Jamie Johnston, PE, Senior Structural Engineer, Nitsch Engineering
As you travel throughout the Greater Boston area, you will see construction all around you: interstate interchange improvements, air rights projects, downtown high-rise structures, transit corridor projects, and more. The members of the Boston Chapter of the Construction Institute have been integrally involved in many of these ongoing and recent projects around eastern Massachusetts.
Our chapter’s mission is to advance the state of construction technology, equipment, and techniques. To accomplish this, we organize presentations, panel discussions, tours of underway and recently completed construction sites, and other events related to the construction industry in the Boston area. We encourage the advancement of education and research in construction engineering and provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, particularly between designers, contractors, owners, and other professionals associated with the construction industry.
In October, we visited the Charles River Dam and learned about how it is a critical piece of Massachusetts’ flood control and navigational infrastructure. Built in the 1970s to replace an older dam, it creates a freshwater basin by preventing saltwater intrusion and controlling water levels – a function crucial for protecting the timber pilings supporting Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. The dam also regulates water levels, prevents coastal flooding, and supports vehicle traffic between the Charles River Basin and Boston Harbor. This exclusive guided tour led by Bill Gode von Aesch, Director of the Flood Control Management & Navigational Operations Section (DCR), offered attendees a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes at one of the state’s most significant civil works facilities. We learned about the dam’s history, operations, and maintenance while viewing areas of the facility that are typically closed to the public.
In November, Reed Brockman, VP and Manager of Bridge & Tunnel Inspections (AECOM), led us on an informative walking tour of several bridges and viaducts around Boston’s West End. Pulling from a wealth of bridge expertise and personal experience, Reid educated and entertained while diving into many aspects of structural design, infrastructure construction and maintenance, inspection, and Boston history. As we walked from North Station to North Point Park to Lovejoy Wharf, we discussed the Craigie Bridge, the old Charles River Dam, the Longfellow Bridge, the Science Park viaduct, the Central Artery loop ramps, the North Bank pedestrian bridge, the CANA structures, the Leverett Connector, the Zakim Bridge, the North Washington Street Bridge, and the Central Artery Tunnel. This tour helped drive home the density of important infrastructure needed to keep downtown Boston operating, and many of the intricacies in constructing and maintaining these assets representing different materials, owners, users, and eras of Boston history.
In January, Sammy Alshawebkeh and Kathleen Martin from Howard Stein Hudson presented on Construction Management Plans. This webinar explored various details needed to ensure construction activities can be planned, coordinated, and executed in a safe manner meeting industry standards and regulations. Examples were given showcasing different traffic and pedestrian control devices, construction sequencing, site access and staging, and safety procedures.
We have several events planned in the next few months, including a panel discussion on design phase bridge constructability (co-sponsored with the SEI and YMG groups) on March 25 and a tour of the MassDOT Research and Materials Section Laboratory on March 12. Be sure to keep an eye on the BSCES events page to register for these and other events hosted by the Boston Chapter of the Construction Institute. We are always looking for new, passionate members in the construction industry, so if you have any interest in joining, please contact me at [email protected]!