Fire Life Safety Renovation of the Century Freeway Tunnels

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REGISTRATION

ABOUT THE PRESENTATION

In 2018 Caltrans set out to replace and/or upgrade the functional systems in the Century Freeway Tunnels (CFT). The Functional Systems in the CFT’s are the Ventilation, Electrical Distribution, Fire Detection & Protection systems, and the new Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA).  These systems are critcal to the traveling public, and now fully automated.

The ventilation system is designed to, in normal mode exhaust fumes produced by motor vehicles and under emergency conditions to remove heat and smoke from the tunnel in the event of a fire.

Power distribution systems are designed to operate the various equipment in the tunnel, i.e., motors, fan drives, dampers, lighting systems.

The fire and life safety systems are designed to detect a fire during an emergency, to initiate a response, and to inform tunnel users of the appropriate emergency action to take.

The new Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System was designed for all these systems to be fully automated, monitored, accessed, and controlled remotely. The SCADA system can react almost immediately to an emergency alarm without human intervention. This allows motorists more time to egress the tunnels in the event of a fire or other hazard.

 Project Location: In Los Angeles County, in the City of Los Angeles on Route 105 at:

 1. W105-S405 Connector Tunnel (Br. No. 53-2441F) Tunnel No. 4

 2. E105-S405 Connector Tunnel (Br. No. 53-2436G) Tunnel No. 5

 3. E105-N405 Connector Tunnel (Br. No. 53-2437G) Tunnel No. 8

 Prime Contractor: Crosstown Electrical & Data, Inc.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Glenn Fleming, P.E.

Mechanical Engineer

Caltrans – Structure Maintenance & Investigations Tunnels & Tubes

 Glenn has worked for Caltrans for twenty-six years.  In 1990 he worked for the Div. of Structures in its Computer Support Section.  Prior to the replacement of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge, Glenn worked in the Earthquake Engineering Section reviewing as-builts of the cantilever and truss sections, performing physical inspections of the structure to verify the as-builts, and creating new electronic drawings.  As part of this responsibility, Glenn was assigned to Structures Maintenance – Toll Bridge Div. and worked as an Area Bridge Maintenance Engineer (ABME) on the seven toll bridges in the Bay Area. 

Glenn was laid off in 1994 and spent three years in the private sector as a Mechanical Engineer designing pressure transducers for aeronautical, aerospace, gas & pipeline, and the medical industries.  In 1997, he returned to State service, Office of Emergency Services, as a Telecommunications Engineer to prepare OASIS (Operational Area Satellite Information System)  for Y2K. 

At the end of 2000, Glenn rejoined Caltrans and worked for the Div. of Construction where he was involved in the design, analysis, and hydro-acoustic monitoring of Marine Pile Driving Energy Attenuation Systems. Some of his projects included the design of the Bubble Curtain for the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge New East Span Seismic Safety Project (SFOBB-NESP), the New Benicia Bridge, the three bridges that span the Humboldt Bay in Eureka California, and the Columbia River Crossing Project in Vancouver, WA. In 2005, the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge New East Span Seismic Safety Project won the “Excellence in Transportation Award” for the “Application of Bubble Curtain Technology and Monitoring to Protect Fishery Resources During Pile Driving. Glenn currently consults on noise mitigation projects throughout north America.

 In 2009 Glenn was responsible for the design and construction oversight, construction inspection of the Caltrans Transportation Laboratory Fire & Safety Renovation. The renovation of the 400k square foot facility included replacement of the hydronic piping system, HVAC, fire sprinkler system, an upgrade of the electrical distribution system, and the installation of a new building automation system.

 In 2010 Glen went to work for the Div. of Equipment where he performed mechanical engineering design, vehicle specification preparation, California Air Resources Board (CARB) compliance evaluations, modifications to existing designs to accommodate vehicle changes made to meet CARB requirements. Design, development, fabrication, and assembly of all vehicles and mobile equipment purchased for the Department’s statewide fleet. During his tenure Glenn was assigned to the Real McCoy II ferry as the Port Engineer to resolve numerous mechanical issues primarily related to the propulsion system and to get the vessel re-certified by the US Coast Guard for public service. 

Glenn joined Structure Maintenance & Investigations Tunnels & Tubes in 2016 performing inspections of the mechanical, electrical, and fire life safety systems (Functional systems) in the 30 complex in-service tunnels and 2 tubes. For the past four years Glenn has been the states “Subject Matter Expert” on Functional Systems in complex tunnels & tubes and has led the effort to renovate 16 of the 32 tunnels & tubes.

REGISTRATION

NOTE TO PARTICIPANTS: Viewers of this presentation are eligible for one Professional Development Hour (PDH) unit.  While California does not require PDH units to retain registration as a Professional Engineer, adjacent states Oregon and Nevada do.   Please find instructions on keeping personal records of PDH units at https://www.oregon.gov/osbeels/Documents/Form/201909_CPDForm.pdf and https://nvbpels.org/license-renewal/, respectively.  If personal records for registration in another state don’t suffice please contact the Capital Branch Board at ascesacramentosectioncb@gmail.com.