Posts treating: "FHWA"
Monday, 27 July 2015
New Initiative Modeled After Longstanding Bridge Program
WASHINGTON –The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today published the final rule for national tunnel inspection standards that will serve as the foundation of the nation’s first standardized tunnel inspection program. It will be modeled after the FHWA’s successful bridge program established nearly a half-century ago to ensure the safety of the nation’s bridges.
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Hawthorne, NJ (August 21, 2014): S. Scot Litke, D.GE (Hon.) is the recipient of DFI’s highest award to an individual, the Distinguished Service Award. He is the 34th recipient of the award, honoring individuals chosen by their peers for exceptionally valuable contributions to the advancement of the deep foundations industry. The award will be presented on October 23, 2014, during DFI’s 39th Annual Conference in Atlanta.
Since 1982, Litke has been the editor of the ADSC’s [...]
The Central Federal Lands (CFL) division of the FHWA has published a new manual on Geotechnical Asset Management. Here's the abstract:
The purpose of transportation asset management is to meet life-cycle performance goals (safety, mobility, preservation, economics, and environmental aspects) through the management of physical assets in the most cost-effective manner. Geotechnical asset management can be incorporated into the broader practice of transportation asset management. Currently, [...]
This guide was issued to provide guidelines for construction of the geosynthetic reinforced soilintegrated bridge system (GRS-IBS). Refer to Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Integrated Bridge System Interim Implementation Guide for GRS-IBS design and construction guidelines. This guide serves as the technical basis for agency-developed standard specifications. Local experience and practice should be incorporated as applicable. [Source: FHWA. Image:
FHWA Director Mendez was on hand last month as WSDOT broke ground on the SR 99 tunnel, also known as the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Tunnel. The project is expected to cost upwards of $2B and be completed in 2015. [Source: Roads And Bridges via ASCE SmartBrief. Image:
A report titled 'Falling Weight Deflectometer Calibration Center and Operational Improvements: Redevelopment of The Calibration Protocol and Equipment' has been published by the FHWA. This report is the result of a pooled fund study that has resulted in revisions to AASHTO's R32-09 calibration procedure for the FWT. There is also new calibration software, WinFWDCal that came out of this research. [Source: FHWA. Image:
Phew, that's a mouthfull. The FHWA has recently posted a YouTube version of their 19-minute video (below) showing how to build geosynthetic-reinforced soil integrated bridge systems (GRS-IBS). The video is based on the content in the Interim GRS implementation guide released at the beginning of the year.
GRS-IBS Implementation
An August 2010 FHWA Central Federal Lands report on corrosion of hollow bar soil nails has recently been made available on the NCS Consultants, LLC website. The authors of the report are Naresh Samtani and Ed Nowatzki of NCS. From the abstract:
Hollow bar soil nails (HBSNs) have been used in the United States in earth retention systems for over 10 years. HBSNs are commonly used in place of solid bar soil nails (SBSNs) when the solid bar installation would require temporary casing of the [...]
The FHWA Turner-Fairbanks Highway Research Center has issued a document to provide interim guidance on the implementation of Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil or GRS Bridge Systems. From the foreward:
Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil (GRS) technology consists of closely-spaced layers of geosynthetic reinforcement and compacted granular fill material. GRS has been used for a variety of earthwork applications since the U.S. Forest Service first used it to build walls for roads in steep mountain [...]
So last year at this time, I gave Santa my geoengineer’s Christmas list, but apparently I wasn’t good enough to get everything. I did get two things off my list, the new FHWA Drilled Shaft Manual, and the New FHWA MSE Wall Manual, but that’s about it. That’s like getting pink bunny PJ’s as a kid! So over the last year, I tried to be REALLY good, and this year I’ll just let last year’s list roll over with two additions:
An iPad
This [...]
The Arizona DOT has posted three new LRFD geotechnical policy memoranda and revised three others. Use of LRFD or Load and Resistance Factor Design is now mandatory on all federally funded roadway projects and agencies and consultants have had plenty of issues with the transition. ADOT has been one of the more proactive agencies at implementing the geotechnical aspects of the AASHTO LRFD Code and providing guidance to consultants in the form of these policy memos.
The first three [...]
The Ohio DOT issued what appears to be a comprehensive rock slope design manual back in June of this year that was also released by the FHWA. It was written by Abdul Shakoor and Yonathan Admassu of Kent State University. There is also another shorter Rock Slope Design Manual on the same page with more specific guidance for ODOT projects. [Source: . Image:
MSEW Author: K-Stiffness Model Method Invalid, Potentially Unsafe - Source: Geosynthetics Magazine
PDCA - The importance of piledriving simulation - Source: Down to Earth Blog via Geoengineer.org
Mine tailings landslide in Hungary and a dam crisis in Vietnam - Source: Dave's Landslide Blog
How often does Google update the imagery in Google Earth? - Source: Google Earth Blog
Geocomp Corporation Hires Two New Senior [...]
New York's St. Lawrence County DOT has attracted the attention of the FHWA...in a good way. The agency has built 5 Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil (GRS) bridge abutments since last fall, and the sixth will be the subject of a Florida film crew hired by the FHWA. The footage will be shown at various meetings leading up the the creation of a new technical manual on the building of GRS bridge structures which are a cheap and rapidly constructible solution to crumbling bridges in these difficult [...]
The FHWA has released for download a comprehensive update to the 1999 O’Neil and Reese manual “Drilled Shafts: Construction Procedures and Design Methods”, lovingly referred to in the industry as the “Brown Book” or the “Drilled Shaft Bible”. This 2010 manual from the National Highway Institute (NHI) of the FHWA is entitled “Drilled Shafts: Construction Procedures Procedures and LRFD Design Methods” and was authored by Dan A. Brown, [...]
The much anticipated LRFD update to the MSE Wall and Reinforced Soil Slope Manual is now available for download from the FHWA’s website. The full title of the document is Design of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls and Reinforced Soil Slopes and it was authored by Ryan R. Berg, P.E.; Barry R. Christopher, Ph.D., P.E. and Naresh C. Samtani, Ph.D., P.E. Find the abstract and download link below. As time permits, I’ll try to post more about some of the changes in this important geotechnical [...]
ADAMA Software has released update 10.1 for their Mechanically Stabilized Earth retaining wall design software, MSEW 3.0 as of September 29, 2009. Click through for the download link and a few of the changes.
I expect that when the new FHWA MSE Wall Manual hits the street in a few months time that we will see some significant updates with the MSEW software
A legend in the Drilled Shaft Industry, Dr. Lymon C. Reese has passed away at age 92. Dr. Reese is perhaps best know in the industry as the co-author, along with the late Dr. Michael O'Neill (one of his former students), of the 1999 FHWA Manual entitled "Drilled Shafts: Construction Procedures and Design Methods". This publication was a culmination of many years of work for the Texas Department of Transportation, and many seminal papers on the topic of deep foundations. In a fitting [...]
Jet Grouting is a ground improvement technology used to mix the insitu soils with cement to create a soil cement column. The systems can be single, double or triple fluid jet grouting. The common element to all three is the cement grout. The double fluid systems involve using another fluid (typically air) to increase the velocity of the jet to better scour the soil. Triple fluid systems typically use water and air to scour the material and grout is delivered via a third nozzle. (Photo [...]
I was able to attend the first full day of the 34th Southwest Geotechnical Conference in Phoenix, AZ yesterday. The conference, sponsored by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the FHWA, is going on through tomorrow, and I wish I could have attended the rest of the sessions, but I had to get back to work! There were some very interesting presentations, and I made some valuable contacts that will hopefully result in some additional articles and other content for GeoPrac. Below [...]