Innovative geosynthetic solution saves 106-year-old Panama Canal structures

August 1, 2020  |  Case Studies, Feature

By Tom Stephens and Nicolas Ruiz The Panama Canal opened for business 106 years ago and was hailed as the eighth wonder of the world and an engineering marvel. It has become the most consequential global waterway ever constructed. Since 1914, more than a million ships of all sizes have passed throug…
Read More
EPA finalizes revisions to the coal ash closure regulations, increases public access to information

July 30, 2020  |  Case Studies

On July 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized several changes to the regulations for coal combustion residuals, known as CCR or coal ash, to implement the court’s vacatur of certain closure requirements as well as adding provisions that enhance the public’s access to infor…
Read More
High-strength geocell and geogrid hybrid reinforcement

June 1, 2020  |  Case Studies, Feature

Compressor station gravel pad on soft subgrade By Sanat Pokharel, Timothy Yii, Marc Breault and Meisam Norouzi Infrastructure development in natural resources rich Alberta, Canada, often encounters very soft ground conditions that pose several construction and sustainability challenges to transporta…
Read More
Members Only  
Geosynthetic strip MSE wall at Point Defiance Marina

April 1, 2020  |  Case Studies, Feature

By Paul C. Frankenberger and Robert Lozano  This article will focus on a geosynthetic strip mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall case study using discrete geosynthetic strips with large precast facing panels (Figure 1), an innovation of the original MSE invention. The system is the Highway …
Read More
Erosion control using concrete-enhanced synthetic turf

February 1, 2020  |  Case Studies, Feature

By Bradford H. Cooley and Bryan Scholl Concrete-enhanced synthetic turf (CEST) is a hardened revetment system best described as a fiber-reinforced, flexible concrete liner. It consists of a high-friction, impermeable geomembrane layer overlain by an engineered synthetic turf, which is infilled with …
Read More
U.S. Bank Stadium geosynthetic reinforced stress relief wall

February 1, 2020  |  Case Studies, Feature

Design, construction and fire damage mitigation By Nathan M. Lichty, Stephan M. Gale and Timothy P. Bendell Demolition of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., occurred in 2014 and subsequent construction of U.S. Bank Stadium (Figure 1), the home of the Minnesota Vikings an…
Read More
Overcoming expansive soils with Tensar’s TriAx Geogrid

November 13, 2019  |  Case Studies

Expansion: it’s a win for communities when roads reach out and connect people to business, resources and formerly rural areas. But another form of expansion—soil that expands when water is added and shrinks when it dries out—can thwart this progress by making it hard to economically build and …
Read More
Reinforcing dunes and bluffs with geosynthetics

October 1, 2019  |  Case Studies, Feature

By Brian Maggi, Christopher D. P. Baxter, Aaron Bradshaw, Annette Grilli and Naser Al Naser The devastating effects of recent hurricanes and nor’easters highlight the need to improve the resilience of coastal communities. There is a trend toward implementing “soft” engineering solutions such a…
Read More
Members Only  
Repairing an oil well platform with a geogrid reinforced soil slope

October 1, 2019  |  Case Studies, Feature

By Jeff A. Segar  The Mormon Butte site is in the Little Missouri National Grassland in the Badlands region of western North Dakota (Figure 1). Constructed in 1985 and leased through the U.S. Forest Service, the pad elevation was created by cutting into the side of the butte and depositing the …
Read More
Members Only  
Nature area drainage control with GCCM

October 1, 2019  |  Case Studies, Feature

By Joe Royer, Kurt Chirbas and Ziad Mazboudi The City of Laguna Niguel in Orange County, Calif., has its origins in the Rancho Niguel Mexican land grant, acquired in 1959 by the Laguna Niguel Corp. to develop one of California’s first master-planned communities, which has become predominantly a be…
Read More