News

Millenium Tower in San Francisco, image - MLS

San Francisco Millennium Tower Has Settled 16 Inches

August 4, 2016 rockman 1

Millenium Tower in San Francisco, image - MLS The residential high-rise Millennium Tower in San Francisco has settled a total of 16 inches since opening, 2 inches deferentially. A spokesman for the tower owner blames the settlement on the excavation next door for the Transbay Transit Center, a $2.4 billion dollar project being constructed 60 feet underground.

However, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (Transbay) hired geotechnical firm Arup in 2010. Their initial report indicated that the tower had already settled 10 inches by the time excavation began for the Transit center. Arup seems to have been tasked with design, installation, and perhaps monitoring of a geotechnical monitoring program, some information on the scope is available in a 2012 presentation given by Arup available on the Transbay website.

[Editor] Click through for the rest of this post. [/Editor]

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Good Intro Video on Drilled Shaft Construction

August 4, 2016 rockman Comments Off

This is a really nice video for folks new to the industry who want to learn about drilled shafts. It has some great photos and hits the high points of what the advantages of drilled […]

GeoNews Collection for July 21, 2016

July 21, 2016 rockman Comments Off

Here’s a catch-up-post with a list of articles I didn’t get a chance to blog about. Enjoy! PortMiami Tunnel Project Wins Grand Prize in America’s Transportation Awards Competition – Source: Tunnel Business Magazine Kleinfelder Wins […]

Grain Bin Settlement Problems Common to Concrete Foundations Solved with NCFI’s Geotechnical Polyurethane Foam Technology

July 21, 2016 rockman Comments Off

New Solution Saves Money and Time Preventing Loss of Grain and Equipment Damage

MOUNT AIRY, NC—Soil consolidation and settlement happens. It’s a fact of farm life. Secondary consolidation slowly forces water out of the spaces between soil particles. As this happens, soil particles move close together and settling occurs. Floors drop and become uneven. Newer grain silos and bins are using concrete floors instead of metal, and as secondary consolidation occurs beneath them, depressed or “settled” areas, form within the bin. Grain accumulates in the depressed areas, but cannot be retrieved by the bin sweeper. In fact, the sweeper, a kind of auger that transports grain up from the floor, can become damaged from prolonged exposure to the uneven floor.

This is exactly what Kirk Roberts of CJGeo, a Williamsburg, Virginia-based commercial foundation repair and geotechnical contractor, found when he got the job to repair the foundation of a massive 106-foot diameter grain bin at a poultry processing facility on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. “Once they removed the hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain, we found the floor had dropped some three inches in one section of the bin leaving a large pocket of grain out of reach of the bin sweeper.”

[Editor] Read on for the rest of this press release from GeoPrac sponsor NCFI Polyurethanes. [/Editor]

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Video: DeWind One-Pass MGP Remediation Project

July 21, 2016 rockman Comments Off

This is a cool time-lapse video of a DeWind one-pass trencher installing 350 linear feet of 25′ foot deep Groundwater Collection (HDPE slotted 4″ pipe backfilled to grade with pea stone) in a single pass […]

DFI Announces the 2016 Outstanding Project Award Winner

July 13, 2016 rockman Comments Off

Hawthorne, NJ (July 7, 2016): The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) is proud to announce that Hayward Baker is the 2016 Outstanding Project Award (OPA) winner for the design and construction of foundations at the International Market Place in Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii.

The award will be presented at the DFI International Conference on Deep Foundations, Seepage Control and Remediation (41^st Annual Conference) in New York City, October 12-15, 2016.

Opening in August 2016, the International Market Place, a well-known retail, dining and entertainment destination, has undergone a complete revitalization. Hayward Baker was the foundation contractor for the construction of a new 80,000 sq ft Saks Fifth Avenue anchor store, a 7-story parking garage and two 3-story retail structures located on a 6-acre site in a heavily congested area of Waikiki Beach. The company installed 544 micropiles to depths of up to 315 ft to support the structural loads. Difficult site geological conditions and cultural restrictions presented significant challenges for the design and construction of the foundations. The project site was located within the boundaries of an ancestral Hawaiian burial ground that required pre-excavation prior to any installation of below grade improvements. Additionally, two existing historic banyan trees on the site had to remain in place and not be trimmed for equipment access.

[Editor] Click through for the rest of the DFI Press Release. I’m proud to say that Hayward Baker is one of the sponsors of GeoPrac! Congrats to them on the award! [/Editor]

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