Project Related

Soil Instability Puts $150 M U.S. 20 Project in Jeopardy

[Update 5/11/07] The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has fined ODOT $90,000 for violating their stormwater discharge permit at least 37 times between September and January. ODOT is going to try to get the contractor to pay at least part of the fine. [/Update]

The $150 million Oregon Department of Transportation project, U.S. 20: Pioneer Mountain to Eddyville project is in jeopardy after three landslides (one major and two minor) have been discovered during the construction process. Yaquina River Constructors (YRC), a joint venture of Granite Construction Inc. and Wilder Construction has formally requested "that further work on the project cease under a Termination for Convenience. At a minimum the project should be suspended." Read on for more information. (Photo by decoder420)

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Regional

Water Resources in the West

The NY Times has a very interesting article on some of the water resource issues in the Western US. The west has been experiencing drought conditions since 1999, and rising global temperatures will adversely effect watter supply as well. Another recent article published by the North County Times discusses the issues faced in the State of California. (Photo by sbisson.)

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Miscellaneous

Earthquake Kills Coral Reef in Indonesia

Update: Satellite images available for the area. A strong earthquake that struck Indonesia’s Sumatra island two years ago caused one of the biggest coral die-offs ever documented, a study by scientists from two conservation groups […]

Geologic Hazards

Telegraph Hill landslide

On February 27, 2007 a 75-ft wide section of greywacke sandstone failed on the south end of Telegraph Hill, in the very pricey North Beach district of San Francisco. No one was injured, but as many as 120 people were displaced from their homes as city building inspectors red-tagged 7 building effected by the slide.

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Book Reviews

New Report – Geosynthetics in Civil Engineering

A new report titled "Geosynthetics in Civil Engineering" has been released by Research markets of Ireland. The report is edited by R. W. Sarsby and collects papers papers from some very known names in the field of geosynthetics, including R. M. Koerner, S. W. Perkins, C. Jones and J. G. Collins among others. Read on for a table of contents.

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General

GeoPrac.net Officially Launches!

I am pleased to announce that the GeoPrac.net site is officially live today, April 5, 2007.  Over the next couple of weeks, expect to see much more content being added, including new articles as well […]

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Geologic Hazards

Oregon Slope Failure Caught on Video

A traffic camera catches trees and dirt sliding down a hill onto a highway in Portland, Ore. It happened on one of Oregon’s busiest routes – Highway 26, heading out of Portland to the west on March 29. Read on to see the video.

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