Answering the $64,000 Question: Geotechnical Risk in Design-Build Projects
Subsurface risk may well be the aspect of most construction projects that has the greatest potential impact on a project's success or failure. Even when a thorough geotechnical investigation is conducted...
What Does the Case Law Say? Geotechnical Risk on Design-Build Projects
The growth of design-build (DB) contracting, particularly on public-sector civil projects, has generated a great deal of industry discussion over the age-old question of who should bear the risk of unforeseen...
Geotechnical Delivery on Mega Transportation Projects: Challenges of Accelerated Delivery
Transportation projects have traditionally been delivered through the design-bid-build (DBB) delivery model, which continues to be the preferred method of delivering the majority of smaller and more traditional...
Improving Cost and Schedule Performance on Municipal Pipeline Projects: Realizing the Benefits of the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) Alternative Project Delivery Method
The water and wastewater infrastructure in the United States is failing. In its 2013
The Evolution of Launched Soil Nails: A 30-Year Retrospective
Launched soil nails are a unique remedial technology in the geotechnical construction toolbox. These 20-ft-long, 1.5-in.-diameter nails are installed in a single shot using a compressed air "cannon" at...
A History of Deep Vibratory Methods for Ground Improvement: A Cost-Effective Foundation Solution for 80+ Years
Deep vibratory ground improvement methods, collectively referred to as vibro systems, have been utilized by the construction community in one form or another for the past 80 years. Development of the equipment,...
Ground Improvement for Underground Construction: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Underground construction is "special" because the work may be performed at great depths and under high groundwater pressures. All too often, it seems to take place in urban areas where there is limited...
A Sinking Feeling in Happy Valley: Limited Mobility Grouting Arrests Movement of Emergency Room
Shortly after construction began on a new emergency room addition at the Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, PA (a.k.a. "Happy Valley"), the existing structure and new construction began to...
Extreme Makeover: Interchange Gets Ground Improvement Facelift
As part of the massive, $159.9 million Interchange 14A Improvement Project in the cities of Bayonne and Jersey City, NJ, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) is realigning 12 ramps and roadways and...
The Rise of UAVs Signals a New Era in Geotechnics: Big Data in Geotechnics is Coming from Above
If you have been following the news, browsing the internet, or even gazing up in the sky, it is likely that you have seen an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), also commonly known as Unmanned Aircraft System...
Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering: What Can It Do for You?
There's been a lot of talk, and some confusion, lately about performance-based earthquake engineering (PBEE). Many geotechnical engineers wonder -- what is it, how does it differ from what I've been doing,...
Post-Earthquake Reconnaissance Using Digital Imagery: A Bird's-Eye View
Over the last decade, remote sensing has played an increasing role in geotechnical earthquake reconnaissance through the use of satellite imagery, LIDAR, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These techniques...
The 2010-2011 Canterbury, New Zealand, Earthquake Sequence: Impetus for Rethinking the Way We Evaluate and Mitigate Liquefaction
Liquefaction is a common cause of ground failure during earthquakes and is directly responsible for tremendous damage to infrastructure. Evidence of the impact of liquefaction includes failure of bridge...
You Designed It for the Big One, Right? Illustrating and Communicating Uncertainty in a Deterministic Seismic Hazard Analysis
In seismic regions of the U.S. and worldwide, engineers design structures to withstand seismic ground motions resulting from a large, rare earthquake. But definitions of "large" and "rare" depend on who...
Biogeotechnical Mitigation of Earthquake-Induced Soil Liquefaction
Three biogeotechnologies currently under development show promise for cost-effective remediation of liquefaction under existing facilities....
GEER Response to the Oso Landslide: Documenting Perishable Details Helps Turn Disaster into Knowledge
Two months after the disastrous March 22, 2014 landslide near Oso, Washington, GEER representatives visited the affected area to gather data. This article is based on the report generated...
Dry Dams and the Dayton Flood of 1913: The Origins of Integrated Systems Engineering Concepts
This article examines the history of integrated flood protection with particular focus on the 1913 Dayton Flood....
Ground Feature Monitoring Using Satellite Imagery: How Interferometric Stacking of SAR Can Mitigate Geo-Disasters Along Transportation Corridors
Landslides, debris flows, and other types of ground movements are among the most common hazards to humans and infrastructure. According to the United States Geological Survey, annual domestic...
Applying Scanning Technology to Tunnel Inspections: Leveraging Technology to Reduce the Public Agita
A large number of transit and vehicular tunnels in the New York Metropolitan area were inundated by the tidal surge caused by Super Storm Sandy on October 29, 2012. The storm created major...
Landslide Risk Perception: Consequences of Failure to Reconcile Contradictory Beliefs
While the basis for geotechnical safety is important, public perceptions of risk and its apparent willingness to ignore or discount hazard warnings should also be considered. Why does...
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