FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO MEDIA
OUTLETS
DATE: November 10, 2004
The Colorado Chapter, International Code Council
Announces a "Front Range Wind Speed Study"
The Colorado Chapter, International Code Council is pleased to announce commencement of a first ever "Front Range Wind Speed Study". The Colorado Chapter, ICC (CCICC) and the Structural Engineers Association of Colorado (SEAC), have begun in earnest, efforts to complete and create a gust wind map to supplement the gust wind map contained in the A.S.C.E. 7-98 which became the wind load design standard in the 2003 International Building Code©. The study area encompasses a significant portion of Colorado’s front-range and extends roughly from the Wyoming border south to the Palmer divide (located between Denver and Colorado Springs) and includes areas approaching the continental divide to the west and is loosely bordered by Interstate 25 to the east. The study area is centered in an area experiencing significant, sustained growth in new residential and commercial construction; includes several metropolitan cities and a population of nearly one million people spread across eight counties.
This "first of its kind" study has been made possible through the cooperative efforts of SEAC and practicing Colorado structural engineers with financial support provided by the Colorado Chapter, ICC and several dozen front range building departments. The study represents a first time collaborative effort between the design professional community and front range jurisdictions seeking a comprehensive understanding of Colorado’s front range designation as a "special wind region" under the 2003 International Building Code© (IBC) and 2003 International Residential Code© (IRC).
The study was originally proposed to the Chapter and is being coordinated by Dr. Jon Peterka, PhD, P.E. with Cermac, Peterka, Peterson, Inc. a consulting engineering firm located in Fort Collins, Colorado. In addition to Dr. Peterka’s extensive experience in wind engineering applications and research, he is also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineer’s (ASCE) Wind Load Subcommittee which is responsible for promulgation of the national wind load standard (ASCE-7) and is chairman of the ASCE Standards Committee on wind tunnel testing of structures. Dr. Peterka brings over thirty years of expertise in wind design, research and committee work with such organizations as the Wind Engineering Research Council and National Research Council Panel on Wind Engineering.
Once completed, the gust map is
expected to become a valuable resource for building officials and design
engineers located up and down the front range and who are currently making
design assumptions based upon minimal and outdated data.
For More
Information Contact:
Patrick Buckley
Building Official
Town of
Berthoud, Colorado
970.532.2643 (v)
