Soil Reinforcement

Even as a deepening recession and credit freeze have curtailed real estate development, green building construction starts increased fivefold between 2005 and 2008, McGraw-Hill Construction reports. McGraw-Hill expects the domestic green building market to triple by 2013, reaching up to $140 billion in construction spending. Growing public awareness, government regulations, and bottom-line advantages are helping fuel green building's surging popularity, the company said. Learn more here.;

Geo-Frontiers 2011 brings together the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Geo-Institute (GI) and the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI). It will be held 13-16 March 2011 in Dallas, Texas. The Call for Abstracts has been issued. Current tracks include Soil/Rock Mechanics and Modeling; Geotechnical Testing and Site Characterization; Foundations and Ground Improvement; Slopes, Embankments, and Earth Retaining Structures; Geosynthetics; Geoenvironmental Engineering; Geo-Hazards (Earthquakes, Landslides, Erosions, Others); Transportation Materials and Pavements; and Other Geotechnical Related Issues. Abstracts of 200-300 words are due 8 March 2011. Learn more. Learn more here.;

NAUE GmbH and Co. KG, manufacturers of the Secugrid geogrids (among many other successful, global geosynthetic products), has developed a free game for the holidays: BallGrid! Players throw snowballs into a Secugrid matrix with points awarded based upon where in the grid the snowball lands. Watch the wind! And, one hint: special points are awarded for the snowman's hat. Play it online today. Learn more here.;

For the first time, Yamhill County, Oregon will use a method of supporting bridges that's slowly gaining popularity for its simplicity. "It's a low-cost method of building a foundation in areas where the bedrock is deep," County Engineer Bill Gille said. Instead of drilling down, workers on the Laughlin Hill bridge project will build the abutments using a geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) method, alternating between geotextiles, compacted fill, and cinder blocks. Learn more here.;

The American state of Utah has been a big supporter of the use of geosynthetics in its highway and bridge work. The materials have helped significantly in matching the increasing roadway capacity needs of the state with the difficult soils. Geofoam has been used extensively. The I-15 project, it has been announced, will now extend beyond Provo. An additional $1.1 billion worth of funding has been secured. Learn more here.;

The American Society of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) invites students to submit papers on topics related to dam and levee safety, including engineering, geology, hydrology, hydraulics, environmental and agricultural sciences, design, construction, risk, hazard mitigation, emergency management, floods, floodplain management, case studies, security, policy issues and more. Winners will present their papers at Dam Safety 2010, ASDSO's Annual National Conference, to be held in Seattle, 19-23 September 2010. Learn more.

Due to popular demand, and after three sell-out sessions in 2009, Applied Market Information Ltd. (AMI) has added two new European dates in 2010 for the Middle East Plastics Industry Strategy Seminar: 27 January 2010 in Brussels, Belgium and 16 March 2010 in Cologne, Germany. Read more about this event in Jon Nash's letter.

Cell-Tek Geosynthetics, LLC will have on presenting products at the 2010 Mants Show in Baltimore, Maryland. Anyone in the landscaping business is aware of the biggest event of the year which is the Mid Atlantic Nursery Trade Show known as MANTS occurring on January 6th through the 8th. The three day event features over a thousand businesses in the landscape industry as well as new products and innovation in the industry. Cell-Tek Geosynthetics a manufacturer of geocellular confinement systems used to control erosion will also have on display it's newest product Gravel-Lok.

The Shepherd’s Flat project, when finished, will supply energy to the U.S. west coast grid, including Southern California Edison, Les Gelber a partner at New York-based Caithness, said in the statement. The two-year construction project, to begin in 2010, entails building about 85 miles of road and 90 miles of power lines that will connect to the grid. Learn more here.;

The UK-based Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) has made 25 years of earthquake reconnaissance reports available online. Practitioners, researchers and students can download free the field reports from the EEFIT missions to 22 earthquake-affected areas spanning over 25 years. Reports for 18 of these event missions were previously only available though hard copy purchase. It is planned that all future reports will also be available free online. Learn more here.;

As part of an annual £100 million program spent each year by the agency British Waterways to maintain the United Kingdom's network of waterways, £60 is being allocated to a host of projects right now. The projects are funded through a combination of government grants and the income British Waterways generates from things such as property and boat licenses. Inspection and repair works this winter range from iconic aqueducts and lock flights to humble canal bridges. The agency is the third largest owner of listed buildings in the UK, maintaining, among many things, 54 tunnel, 3,115 bridges, 417 aqueducts and 91 reservoirs.

