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In the Soapstone Valley, DC Water is building bridges

April 20, 2022 by FHC 12 Comments

by Marlene Berlin

The Soapstone Trail creek crossing closest to Broad Branch Road could be tough to navigate. This one looks easy.

There is a new bridge – a substantial one – at this crossing. DC Water says it was completed on Monday, April 11th, and that a subcontractor is installing two additional bridges. One will be by the storm sewer outfall next to Connecticut Avenue and the Albemarle Street entrance to Soapstone.

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Heavy equipment and loads of materials for the sewer rehabilitation project need to traverse these temporary bridges. We asked DC Water to explain how the bridge just of Broad Branch Road was constructed.

The bridge beams were designed in 25-foot lengths so that they could be easily transported around the Beltway. The contractor crew assembled them onsite, which involves using two large excavators to hold the steel while the crew used an impact drill to run in the bolts to the steel. Once the crew had the steel together, they set up a stream bypass. They pumped the stream around the work area and used large concrete blocks to create an abutment.

The subcontractor (Triangle) utilized a survey team to make sure that the abutments were in the correct location for the bridge. The crew then set the steel on top of the abutments using the large equipment. Once the steel was set, the crew built out the mats, decks; and they will later place a safety handrail.

These bridges are scheduled to be in place until the end of 2022.

According to DC Water’s April 19th project update, the construction of the temporary bridges (and roads) will continue into next week. The installation of bypass piping is to begin next week. At the April 19th ANC 3F meeting, DC Water released a timeline of construction activities, which has the first pipe relining efforts beginning in mid-June.

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Filed Under: Featured, News, Parks and Streams, Soapstone Valley

Comments

  1. gudguy1a says

    April 20, 2022 at 5:19 pm

    Most excellent!!!!
    For anyone who wants / needs to take a stroll – this is BIG assist. Thanks for posting this.

    Reply
    • FHC says

      April 21, 2022 at 2:21 pm

      Well, the bridges are temporary and for the equipment needed for the sewer rehab project. But for many of us, it would be helpful to have bridge crossings. Perhaps something the community can request as the stream rebuilding phase begins?

      Reply
      • PW says

        April 21, 2022 at 4:39 pm

        Ahhh criminy.
        Good point – dang it! Was hoping that would be a start for bridges for us regular folks…

        Reply
  2. Green Eyeshades says

    April 27, 2022 at 10:46 am

    With all of our local crime news, this meeting tonight may have escaped notice. I will put the Internet links to the ANC website and the Zoom login in a separate comment.

    [ANC3F meeting announcement]

    Parks and Watersheds Committee Meeting
    April 27 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
    Parks and Watersheds Committee
    Wednesday, April 27⋅7:00 – 8:30pm

    Parks and Watersheds Committee

    Agenda—April 27, 2022

    7:00 p.m. -8:30 p.m.

    1.. Updates on focus areas (45minutes):

    Soapstone Valley–Lois Forster, Judy Buelow, Marjorie Share
    Hearst–Cory Levine
    Reservation 630 Mini-Oasis (formerly known as Melvin Hazen) –Cory Levine
    Connecticut Avenue Streetscape Project-Barbara Bates

    E Stormwater and Water Quality Management Advocacy

    Park near WAMU-Lois Forster
    Other business (15 minutes)

    Reply
  3. Green Eyeshades says

    April 27, 2022 at 10:50 am

    ANC3F meeting announcement is here:

    http://anc3f.com/event/parks-and-watersheds-committee-meeting-2/

    Log in to Zoom conference here:

    Join Zoom Meeting

    https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85458747619?pwd=YXlWRDJBcXhQekRSS2owcHFUMXpEZz09

    Meeting ID: 854 5874 7619

    Passcode: E2aHmm +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

    Reply
  4. Green Eyeshades says

    April 30, 2022 at 7:50 pm

    ANC3F has posted the notes of the April 27 meeting of its Parks and Watershed Committee. I will put the links in a separate comment.

    This the full text of pages 1-2 of the notes posted on the ANC’s website (no added punctuation) which relate to the Soapstone Valley sewer rehab project; there are references to a term I have not seen before — “cumin” — which is spelled like the spice but one speaker said “cumin” refers to “carcinogen” so the ANC will definitely need to explain those references:

    ANC 3F Parks and Watershed Committee
    April 27, 2022, 7:00 pm (Zoom)
    Attendees:
    Erica Rosenberg; Cecelia Lane (DOEE); Jeanne Braha (RCC); Judy Buelow; Marjorie Share; Lois Forster; Barbara Bates; Cory Levine; Claudette David

    Erica Rosenberg, Chair

    Agenda:

    A. Soapstone Valley–Lois Forster, Judy Buelow, Marjorie Share 

    Judy: Recap of recent ANC meeting relating to Soapstone. They said they’ve cut all the trees that they are going to cut, they are in the process of installing access roads to the creek. They posted many slides, which include a color-coded schedule so you know what work is going to happen at which work sites and when, depending on weather.
    Helpful tips on how homeowners can prevent backup of noxious gases into their residences when work is being done in the area (which they are giving seven days prior notice of).

    Marjorie: In addition, introduced Melissa Mclaughlin who is a meteorologist who has been hired to put in an air monitoring system, but she has no experience with Cured-in-Place-Pipe. She explained that the cumin is the carcinogen that will be released. They also talked about the liner which is styrene free but is basically replacing the styrene with another chemical which is a benzene (not a good thing). They also showed a slide program (which is available on Forest Hills Connection). On Slide135-46 shows the possible methods for curing. Doing state of the art air monitoring but didn’t specify what that means. Ms. Mclaughlin has been hired to come up with a plan and then they’re going to hire a third party to make sure they implement her plan. Maybe someone from the ANC should be doing an independent analysis.

