August 1, 2019
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is expected to grow to a total population of 3.4 million by 2041—an increase of about 1 million residents. The increased population will weigh heavily on the city’s existing infrastructure, requiring upgrades or new developments to fill the gap. A key initiative to help meet the region’s wastewater treatment needs is …
June 1, 2019
The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust needed a foundation improvement solution for its new and innovative earth-sheltered facility. Jon Irvine, the project engineer, of Irvine Geotechnical Inc., suggested using a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) mattress as an affordable alternative to overexcavation and replacement. Schedule, performance and cost were significant project drivers, but the overriding …
April 1, 2019
The wet weather in Washington state is a bane to the region’s travel infrastructure, plaguing the pavement with perpetual problems. The westbound 3-mile (5-km) stretch across the US 2/I-5 interchange from Bickford Avenue in Everett, Wash., was in particular need of repair. A valuable pipeline for business and commuting, the bridged area transported an average …
February 1, 2019
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS Atlanta airport slope stability General Contractor: C.W. Matthews Contracting Co. Inc. Design Engineer: Propex GeoSolutions HPTRM manufacturer and fabricator: Propex GeoSolutions HPTRM installer: Athena Construction Group Inc. HPTRM product: ARMORMAX® Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world’s busiest airport, accommodating more than 100 million passengers and more than 950 thousand flights annually. Heavy …
October 1, 2018
Soil erosion from wind and rainwater runoff was plaguing Suzlon Energy Ltd., exposing the foundations for its twenty wind energy generators (WTGs) at Behpur, Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, India. The foundations are circular footings set at shallow depths. Sites for WTGs are selected based on where the intensity of wind is high over a major period …
August 1, 2018
In December 2017, the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and GRID-Arendal, an organization that supports environmentally sustainable development in partnership with UN Environment and other collaborators, published “Mine Tailings Storage: Safety Is No Accident.” The report recommends mining companies adopt simple steps to reduce environmental destruction and death by changing the way they store …
June 1, 2018
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) began work on the McCormick Quarry Bridge over Warren Avenue in East Providence on Sept. 23, 2016, using a geosynthetic reinforced soil–integrated bridge system (GRS–IBS). According to the Federal Highway Administration and RIDOT, the technique allowed crews to cut the closure time for the bridge from one year …
April 1, 2018
Geosynthetics are part of a flexible, cost-effective infrastructure that helps to treat, store and deliver clean water around the world. If you’ve had a glass of clean water today, you can likely thank a geosynthetic product. Geosynthetics perform behind-the-scenes work to ensure communities have access to adequate potable water and clean waterways. They also hold …
February 1, 2018
In August 2017, the Erosion Control Technology Council (ECTC) updated its Rolled Erosion Control Products (RECPs) specification. The specifications include charts of product characteristics for mulch control nettings (MCNs), open weave textiles (OWTs), erosion control blankets (ECBs) and turf reinforcement mats (TRMs). These charts are the result of consensus among leading manufacturers of RECPs and …
October 1, 2017
An Aug. 10, 2017, report issued by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), indicates that, so far, President Donald J. Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has collected 60% less in civil penalties than previous administrations had recovered from environmental violators on average by the end of July in their first year after taking office. The EIP …