By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

Upper Collinsville Dam

The Upper Collinsville Dam is located along the Farmington River in the Town of Canton, CT. The dam was constructed in 1867 by the Collins Company to power their facilities. The re-development of the dam was started in 2015 for the Town with Canton Hydro, LLC as the project’s developer and WWS Wasserkraft as the turn-key solution provider.

Tectonic Engineering Consultants, Geologists & Land Surveyors, D.P.C., Inc. (Tectonic) was retained to provide reinforced concrete structural engineering as the design-build process proceeded in 2018. This work entailed final design of walls, floors, foundations, beams, columns, piers and other concrete structures related to the modifications of the dam and historic building to accommodate the new mechanical systems. As the project progressed, Tectonic‘s engineering role on the project greatly expanded and Tectonic assumed the Engineer of Record role as mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Tectonic directly coordinated with FERC to obtain the overall design approval from FERC for construction, prepared stability analysis and improvement for the dam and powerhouse structures, geotechnical engineering, prepared a detailed quality control program for approval by FERC, and provided construction oversight, vibration monitoring, testing and inspection as the construction work progressed.

Tectonic also provided direct coordination with the Town of Canton, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Connecticut Department of Transportation, Eversource, FERC, Wasserkraft (WWS) and Canton Hydro LLC. Major structures designed by Tectonic include (not limited to): dam modifications with new concrete columns and slabs added to the top of the existing dam, new rock anchors for the dam, reinforced concrete walls and foundation slabs for fishway passage, reinforced concrete columns and beams for the new steel intake gates and the trash rack wall, powerhouse building modifications with new reinforced concrete floor slab for the new turbine equipment, reinforced concrete slab bridge for vehicular access to the building, mass reinforced concrete beam at the intake, concrete spiral to the turbine and concrete draft tube outlet, new one-story fish monitoring building, concrete pad and retaining wall for the new transformer. All designs were performed following the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Engineering Guidelines, AASHTO LRFD, ACI-318, ACI-350 (for under water concrete), ASIC Steel Manual, and FHWA-IF-99.

The major challenges Tectonic faced and resolved include:

  • Designed concrete structures with very irregular geometry.
  • As a design-build project, Tectonic finished different portions of the design in a timely manner and obtained approvals for construction to accommodate the on-going construction schedule.
  • Provided practical and economical design while making sure design conformed with FERC guidelines.
  • Coordinated between multiple parties: FERC, the developer Canton Hydro, LLC, the turn-key solution provider WWS, and the Contractor.
  • Incorporated the unusual design forces and geometry of the special steel mechanical components designed by WWS, including the hydraulic piston-controlled crest gates, the turbine and generator at the power house slab, and the draft tube under the turbine.
  • Provided full engineering review of WWS calculations and engineering drawings for structural steel, hydraulic gates, and other civil works.
  • Provided timely field design changes to accommodate site geometry constraints and contractor‘s means and methods.
By Greg Lopez 0 Comments

Solar System Installation Design New York City

To provide clean renewable energy while reducing overall energy costs for various residential and commercial buildings throughout the five boroughs of NYC, solar photovoltaic system set ups were installed ranging in energy output from 50 KW up to 150 KW. Tectonic provided professional engineering design services for over twenty installations including framing layout, structural analysis and design of the solar mounting system, drawing preparation and building design.

By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

Giants Stadium Met Life Blimp Structural Design

The MetLife Blimp is the most recognized blimp in the United States, covering nearly 70 on-air events annually. Tectonic was contracted to provide engineering analysis and design services for scale model MetLife Blimps to be installed overhead in the new Giants Stadium. Two identical Blimps will navigate an oval-shaped path above the Concourse # 1 Concessions Area. The Blimp components, including a fiberglass shell, steel support frame, and overhead track support were analyzed.

By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

Tiffany & Co. Holiday Window Display

Tectonic performed structural engineering services for the Tiffany & Co. 2011 Christmas window display. This decorative display spanned 19 feet wide, over 15 ft. high, with an almost 5 ft. protrusion over the sidewalk. Tectonic provided a review of the preliminary drawings for the proposed Christmas lighting, as well as a detailed structural analysis to verify sizes of the display pieces and to determine the connection capacities.

