and led it and grouted it in place. Frame design. The erector used high /sirengih bolts in connect the space frame components, which consist of triangular bracing between top and bottom chords. Bethlehem shop-bolted some sections of the chords and main web members before shipping them to the field. Without roofing materials, mechanical systems or metal sheathing attached, the space frame weighed 1,400 tons. According to a Bethlehem spokesman, ASTM A572 Grade 50 steel was used for the roof structure's highly stressed members while A36 steel was specified for the remainder.

Welded to the top chord of the frame were steel posts that supported a framing system for the 3-in-thick wood fiber composition roof. Space frame designers Werner Blum and Philip Wesler wrote in a January, 1974, article in CIVIL ENGI NEERING, "By having the posts bear directly on main panel points, or subpanel points, bending stresses due to gravity loading are eliminated from the top chord lattice members.

"However, to simplify both fabrication and assembly, no camber of the space

frame was provided The computer
results indicated that a downward deflec
tion of about 13 in. would occur at the
midpoint of the roof, under all dead and
live loads, and an upward deflection of
about 6 in at the extreme cantilevered
corners. These deflections were consid-
ered in establishing the true heights of the
[roof system posts] to maintain positive
drainage under all conditions."

Though specific reconstruction plans
aren't yet solid, City Manager James B.
Daken says the structure, the keystone of
downtown redevelopment, will be rebuilt
"bigger and better." And, he says, it will
probably have a different roof.

College collapse. In the collapse of the C.W. Post College roof, school officials at press time had not selected a consultant to handle the investigation. Roof fabricator Butler Manufacturing Co., Kansas City, which also helped design the structure, has already begun its own probe. The auditorium cost $1.5 million when it was built in 1970.

Its roof was a double-layer Schwedler design consisting of steel tubes and purlins and aluminum connector hubs.

Carter keeps tight spending rein on construction in '79 budget

President Carter, who has retreated from some ambitious federal programs he sponsored during his first year in office, sent Congress a new spending blueprint this week that refieas a further reduction

in expectations. But he coupled this with new plans for stimulating economic activity by encouraging businesses to invest

The President's budget for fiscal 1979, which begins Oa 1, plus details of his plans for cutting taxes, the State of the Union and Economic Messages, all spell out his strategy.

The only significant economic sumulus will come if Congress-as expectedbuys Caner's proposal to cut corporate and individual income taxes by $25 billion. This includes extension of the investment tax credit to structures. Doing that should benefit construction if busi nesses order new or modernized capital facilities. Consumer demand should also quicken.

Add to that the plan for controlling inflation to shore up business confidence (ENR 1/19 p.7) and you have the administration's basic formula.

But if the tax cut does not work the wonders expected of it, federal spending

plans favored by Caner will not take up
the slack to bolster the economy. The
fiscal 1979 budget is pegged by the Presi
dent at $500 billion, a record amount, but
sull modest by contemporary standards.
Spending increases are held to a 2% gain
in inflation-adjusted dollars.

Some construction cuts. Aside from
the acceleration of certain environmental
and housing programs and military
construction efforts, the budget curve that
affects construction is basically flat or
actually lower this coming year compared
to fiscal 1978.

Carter sees no need to further expand the local public works construction program, which is presently pumping $6 billion into the economy, nor does he want to increase spending for heavy investments in other public works programs that would mean more construcon activity.

Caner took a meat ax to the water resource projects of the Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation. His budget proposes denying them any new construction starts, and even the outlays for planning future starts are reduced.

Moreover, the budget proposes to

College roof, 171 ft across, tell 43 ft.

The 2-fi-deep space frame bore on 20 steel columns, 19 ft high, that ring the circular auditorium. The roof rose 24 ft from the column tops and mood 43 fi above the arena floor. Steel bulb-T members on the space frame supponed a wood fiber roof.

Design of the roof provided for 30 lb per sq ft of live loading and 20 lb for wind loading, both horizontal and vertical. Actual weight of the snow on the roof has not yet been determined.

The purpose of this letter is to set forth, formally, the request by DeLeuw, Cather/Parsons (DCP) that DCP be granted indemnification by the FRA under the authority of Public Law 85-804. This request for indemnification is for DCP and all of its architectural and engineering subcontractors performing work on the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project in connection with DCP's referenced Letter Contract.

The basis for our request has been submitted in great detail commencing in written form with our comments regarding FRA's proposed contract terms in our proposal dated August 25, 1976. Most recently, on May 3, 1977, a package of materials describing endeavors to obtain professional liability insurance on DCP's behalf was submitted. indicated in these materials the availability of professional liability insurance is limited and the cost is high.

