Transportation

In a little under a decade of operation, Manitoba-headquartered Titan Environmental Containment has built a strong team and reputation, with operations expanding to cover all of Canada and the...

UK-based Fiberweb PLC is investing millions in a China-based spun-bonded polyester manufacturer, Tianjin Hengguan Nonwoven Co Ltd, and is setting up a joint venture in India to create that country's first premium nonwoven geotextile manufacturing line: booming markets in need of geosynthetics. Learn more here.;

Even among construction professionals, it's widely believed that building green adds 10% or more to the cost of new projects -- but analysts say such beliefs have little basis in reality. Experts say that although about two-thirds of construction-industry professionals believe there's a hefty green-building premium, studies suggest that in fact going green brings negligible costs or a premium of as low as 1% to 2% Learn more here.;

A blog post from Monday afternoon (9 March 2009) at the West Virginia Gazette suggested that the chair of the United States House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee--Nick J. Rahall II (D-WV)--may be attempting to minimize new regulations on coal ash slurry reservoirs. Things may not be as they seem in this one, however. Politics has much to do with timing. Read more.

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) Region One has launched its Mentorship Program as a new membership benefit. The IECA Mentorship Program is a way for established members and students or new members to connect with one another and form partnerships of mutual learning as mentors and mentees. This program intends to provide a database of members, who have volunteered to serve as a mentor, to other members.

During the Geo-Frontiers 2011 event in Dallas, the International Association of Geosynthetic Installers (IAGI) announced the winners of the association's installation awards of excellence. The highest vote getter in this year's competition and Award of Excellence winner was CETCO Contracting for its exemplary work on the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's (PADOT) I-99 slope remediation construction. That project is summarized here.

Strata Geosystems (India) Pvt Ltd announced that Stratagrid® is now a "CE" certified product. The certification was issued by the "ENTE CERTIFICAZIONE MACCHINE" in Italy for high-tenacity polyester geogrids manufactured by Strata at its plant at Daman, India and allows the product to be sold into the European market. Read more.

The following listings are only for live, online presentations: webinars, workshops, conferences, etc. Many of these companies/organizations offer on-demand learning too. Please visit their individual websites for on-demand opportunities. 8...

On March 11, HUESKER will move its North American and Central American operations into a brand new headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. The new physical address will be: 3701...

GeoAmericas 2012 marks the Second Pan-American Geosynthetics Conference and Exhibition. It will be held 1-4 May 2012 in Lima, Peru under the auspices of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). Organizers have announced that the Early-Bird Room Rates for the venue hotel (Westin Libertador Hotel) have been extended until 15 February 2012. Reserve your room today and get the best rate at this key Latin American infrastructure event. Learn more here.;

TenCate Geosynthetics Americas has developed a seven-minute video clip "TenCate at Work Around the Globe" that features several innovative TenCate projects around the globe. These projects illustrate several possibilities and applications using geotextile materials, such as dewatering, steep slope reinforcement, soft soil coverage, and much more.

In 2008, Oregon-based BTL moved into a cavernous new facility--one that can finally meet its project demands. This is the second facility expansion move for BTL in only a few years. One project that underscores the advantages of the new headquarters is the 105,000 sq. ft. single-panel of 20-mil geomembrane that the company fabricated for a pond liner project in Wisconsin. Read the case study here.

The recently launched StrataPro™ geotechnical software platform from Strata Systems, Inc. is a welcomed addition to the tools engineers can use to improve GRS design. Geosynthetically reinforced soil structures...

The quadrennial Pan-American conference on geosynthetics—GeoAmericas 2016—is an event from the International Geosynthetics Society. As a result, IGS Corporate Members have had an exclusive window in which to request...