By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

Verizon Wireless Dallas/Fort Worth Master Switching Center Design

The 31,400+/- square foot Dallas Forth Worth Switching Data Facility was designed to permit maximizing the site for future expansion options. Tectonic performed the building design for this new Two-Switch Facility in the North-East Texas Market. Services provided include:

  • Programmatic Facility Design
  • Civil/Site Design
  • Architectural/Life Safety Design
  • Structural Design
  • Code/Network Compliance Review
  • Geotechnical Design
  • Survey
  • Zoning Approvals
  • MEP
  • Fire Suppression/Alarm
By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

Con Edison Transmission Tower Analysis

In support of Con Ed’s transmission upgrades, Tectonic has performed structural engineering services for more than sixty (60) of Con Edison’s transmission towers ranging from 90′ ft. to 150′ ft. in recent years. Tectonic performed structural analyses, designed tower reinforcement and provided shop drawings and prepared as-built drawings as needed to bring all the towers into compliance with updated requirements from the PSC (Public Service Commission).

By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

Cold-Formed Steel Buildings

Tectonic performed structural design of cold-formed steel framing for several multi-story residential buildings. The construction of the residential buildings throughout NYC ranged from 5-7 stories and from 7,000 sq. ft. to 70,000 sq. ft. Cold-formed was utilized for a faster installation schedule, therefore the cold-formed wall panels were built in shop and brought to the site assembled. This included design of the superstructures which consisted of cold-formed steel joist floor and roof systems, supported by cold-formed steel framed bearing walls and shear walls above the foundation or ground floor. Inspections of the cold-formed walls and joists were performed to meet DOB and contract documents.

By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

National 9/11 Memorial Reflecting Pool Parapets

This project included the structural design of the Bronze Name Parapets for the September 11th Memorial at the World Trade Center site in NYC. The Bronze Name Parapets are carved with the names of 2,983 victims from September 11, 2001 as well as World Trade Center bombings of 1993. The Bronze Parapets outline the former footprints of the North and South Towers along the edges of the North and South waterfalls. Tectonic provided specialized structural design services pertaining to the National September 11 Memorial at the World Trade Center. Tectonic was directly involved in the design of the monument’s structural system, mock-up design and the development of the construction documents as well as advising the fabricator on related technical and installation issues.

By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

MTA East Side Access Conveyor System

East Side Access, a $7 billion MTA project underway in NYC, will connect the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) Main and Port Washington lines in Queens to a new LIRR terminal beneath Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. The new connection will increase the LIRR’s capacity into Manhattan, shorten travel time for commuters, and provide a new commuter rail station in Sunnyside, Queens and under the Grand Central Terminal.  To support the new connection, Tectonic provided structural engineering and special inspection services on a multi-year contract for various phases including the Manhattan Tunnel, Harold Interlocking Structures and Grand Central Station. Construction design support services included structural and geotechnical design of temporary facilities including preparation of footing design plans for conveyor system to disposal of tunnel muck that included an enclosed steel truss spanning 120 ft. across Northern Boulevard.

By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

Glenmere Lake Dam

Glenmere Lake Dam, a large, high hazard dam, impounds a water supply reservoir with a surface area of 328 acres and drainage area of 2.4 square miles. The dam is approximately 600-feet long and consists primarily of an earth embankment with a maximum height of 24 feet, partly supported by masonry stone and reinforced concrete walls. The crest of the dam serves as a two lane paved County roadway. Glenmere Lake also provides habitat for the largest known population of the endangered, Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans) in New York State.

Tectonic prepared an Engineering Assessment and Emergency Action Plan for the dam that included the following:

• Hydrologic and hydraulic analyses
• Dam breach analyses
• Inundation mapping and hazard class evaluation
• Incremental damage assessments
• Spillway capacity evaluation
• Subsurface investigation
• Stability and seepage analyses
• Topographic and bathymetric surveys

As a result of the Engineering Assessment, the spillway capacity and dam stability were found to be deficient. Tectonic performed additional studies including an evaluation of raising the dam embankment and enlarging the spillway to increase storage and spillway capacity to prevent overtopping.

Tectonic prepared permit application documents, design plans, cost estimates and construction documents to complete the necessary improvements and modifications that include modifying the alignment of the dam to reduce the length of the dam by more than 50 percent, installing a toe drain to control seepage, and replacing the existing spillway and spillway conveyance conduit.

The relocation and shortening of the dam was a unique approach that eliminated the need for costly environmental remediation, reduced impacts to the Northern Cricket Frog population and allowed construction to proceed without lowering the reservoir which would have drastically impacted the water supply and endangered species.

Construction is currently underway and Tectonic is providing resident engineering inspection and material testing services and also monitoring of the Northern Cricket Frog as required by the NYSDEC.