As

Therefore, consistent with the parties' responsibilities pursuant to Section XIV of the Schedule of the Letter Contract, we request indemnification under PL 85-804, and Executive Order 10789, as most recently amended by Executive Order 11610, dated July 22, 1971.

It is our firm conviction that indemnification in this instance will facilitate the national defense and that the magnitude of this project, which involves the transformation of the Northeast Corridor Railroad System into a high-speed passenger system involves the kind of extraordinary risks contemplated by Public Law 85-804. For example, railroads in the NEC will carry, in addition to large numbers of passengers, such dangerous freight as toxic chemicals, explosives, and military weaponry. The potential for catastrophic accidents and liability is apparent. In addition, performance of construction supervision services could also lead to substantial third party claims.

Del now, Cather & Company
Parametric, Ine.

The Ralph M. Parsons Company
Skidmore, Ovinne & Merri

Electrack incorporated

McDonald and Williams

Mr. Ray Rogers
May 13, 1977
Page 2

Indemnification would provide members of the public who are potential victims of a catastrophic accident with adequate recourse. In addition, DCP and its subcontractors would be protected against the open-ended liability discussed above which could otherwise bankrupt them. Therefore, we urge that the mechanism pursuant to PL 85-804 be established now for providing protection to the public, the contractor, and third parties for extraordinary risk and liability.

Section 703 of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory
Reform Act of 1976, as amended ("Rail Act"), requires that
the Secretary implement certain trip time goals for passenger
service on the Northeast Corridor within five years from
the passage of the Rail Act at a cost of not more than $1.6
billion. As a result of the delegation of the Secretary,
the Federal Railroad Administration's ("FRA") Northeast
Corridor Project Office has been planning and implementing
the Project. The FRA has contracted with the joint venture
of DeLeuw, Cather/Parsons ("DCP") to provide directly or
through subcontractors the architectural and engineering
services for the Project.

A problem, which was identified at the outset of the
Project, was the cost and availability of professional
liability insurance for DCP and its subcontractors: It.
was anticipated that such insurance would be difficult to
procure because of the potential size of the design error
liability in an accident which involved passengers or the
release of hazardous materials in a highly populated urban
area. As discussed more fully in the attached memorandum
from the FRA Chief Counsel, DCP was unable to elicit any
offers of adequate professional liability insurance and
it is the judgment of DCP, the Director of the Project
Office, and the PRA Procurement Officer that adequate
professional liability Insurance is simply not available
on the private market at any price..

With the failure of DCP to procure adequate private insur-
ance, the professional liability insurance problem imperils
the progress of the entire Project. The design work pre-
cedes any construction on the Project and DCP and its sub-
contractors are unwilling to commence design work for use
on the project until they have adequate insurance protection,

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As pointed out in the Chief Counsel's memorandum, DCP has asserted that it needs at least $100 million of adequate professional liability insurance. Starting from the proposition that the FRA need only provide $100 million of adequate insurance in order to complete the Project successfully, there are three ways for the FRA to provide this insurance outside of the private market.

1. The FRA could use presently appropriated funds to self-insure DCP and its subcontractors.

It appears that for 1977 there will be available a limited amount of project appropriations which could be used to set up a self-insurance fund. While it will not be possible to self-insure DCP for the full $100 million of coverage, the FRA could provide an initial $25 million of coverage, and DCP may be able to procure the remainder of the $100 million of insurance in the private markets.

There are several limitations on the practicability of self-insurance with appropriated funds. First, the Project appropriations are budgeted to construction and various other services necessary to improve the Corridor--eventually, any fund set aside for self-insurance would have to be invaded to pay for construction. Furthermore, when the Project was completed, Congress would have to make additional authorizations and appropriations to provide insurance until the statute of limitations has run on professional liabilities. Second, the Anti-Deficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. $665, prevents the PRA from agreeing to insure DCP in excess of appropriated funds. The limitations placed on the contractual authority of the FRA by the Anti-Deficiency Act probably cannot be avoided by relying on actuarial principles which would permit a private insurance company to issue an insurance policy far in excess of the funds available to settle claims arising from that policy. The Anti-Deficiency Act would prevent the FRA from agreeing to provide $100 million of insurance unless $100 million was actually put in an insurance set aside, even if on a yearly basis actuarial principles would say that far less than $100 million would be necessary to settle claims.