June 1, 2010
A new take on sound-barrier walls. By Jie Han, Robert Parsons, Matthew Pierson, and James Brennan Introduction When residential areas are close to highways, sound barrier walls are often constructed to minimize noise from traffic on those roads. Under certain circumstances, mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls are used to support the sound barrier walls. Figures …
From Defiance County, Ohio, to Yamhill County, Oregon, building bridges using geosynthetic-reinforced soil is gaining popularity for its effectiveness, efficiency, and time-saving simplicity. This methodology was first featured in Geosynthetics in August 2006, with a follow-up in April 2008. Defiance County Engineer Warren Schlatter and his crews, with initial assistance from the Federal Highway Administration …
February 1, 2010
Introduction The main objectives of this project were to build a retaining wall to support a road and to create more room for the width of the road, especially at the turn. Potential problems A primary goal was the repairing and widening of an existing 4m- (13ft)-wide road to 5m (15.5ft). In addition, the roadbed …
October 7, 2009
A major urban rail project in southeast China uses new welders to get the job done on time. By Christophe von Arx Introduction Guangzhou, previously known as Canton, is a thriving city in the southeast of China with an estimated population of more than 10 million, with an estimated 15 million living in the entire …
By Robert Rasmussen and Sabrina Garber Introduction Recent research published by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), “Nonwoven Geotextile Interlayers for Separating Cementitious Pavement Layers: German Practice and U.S. Field Trials”1 focuses on innovative applications for nonwoven geotextiles in concrete pavements. In May 2006, representatives from FHWA, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials …
By Ryan R. Berg, P.E., and Ronald P. Anderson, P.E. Introduction Some days it seems like we have been designing and constructing concrete-faced, geosynthetic-reinforced, mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls forever, and that this technique of constructing MSE walls has always been a conventional solution to grade separation projects. Certainly today, geogrid-reinforced walls with drycast concrete …
August 27, 2009
Salt Lake City’s West Valley TRAX project, commissioned by the Utah Transit Authority, is the nation’s second-largest geofoam project, with an anticipated total of 1,846,000ft3 of ACH Geofoam installed along the light-rail tracks. Geofoam was selected in place of soil to save time and money constructing the embankment, which is up to 50ft high in …
June 1, 2009
Piled embankment design, construction,and monitoring for A1/N1 dual-roadway By Wyatt Orsmond Introduction The A1/N1 section of highway between Newry and Dundalk forms part of a strategic transportation link between Belfast and Dublin. This section includes 14.5km (9mi.) of high-quality, dual-carriageway (divided-highway) construction and was challenged by a tight route corridor threaded between steep mountains and …
April 1, 2009
Design/build pyrite remediation project using geosynthetics. By Archie Filshill Introduction The Pennsylvania DOT’s Interstate-99/S.R. 6220 project extends from the village of Bald Eagle to the Mount Nittany Expressway (U.S. 322) in Centre County, just west of State College. The project involved the construction of a four-lane, limited-access highway with four interchanges and approximately 18 miles …
February 1, 2009
The award is part of the 2008 International Achievement Awards presented by the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI). Abstract This project upgraded an existing, narrow rural road to a British Columbia Ministry of Transportation (BCMoT) standard 8m-wide, gravel surface road. About 85m of the existing road crossed a stream and swamp area located between 2 …