Forensics/Rehabilitation/Repair/Special Structural Design

Aguirre & Fields is very strong in the structural investigation, diagnosis and rehabilitation of all kinds of public and private structures. Our forensic capabilities compliment our skills in design and analysis. We are a Texas firm with 14 PE’s and 8 EIT’s on staff. We have structural personnel in each of our three Texas offices.

Following are some of the projects of Aguirre & Fields’ staff:

Westpark Tollway/US 59 Interchange, Houston, TX - Designed a retrofit to the existing US 59 main lanes bridge that increased the height of the bridge columns from 30’ to 55’. This required placing drilled shafts between existing columns, as well as a massive transfer beam to carry the existing bent. Also designed the most difficult retaining walls on the project.

Hermann Park Exotic Arch Bridge Design Check, Houston, TX - Steel, Untied, nonparallel arch bridge across Brays Bayou, required extensive analysis using LUSAS, an advanced finite element analysis program. Special emphasis was placed on investigating vibration sensitivity to pedestrian loads and wind loads due to the bridge’s proximity to the hurricane-prone Gulf Coast.

BI 20/BNSF RR Overpass Historic Bridge Rehab, Nolan Co., TX - 16-span bridge constructed in 1934 crossing the old Santa Fe Railroad in Sweetwater. Performed condition survey of the super- and substructures, noting problems with the existing structure such as the T-beams, steel girders, abutments, and interior bents. Diagnosis included petrographic analysis. Designed rehabilitation plans.

Barton Creek WWTP Renovation, Austin, TX - Project involved the renovation of existing wastewater treatment unit no. 1. Existing steel tank was approximately 15’ tall and 52’ in diameter. Some of the internal existing bulkheads and baffles were rearranged. Designed all renovation work.

Harris County Astrodome, Houston, TX - Prepared plans and specifications to repair the damaged connection from the concrete wall to the steel cover over the pit containing artificial turf.

US 290/Sam Houston Tollway Interchange, Harris Co., TX - Developed details and specification for repairing direct connector bents. Discovered cracks on an offset hammerhead bent (80 feet tall) and designed FRP repairs, including fiberglass, carbon fiber wraps, and epoxy injection, for strengthening and serviceability.

IH 45/Beltway 8 Interchange Modification, Houston, TX - Designed the repair of a span that was subject to construction loads not provided for in original design and had collapsed under its own weight due to torsion during erection. Modified the bracing pattern of the curved steel trapezoidal box girders and redesigned the end diaphragms for construction forces and rotational forces due to the curved section of the steel box girder span. The girder erection continued with additional diagonal bracing and without incident.

Port of Houston Wharf No. 15 Repairs, Harris County, TX - Developed plans, specifications, and an estimate for the repair of a wharf slab, beam, and pilasters damaged during a ship collision.

Flagship Hotel, Galveston, TX - Developed details to repair and strengthen the hotel’s access ramp using carbon and fiberglass fiber wraps.

69th Street Sludge Disposal Plant, Houston, TX - Designed repair of the sludge disposal plant damaged by an explosion and extensive fire. Developed plans for the repair of reinforced concrete and steel column beams and concrete slabs. Developed plans for heat straightening or replacement of steel roof members.

Simpson Pasadena Paper Plant, Pasadena, TX - Developed plans and shoring requirements for repair of a reinforced concrete column supporting mezzanine.

Austin Avenue Light Pole Retrofit, Georgetown, TX - Designed and detailed the retrofit of new lighting brackets on Austin Avenue bridges over North and South San Gabriel Rivers. Relocated existing lights currently mounted on the sidewalk to new steel brackets retrofitted on the existing bridge bents.

Special Sign Bridge Analysis, METRO, Houston, TX - Analyzed existing sign bridge trusses to carry higher loads of new signs. Recommended retrofit to handle additional stresses.

Sabic Blast Building, Houston, TX - Designed concrete test cells to withstand blast forces. Designed tilt-wall system for new lab and storage facility. Analyzed trusses in the existing structure to handle additional loading for a new air handling unit.

Installation Security Master Plan, Dept. of Army, Washington, D.C. - Lead Structural Engineer on nine member task force assigned to assess vulnerability of critical facilities at 12 Army posts. Recommended physical and procedural enhancements and developed estimated cost for each site to protect against moving vehicle threats.

DART Light Rail Transit System, North Central Line, Dallas, TX - Designed the west reta ining wa l l s in the Mockingbird Station. The project included a tunnel portal wall.