A Foundation Engineering Trip Down the Mississippi: Foundations for Mississippi River Bridges from Minnesota to Louisiana
Huckleberry Finn had his adventure, but for those interested in foundation engineering, this article will float you down the Mississippi River on your own encounter with the many bridges...

Spread Footings Revisited: Geotechnical Advances Lead to Expanded Use for Bridge Abutments
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has historically used steel shell piles to support highway bridge structures, probably due to a blend of familiarity and efficiency among...

Screw Piles and Helical Anchors: 180 Years of Use in Geotechnical Engineering
Since 1836, screw piles and screw cylinders have been used successfully throughout the world to support a variety of large-scale, civil engineering structures. Their development and use...

Foundation Engineering...102
Most of our textbooks still separate foundation options into two simplistic categories: shallow or deep. That's why so many of us are geared toward thinking about the foundation...

Evaluating Bridges With Unknown Foundations for Susceptibility to Scour: North Carolina Applies Risk-Based Guidelines to Over 3,750 Bridges
Scour occurs when flowing water removes erodible material such as sand and rock. For bridges over water, scour affects the stability of pier and abutment foundations and contributes to...

Bill Shannon and Stan Wilson: Geotechnical Pioneers with a 60-Year Legacy
Starting a business today can pose an array of challenges�planning, financial, legal, and licensing among them. But at its core, a company's founders must be dedicated to...

Geotextile Tube Dewatering
Geotextile tubes are made of high-strength, permeable geotextile that, when filled with a slurry, allow water to drain from the tubes while retaining the solids. They can be prefabricated...

National Usage of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil to Support Bridges
The Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil Integrated Bridge System (GRS IBS) was developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) almost 20 years ago to help meet the demand for the next...

Very Long-Term Care of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Berms: Limiting the Liability of Future Stakeholders
Since their development over 50 years ago, civil engineering applications of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) berms have significantly increased. When used as a component of an asset...

Geosynthetic Materials Help Build Optimized Infrastructure
In recent years, the world has begun to realize the negative impacts that limited infrastructure can have on economic growth and the well-being of humankind. Our infrastructure challenges...

Long-Term Performance Monitoring of a Hillside Retaining Wall
To accommodate expansion of the West Point Treatment Plant in Seattle, WA, a 3,000-ft-long soldier pile, tieback-anchored retaining wall was constructed from May 1991 to May 1992. An oblique...

Filling The Bay: Deepening the Oakland Inner and Outer Harbors
The project to deepen the Oakland Inner and Outer Harbors from elevation -42 to -50 ft was federally authorized in 1999 to accommodate the next generation of post-Panamax container ships....

Innovative Use of a Groin Structure: Saving Cost, Shortening the Schedule, and Minimizing Impacts
Almost any type of construction activity can pose a shock to the surrounding environment and habitat. Obviously, the extent of the impact will depend on the location of the project and...

The New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal
When construction of the first American offshore wind farm support terminal encountered greater challenges than expected, jet grouting enabled construction to continue....

Sustainability and Resiliency Implications of Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy provides a unique opportunity to study sustainability and resiliency issues related to a major weather event. The material presented in this article is based on the Geo-Engineering...

Sustainable Development � A Geotechnical Perspective
Sustainability has become a key factor in major construction projects these days, and many geotechnical engineers have started focusing on the concept. Owners, public agencies, and the...

Reliability and Resilience � Essential Ingredients of Sustainable Geotechnics
Sustainability of a system is its ability to survive and retain its functionality over time. In very simple terms, sustainability deals with the capacities (resistances) and demands (loads)...

Enhanced Detection and Mapping of Buried Utilities�A Sustainability Perspective
The social and environmental impacts and benefits of projects make up the triple bottom line that represents a modern view of sustainable project development. Rather than considering only...

Strategies for Building and Sustaining a Successful Engineering and Consulting Company
This third article in the Business of Geotechnics series addresses stragegies for building and sustaining an engineering and consulting (E&C) company that employs geoprofessionals....

Managing Geotechnical Assets to Improve Highway System Performance
As geoprofessionals, we have a great opportunity to look at our work in new ways and to show its value to others. Highway agencies are looking to get the most from their assets and with...

 

 

 

 

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