construction – GeoPrac.net

Historic Pennsylvania Tunnel Reopens with Help From NCFI’s TerraThane Polyurethane Foam

January 26, 2016 rockman Comments Off

MOUNT AIRY, NC—A $2 million tunnel construction project on the Great Alleghany Passage (GAP) is reopened to the public with help from a geotechnical polyurethane foam called TerraThane, by US company, NCFI Polyurethanes.

The GAP rail-trail is 150 miles of hiking and biking between Cumberland, Md, and Pittsburgh, Pa. created along the former railway line. In Cumberland, the GAP joins the C&O Canal Towpath, creating a continuous 335-mile long trail experience all the way to Washington, DC. It’s become a favorite biking destination for people from around the Mid-Atlantic states. One of its main tunnels, the Pinkerton Tunnel, an 849-foot former Western Maryland Railway tunnel, has been closed since 1975 due to erosion and unstable conditions. The Allegheny Trail Alliance, the organization that built and now maintains the 150-mile GAP, and the Somerset County Rails-to-Trails Association (SCRTA), wanted the tunnel reopened and helped fund the project.

[Editor] Click through for the rest of the press release from GeoPrac sponsor, NCFI Polyurethanes (makers of TerraThane). [/Editor]

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Sinkhole that swallowed a man in Shenzhen city, China

Man swallowed by a Sinkhole in Shenzhen city, China

April 1, 2013 rockman Comments Off

A frightening moment was captured on video when a security guard in Shenzhen city, China was swallowed by a sinkhole. The video indicated that residents complained of vibrations or tremors from a nearby construction site […]

Nicholson Awarded Extensive Shoring and Underpinning Contract at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU

February 8, 2013 rockman Comments Off

PITTSBURGH, PA – February 5, 2013 – Nicholson Construction was recently awarded the geotechnical work for the new Children’s Pavilion at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) by Skanska Building, USA.

The $168 million, 640,000 square-foot facility will house 72 exam rooms, a surgical area with two operating rooms, and two procedure rooms, areas for diagnostic testing, imaging and laboratory services. Construction also includes an attached parking garage with more than 600 spaces.

The new Children’s Pavilion will make Children’s Hospital of Richmond the largest and most advanced outpatient facility dedicated to children in the region.

[Editor] Read the rest of the press release from GeoPrac.net sponsor Nicholson Construction. [/Editor]

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Kokosing Construction To Build ARES® Retaining Walls for One of Ohio’s Largest Highway Projects

June 11, 2012 rockman Comments Off

ATLANTA – April 16, 2012 –Tensar International, the leader in geosynthetic soil reinforcement and stabilization, announced Kokosing has begun construction on the $3 million contract to build Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) retaining walls for one […]

Shoring wall failure in Rosslyn, Virginia

Shoring retaining wall failure in Virginia prompts apartment building evacuation

August 9, 2011 rockman Comments Off

Shoring wall failure in Rosslyn, Virginia

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

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MACTEC Rejects Allegations Made in Delaware Department of Transportation Lawsuit

January 31, 2011 rockman Comments Off

ALPHARETTA, Ga.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In response to a Jan. 28th lawsuit filed by the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) in connection with the Indian River Inlet Bridge (IRIB) replacement project against bridge design firm Figg Bridge Engineers, Inc. (Figg), MACTEC, a sub-consultant to Figg, denies the allegations in the lawsuit and cites DelDOT’s actions, project management, and decision-making as the factors that led to increased costs for the bridge. MACTEC is confident that a truly objective, fact-based review of the chronology of events, DelDOT’s responsibilities, and DelDOT’s decisions, including withholding of key information from Figg and MACTEC with the approval from the highest level in DelDOT, will result in dismissal of the complaint.

[Editor] For the rest of MACTEC’s press release, click through. [/Editor]

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Howard Hanson Dam grouting by Nicholson Construction

Nicholson Completes Howard Hanson Grout Curtain Project

August 2, 2010 rockman Comments Off

Howard Hanson Dam grouting by Nicholson Construction

PITTSBURGH, PA – July 30, 2010 – In early 2010, Nicholson Construction Company finished the construction of a double-line grout curtain at the Howard A. Hanson Dam in western Washington State. This high profile project was completed under a very strict schedule and heavy public scrutiny.

Howard A. Hanson Dam, built in 1962, is an earth embankment dam. The dam embankment is 235 feet high and 675 feet long. The composition of the right abutment foundation is partially bedrock and unconsolidated alluvial and landslide material. The right abutment has leaked since the dam became operational. A leak in January 2009 filled the reservoir higher than ever, prompting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to reclassify Hanson Dam as “unsafe” with an “urgent and compelling” need for immediate action.

[Editor] Click through for the rest of this press release from GeoPrac.net Premier Sponsor Nicholson Construction Company [/Editor]

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Bump at the end of a bridge approach slab.

Scary: Things that go bump…at the end of the bridge

October 31, 2008 rockman Comments Off

Bump at the end of a bridge approach slab. [Update 2008-11-03] The Link to the Journal’s homepage requires you to purchase the article. Too bad. Try the CDOT report instead I guess. [/Update]

First off, sorry for the cheesy Halloween tie-in. The other day I read an interesting paper in the Journal of the Transportation Research Record, No. 2045, of the Transportation Research Board (TRB). The paper was titled: “Evaluation and Recommendations for Flowfill, and Mechanically Stabilized Earth Bridge Approaches.” I’ll post the full citation below. (Photo from FHWA NHI Soils and Foundation Course Slides, NHI Course No. 132012)

The authors describe the standard of practice for Colorado DOT (CDOT) projects for the last 16 years with regard to the construction of bridge approaches in an attempt to eliminate the problem with the “bump at the end of the bridge”. They discuss some of the common reasons for problems with approaches, and some possible solutions. Click through for more.

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