In Memoriam
Edward Alexander (Ed) Nowatzki: 1936-2015
It is with great sadness that I report the passing of a mentor and former colleague, Dr. Ed Nowatzki, PE, PhD, D.GE, F. ASCE. His obituary can be found here. I first met Ed when […]
Year: 2015
Geologic Hazards
Huge Undersea Landslide Caused Tsunami in Great Britain, Norway
The largest known undersea landslide occurred over 8,000 years ago off the coast of Norway. The volume of material that moved is mind-blowing, over 4.6 X 1012 cubic yards or 850 cubic miles! Known as […]
Press Releases
Nortex and TerraThane Stabilize Houston Area Highways
Houston’s Highways, Some of Busiest in Nation, Use Innovative TerraThane Polyurethane Foam Technology to Repair Bad Bridge Approaches, Uneven Joints, and Roadway Depressions.
MOUNT AIRY, NC—Highways around Houston, TX, known as one the nation’s worst cities for traffic behind Los Angeles, D.C., and Atlanta, need constant repair, but can’t be closed while the work is done. Nortex Concrete Lift and Stabilization, Inc., a Ft. Worth, TX company, recently completed a whirlwind repair project on one of the city’s busiest corridors in the NE quadrant where I-10, 610 Loop, I-59, and I-69 feed millions of cars daily to, from, and around Harris County.
Normal groundwater erosion beneath the highways causes the concrete highway slabs to drop, roadway depressions, uneven bridge approaches, and uneven joints that make driving bumpy and uncomfortable, dangerous, and causes severe wear and tear on automobiles.
To make the repairs, the Texas Department of Transportation, TXDOT, brought in Nortex. The company carefully planned out the repairs for the half million pound project, and sent out four crews each with it’s own box truck rig to use a relatively new technology called “foamjacking.” Foamjacking uses high-density polyurethane foam to fill the subterranean voids, and lift the concrete slabs to proper level. “We’ve been lifting and stabilizing roadways with polyurethane foam since we got into the business back in 2003,” says Casey Derosa, asst. gen. mgr. of Nortex. “It’s a far superior method versus the old way of mudjacking.” Mudjacking is a ubiquitous term for a mix of mud, sand, cement, crushed limestone, and water hydraulically pumped into large holes drilled into the concrete slabs to fill voids and level the slabs. Mudjacking uses more and much larger equipment, and requires larger holes to be drilled. It typically requires the roadway to be closed much longer than foamjacking, and takes more time to clean up.
[Editor] Click through for the rest of the press release from GeoPrac sponsor NCFI Polyurethanes. [/Editor]
Project Related
Fugro Completes Major Offshore Geotechnical Investigation
Fugro has completed one of the largest offshore geotechnical investigations in history according to Hydro-International.com. The investigation was performed by two vessels, MV Greatship Manisha and MV Bucentaur (pictured here), for DONG Energy’s 1.2 gigawatt […]
Available Resources
2015 Tunneling Industry Forecast
What will 2015 hold for the tunneling industry? Tunnel Business Magazine asked a panel of 4 industry experts that question. The panel consisted of a Colorado School of Mines Professor as well as reps from […]
Available Resources
The van that goes looking for potholes
A team from Northeastern University has a very interesting van used for quantitatively assessing pavement condition using a variety of sensors. They use cameras, laser profilers, accelerometers on axles, pressure sensors in the tires, microphones, […]
Geologic Hazards
Ohio Highway Closed by House-Sided Boulder
Not too much to say about this, but check out the photo. The entire westbound portion of US Highway 52 near the Ohio River was closed last week as a house-sized boulder and other rockfall […]
Press Releases
Introducing the LS™250 MiniSonic™, a Versatile Compact Sonic Rig
SALT LAKE CITY, April 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Boart Longyear (www.BoartLongyear.com), the world’s leading provider of integrated drilling services and drilling products, is proud to introduce the LS™250 MiniSonic™, a compact rig suitable for a wide variety of environmental, geotechnical, water and mining projects.
Capable of drilling to depths of up to 250 feet (78m) when used with 4.75 inch (121mm) casing, the wide 600mm rubber tracks provide low ground pressure (.28 bar/4psi) and make it perfect for jobs in the most sensitive and fragile terrains. Plus, its smaller footprint makes it appropriate for projects with small drill pads, environmentally sensitive areas or hard-to-reach sites and requires less support equipment – making it a low-cost solution for a variety of mining, environmental, geotechnical and infrastructure drilling projects.
[Editor] Click through for the rest of the press release from Boart Longyear. [/Editor]
Available Resources
New FHWA Soil Nail Manual Addresses LRFD, Hollow Bars
Since March of 2003, the FHWA’s Geotechnical Engineering Circular Number 7 (GEC No. 7) has been the standard reference document for design and construction of soil nail retaining walls in roadway applications, and really in […]
Failures
Major Slope Failure at Yeager Airport in West Virginia
There was a significant slope failure at the Yeager Airport near Charleston, West Virginia last week. A 2005 project to create an Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) at the end of the runway required a […]