved.
Decisions for
scarce
these problems had to be made on-the-ground immediately so the
Most decisions were made
progress was not impeded.
a multidisciplinary review
tempered by engineering
in engineering
aided the
Therefore a background
process.
contrac-tor.
PRECONSTRUCTION
The
CONFERENCE
Memorandum of Understanding
stipulated that the Forest Service
participate in the preconstruction
conference
held with the
Much of the conference
pertained
directly to the construction
itself however it afforded an opportunity to discuss Forest Service
concerns as expressed in the specifications
written by the State.
22
The specifications
were unfamiliar to the contractors.
Usually it
and explain their purpose and what final
was necessary to emphasize
result was expected.
clear-ing
There were questions concerning
fire control
in case of fire when and how to
be contacted
operation and what fire equipment should
times within the construction
area
such as
Who should
burn during the
be on hand at all
It was necessary
to point out to the contractor the role of each
The contractor was to deal with the
agency during construction.
State Project Engineer who in turn responded
to Forest Service
the contractor
concerns and requests.
During construction
responded
directly to the Forest Service Liaison Officer these
responses were limited to emergency situations when the Project
Engineer was unavailable and only to problems involving
aesthetics
pollution control water quality or erosion control.
Every request
was later coordinated with the Project Engineer.
These situations
should be taken to limit
are usually unavoidable but precautions
their occurrence.
occasion-ally
respon-sible
the preconstruction
the contractor was
conference
for furnishing an erosion control and water quality plan for
his project.
The plan was discussed
and changed to fit the actual
needs more closely.
The contractor designated
one person to assume
the responsibility for implementation of the plan.
The
stated that in case of an emergency regarding water quality
the contractor would
furnish equipment and men immediately to
the problem.
During
cor-rect
em-phasize
specifica-tions
conference
also provided an opportunity to
preconstruction
the resource protection
requirements and the methods to be
the
of the various agencies
In
addition
representatives
employed.
afforded it a chance to become acquainted with the contractor.
The
USE
OF SPECIALISTS
Forest Service specialists were consulted during the planning and
construction
phases of the project.
Primarily these specialists
and geologists but the
were hydrologists landscape architects
advice of foresters and range conservationists was also sought.
Although
specialists were consulted and their opinions evaluated
the Forest Service Liaison Officer made all modifications
to the State Project Engineer.
recom-mended
architects
must have input into the initial design of the
Landscape
The Colorado Department of Highways recognizes this and
project.
a part of their plans with the
now makes the landscape concept
that these plans will be flexible as the project
understanding
evolves.
23
judg-ment
While
the use of specialists is recommended sound engineering
must be used to determine the feasibility of their proposals.
LIAISON
OFFICER
The Forest Service assigned a civil engineer as Liaison officer to
for reviewing all
He was responsible
the Interstate 70 Project.
desk
review
of the plans
the
plans and specifications attending
receiving and reviewing
the preconstruction
conferences
attending
the opinions of the Forest Service specialists and passing the
ideas on to the State and keeping the land managers
Rangers and Forest Supervisor informed of what was happening.
In
He also passed the land managers
concerns on to the State.
turn he received correspondence that pertained to the Forest
In this way the State had to deal with only
from the State.
one Forest Service representative.
ap-plicable
Dis-trict
Serv-ice
re-source
taken to
The Liaison Officer acted as an inspector for procedures
of
Forest
had
to
be
aware
He
mitigate the environmental impacts.
and
of
engineering
Service concerns and apply his knowledge
to the project.
He spent 3 or 4 days a week at
management
sites.
As many as a dozen subprojects were under
the construction
little time to seek the help of
construction
at one time leaving
Most problems required an immediate
specialists for each problem.
land
response and little time was available for consultation with
the
the
State
using
managers the Liaison Officer had to respond to
broad objectives set forth by the land managers.
assign-ment
con-struction.
in progress simultaneously
With more than two or three subprojects
his
the Liaison Officer was often hard-pressed to accomplish
the
monitor
alone.
Therefore assistants sometimes helped
be
used
as
monitors
Fully trained assistants should
people were assigned.
although on this project some untrained
the
is primarily an engineering
function
Because road construction
to
interpret
Liaison Officer must have an engineering background
the plans and specifications
properly and to respond intelligently
to other agency
representatives.
Only a trained engineer could
He also
identify those mitigating measures that were feasible.
needed a background in the principles of hydrology and geology or
geological engineering.
The use of a Liaison Officer must be an integral part of any project
This individual should be an engineer
preferably
like Vail Pass.
and should have assistants who are
a civil or geological engineer
preferably trained in engineering hydrology and landscaping.
24
prepa-ration
SUMMARY
be-tween
to-ward
con-tribute
element to a successful
project is early planning and
is designed.
This will lead to fewer
before the project
misunderstandings.
A key
and coordination
Another important element is the cooperation
All efforts should be directed
the interested parties.
a final product.
Everyone has something to
accomplishing
This cannot be accomplished
everyone should contribute.
if one agency
feels it has the final control and is jealous of
A project
like this is too
ideas supported by another agency.
for one agency or one person to have all the
large and complicated
answers.
an interstate
goal of the Vail Pass Project was to construct
across a major mountain range that would be compatible with
highway
This goal was accomplished
the mountain environment.
through the
of many individuals and government
cooperation and coordination
Not all of the operation
entities.
The highway
speaks for itself.
from which
There were arguments and frustrations
was smooth.
ideas and a rapport emerged that can be used for future
Certainly not all the things tried on Vail Pass were
but overall there would be little I would recommend
changing.
The
inno-vative
proj-ects.
success-ful
High-way
environ-mental
The
Forest Service has officially commended the Colorado State
Department for their cooperative efforts to mitigate
concerns in a very sensitive corridor of public lands.
25
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R-9
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R-10
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Colley
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Melvin
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