Soil Reinforcement

A sensitive 1.3-mile stretch of road in Ann Arbor is to be closed today. The winding road is surrounded by woods and wetlands. To improve its safety and condition, crews will begin a two year rebuilding project that will use a geogrid wrap on the base. Geogrids allow not only a reduction in the amount of gravel needed in the base but minimize the need for crews to disturb the road shoulders. Learn more here.;

Over on the Geosynthetics Interest Group of South Africa's (GIGSA) website, they've posted the registration call for the Young Geotechnical Engineers Conference (YGEC) 2008. The conference theme is "Geotechnics - 2010 and Beyond." It will be held 20-22 August 2008 in Hillcrest, Natal, South Africa. For more information, download the registration PDF. Learn more here.;

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) wants to raise the St. Charles Parish levee from 13 ft to 18 ft. The design change was revealed this week, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. A 30-day comment period has begun. Design issues are available on the Corps regional website. Learn more here.;

Dutch-based Royal TenCate announced its 1Q 2008 earnings late Tuesday, April 29. The company's net was up 22% over the previous year's 1Q, but it missed analysts' expectations. Still, the full-year EPS forecast seems strong. US-based TenCate Geosynthetics is part of Royal TenCate's global network. Learn more here.;

Royal Ten Cate N.V.'s first quarter results are expected to continue the strong trend seen in the fourth quarter and boosted by recent acquisitions, although some analysts said there was low visibility on how the company performed this quarter. The North American geosynthetics market remains difficult, however, reports Thomson Financial. Learn more here.;

In Arlington, Massachusetts, the summer road projects are already underway. Geogrid reinforcement is being installed in key stretches of pavement, vapor barriers are being installed near contaminated soils, and significant drainage improvements are being made. It's a situation soon to be seen all over the United States. Learn more here.;

geosynthetica's Lara Costa has posted a wrap-up and abstracts from GeoAmericas 2008. These pages deliver conference images, a summary of events and links to free papers from the event (courtesy of IFAI, publisher of the full conference proceedings). Check out Lara's review and the significant conference papers posted here for free. See the links to those pages on the abstracts page. Full proceedings may be acquired from the IFAI Bookstore.

The latest release on geosynthetics from the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) reports on the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) support for geosynthetic performance in levee construction and reinforcement. Read the full release here.

Some of the world's most impressive construction is occurring in the Middle East. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) is progressing on an extensive project to create tourism and high-end residential islands. The $3 billion project will conclude in 2020. Until then, pieces of it will be phased in. Gulf News reports that TenCate Geosynthetics has been key to the development of retaining walls at some of the project's resorts. Learn more here.;

The city of Charleston, West Virginia allocated on Monday $612,000 for stabilizing a key stretch of road and riverbank in danger of collapsing. The money matches a $1 million federal grant from the US Army Corps of Engineers. New geotextile and riprap will be placed. The Corps has suggested more money may be available so long as the city can meet the 65/35 matching scheme. Learn more here.;

In the wake of a report that suggested the geosynthetic reinforcement added to certain levees in the New Orleans region wasn't long enough, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has issued comments in defense of the current design. Officials are taking the new analysis into consideration, though; and if the new model and the Corps' long-term modeling approach lead to a similar conclusion, officials maintain that the appropriate length corrections will be made. Learn more here.;

Residents in Rochester, Minnesota's Manorwood development are paying dearly for buying homes with a view. Mudslides have taken out yards, patios, small retaining walls, and, most importantly, safety. New proposals involve reinforcing the area with soil nails or a more highly engineering retaining wall with geogrid support. Who will pay for the repairs remains to be seen. Learn more here.;

Mississippi is doling out money from its $5.4 billion Hurricane Katrina recovery fund. The Brookhaven community, for example, has received $665,000 for erosion control. The city will offer a $100,000 match. The Daily Leader's story, via Zwire, includes a breakdown of other recent awards in the state for shoreline repair, road construction, erosion control and much more. Learn more here.;

