A crane setting girders for a bridge in New Zealand toppled over as the temporary embankment it was sitting on gave way. [Source: The Landslide Blog. Image: Vertical.net]
New Zealand Crane Topples In Apparent Bearing Capacity Failure
Failures
Tailings Dam Failure – Cadia Mine in NSW Australia
On March 9, 2018 a “limited breach” of the tailings dam at the North Tailings Facility of the Cadia Mine tailings impoundment occurred in New South Wales, Australia. The area of the failure is approximately […]
Ground Improvement
Polyurethane Grouting for Foundation Re-Use at the Kentucky International Convention Center
The reuse of existing foundations can offer significant schedule, cost, and sustainability benefits on large renovation projects, but it also introduces geotechnical challenges that are not always straightforward to address. One such challenge is how […]
Failures
City of Vancouver sues over failed shoring
The City of Vancouver is suing a developer, excavation contractor and their consulting engineer for the costs of repairs, overtime for city employees and lost revenue from parking meters etc stemming from an apparent failure of a shoring system that formed a 30-meter sinkhole. No mention of the developer’s name or the engineer, but the contractor was Matcon Excavation and Shoring. The site will be the future home of high-rise condominiums…if the City lifts it’s stop work order.
The failure of the shoring caused a break inf a 20-cm water main ultimately flooding the site. It also necessitated the closure of the adjacent street. Of course this invites the whole chicken or the egg scenario. The defendants will probably argue that the water line failed first causing the failure of the shoring, but of course the City Engineer, Tom Timm was not shy about fingering the shoring as being deficient.
"It’s some kind of a failure of the shoring system . . . either a design issue or the way it was put in place."