Maine Cemetery Association Annual Meeting & Conference

1. Presentation on the Headstone Rehabilitation Project at the Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery October 23rd 2012 Maine Cemetery AssociationAnnual Meeting & Conference

2. Presenters William Walsh, III, PE, LEED AP Civil Engineer/Project Designer/Project Manager Walsh Engineering Associates, Inc. Portland, Maine Mark Carpenter, PLS Surveyor Nadeau Land Surveys Portland, Maine

3. Walsh Engineering Associates, Inc. www.walsh-eng.com

4. Walsh Engineering Associates, Inc. • Founded in 2009 • LEED Accredited • Staff have over 40 years combined experience • Cemetery design • Cemetery Master Planning • Cemetery Expansion Design • Construction Administration • Columbarium design • Granite, Precast Concrete • Construction Oversight • Site planning & design • Conceptual Design • Permitting • Drainage and Grading Design

5. WEA Cemetery Design Experience • Lowell Cemetery – Lowell, MA • Riverside Cemetery – Cape Elizabeth • Augusta Vet Cemetery – Mt. Vernon Road • Northern ME Vet Cemetery – Caribou • Southern ME Vet Cemetery - Springvale

6. WEA Columbarium Design • Lowell Cemetery – Lowell, MA • Augusta Vet Cemetery – Civic Center Drive • Northern ME Vet Cemetery – Caribou • Southern ME Vet Cemetery - Springvale

7. Nadeau Land Surveys www.nadeaulandsurveys.com

8. About Nadeau Land Surveys • Founded in 1993 • Professional land surveyors with over 60 years combined experience • Provides land surveying services, floodplain services, GPS/GIS mapping, underground utility locating, and education

9. Nadeau Land Surveys Providing existing conditions for design & control for future layout

10. Headstone Rehabilitation ProjectMaine Veterans’ CemeteryCivic Center Drive, Augusta, Maine • Total acreage: 164.15 acres • Developed areas of cemetery: 56.8 acres • 10,000 total at-grade headstones • 6,500 headstones in 11 sections to be rehabbed in 3 phases of construction

11. Collaborators

12. Funding • In August of 2011, the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services received funding through the Veterans Cemetery Grants Service, for the rehabilitation of 6,500 at-grade granite headstones. “Just as our veterans heroically served our country in uniform, it must be our duty to ensure that these solemn grounds receive the necessary funds to be maintained.” ~ Maine Senators Snowe and Collins

13. Issues • Settling of headstones • Maintenance of the headstones • The state has been spending significant funds attempting to prevent the headstones from sinking and prevent grass overgrowth.

14. Engineering Analysis/Issues • Why are they sinking? • How can they be fixed? • What is the best way to raise the headstones to grade? • How do we prevent future settling? • Compaction, compaction, compaction! • But, how do you compact over old concrete vaults? • And, how do we get the headstones back to their original location?

15. Design Solution • Remove headstones • Excavate a trench • Install crushed stone & back fill • Install geo-grids • Loam and seed

16. Implementing the Design • 6,500 headstones to be removed and returned within 2 inches of original location How do we do this?

17. Surveyor Objectives • Accurately locate and identify approximately 6,500 headstones along with additional site data in specific areas proposed for improvements (i.e., roads, paths, trees, visible utilities, structures, etc). • Create a Base Map of site data collected in an electronic format for design, layout, and as-built purposes. • Devise & assist contractor in a practical, efficient and accurate way of resetting each headstone. • Revisit site for final inspection and as-built locate for desired tolerance per project specifications.

18. Headstone Location • Using a general Site Map created by the engineer along with cemetery records of the site, we located each headstone in the existing grid format, in order, as specified by the project manual. • Using the “top right corner” of each headstone as a reference point keeps data collection consistent, allows others to relocate the stones. • To keep the order, we identified each stone using “first Initial and last name” • Verify existing cemetery inventory against headstones found.

19. Existing Information

20. Data Collection • Use survey grade Global Positioning System (GPS) to locate each headstone. • GPS data can be collected in a variety of known coordinate systems. We located the Maine Veterans Cemetery in the Maine State Plane Coordinate System. This system is commonly used throughout the state and can be easily integrated into a GIS program for use with many other applications. • Using a universal coordinates system allows for others to “tie-in” • Convert to Latitudes and Longitudes The Topcon HiPer II

21. How GPS Works • GPS satellites all around the earth transmit data about their location to a receiver (our instrument). • The receiver triangulates the distances from at least 3 satellites based on how long it takes the signals to broadcast. • The triangulation creates a single location on earth with an assigned coordinate.

22. Plan & Layout • Plot each headstone coordinate using drafting software (AutoCAD) to create electronic Base Map. • Using “best fit” lines along the existing stones allowed for minor corrections to the alignment of the original grid. • Provide contractor with electronic Base Map with redrawn grid lines for resetting purposes.

23. Headstone Alignment

24. Stake out • Provide contractor support for the proper replacement of each headstone. • Use points of reference to measure from: • Base Lines – unrealistic without a uniform grid • Individual point placement – too time consuming for project size • Coordinate-based control with survey instrument • Highly accurate • Multiple measurements • Unlimited terrain • Uniformity

25. Construction

26. Construction

27. Construction

28. Construction

29. As-Built Survey • Quality Control • Confirm correct placement of headstones • Visually inspect each headstone for order and relocate stones for a final as-built plan defining deviations from the realigned grid.

30. As-Built • Locate a portion of the reset headstones to assure they were returned to their original location

31. Benefits • Improvement of cemetery landscape for long-term durability of graves sites • Update and validate cemetery records • Preservation and documentation of individual headstones (weather and vandalism) • Creates an accurate cemetery map showing: • Headstone location • Terrain for drainage and ledge outcrops • Irregular shaped roads and paths for improved design • Section identification • Cemetery boundaries

32. Completion

33. Thank you!