20-Jul-09 1:00 PM CST

July's Meeting Summary

Program Summary: The program started with Mark Perkins, PE, ASCE Fort Worth Branch President, presenting the Life Member Award to Professor John Matthys, PhD of UTA. Mr. Faisal Syed, PE, ASCE Dallas Branch President, continued the program by acknowledging those members that worked hard to coordinate such a successful joint meeting (over 730 people in attendance). He then introduced Roger Behgam and thanked URS for sponsoring the meeting. Mr. Behgam, PE, spent the next few minutes describing URS capabilities and goals.

Later, Sean P. Merrell, P.E. introduced the speaker, Scott Woodrow, Director of the Dallas Cowboys Stadium Engineering. Mr. Woodrow with the assistance of Jeff Williams took the crowd on a journey from the beginning of construction of the new Cowboy’s stadium to the final walk through. They identified and pointed out the facts and the team efforts it took to construct the $1 billion dollar stadium. They also talked about the impact the new stadium will have on traffic, local economy, and DFW airport.

The Dallas Cowboys stadium project has all the components of Civil Engineering. This stadium is unique and its eco-friendly features make it one of a kind, for example, the drainage design of the parking lot, which drains to the grassy parking areas used for tailgating, and the design of the largest traffic model software that helps the spectators arrive and exit the stadium.

Mr. Woodrow ended the presentation by answering questions from the crowd. Afterwards more than 600 of the attendees attended tours of the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Photos of the event and of the stadium can be found in our photoalbum.