British and European construction firms are forming or reforming joint ventures in hopes of landing lucrative Crossrail contracts. Costain, Skanska, Bam, Kier, Balfour Beatty and Morgan Est are all said to be in the hunt, and all have high-speed rail link experience. Learn more here.;

TenCate Geosynthetics is reporting strong global performance of approximately 15% organic sales growth, led by new products and a focus on sustainability and environmental protection. Soil stabilization and soil reinforcement solutions have been key to this growth. For products such as TenCate Geotube® and TenCate GeoDetect™, the company sees growing interest stemming from their CO2-friendly, sustainable environmental approach and the utilization of leakage, erosion control and deformation detection systems.

TenCate™ Geosynthetics has designed a brochure focusing on high performance geotextiles for haul roads. These include Mirafi® HP-Series woven geotextiles, comprised of high tenacity polypropylene yarns. One of the primary uses of geosynthetics has been and remains the stabilization of subgrades for haul roads. Almost every construction project has a need for a geosynthetically-stabilized aggregate, from access roads to construction entrance roads, to staging areas, and to working platforms. (Continued.)

Because of a political union between the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the United States, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) personnel from Region 9 help monitor issues such as environmental contamination and erosion and provide or propose programs for implementation within the CNMI. Officials from the EPA are currently conducting a mid-year review of CNMI Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) programs for erosion control, wastewater management, brownfields, and more.

Prof. Robert M. Koerner has come out with the Sixth Edition of Designing With Geosynthetics. As with prior volumes, it comes with helpful test questions after each chapter with answers provided at the end of the book. Currently, Koerner is professor emeritus of Drexel University.

Tenax expands facility- Texax Corp. has doubled its sole manufacturing plant with a plan to add new machinery by the end of Dec. The firm has added three extruders to its existing five, boosting annual extrusion capacity to 20 million pounds. It will invest nearly $2.7 million in machinery. Its 60,000 sq. ft. building grew to 150,000 sq. ft. with a $2.2 million investment. They will hire 20 people brining its work force to 100. Tenax is tapping the retail and consumer market with critter-control netting, which it plans to sell through do-it-yourself stores.

The Stormwater Equipment Manufacturers Association has launched a new website: www.stormwaterassociation.com. The website contains information about the association's activities, membership, technical information and a buyer's guide. The buyer's guide is a free useful resource for end users needing information about stormwater equipment and other services. Read more in the release.

Engineers at District 2 of the Illinois Department of Transportation were busy preparing plans for a major project in the Quad cities area in Rock Island County of Northwestern Illinois. The project, an extension of the Milan Beltway, was to include a long and highly visible drainage channel. They sought out a vegetated solution for this project, and the ideal solution they found was with composite turf reinforcement mats (C-TRM) from Tensar North American Green. Read about the exemplary and cost-saving performance from this site.

The Transportation Research Board's (TRB) Research in Progress website includes a note of a 9 July 2010-entered research program title "Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil for Low Volume Bridge Abutments." The Iowa Department of Transportation is heading the research, and the study is being carried out by Iowa State University Institute for Transportation. The project runs through 31 December 2011. Learn more here.;

The Industrial Fabrics Association International's (IFAI) annual International Achievement Awards (IAA) competition is accepting submissions through 15 July 2010. Among the many entry categories you'll find "Geosynthetics." This year the competition is holding a drawing to award a free full registration to the 2010 IFAI Expo Americas (27-29 October 2010, Orlando, Florida), where IAA winners will be announced. Geosynthetica encourages you to look into this event and share your projects and experience with the larger technical textiles field. Visit the competition website to learn more about the awards and the benefits of the new electronic submission form. Learn more here.;

The Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia wanted to convert an unusable plot of land into a much needed drill field and shooting range complex. The site presented several challenges due to the changing grades and extensive rock blasting and fill areas. The retaining walls were built on a crushed gravel leveling pad and reached 34 feet high, extending over a quarter mile long, and holding up over 100,000 cubic yards of fill. The walls were used to create a level 6-acre field. To reinforce the land, Stratagrid SG200 and SG350 soil reinforcement was placed in embedment lengths of 22 feet behind nearly 50,000 square feet of block wall. The geogrid was placed on every other course with 2-inch minus crushed rock used for reinforced backfill.