I’ve been very impressed with the geotechnical group at the Ohio DOT. They seem to be on the cutting edge of using modern technology to manage their geotechnical data. A few years ago, I posted about a presentation that described efforts to create and implement a geotechnical data management program at ODOT. Thanks to a colleague of mine (Thanks Sanjay), I found some more recent presentations at the EarthSoft website describing the work for ODOT. EarthSoft is the maker of the Equis family of database products, which is the key component of ODOT’s system. I’m pleased to see that ODOT is also using gINT for boring log and fence diagram output from the Equis managed database. [Source: Earthsoft]
Available Resources
[Updated] Watch the 57th Rankine Lecture from March 15
[Update March 16, 2017] If any of you tried to watch the lecture live on YouTube, I understand there were some technical difficulties. The BGA even issued an appology via email. But you can still […]
Standards and Codes
Changes in Geotechnical Engineering Practice in Arizona
[Editor] Note: NCS Consultants, LLC is Randy Post’s full time employer…ie. my day job! [/Editor]
There are some significant changes being made to the state of the practice in geotechnical engineering in Arizona. NCS Consultants, LLC has prepared three policy memoranda for the Arizona Department of Transportation or ADOT that have been issued to consultants all over the State. These memos are on the topics of bearing capacity and settlement of spread footings and retaining walls, the design of drilled shaft foundations in gravelly soils, and the preparation of drilled shaft axial capacity charts for use by bridge engineers.
Although primarily applicable to upcoming ADOT projects implementing the AASHTO 2007 LRFD code, the memos will have a ripple effect down through other local agencies within the state who frequently defer to ADOT guidelines for geotechnical engineering. Also, the memos and the ADOT/NCS approach to LRFD implementation in geotechnical engineering were presented by NCS at the 2008 TRB Conference in Washington D.C., and many other state DOTs and the FHWA were very excited about the memos. The approach used if not the exact content may become a model for other agencies. More info and links to download the policy memoranda are provided after the break.
Failures
Leo Frigo Bridge in Green Bay, Wisconsin Pier Settles
Pier 22 of the Leo Frigo Bridge settled 22 to 27 inches last week causing a 400 foot long segment of the bridge to sag dramatically, forcing the closure of the bridge. There were no […]