Geogrids in Virginia
Construction magazine has published an update on the Virginia Department of Transportation's Newport News road-widening project. The project is entering its Phase III, which includes the installation of geotextiles and, in some places, geogrids to strengthen the silty and blue marle clay soils that characterize the peninsula.
Learn more here.;
Geotextile Data
For the latest on geotextile data, check geosindex.com's listings. Major suppliers Fiberweb, GSE and Propex have posted their product data in the interactive table that allows you to select your criteria fields and sort by key values. Use it today for geotextiles or other materials.
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Long-Term Mining Boom
World prices for precious and semi-precious metals have vaulted in the past few years, and this spike in demand has helped fuel tremendous growth in the mining industry. But while prices have somewhat stabilized, growth will continue. Australia forecasts a 70% rise in employment (90,000 new jobs) in mining through 2020 in the mining sector. And these projects will also require environmental controls, which is where geosynthetics enter in.
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Arizona Infrastructure Needs
CE News' Civil Connection newsletter includes a piece on how the state of Arizona is expected to face a 65% population increase between now and 2032. Nearly $500 billion is thought to be needed to accommodate so much growth in just 25 years. Sectors needing address include energy, transportation and water. Transportation alone will cost upwards of $300 billion, and water and wastewater about $110 billion of the total cost.
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Geosynthetics 2009 Deadline Extended
Geosynthetics 2009, the next chapter in the international, biennial Geosynthetics series, will be held in Salt Lake City 25-27 February 2009. Beth Wistrcill of IFAI has released information regarding an extension to the abstracts and proposals submission deadline. It is now 30 June 2008. Read the release here.
Ann Arbor Turns to Geogrids
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.;
EU on Ag and Aquaculture Needs
The European Parliament has passed a resolution that stresses a priority should be given to a significant increase in investment in agriculture, aquaculture, rural development and agribusinesses in developing countries. The measure comes in reaction to rising food prices around the world and includes language regarding access (which may mean roads) and fair trade. Though 75% of the world's population lives in rural areas, only 4% of development aid concentrates on agriculture.
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WHO on Better Construction
The World Health Organization is pushing for increased spending on hospital and school construction around the world. The goal is to make hospitals and schools not just places of day to day need and use, but places of refuge during turmoil, such as during hurricanes or tsunamis and after earthquakes. These are the facilities that must remain in tact and operational. Energy efficiency, waste management and other areas are in need of better construction support.
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Engineering Demand in Mining
Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper reports that Canada's skyrocketing demand in energy and mining sectors is producing a hard-to-fill order for engineering and technical services. The Canadian mining industry is thought to need 92,000 more professionals by 2017, many of them engineers and engineering technologists. These projects require significant environmental controls, access roads and remediation readiness too.
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Summer (Construction) Begins
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.
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GeoAmericas Free Papers
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.
Road Project in WV
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.;
Geofoam Settlement
Minnesota's bridges have been a cause for concern, from the collapse of the 35W bridge in Minneapolis to a series of closings for structural concerns, computer glitches and other reasons. Now, a bridge in Bloomington is closed for repairs following settlement on geofoam. Inappropriate fill has been found to be the cause.
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Geosynthetics 2009 Call for Papers
Geosynthetics 2009 will be held 25-27 February 2009 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The conference theme is "Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering." Areas of focus include shoreline and water protection, conveyance and storage, mining, agriculture, aquaculture, temporary roads and drainage. The deadline for conference paper proposals is June 2. Read more about submitting abstracts, the review process and key dates.
Learn more here.;
EC and Katrina-Recovery Awards
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.;
ACE Earns NTPEP Approval
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.;
Next Generation PVDs
Colbond Geosynthetics has announced the launch of CX1000 Vertical Drains. The prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) are being billed as "next generation" and is intended for use in achieving quicker settlement of soft soils and reducing the construction time for infrastructure projects on marshland areas or reclaimed land. Read more about it at Road Traffic Technology.
Learn more here.;
Road Work Needed Now
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.;
Access Roads for Wind Farms
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.;
Gaining Access
Officials in Waterville, Maine have sealed a deal to acquire a 92-acre property on Jade Island from Colby College. The arrangement, which was tagged to stipulations in a 1968 recreational land acquisition deal, will be used primarily for cross-country skiing and hiking trails. Geotextiles, erosion control materials and culvert reconstruction mark step one: recreating the old access road.
Learn more here.;
ASIA Miner & XX Macao
ASIA Miner magazine has joined with the XX Macao event, "The Exploration Exchange." The bilingual (English and Chinese) publication has become a strong mining industry news source in Asia over the past four years. XX Macao's organizer, BCM-TBG, has orchestrated the largest conferences in China. Their union here bodes well for XX Macao.
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$10 Million for Holland Marsh
The Holland Marsh Drainage System canals in Ontario, Canada have been allocated $10 million by the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Initiative (MIII) to improve drainage. The money will be divided between the townships of King and Bradford-West Gwillimbury. Canal rebuilding, road safety, and berm construction are sorely needed.
Learn more here.;
Road Fabric Installation
In Pownal, Vermont, crews will soon upgrade a 2,700-foot stretch of deteriorating road by digging down nine inches and installing a geotextile separation layer, stone and gravel. They will then observe the road for a year before blacktopping it.
Learn more here.;
Winter's Wear and Tear
In Pembroke, Ontario, the city has warned residents that the roads may be particularly poor this year when the freeze-thaw cycle snaps the other way. Road construction has not been up to snuff. The Daily Observer's article notes that geotextiles in the sub-base have only been used in special circumstances. An operations manager has noted the city is paying now in potholes, cracking and ruts.
Learn more here.;
Market Study
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.;
