A Different Angle (part of "West Side Extraordinary")
The unique, sloping shape of the VIA 57 West building is formed from cast-in-place concrete from the single, partial basement level up to the structure's 34th floor; braced galvanized steel framing completes...
Helicopter-Based Geophysical Reconnaissance of Levees: A Faster, Cost-Effective Tool for Assessing Their Risk
As with much of the nation's infrastructure, people are becoming more and more aware of the condition of levee systems in the United States. The media cast a spotlight on the New Orleans levee failures...
Dry Dams in the Desert: Chasing Land Subsidence and Earth Fissures with Geophysics
Homogenous embankment dam flood retention structures (FRSs) were built throughout central Arizona desert basins in the mid-twentieth century to protect mostly agricultural lands and military installations...
Paleoflood Analyses For Dam and Levee Safety Assessments: Was that Really the "500-Year Flood"?
What is paleoflood hydrology? How are paleofloods analyzed? What are common paleoflood results? What are the implications of paleoflood analyses?...
When Bridges, Roadways, and Dams Need Our Help: Innovative Techniques Can Help Save Our Nation's Critical Infrastructure
The nation's infrastructure is showing its age. The signs are obvious with structure distress, lack of functionality, and failure reported frequently over the last several decades. Specialty geotechnical...
Restoring Steinbeck's Carmel River: The Removal of San Clemente Dam
If you've read John Steinbeck's 1945 classic "Cannery Row," then you're already familiar with the Carmel River, which he described as "…a lovely little river. It isn't very long, but in its course it has...
Whose "Fault" Is This? Overcoming Faulting and Ancient Landslides in a Dam Abutment
The Calaveras Dam Replacement Project (CDRP) is the largest project in the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's (SFPUC) $4.8 billion, multi-year Water System Improvement Program (WSIP). The program...
When Things Became Muddy: TVA's Response to Seepage Discharge at Boone Dam
In October 2014, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) profited from investments in a robust dam safety program. This profit did not come in the form of money, but more importantly in the protection of...
Dam Safety Management Using Risk-Informed Decision-Making Methods: A Powerful Tool or an Unnecessary Venture?
This article discusses design standards, safety methods, and risk-informed decision-making methods for dams....
Tailings Dam Engineer of Record (EoR): There's Nothing Conventional About It
Engineer of Record (EoR) is a simple and resolute concept that's applied throughout the western world for civil works construction. It's a term that fits in a nice neat box; it represents a single person...
Tailings Impoundment Closure: It's All in the Eye of the Beholder
Since the early 1900s, the mining and power-generation industries have disposed of tailings and other waste products using impoundments. The term "tailings" typically refers to the fine-grained waste product...
Geotechnical Aspects of Pavements: There's More to Roads than Asphalt and Concrete!
When you jump on the highway to make that commute to work, do you think much about what's under the surface you ride on? Pavements are layered systems designed to provide a strong structure to support...
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....
Small Projects are Big Deals
Geotechnical engineers work on a wide array of projects, ranging from small retaining walls or pavement projects, to construction of dams, canals, and foundations for bridges and high-rise...
The Leaning Towers of Wilmington, Delaware: Emergency Response and Retrofit of the I-495 Viaduct to Address Lateral Squeeze
On a sunny, summer afternoon last June, the project manager for AECOM's open-end bridge design contract with the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) received an...
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...
Porous Asphalt and Permeable Friction Course Overlays
Porous asphalt typically consists of conventional warm mix asphalt (WMA) or hot mix asphalt (HMA) with significantly reduced fines resulting in an open-graded mixture that allows water...
Pervious Concrete
Pervious concrete consists of a hydraulic cementitious binding system combined with an open-graded aggregate to produce a rigid pavement with typically 15% to 25% interconnected void space....
Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement (PICP)
Permeable interlocking concrete pavement (PICP) consists of (impervious) manufactured concrete units that form permeable voids and joints, when assembled into a laying pattern. The openings...
Grid Pavement
Open grid pavements consist of concrete or plastic units with large surface openings filled with a permeable joint material, typically small aggregate (ASTM No. 8 or No. 89), sand, or...
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