I found this in an old Evergreen State Surveyor, I hope Ben doesn't mind if I re-post it...
Surveyor: You want answers?
Contractor: I think IÛªm entitled to them.
Surveyor: You want answers?!
Contractor: I want the truth!
Surveyor: You canÛªt handle the truth!! Son, we live in a world that has some pretty lousy engineering plans. And we have to work with those plans. And those plans have to have survey control and geometry that actually works. Those curbs have to actually fall next to the curb inlets. WhoÛªs gonna stake it? You? You, Mr. Contractor? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep about delays and you curse when you call the night before and we canÛªt get a crew there first thing in the morning. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. Those crews have to turn engineering garbage into something that actually fits and flows. Those 3-foot tall curbs were wrong and we had to change them. While tragic, it probably saved lives. And my existence, while seemingly expensive and unnecessary to you, saves livesÛ?You donÛªt want the truth. Because deep down, in places you donÛªt talk about at parties, you want me to point out the mistakes. You need me to make the plans work. We use words like hub and lath, invert, and cut & fill Û?we use these words as the backbone to a life spent providing grade and alignment for the comfort of the public. You use Û÷em as a punch line at a party. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain my surveying and staking to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of a neatly aligned and vertically correct world that I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it! IÛªd rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a sledge and some hubs and start pounding. Either way, I donÛªt give a damn what you think youÛªre entitled to! Contractor: Did you stake my curb offsets? I have concrete waiting. Surveyor: (quietly) I did the job you hired me to do. Contractor: Did you stake my curb offsets? Surveyor: YouÛªre damn right I did!! but your backhoe knocked them out.
Did the contractor, fire, beat the the hell out of, or kill the surveyor? 😉
FL/GA PLS., post: 419689, member: 379 wrote: Did the contractor, fire, beat the the hell out of, or kill the surveyor? 😉
I believe the surveyor was heard mumbling something about needing to get back to his HP41CV and finish some calculations; while some guys in white jackets, lead him away...
Not sure if this has been posted before, but it is another movie reference that ties in pretty well here.
[MEDIA=youtube]gwwYvd52WzI[/MEDIA]
RADAR, post: 419687, member: 413 wrote: Those crews have to turn engineering garbage into something that actually fits and flows. Those 3-foot tall curbs were wrong and we had to change them.
Does the E&O carrier know the surveyor is doing this?
Bill93, post: 419736, member: 87 wrote: Does the E&O carrier know the surveyor is doing this?
Sometimes a super elevation in a tight radius curve just has to be made to work. A surveyor in the field runs a risk at executing intent that isn't exactly exactly numerically indicated. But not contrary to plan. Or it's a stop work.
I had a meeting with an engineer on site. And a tight radius on-ramp had be re-engineered. He was dutifully figuring grades. He had some 2.5% slope for the edge of pavement figured on 25 ft stations. Then I said "but at the inside of the curve the distance for 25 ft 'centerline stations' is only 18 ft. That's 3.5%". He looked at me like he'd seen a ghost. "Then we're gonna need a catch basin, and drainage changes and ...."
And that's how it all starts.
I have found that old highway plans usually show the degree of curve, but the radius and length usually don't match the degree and delta. Tangents also seem to have discrepancies. Not sure what method was used, since calculators were not available.
Larry Scott, post: 419792, member: 8766 wrote: I had a meeting with an engineer on site.
I had a meeting with an engineer on site; he was holding his plans in one hand and patting them with the other. He said: these plans are a good example of what needs to be built. The contractor was installing new water and storm in an existing subdivision, the re paving the whole thing.
Existing subdivisions are like a box of chocolates; you never know what your going to get...
I believe there were a lot of change orders with this job. :dizzy:
Bill93, post: 419736, member: 87 wrote: Does the E&O carrier know the surveyor is doing this?
I believe H.D. Thoreau addresses this in his essay, "Civil Disobedience," the Plans are the Civil Engineer's dream of a better world but we still have to deal with reality.
Bill93, post: 419736, member: 87 wrote: Does the E&O carrier know the surveyor is doing this?
Shhhhh! An insurance agent or a licensing board member might hear you!
