News

News, announcements, policy updates, spotlighted websites, software updates and other info that may be of interest to practicing geotechnical engineers, engineering geologists, geophysicists, hydrogeologists and related professions.

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Available Resources

Rockfall Protection Installation Video

September 11, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Rockfall Protection Installation Video

Geovert, a specialty design-build geotechnical contractor in New Zealand and Australia has released a video showing the construction of a challenging rockfall protection project. From their YouTube description:

Stockton Coal Mine is situated on the rugged west coast of New Zealand’s South Island, near Westport. Geovert, a design-build contractor specializing in difficult access rockfall mitigation projects, were retained to provide a turnkey solution combining slope protection and stabilisation measures, to manage the rockfall hazard and protect the surrounding environment with a world class design build rockfall protection solution. The barrier was 1.7 kilometres long and follows a ridgeline escarpment, making this the longest rockfall protection barrier in the southern hemisphere. This was one of the largest and most challenging rockfall construction projects completed to date anywhere in the world.

Click through to see the video.

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Press Releases

ADSC Joins with FHWA to Conduct Hollow Core Soil Nail Research

September 10, 2007 rockman Comments Off on ADSC Joins with FHWA to Conduct Hollow Core Soil Nail Research

The ADSC [Editor] (Association of Drilled Shaft Contractors) [/Editor] will join the FHWA as co-sponsors of a research project to develop a database of the available grout-to-ground bond stress of Hollow Core Anchors (HCAs) and to determine if correlations exist with traditional solid bar, drill and grout soil nails. The FHWA and the ADSC are interested in documenting the performance of HCAs in soil nail wall type construction and identifying methods of quality assurance so that HCAs can be specified with confidence in appropriate applications, both temporary and permanent. [Editor] Photo of hollow core nail installation underneath an existing bridge abutment, courtesy of NCS Consultants, LLC. Read on for the rest of the release. [/Editor]

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Available Resources

Geomorphology from Space

September 10, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Geomorphology from Space

Geomorphology from Space is an out of print 1986 NASA publication edited by Nicholas M. Short, Sr. and Robert W. Blair, Jr. designed for use by the remote sensing science and educational communities to study landforms and landscapes. The entire book, including 237 plates of landforms, photographs, locator maps and some geologic maps has been reproduced on the NASA Website. [more…]

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Miscellaneous

Tensar Plans Initial Public Offering

September 10, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Tensar Plans Initial Public Offering

Tensar Corp., makers of geosynthetic products for the construction industry, including geotextiles, geogrid, and geocomposite drains, has filed the paperwork with the SEC for an initial public offering (IPO) of common stock that could have an offering price of over $200 million. [more…]

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Rockman's Ramblings

Server Problems

September 9, 2007 rockman Comments Off on Server Problems

Last thursday-friday was not a very good one for me. Sometime between 10 and 11:30am on thursday, the server hosting GeoPrac and a number of my other websites and those of my clients went down. I was on my way up to Phoenix for meetings, so I didn’t know about it until I got a call from my office that the email was down at about 4pm.

I got online and couldn’t bring up the website of my hosting company. I did a blog/bulletin board search to try and find out what was going on since I figured there were a bunch of other people effected by this as well. The first page I found just had posts from other people like me, trying to figure out what was going on. But there was a link to another thread, and I knew i was in trouble when I saw that it was page 1 of 24! [more…]

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Figure 1 This cut slope in massive, unfractuired conglomerate was smooth blasted. Treatment consisted of only drill trace removal on the main slope, but ledges were cut in natural boulder lenses at the cut end where similar features are in the adjoining natural terrain.
Miscellaneous

FHWA State Geotechnical Workshops

August 28, 2007 rockman Comments Off on FHWA State Geotechnical Workshops

The FHWA has recently updated its geotechnical engineering site related to their annual State Geotechnical Workshops. All regions with the exception of the Southwest have their Workships this September and October. The next Southwest Geotechnical Engineers Conference will be in April of 2008. The 2007 SGEC was on April 23 – 27, 2007 in Overland Park, Kansas. They have posted PDF versions of the presentations at the conference on their FTP site. Read on for the dates of the upcoming workshops, as well as a link to the FHWA site and the presentation downloads.

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Press Releases

New Costs for New Orleans 100-Year Hurrican Protection

August 27, 2007 rockman Comments Off on New Costs for New Orleans 100-Year Hurrican Protection

Corps Releases New Risk Maps for the New Orleans Area;
Powell Releases New Costs for 100-Year Hurricane Protection

Administration to work with Congress for additional drainage measures beyond 100-year commitment

NEW ORLEANS (August 22, 2007) – Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding Donald E. Powell and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Director of Civil Works Maj. General Don T. Riley today detailed the improved hurricane protection that will be provided to New Orleans area residents once the city’s levees are built to the 100-year level. In addition, Powell announced $6.3 billion of further funding needed for improved protection for the New Orleans area and the Administration’s plan to secure necessary funds to complete the work by 2011.

[Editor] Photo by greenmannowar [/Editor]

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