MONTHLY DINNER MEETING
Date: Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Location: Steven’s Steak House, 5332 Stevens Place, Commerce, California
Time: 6:00 p.m.-Social Hour; 7:00 p.m.-Dinner; 7:45
p.m.-Presentation
Cost: $30 per person with reservations, $35 at the door, $15 for students with a valid Student ID
Reservations: Call (949) 253-5924 ex 564, or email Brian Villalobos,
By noon, Monday, March 14, 2005
PRESENTERS: Gary Luce & Dave Bieber
TOPIC: “Reconstruction of the Historic Virginia and Truckee Railroad, Lyon, Storey, and Carson Counties, Nevada”
ABSTRACT
Application was made in 1993 by Carson City to the Federal Highway Administration,
resulting in the granting of $2.2 million of Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) funding.
Under the terms of the grant, these funds are administered by the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT)
through an inter-local agreement with the Tri-County Railroad Commission (now the Northern Nevada Commission
for the Reconstruction of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, which includes five counties). The funds were
specifically intended for an environmental assessment of the entire route (now complete) and the design and
construction of the first 1.4 miles of the project.
The first 1.4-mile portion includes significant engineering geological and engineering obstacles including
the crossing of an abandoned mine pit, excavation and encapsulation of acid generating mine waste rocks,
stabilization of the rail bed by an abandoned mine shaft, and the installation of a monitoring system to
detect earth failure for an area where a mine shaft has been buried by mine wastes. At this time the final
plans for the 1.4 mile segment have been submitted to NDOT and will go to bid this year. Other
accomplishments on the remainder of the project include:
- The donation of four miles of track from the Reno “Retrack Project”
- The donation of a mainline bridge for the crossing of US Highway 50
- The granting of much of approximately eight miles of right of way from the Bureau of Land Management.
- The issuance of five million in bonds for the project by Carson City
Momentum for the project is now at a point that the final design for the remainder of the project is underway
with completion of the project estimated as 2008. Remaining engineering tasks include taking the 50% plan set
for the remaining project to the 100% level. The primary tasks to reach that level will include completing:
- environmental permits SWPPP,
- project hydrology,
- geotechnical engineering including the evaluation of a collapsed tunnel,
- final hydrology constructability analysis
BIO
David W. Bieber, RG, RGP, CEG, CHG
(National AEG President)
David Bieber is the Geological Services Manager for Geocon Consultants, Inc. in Rancho Cordova,
California and a member of the Sacramento Section. David is a California Registered Geologist, Registered
Geophysicist, Certified Engineering Geologist, and Certified Hydrogeologist, as well as a Wyoming Registered
Professional Geologist. His current areas of professional practice include naturally occurring asbestos,
abandoned mine land assessment, and the provision of integrated geological support for active construction
projects.
Dave could almost claim to have been doing geoscience from childhood, since his dad is a geological engineer
and geophysicist who was taking him along to job sites from the time Dave was five years old. Dave started
working as a geoscience technician for his dad’s company as a teenager, and over the years, he has worked in
oil and gas exploration, searched for underwater treasure, constructed antennas for talking to submarines,
and practiced engineering geology doing Geohazards, environmental geology, and hydrogeology.
David received a Bachelor of Science degree in Pathobiology with a minor in Natural Resource Conservation
from the University of Connecticut, finished his undergraduate geology studies at the Colorado School of
Mines, and received a Master of Science Degree in Geology from the University of Colorado.
His other interests include raising Morgan horses, hunting, writing poetry, and competitive shooting. Dave is
also a professional outdoor writer and has a book due out this fall on Africa and African hunting.
