Specialty geotechnical drillers Crux Subsurface, Inc. of Spokane, WA has been working on a challenging project in a residential neighborhood in Bellevue, Washington. Their work is in support of a King County project to upgrade wastewater conveyance system currently served by the Sunset and Heathfield Pump Stations in Bellevue. Crux was selected for the job because of their experience in working in restricted and congested areas and because of anticipated difficult core recovery. [Source: Crux. Image: Crux]

As we approach 2013, I wanted to clean out some of the interesting geoengineering stories that I didn't get a chance to post about in the last month or so. Enjoy this Catch-up-post (CUP)!

• $2.88M to Fund Study of Links Between Human Evolution, Past Climate - Source: UANews
• DBA Wraps Up Load Test Program and Proceeds with Design on St. Croix Bridge - Source: Dan Brown and Associates, PC
• NCHRP Report 461–Static and Dynamic Lateral Loading of Pile Groups - Source: Dan Brown and Associates, PC
• ASFE Releases President’s Report - Source: ASFE: The Geoprofessional Business Association
• A Dutch Solution for New York's Storm Surge Woes? - Source: Forbes via ASCE SmartBrief
• Hetch Hetchy seismic upgrade project uses freezing technique - Source: abc7news.com
• Significant Findings from Full-Scale Accelerated Pavement Testing - Source: TRB
• GIE Designs another Geopier GP3™ System in Minneapolis, MN - Source: Ground Improvement Engineering
• Flood protection for underground structures - Source: Deep Excavation
• Devils Slide bypass tunnels delayed again - Source: ContraCostaTimes.com
• Landslide stabilization efforts in San Pedro to get $1.4 million from Los Angeles - Source: The Daily Breeze
• Colorado Landslide Report for 2010 - Source: Geology.com
• Geocomp Launches New Website - Source: Geocomp via Geoengineer.org News
• Seattle waterfront merchants 'livid' over seawall construction plan - Source: The Seattle Times via ASCE SmartBrief
• Maptek describes the origins of software for 3D visualization of seismic and other geophysical data - Source: Maptek
• UT Austin Civil Engineering to hold 20th Buchanan Lecture - Source: UT Austin College of Engineering
• Drill results will help shape future Christchurch - Source: Stuff.co.nz
• Rockfall closes Trans-Canadian Highway for days, requires blasting - Source: The Telegram
• New paving system uses recycled plastic - Source: The Globe and Mail via ASCE SmartBrief
• 2012 Be Inspired Innovation WON AGAIN with gINT - Geotechnical Blog - Geotechnical - Source: Be Communities by Bentley
• Video: Inside Downtown Austin’s Waller Creek Tunnel - Source: KUT News
• Geotechnical Engineering Group changes name to Terracon - Source: CE News
• Worst-case flood risk has TVA weighing higher dams - Source: timesfreepress.com via ASCE SmartBrief
• Cave-in kills worker at Hoosier Heartland Corridor road project - Source: indystar.com via ASCE SmartBrief
• Projects to Transform Seattle, All Along the Waterfront - Source: NYTimes.com
• Kleinfelder acquires Alliance Environmental Engineering & Consulting Pty Ltd - Source: CE News
• New tools in Vulcan 8.2 release target speed and efficiency - Source: Maptek
• Images of a railway landslide in the Canadian Rockies - Source: The Landslide Blog

The Devil's Slide Tunnel Project was originally scheduled to open at the end of 2012, but it has been delayed slightly to an early 2013 opening. If you look at some recent photos, you can hardly tell that there is anything left to finish. I've been following this project since it started, since to me it represents the essence of geoengineering, with important roles played by geotechnical engineers, geological engineers, hydrogeologists, and of course geotechnical contractors and tunneling specialists.  I thought it would be interesting to list a few of the posts I've written about the project over the years and present a bit of information I only recently learned.  Click through for more. [Image: kxyoung on Flickr]

A recent study concluded that three of four recently constructed segments of a new port facility in Anchorage, Alaska were not constructed correctly and even if they were, are vulnerable to liquefaction related damage during an earthquake. The $2.2M study was performed by CH2M Hill for the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Maritime Commission. A draft was issued in November, and was recently approved by Anchorage's Geotechnical Advisory Commision and the final version of the report addressing the Commission's comments should be soon to follow. CH2M Hill is conducting an additional $500K of work to lay out options. [Source: Alaska Journal of Commerce. Image: Mark Meyer Photography]

URS (Australia/New Zealand) and EarthScience Information Systems (EScIS) are pleased to announce the purchase of an unlimited usage ESdat Licence by URS for its Australian and New Zealand Offices.

