I’ve never thought too much about this, I guess I’m still waiting for my first geotechnical assignment in Hawaii! But if you bring soil samples into the continental USA, they must go through a heat treatment at their port of entry. In the latest GeoComp Corporation newsletter, Gary Torosian from GeoTesting Express, GeoComp’s lab testing arm, describes how their firm’s certification with the U.S. Department of Agriculture allows them to accept soil samples without the required heat treatment. They can receive, and test the samples and then upon completion of the testing, they heat treat the soil, sample containers and any effluent generated from the testing process to safely dispose of any potentially harmful organisms. Something to keep in mind for those cushy projects in Hawaii or the US Virgin Islands or something. (Photo by Eric K. Veland on Flickr)
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Nortex and TerraThane Stabilize Houston Area Highways
Houston’s Highways, Some of Busiest in Nation, Use Innovative TerraThane Polyurethane Foam Technology to Repair Bad Bridge Approaches, Uneven Joints, and Roadway Depressions.
MOUNT AIRY, NC—Highways around Houston, TX, known as one the nation’s worst cities for traffic behind Los Angeles, D.C., and Atlanta, need constant repair, but can’t be closed while the work is done. Nortex Concrete Lift and Stabilization, Inc., a Ft. Worth, TX company, recently completed a whirlwind repair project on one of the city’s busiest corridors in the NE quadrant where I-10, 610 Loop, I-59, and I-69 feed millions of cars daily to, from, and around Harris County.
Normal groundwater erosion beneath the highways causes the concrete highway slabs to drop, roadway depressions, uneven bridge approaches, and uneven joints that make driving bumpy and uncomfortable, dangerous, and causes severe wear and tear on automobiles.
To make the repairs, the Texas Department of Transportation, TXDOT, brought in Nortex. The company carefully planned out the repairs for the half million pound project, and sent out four crews each with it’s own box truck rig to use a relatively new technology called “foamjacking.” Foamjacking uses high-density polyurethane foam to fill the subterranean voids, and lift the concrete slabs to proper level. “We’ve been lifting and stabilizing roadways with polyurethane foam since we got into the business back in 2003,” says Casey Derosa, asst. gen. mgr. of Nortex. “It’s a far superior method versus the old way of mudjacking.” Mudjacking is a ubiquitous term for a mix of mud, sand, cement, crushed limestone, and water hydraulically pumped into large holes drilled into the concrete slabs to fill voids and level the slabs. Mudjacking uses more and much larger equipment, and requires larger holes to be drilled. It typically requires the roadway to be closed much longer than foamjacking, and takes more time to clean up.
[Editor] Click through for the rest of the press release from GeoPrac sponsor NCFI Polyurethanes. [/Editor]
Video Tour of NY Subway Mega-Projects
The New York MTA is in the midst of a “golden era” of tunneling for the New York subway. Three separate mega-projects are currently underway totaling some $15 Billion: The Second Avenue Subway, The East Side Access Project (which features the new Grand Central Terminal), and The Number 7 Subway Line Extension Project. The short video below was published by the NY Post and included in an AP Article. It is tantalizingly short, but gives a great perspective on what the underground construction project at Grand Central looks like and a sense of the scale…the amazing huge caverns being constructed. The article says that from underneath Grand Central Terminal alone, the construction crews have removed enough material to cover Central Park almost a foot deep!
[Source: KOMO News (Seattle) via ASCE SmartBrief. Image: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer via KOMOnews.com]
Click through for the video.
Shoring retaining wall failure in Virginia prompts apartment building evacuation
On Sunday evening, a soldier pile lagging wall shoring system failed at the Sedona & Slate residential development construction site in Rosslyn, Virginia (Arlington County). There were no reported injuries, but an adjacent apartment building was evacuated as a precaution and a nearby street is closed to traffic. Click through for a video that shows some additional views of the damage. The scale of the wall is apparent when you see the shots with workers putting braces near the bottom of the wall. I’m guessing the rakers shown in this image were added monday to attempt to stabilize the wall, but that’s just speculation at this point. Image: MyFoxDC.com