The US Army Corps of Engineers is moving forth on awarding New Orleans levee repair contracts ahead of a 2011 deadline for upgrades--despite a new analysis that suggests rotational failure is still a risk. The new analysis found that geosynthetic support may be 20 feet short of what's needed to prevent a 100-year-storm event rotational failure. But experts point out that no earthen levee has ever failed in the manner the new, geometry-based computer model suggests. Learn more here.;

ACE Geosynthetics has received its final report from the National Transportation Product Evaluation Program (NTPEP). This approval allows ACE geogrids to be incorporated into the specifications of many key infrastructure projects, including work for state departments of transporation (DOTs). It marks another significant step in the company's growth. Last year, it opened offices in Houston and Atlanta. Congratulations to ACE on this latest achievement. Learn more here.;

The residents of Scio Township, Michigan are demanding road repairs. An important stretch of road is unpaved and runs through swampy land. The result is an at-times inaccessible, soggy mess. Geosynthetic separation and stabilization is being considered, as is the significantly more expensive proposal to dig out the road below its base and redo it with new aggregate. Learn more here.;

The UK publication Building has published an article about the challenges of Europe's largest onshore wind farm--and the problem isn't wind. It's building 90km of access roads on peat and other tricky soils at 22-sq-mile site. The solution is a combination of geotextiles and geogrids for separation and reinforcement. It's precisely the approach being adopted everywhere that windfarms are being constructed, and for good reason: it works. Learn more here.;

The scope of green roofs on skyscrapers is generally more attention-grabbing, but a look at them on a much smaller scale--such as on a sloped garage roof--may be most useful for those who haven't been exposed to the layered technology. Waterproofing membranes, drainage mats, separation fabrics and erosion control blankets are common to both large and small-scale green roofs. Learn more here.;

Badgerboro Road in Palmyra, Maine has often been called the state's "worst road." Unpaved roads can be very difficult to maintain, as annual weather conditions and traffic cause rutting and wash outs. Road fabrics were used on just 850 feet of Badgerboro last year but have been very successful. Towns are now debating spending more to incorporate similar strategies in road repairs. Learn more here.;

India-based Bharat Books is offering a sales-tax-free copy of a geosynthetics study that forecasts 5% growth per year between 2010 and 2015. The report suggests geogrids and geocomposites show the greatest market potential and that the transportation sector will be a major driver. The study is from Freedonia. Learn more here.;

Buffalo Bayou is a rugged part of Houston's past--a reminder of what the area looked like before massive urbanization. But the banks of the bayou have been eroding rapidly. The district spends millions each year in defense. And now home owners are laying out up to $150,000 to stabilize their shorelines. Learn more here.;

Geosynthetics are being used to repair and strengthen roads in Grand Cayman, the Cayman Net News reports. The National Roads Authority (NRA) has been seeking longer road service lives. The current project is one of the first for the island with the materials. Geogrids and geotextiles are enabling the safe construction over peat. Learn more here.;

It's a mouthful and it's off limits for the time being. Important portside transportation construction in New Zealand has blocked off an old road with a geogrid reinforced and wrapped wall. John Jones, writing for the Gisborne Herald, seems a touch confused by his introduction to the materials. Learn more here.;

Tensar International Corporation (TIC), a leading developer and manufacturer of technology-driven site solutions, has expanded its pavement reinforcement capabilities with the addition of the GlasPave™ Waterproofing Paving Mat, new from Saint-Gobain Technical Fabrics (SGTF). The GlasPave™ mat joins SGTF’s well-established GlasGrid® Pavement Reinforcement System, used to reduce reflective cracking on highways, runways and parking lots. TIC is the exclusive distributor of both products throughout North and South America. Read more.

The US Army Corp of Engineer (USACE) is racing against the clock to get grass to grow on some elevated levees in New Orleans ahead of the next storm season. The slopes have developed some ruts and are not taking to new seed well. Part of the problem is old, inexact "boilerplate" specifications. Perhaps vegetated erosion contol blankets and turf reinforcement mats (TRMs) merit greater consideration now. Learn more here.;