URS will use ESdat to manage laboratory and field data related to groundwater, contaminated site, and other environmental projects.

[Editor] Read on for the rest of the press release from EScIS and ESdat [/Editor]

The new SuperGIS Engine 3.1 Beta allows Windows developers to incorporate GIS functionality into their programs using COM components. From their press release:

As the core development of SuperGIS software, SuperGIS Engine 3.1 can be embedded into programming language under Windows developing environment to integrate with other systems and enhance efficiency in system development. SuperGIS Engine 3.1 provides 32-bit and 64-bit developing components that enable developers to create GIS applications they need in common development environments such as Visual Studio 2005/2008/2010 Visual Basic, VB.NET, Visual C# and so on.

The product page provides info on how to get a free trial version. [Source: Supergeotek.com. Image: SuperGIS Engine 3.1 Beta is released]

Deep Excavation, LLC has an excellent blog post on how geotechnical engineers should provide geotechnical parameters for use by a shoring designer. Mr. Konstantakos notes that most of us geotechnical engineers provide only lateral earth pressure parameters, but there are a number of problems with that approach. Today's shoring designs are much more complex, requiring staged analyses and service limit analyses that you simply can't do if all you have are basic parameters. So what should you provide in your geotechnical reports? Go read the post to find out! [Source: Deep Excavation. Image: DeepExcavation.com]

Hawthorne, NJ (December 1, 2012): The Deep Foundation Institute (DFI) presented the inaugural C. William Bermingham Innovation Award to the team of Nicholson Construction Company and Bermingham Foundation Solutions Ltd, at DFI’s 37th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations in Houston, TX.

[Editor] Read on for the rest of the press release from DFI. [/Editor]

Hawthorne, NJ (December 1, 2012): Co-authors Dr. John McCartney and Kyle Murphy, professors at the University of Colorado Boulder, shared honors as winners of the DFI Young Professor Paper Competition award presented at the DFI 37th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations in October in Houston. The paper, “Seasonal Strain Distributions in Full-Scale Energy Foundations,” focuses on the seasonal thermo-mechanical response of two energy foundations installed at the new Denver Housing Authority Senior Living Facility.

[Editor] Click through for the rest of the press release from DFI [/Editor]

Hawthorne, NJ (December 1, 2012): The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) presented the 2012 Outstanding Project Award (OPA) to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for the design and construction of the Route 9A Pedestrian Tunnel at the World Trade Center in New York City. The award was presented to Robert Yin of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey at the Awards Banquet during DFI’s 37th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations in Houston.

[Editor] Read on for the rest of the press release from DFI. [/Editor]

Hawthorne, NJ (December 1, 2012): David B. Coleman received one of the Deep Foundations Institute’s (DFI) highest honors, the Distinguished Service Award, in October during the DFI’s 37th Annual Conference in Houston. He was the 32nd recipient of the award, designated for individuals or companies chosen by their peers for exceptionally valuable contributions to the deep foundations industry.

[Editor] Read on for the rest of the press release from DFI. [/Editor]

A 300 foot wide frozen debris flow has been moving towards an important Alaska highway and the Trans-Alaska pipeline at a rate of about 1-cm per day...and it seems to be accelerating. The 'Frozen Debris Lobe' as it is referred to by some researchers is now abot 150 feet from the highway, the pipeline is another 700 feet past that. This is a fascinating problem, and one that poses a real threat to the transportation and oil infrastructure of Alaska. But it seems like it will be playing out in slow motion over the coming years. [Source: ADN.com. Image: Guido Grosse / ADN.com]