Colorado’s I-70 Could Have Boston’s Big Dig Beat

February 11, 2008 rockman Comments Off

The planning board for transportation improvements along the I-70 corridor in the Denver area of Colorado is pondering some improvements that, if implemented, could rival Boston’s "Big Dig" for cost. A high-speed train is being considered which alone could run $12 billion.

"A high-speed train is really the long-term solution, and . . . part of America’s long-term future is getting people out of single-occupancy vehicles," said Penny, Frisco town manager and head of the I-70 Coalition. He added that an I-70 project could outstrip Boston’s $14.8 billion "Big Dig."

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Seattle Light-Rail Tunnel Likely to Break Ground This Year

February 11, 2008 rockman Comments Off

Thanks to approximately $100 million from President Bush’s proposed 2009 budget, the $1.8 billion project creating a light-rail line from downtown Seattle to the University of Washington is likely to break ground some time this year. The project will involve twin bored tunnels on the order of 3 miles in length. It is scheduled to open for use in 2016.

There is another notable tunnel project associated with the Seattle Light Rail, known as the Beacon Hill tunnel which I have blogged about before.

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Utah Poised to Adopt Geologic Hazard Ordinances

February 11, 2008 rockman Comments Off

As I’ve reported previously, the State of Utah is in the process of adopting ordinances regulating the development of land that is susceptible to landslides and other geologic hazards. A new bill has been introduced in the Utah House that would give developers a recourse for appeal if they don’t like the decision of a local jurisdiction. More at the Salt Lake Tribune.

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7 Amazing Holes

February 11, 2008 rockman Comments Off

A colleague of mine (thanks Jamie!) sent me an email with this intriguing title. I have no idea where it originated, but it is an interesting compilation of some amazing photos and short descriptions of various natural and man-made "holes". A few sinkholes, glory holes, and of course open pit mines. By the way I didn’t write (or edit) this, just some minor formatting updates. Check it out.

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Kansas Geological Survey uses Geophysics to Find Border Tunnels

February 5, 2008 rockman Comments Off

The Kansas Geological Survey has some interesting seismic equipment that they have used on behalf of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to look for drug tunnels along the US-Mexico border. I’ve never seen anything quite like this. The sensors all appear to be placed within an old fire hose and mounted onto a Bobcat Toolcat utility machine. On the front of the vehicle is a cyllinder with a 60-lb weight that gets dropped. Read on. (Photo by Richard Gwin, LJWorld.com)

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ReSSA Major Update and MSEW Update

February 5, 2008 rockman Comments Off

The downloads page at ADAMA Engineering lists an update (Number 1) for ReSSA 3.0. I have not even heard anything about the release of version 3.0, and even other pages on their website only mention ReSSA 2.0 as the latest version. As soon as I hear anything about the new version and its additional features, I’ll be sure to post the info here. ReSSA is software for the design of reinforced soil slopes or RSS.

An update for the MSE wall design software MSEW was also released recently. This update is number 8.1 and primarily updates the way reinforcement database files are referenced, allowing the location of the database file currently in use to be stored in the project file. After recently completing a major MSE wall review using MSEW, all I can say is halleluia! I had to manually locate the database file for every single one of my old runs. This should be a nice fix.

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Allegations: Oregon Not Forthcoming With Landslide Hazard Information

January 25, 2008 rockman 2

Folks in Oregon are angry about a recent landslide and debris flow that closed Highway 30 and destroyed property in the town of Woodson. (Here is a powerpoint presentation by Bill Burns of the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries showing how the event happened). Some rather stinging allegations are being made that politicians withdrew a landslide hazard map from general use in 2002 for political reasons. That map or another one had characterized the area effected by the December 2007 debris flow as a "very high" or "extreme" risk of landslides. A very interesting article.

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Deleware Forced to Redesign Unfinished Bridge Because of Consolidation Issues

January 25, 2008 rockman Comments Off

[Update 2/10/08] Updated the name of the bridge. [/Update]

DelDOT is putting the new Indian River Bridge over out to bid. The current bridge is said to be in danger of failing between 2008 and 2012 according to the Army Corps of Engineers, seems to be related to scour. From what I hear, the tidal currents at that inlet being spanned over are tremendous, with water velocities on the order of 35 mph.

In 2005, Mactec, a geotechnical firm, provided a geotechnical report and associated recommendations to DelDOT for how to construct the 45-ft high approach embankments for a 1,400-ft long bridge in light of a 60-ft clay layer (sounds like pre-loading). However, the embankments are not settling as Mactec predicted (not sure if its more or less, probably less meaning slower) and are "shifting laterally" (squeezing?) so the DOT is going with a longer bridge to span the problem soil. More after the break.

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US House Passes National Tunnel Inspection Program

January 25, 2008 rockman Comments Off

The US House of Representatives passed legislation approving a national tunnel inspection program. This of course came about as a result of a fatal accident from 2006 in a tunnel on Boston’s Big Dig project where a concrete ceiling tile fell on a car killing one person. More after the break.

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Problems with Registration and Outside News and Blogs

January 22, 2008 rockman Comments Off

I just found out that there was a problem with the site that prevented new members from registering on GeoPrac. My appologies to anyone who got a permission error after filling out the registration form. I humbly invite you to try again at your convenience.

Additionally, the Outside News and Blogs page that I was patting myself on the back for has apparently not been visible to the public either. Great big oops on my end. It should be up and running now.

Thank you to Elizabeth at the ASCE Geo-Institute who took the time to let me know about both problems. Do me a favor and check out the new G-I News Feed ~~blog~~ that she maintains.

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