Transportation

In a new book, stormwater compliance expert Jennifer Hildebrand shares her experience from the field and offers advice on how to evaluate design issues, avoid mistakes, determine best management practices, and anticipate and respond to challenges in stormwater management. Here, she tells us a bit more about the new book, "Straight Talk: Strategies for Environmental Compliance."

In the latest project story from Tensar International, the company details how extensive underground mining in south Poland posed a significant challenge to construction of the A1 motorway which forms part of the connection between the Czech border, Piekary Slaskie and on to northern Poland. To accommodate potential differential settlement on the approach embankments to bridge structures, the engineering consultant consortium designed TensarTech™ soil retaining walls to support the approach embankments to a series of viaduct and bridge structures along the 16km Piekary Slaskie to Pyrzowice (Katowice Airport) section. This approach ensured that any problems caused by previous land use were mitigated and the planned opening date of June 2012 was met.

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) Region One is pleased to announce Joanna Fetherolf has joined the staff as Assistant to the Director and Sponsor Development. Fetherolf is the new point person for IECA Region One sales and will be working closely with the member community to enhance the value of their investment in IECA. She may be contacted at Joanna@ieca.org or +1 303 640 7554 for any inquiries regarding IECA sponsorship or advertising opportunities.

The International Geosynthetics Society's (IGS) Indian Chapter (IGS India) has moved forward on its initiative to publish the Indian Journal of Geosynthetics and Ground Improvement on a twice-yearly basis, with the first issue covering January-June and the second issue July-December. Read about the articles in and download the inaugural issue here in PDF, learn about the publication's mission, and download guidelines to help you submit material to the journal.

The International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) has published the second 2012 issue of its IGS News. Issue 28, Volume 2 is packed with content, including the 2012 - 2016 Election Candidate Profiles & Election Schedule for the IGS Council, a profile of the IGS Council (geographical and professional composition), a "Filtration User" survey, translation of the Society's key mathematical symbols document, a GeoAmericas 2012 conference report, Dennes Bergado's retirement symposium (on climate change and geosynthetics) and much more. Read the issue here (PDF).

CETCO Lining Technologies has announced the official release of three new product lines in its GCL portfolio. The names of the new product lines are InterLoK, Resistex and Continuum. Each product features a unique engineered clay technology designed by the research and development team at CETCO to enhance the permeability and/or chemical resistance. InterLoK, Resistex, and Continuum GCLs are now available in the U.S. with an expected release in Europe later this year.

Manasanat's Mohammad Reza Ashgbousi has provided us with some notes on the use of geotextile tubes to stabilize the harbor front at Bandar-e Anazali along Iran's Caspian Sea coastline. The sea's rise in the late 1970s has led to decades of hard armor coastal protection strategies and land reclamation operations; but the cost of hard armor has risen sharply. Here, they've incorporated geotextile tubes for the first time and found them to be an excellent solution. Read about the project.

CETCO Lining Technologies has published a paper from Christos Athanassopoulos, P.E., CETCO, and Richard J. Vamos, Ph.D, P.E., DAI Environmental, Inc., on "Carbon Footprint Comparison of GCLs and Compacted Clay Liners." Geosynthetic clay liners can have a significant impact carbon footprint reduction in construction when measured against the thickness of compacted clay required to equal GCL performance. The reduction in truckload traffic alone (550 for CCL, 3.5 for GCL in this analysis) represents a significant carbon footprint savings. Athanassopoulos and Vamos's work includes excellent comparative tables of the carbon footprint aspects of site work and two appendixes demonstrating the full methodolgy used to reveal these project savings.

Thrace-LINQ, a global supplier of woven and nonwoven polypropylene-based fabrics for a wide variety of textile applications, announces the addition of Dennis St. Louis as Director, Sales and Marketing. Dennis, a senior level manager with over 23 years of experience in the textiles industry, most recently served as Director, Sales and Marketing and National Account Manager for Vita Nonwovens.

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.

By most reports, 2012's construction activity has been furious. Many manufacturers have moved advanced expansion plans begun or announced in 2011, and those decisions seems to be paying off as the on-site services side of the industry (e.g., installation and CQA) also reports significant increases in business. A number of companies have even hired on multiple new full-time employees and expected a considerable growth in seasonal work positions. But as the mid-year work dies down (at least enough to breathe), events take over the calendar. Here are four events (3 in Europe, 1 in the US) Geosynthetica is looking forward to.

