I’ll be brief since I have already mentioned this in a previous post and in the July GeoPrac newsletter. But today was the 40th Anniversary of the first time humans set foot on the moon. […]
A massive sinkhole more than 300-ft in diameter and with depths to bedrock of up to 350-ft is located under a future I-4 traffic interchange in an Orlando suburb. A massive $9 million stabilization project is underway to prepare the site for the eventual TI construction. The size of the Maitland Sinkhole is on par with the largest sinkholes to form in central Florida in recent times. There is not a void present, instead it is infilled with a compressible sand deposit. (Image from FDOT)
The mitigation method includes drilling over 300 grout injection holes, and performing grouting operations to infill cracks in the limestone bedrock. Then in the same holes, compaction grouting will be used as a method of ground improvement to densify the sand in place. Once the grouting is complete, the site will be surcharged to compress any remaining weak layers. Click through for a subsurface profile and location map. Via ASCE SmartBrief.
A landslide in Logan Utah caused a portion of a canal to fail, causing a second mudslide. Three people, a mother and two children, were believed to be buried when the mud and debris hit their home. Rescue efforts were halted fairly quickly because of concern regarding the stability of the hillside. So far I have not read any reports that the bodies have been recovered. Map, Videos and more after the break. (Photo by Mike Terry, Deseret News, hat tip to Landslides Under a Microscope Blog)
Lunar geotechnical engineering, popular GeoPrac content for June, Dead Sea sinkholes and a toppled building in Shanghai are all featured in the 5th issue of the GeoPrac.net monthly newsletter for July of 2009. You can […]
Earthsoft, makers of the EQuIS geotechnical and environmental data management software, have posted a presentation titled ODOT Geotechnical Data Management System given by Kirk Beach of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Office of Geotechnical […]
[Editor] Moretrench [/Editor] Vice President Thomas J. Tuozzolo was elected to the Board of the International Association of Foundation Drilling (ASDC) at the IFCEE Conference held in March, 2009. Mr. Tuozzolo, who has overall responsibility […]
Norcross, GA, July 6, 2009 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District (USACE – NO) has issued a contract to Dataforensics, a leader in geotechnical data management software development and implementation, for its PLog Enterprise software. The contract not only includes deployment of the PLog Enterprise system but expanding its capabilities to work with Oracle databases and with ArcSDE technology. [Editor] Click through for the rest of the press release. [/Editor]
A 13-story apartment tower in the Lotus Riverside Development toppled over almost intact in Shanghai on June 26. The apartment building was still under construction and one worker was killed. According to the Shanghai Daily, there was an excavation for an underground parking garage immediately next to the failed structure. From the photos and video, it appeared that the building fell away from the excavation. More info and video after the break. (Imaginechina via AP Images via Wall Street Journal)
Redlands, California—The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) will implement an enterprise version of EarthSoft’s Environmental Quality Information System (EQuIS) for ArcGIS to better manage, analyze, and share geotechnical data throughout the organization. An agreement between ODOT and EarthSoft, an ESRI business partner, will see EarthSoft provide the transportation industry standard Data Interchange for Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Specialists (DIGGS) as electronic data deliverables (EDD). The new data will then reside and be accessible through ODOT’s enterprise-wide geographic information system (GIS)-supported EQuIS database.
The Devil’s Slide Tunnel project is on schedule and on budget according to a news story at ABC7News.com from earlier in June. The video (shown after the break) has a few nice shots showing rock bolting, soil nailing at the portals, and the geologic mapping and laser scanning that happens at the tunnel face.
I also came across a very neat article about how the Ocean Shore Railroad Company was the first to try to cut into the slope along what is now PCH 1 at the Devil’s Slide back in the early 1900s. They were trying to connect the then rural farming community of Half-Moon Bay with San Francisco. The railroad fought the reoccurring landslide and serious rockfalls. Ocean Shore Railroad went bankrupt in 1922 and pulled up its rails, making room for the current highway. (Photo at left from halfmoonbaymemories.com)
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