Federal Highway Administration Resource Center

FHWA Hydraulics Team, NCDOT Host National Hydraulic Engineering Conference

Adopting the theme of “transforming technology and research into practice,” the FHWA National Hydraulics Team and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) co-hosted the transportation community’s 2004 National Hydraulic Engineering Conference in Asheville, NC, in late August/early September 2004. The conference provided a forum for government agencies, universities, and private industry to share the latest in hydraulic engineering research, techniques, software, and products while highlighting the close partnerships that exist among these organizations.

Conference participants numbered more than 200, including representatives from 27 State Departments of Transportation, 8 universities, 10 governmental agencies affiliated with the transportation field, and more than 38 consultants and manufacturers.

Conference discussions included a review of national research activities and critical hydraulics issues encountered by State DOTs. Brigham Young University’s Environmental Modeling Research Laboratory presented overviews of the FHWA-sponsored Watershed Modeling System and Surface-Water Modeling System, which were followed by talks on States’ experiences with these software applications.

Other conference sessions included presentations of research and practical experience on varied topics including hydrology, coastal engineering (presented by the University of South Alabama’s Coastal Transportation Engineering Research and Education Center), culvert and pipe research, plans of action for scour critical bridges, bridge scour, stream stability, and environmental issues.

Real-world examples of practical design and application were provided by the conference co-host, NCDOT, which sponsored a field trip to two nearby construction projects: Transportation Improvement Project A-10’s extension of Highway I-26 north from Asheville to the Tennessee State line, an Environmental Excellence Award winner in 2003; and a bioretention facility on Highway I-40 at Swannanoa River that incorporates a state-of-the-art design to purify highway stormwater runoff before it enters the ecosystem. Both projects highlighted implementation of context sensitive design and construction procedures that focus on integrating engineering applications with environmental stewardship.

The FHWA National Hydraulics Team also coordinated closely with exhibitors from private industry — consisting of consultants, manufacturers and suppliers — who set up displays illustrating the state-of-the-art in hydraulics services, techniques and products. For example, a spokesperson from Ayres Associates utilized a portable flume to demonstrate culvert inlet and outlet design approaches and open-channel flow principles; FDH Engineering was on-hand to discuss the use of non-destructive dispersive wave techniques to evaluate the sizes, depths, and qualitative conditions of in-place foundation systems; and a representative of US Engineering Solutions Corp., was available to exhibit Scour Watch™, a web-based software system designed to aid transportation professionals with the prediction, identification, recording, and monitoring of flooding events that affect scour-susceptible structures. The FHWA National Hydraulics Team acknowledged the sponsorship and participation of all 18 exhibitors who helped to make the conference a great success.

The conference’s success was measured by both the considerable turnout and positive feedback from participants. A general sentiment about the conference was captured by comments from Julie Taylor of the Louisiana DOT: “...a great opportunity to get the latest updates...and to surround yourself with other professionals who share similar concerns and yet offer different solutions to hydraulic and hydrology problems.” In addition, Mike Tuttle of the Vermont DOT offered the following appraisal: “The mix of speakers was excellent, and I was impressed with the depth of knowledge of the presenters.” To download presentations from the conference or to view winning pictures from a conference-sponsored bridge and culvert photo contest, visit http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/engineering/hydraulics/conferences/. Additional details on the FHWA Resource Center Geotechnical and Hydraulics Team, the branch of the FHWA NHT primarily responsible for training, technical assistance and technology deployment, can be found at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter.

For more information, contact:

Cynthia Nurmi
Hydraulic Engineer
Geotechnical and Hydraulics Technical Service Team
FHWA Resource Center, (404) 562-3908
cynthia.nurmi@fhwa.dot.gov