    Questions about what we know about cumin.

    Erica: Who would do the separate analysis that Marjorie is proposing? Is it necessary?
    Judy: Also questions whether this is necessary.
    Lois: We need the air monitoring of the air quality and the information must be shared with nearby residents
    Cecelia Lane: Please let me know if you’d like me to follow up with my contact at DOEE who worked on the air quality permit. Will check if DOEE is doing the oversight on it.
    Marjorie: That is really helpful please do. They are going to use chemicals to monitor and also door hangers to warn residents and give them a number to call. Also there have been sinkholes from the heavy equipment that are emerging. Some residents on 29th street reached out to Emmanuel Briggs and he has been responsive. Mr. Briggs comes out with his update every Monday. He talks about the heavy equipment pathways that are going in and they are starting to install bypass pipes.
    Erica: Once we have Cecelia’s response we might need a resolution or a request

    Cecelia: Re Soapstone potholes Public space permits require contractors to put down an deposit. DDOT does inspections after construction and hold the contractors responsible for any repairs that are required before releasing their deposit.
    Marjorie: Thank you, Cecilia. Great to know. And Stephen Ours has been wonderful, highly responsive.

    Reply
  5. Green Eyeshades says

    April 30, 2022 at 7:53 pm

    This is the web page on ANC3F’s website where the notes of the April 27 committee meeting are posted:

    http://anc3f.com/about/committees/soapstone-valleymelvin-hazen-parks-trails-committee/

    The notes are the top item on the list at the bottom of notes of previous meetings.

    The direct link to the .DOCX file of the notes is here (labeled “download PDF”):

    http://anc3f.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Parks-and-Watershed-Committee-notes-4-27-22.docx

    Reply
  6. Green Eyeshades says

    May 1, 2022 at 1:47 pm

    These notes from the Parks & Watershed committee meeting four days ago (April 27) are disturbing and require further explanation from ANC3F; at a minimum, it cannot be true that a carcinogenic compound has the same name as the spice we put in chili (“cumin”):

    “Helpful tips on how homeowners can prevent backup of noxious gases into their residences when work is being done in the area (which they are giving seven days prior notice of).”

    “Marjorie: In addition, introduced Melissa Mclaughlin who is a meteorologist who has been hired to put in an air monitoring system, but she has no experience with Cured-in-Place-Pipe. She explained that the cumin is the carcinogen that will be released. They also talked about the liner which is styrene free but is basically replacing the styrene with another chemical which is a benzene (not a good thing).”

    “Cecelia Lane [on staff at DC’s Dept. of Energy & Environment]: Please let me know if you’d like me to follow up with my contact at DOEE who worked on the air quality permit. Will check if DOEE is doing the oversight on it.”

    Reply
    • FHC says

      May 6, 2022 at 9:57 am

      The compound is actually cumene, and we’re looking into it.

      Reply
      • Green Eyeshades says

        May 8, 2022 at 11:38 am

        Thank you very much. The “PubChem” website has a section for each compound labeled “Associated Disorders and Diseases” (section 12). For cumene, those disorders and diseases are “carcinoma” and “lung neoplasms.” The PubChem website provides links to two abstracts on the National Library of Medicine’s “PubMed” database.

        Both abstracts were published July 22, 2008 (fourteen years ago) in a journal of toxicological pathology. The first abstract is titled “Genetic alterations in K-ras and p53 cancer genes in lung neoplasms from B6C3F1 mice exposed to cumene.” The second abstract is titled “Gene expression studies demonstrate that the K-ras/Erk MAP kinase signal transduction pathway and other novel pathways contribute to the pathogenesis of cumene-induced lung tumors.”

        I will post the links to the two abstracts in a separate comment.

        Reply
  7. Green Eyeshades says

    May 8, 2022 at 11:43 am

    The “PubChem” website provides two abstracts on “PubMed” database of the National Library of Medicine about the disorders and diseases “associated” with cumene.

    The first abstract, “Genetic alterations in K-ras and p53 cancer genes in lung neoplasms from B6C3F1 mice exposed to cumene,” is posted here:

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18648094/

    The first two sentences and last sentence of that abstract read as follows:

    “The incidences of alveolar/bronchiolar adenomas and carcinomas in cumene-treated B6C3F1 mice were significantly greater than those of the control animals. We evaluated these lung neoplasms for point mutations in the K-ras and p53 genes that are often mutated in humans…. The pattern of mutations identified in the lung tumors suggests that DNA damage and genomic instability may be contributing factors to the mutation profile and development of lung cancer in mice exposed to cumene.”

    Reply
  8. Green Eyeshades says

    May 8, 2022 at 11:48 am

    The “PubChem” website provides two abstracts on “PubMed” database of the National Library of Medicine about the disorders and diseases “associated” with cumene. Both were published July 22, 2008.

    The second abstract, titled “Gene expression studies demonstrate that the K-ras/Erk MAP kinase signal transduction pathway and other novel pathways contribute to the pathogenesis of cumene-induced lung tumors,” is posted here:

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18648096/

    The first three sentences of that second abstract read as follows:

    “National Toxicology Program (NTP) inhalation studies demonstrated that cumene significantly increased the incidence of alveolar/bronchiolar adenomas and carcinomas in B6C3F1 mice. Cumene or isopropylbenzene is a component of crude oil used primarily in the production of phenol and acetone. The authors performed global gene expression analysis to distinguish patterns of gene regulation between cumene-induced tumors and normal lung tissue and to look for patterns based on the presence or absence of K-ras and p53 mutations in the tumors.”

    Reply

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