General Director, Maintenance of Way - Environmental
Omaha, NE
Bio:
Mr. Cheney has been with Union Pacific Railroad for 18 years. Steve is the General Director of Maintenance of Way – Environmental, overseeing environmental compliance for engineering activities, as well as for Structures and Facilities design. Mr. Cheney provides direction to the environmental permitting and compliance staff and works with engineering workgroups to ensure capital projects are designed and implemented to meet environmental concerns and obligations.
Panelist: Union Pacific Railroad Causeway Bridge Construction - Where are we Today? And Where are we Going in the Future?
8:55-10:20am - Friday, May 13th
Abstract: Union Pacific will discuss their GSL Causeway Culvert Closure Project, which began in 2011 and is currently under construction. Two causeway concrete culverts were deteriorating, necessitating closure and the construction of a new causeway opening for mitigation purposes. Construction activities began in September 2015 upon receipt of the US Army Corps of Engineers Individual Permit, Utah Division Water Quality 401 Certification and formalization of causeway access with the State with execution of a special use lease agreement. The new causeway opening was designed to match, as closely as possible, the water and salt transfer provided by the two former concrete culverts prior to their closure. The design was based on the USGS lake water and salt balance model, modified by UPRR. Modeling was done collaboratively with the agencies to determine the final geometry to meet regulatory obligations. The causeway opening consists of several elements: a 180-foot long concrete bridge structure, earthen control berms and an excavated channel. Once construction is complete, UP will monitor lake conditions for a minimum of 5-years to document the opening is meeting project performance standards. When the permit obligations are met and the permits are terminated, the control berms and excavated channel can be modified, by the state, altering the bi-directional flow and salt transfer through the causeway to achieve the lake salinity management objectives.