A car damaged after a retaining wall failure in Baltimore
Failures

Baltimore landslide: Is it covered?

This is a different perspective on landslides than what I usually blog about on GeoPrac. This banking and insurance website blog post discusses what should and shouldn’t be covered on a car owner’s insurance policy. […]

Malcolm drilling crews setting up to drill secant pile shafts for TBM launch pit
Project Related

Digging deep to drill Highway 99 tunnel

Construction has started on the tunnel boring machine launch pit for the WSDOT SR 99 Tunnel Project (Viaduct Replacement). The 420 foot long pit is being constructed using secant pile retaining walls, with 2 rows […]

Portion of a failed 38-ft high modular block MSE retaining wall.
Failures

Retaining Wall Failure and Rebuild 6041

Another case study from RetainingWallExpert.com, this one for the failure of a 38-ft high geogrid-reinforced modular block MSE retaining wall. They note that the failure of the retaining wall follows their typical recipe, ‘Just Add […]

Screenshot from SRWall 4.0 software from the NCMA used for designing segmental retaining walls.
Standards and Codes

New NCMA Segmental Retaining Wall Design Manual and Software

Screenshot from SRWall 4.0 software from the NCMA used for designing segmental retaining walls. This summer, the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) will release the third edition of its Design Manual for Segmental Retaining Walls (DMSRW) along with SRWall 4.0 software for the design of segmental retaining walls. SRW walls with higher wall heights often make use of geotextile or geogrid reinforcement putting them in the category of mechanically stabilized earth retaining walls or MSE Walls. The first edition of the manual was published in 1993 and is routinely used for everything from landscaping walls to multi-tiered commercial and residential retaining walls. This summer is shaping up to be a busy one for those in the retaining wall business as the FHWA NHI 2009 MSE Wall Manual is set to be released around the same time frame as well. Read on for more info on the DMSRW. (Screen shot by Gabriela Mariscal from NCMA via CE News)

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