Andrew Aho, Executive Director of the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA), writes: "Geotextile manufacturers are keen to update the specifying community regarding specifications that are outdated and no longer acceptable in the industry. Two tests retired by industry approval standards continue to creep into the occasional specification: the Mullen Burst Test and the Puncture Strength Test. The Mullen test was devised in 1887 by J.W. Mullen as a measure for the puncture strength of paper. Eventually it was adopted by the textile industry along with the Puncture Strength Text. In the 1970s these tests were available to the geotextile industry." Read more, including an open letter to specifiers of geosynthetics.

Selectmen voted to spend $117,000 to fix several sinkholes at the Captains Golf Course in Brewster, Massachusetts. Decaying tree stumps that were buried when the course was built has caused the sinkholes. The course will use a high tech wire mesh (Tensar Geogrid), buried with stone and sand to limit the sinking. Learn more here.;

This week the Erosion Control Technology Council (ECTC) is meeting in Daytona Beach, Florida. ECTC promotes the use of erosion control mats and blankets through industry leadership and education in the hope of making a broad contribution to the science of erosion control and environmental preservation. Learn more here.;

TenCate Geosynthetics has published its Fall 2009 issue of MiraFacts, a semi-annual, electronic publication detailing projects, issues affecting engineering, short course and training opportunities, and more. The issue contains a host of interesting stories, including two case studies, application guidance, a pavement restoration video, the introduction of a synthetic grass geotextile, and more. Read more about it.

A direct link to the umbrella page for TenCate Geosynthetics North America's Fall 2009 issue of MiraFacts. Learn more here.;

Russian polymer producer Sibur Holding has ventured downstream into film manufacturing with its agreement to buy a stake in a leading national supplier of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films. Read more in Plastics and Rubber World (PRW.com). Learn more here.;

Vnesheconombank (State Corporation "Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs"), the Russian petrochemical company SIBUR, the Italian export credit insurance agency SACE S.p.A, and the Italian construction and engineering company Technimont S.p.A today announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for co-operation in the implementation and financing of the project to construct polypropylene production facilities in Tobolsk (Russia, Tyumen Region). The cost of the project to create a complex with an annual capacity of 500,000 tonnes is estimated at 2 billion US dollars.

Noting the need to create good jobs in America and the importance of a revitalized manufacturing sector, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced that more than 30 rail manufacturers and suppliers, both domestic and foreign, have committed to establish or expand their base of operations in the United States if they are chosen by states or groups of states to build America's next generation high-speed rail lines. Earlier this year President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which included $8 billion for states to build high-speed rail corridors and improve intercity passenger rail service.

David Suits, the Executive Director of the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS), has written to say that NAGS has extra copies of the Geo-Frontiers 2005 proceedings on CD. He's offering these proceedings for just $25 while supplies last. (Link to the order form below.) Geo-Frontiers 2005 was the first joint conference between ASCE's Geo-Institute, NAGS, and IFAI. These same entities are now teaming up to hold Geo-Frontiers 2011 in Dallas (13-16 March 2011). Download the special offer for the 2005 proceedings here and catch-up on these important publications.

New Civil Engineers' (NCE) coverage of the Tensar flood damage response in Cumbria. Learn more here.;

Following the 21 November flood destruction of the town's bridges over the River Derwent in Workington, Cumbria, Army Royal Engineers have used Tensar International's TriAx™ geogrid to help construct new bridge abutments for a 40 ton temporary footbridge. Connecting the north and south of the town, the actual bridge will take a week to assemble, and is expected to be in place for the Monday morning school run. Read about this vital work and how it took less than three weeks from need to design to construction.

Colorado Lining International is pleased to announce that Greg Scales has joined the firm's sales division as Outside Sales for the East Coast Region. He will be based in Asheville, North Carolina. Mr. Scales has 20 years of professional experience in the geosynthetic industry. He graduated from the University of Louisville School of Engineering with Bachelors of Applied Science in Civil Engineering (1983) and from Webster University with a Master of Arts in Marketing and Management (1985).

The United Kingdom-based Engineering and Technology Board (ETB) this week changed its name to EngineeringUK (EUK) and set out a simplified strategy to refocus its activities on promoting investment and careers. Learn more here.;

The Board of Directors of SIBUR Holding JSC formed and approved a newly established collegial executive body of the management organization - the Executive Board of SIBUR LLC. The decision on establishment of the Executive Board of the management organization followed a considerable number of issues in SIBUR LLC operation that require collegial consideration and decision making. At the same time the Executive Board of SIBUR Holding JSC will continue to consider issues of strategic development of the Holding as a whole. See the list here.