From Shallow Waters to the Obscure: Fenstermaker’s Underwater Acoustic Imaging Team Is Making Waves to Improve American Infrastructure
(PRWEB) July 30, 2013 -- Summer is in full swing, but the grades posted in the 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) are downright chilling. With a cumulative GPA of D+, the assessment of our transportation systems indicates that our country’s infrastructure is alarmingly degenerated and still deteriorating dangerously. The Skagit River Bridge collapse in Washington State on May 23, 2013, is the latest evidence of this major concern and safety gap in America, one that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has deemed "a warning for the entire nation."
Even non-drivers can recognize that this matter is in dire need of public attention and action, as our infrastructure connects the country and remains essential to our quality of life. With a score that ASCE specifies as "poor," our domestic future is in jeopardy alongside the conditions of our transportation systems, which are deemed to run a "strong risk of failure.” Though bridges fared better with a C+, the report echoes NTSB’s warning, noting that many elements of existing bridges show major deficiencies in functionality leading to "increasing vulnerability to risk." Immediate improvements are sorely needed, and Fenstermaker has been committed to resolving engineering challenges since its doors opened in 1950.
Providing smart solutions for both government and commercial entities for over six decades, Fenstermaker has continuously been involved with transportation improvements. In recent years, the company has developed innovative services through the adoption of progressive technologies that assist agencies in making informed decisions to mitigate the severe, continuous decline in our infrastructure. One example is Fenstermaker’s collaboration with remote sensing and systems manufacturer Kongsberg Mesotech to tailor a custom Underwater Acoustic Imaging (UAI) system. This advanced system, proprietary to Fenstermaker, specializes in superior visualization of submerged structures in varied and difficult underwater conditions. It is integrated with customized steering and tracking sensors that allow for precise positioning and pointing of the sonar beam.
Professionals experienced in the technology and techniques of this underwater acoustic imaging system provide an innovative, safe alternative to evaluating submerged structures and their surrounding circumstances. Exceptional results are produced across diverse underwater environments, including shallow to deep waters, murky conditions, and rapidly flowing waterways. This provides a major operational and safety benefit, especially in the aid of divers for traditional inspections of underwater structures. The preliminary imaging from the UAI system serves as a road map to guide divers to submerged components that require a closer look or deter them from dangerous areas.
Fenstermaker’s Underwater Acoustics Group has nearly four decades of combined experience in conducting advanced underwater imaging and has pioneered the use of this unique, sophisticated system. The team has demonstrated their UAI capabilities in optimizing performance and investigations in numerous projects with various objectives. Major applications include emergency recovery and evaluation efforts, such as those after Hurricane Katrina, and the inspections of submerged bridge, dam and water utility structures.
A longtime client of Fenstermaker, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) has shown progressive foresight in seeking new ways to generate the necessary information to best approach repairs or renovation planning for Louisiana's aging underwater infrastructure. DOTD is a leader in using Underwater Acoustic Imaging in the inspection of its major underwater bridge support structures and the comprehensive evaluation of its state-maintained dams. Fenstermaker has led the effort in collecting detailed data and advanced underwater visualizations for both pioneer projects.
Fenstermaker’s UAI team, acting as the lead consultant in DOTD’s statewide underwater bridge inspection, is currently in the final phase of evaluating the substructure of 69 bridges and three tunnels in the State of Louisiana. Deploying the sonar system first, the team eliminated diving risks, such as unknown hazardous conditions below the water surface. Such circumstances, combined with poor water environments, made past diver inspections problematic or even impossible for certain infrastructure. The UAI specialists improved efficiency and safety by identifying anomalies and honing in on areas requiring closer diver examinations.
This premier project denotes the first time the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has approved the use of remote sensing technologies in the inspection of submerged bridge structural elements. DOTD is the first state transportation agency to use these advanced measures to comply with FHWA’s requisite inspection of bridges every 5 years. Fenstermaker’s role included documenting and rating the conditions of their submerged elements to note any observed irregularities or deformity. This allowed DOTD to combine the data with those of the bridge superstructure (above-water components) to generate a rehabilitation, maintenance and life-cycle model to improve the transportation safety of Louisiana’s bridges.
*Fenstermaker is a multi-disciplinary firm specializing in Survey & Mapping, Engineering, Environmental Consulting, and Advanced Technologies. We have over 300 team members providing professional services through multiple office and field locations across the U.S. Our company mission is to be a vital partner in the success of our clients.
Sherie Burton, Director of Business Communications, Fenstermaker, http://www.fenstermaker.com, 3372372200 1180, [email protected]
Share this article