ASTM International Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has announced that D7748, 12e1 Standard Test Method for Flexural Rigidity of Geogrids, Geotextiles and Related Products has been editorially changed. This test method covers the measurement of stiffness properties of geogrids, geotextiles and geogrid-geotextile composites all of which are referred to as geosynthetics within this standard. Bending length is measured and flexural rigidity is calculated through use of the cantilever test procedure. Learn more 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.

Hanes Geo Components, long known for its TerraGrid line of uniaxial and biaxial geogrids, has announced the addition of E'Grids geogrids to its product offerings. Promoted now through a website dedicated exclusively to HGC's reinforcement portfolio, the addition of E'Grids is a significant contribution to options in the US marketplace. Learn more about these products and HGC's design software, technology transparency initiatives, quality assurance and more at www.hgcgrid.com. Learn more here.;

In the most recent newsletter from the Geosynthetics Interest Group of South Africa (GIGSA), Maccaferri's Edoardo Zannoni (who chairs GIGSA's subcomittee on specifications) writes on the role of ISO in harmonizing international terminology and cross-border understanding of geosynthetics. Zannoni notes that the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) has established multiple committees to bring South Africa's standards practices with geosynthetics in line with ISO. We reprint Mr. Zannoni's article by permission of GIGSA here.

Access to or from construction sites often involves crossing over very weak or variable ground conditions. Thus, before work can begin on site, Engineers are often first challenged with the problem of how they actually get to site. Many different forms of geosynthetics exist to assist in overcoming this problem, but few, if any, offer as high a performance solution as E’GRID biaxial geogrids. In this tech note, published via Hanes Geo Components, wind farm access road construction are profiled--as are the critical role geogrids play in making this sustainable energy sector succeed. Learn more here.;

Reflective cracking is a major cause of roadway failures and can significantly increase the amount of money needed to maintain a road. The right reinforcement material within a subgrade, however, can reduce the need for thick, costly aggregate layers and interlock the subgrade. This prevents the mixing of fines, reflecting cracking, rutting, and roadway breakup. Zhejiang's knitted fiberglass geogrids offer a strong reinforcement solution for economical, long-term roadway performance against cracking and rutting. Learn more here.;

Cooley Group, a leading designer, developer and manufacturer of high performance, sustainable, engineered membranes for some of the world's highest-profile advertising, chemical containment, military, environmental protection and roofing initiatives, has announced additional developments that underscore the Company's commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility. The developments are part of a larger and continuous social responsibility commitment by Cooley to lead the industry's sustainability efforts; better serve its customers through the sustainable solutions the Company deploys; support the communities where Cooley works; and protect the broader environment.

The International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) has announced that the IGS French Chapter has translated the engineering document "Recommended Descriptions of Geosynthetics Functions, Geosynthetics Terminology, Mathematical and Graphical Symbols." Originally drafted in English, this internationally unifying publication has been translated completely by French Chapter Members Dr. Nathalie Touze-Foltz (IGS Council Member) and Dr. Camille Barral.

TRI Environmental, Inc. (TRI), a leading international geotechnical, geosynthetic and erosion control materials services company, has announced the acquisition of advanced testing equipment from the former Bathurst Clarabut Geotechnical Testing (BCGT) office in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Among the noteworthy testing capabilities: a specialized large-scale testing apparatus for analyzing the connection strength of segmental retaining wall blocks, a mobile very large-scale (VLS) shear box—one of a few of its kind in the world—for on-site waste shear strength testing up to 3 ft cu samples, six segmental retaining wall creep frames, and a plain loading device to facilitate bench-scale bearing capacity studies for geosynthetics used in soil improvement applications.

TenCate Geosynthetics announced that the TenCate Miragrid® XT geogrid product line has completed the first ever evaluation by the National Transportation Product Evaluation Program (NTPEP) which incorporated an onsite audit of the manufacturing facility. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in conjunction with NTPEP have developed a process for the evaluation of production data and field performance data for reinforcement geosynthetics. Learn more.

Geosindex.com is a new geosynthetic data website with sortable product data tables on geomembranes, geogrids, geotextiles, other geosynthetics. The website continues to evolve with more international manufacturers adding products and updating data and linked specifications. Learn more.

One of the most important international football tournaments is about to take place: Euro 2012. The nations of Poland and Ukraine will play host to the quadrennial engagement, and both countires have invested millions of euros in new construction to support the event. In the Polish seaport of Gdansk, a 17.9 km bypass was needed to improve traffic flow. Tensar International's TriAx® design solution has been used in the sub-base to help combat differential settlement across the poor soil of the Wistula river delta and minimize frost heave caused by severe winters.

Tensar is appointing Mala Nanda as Vice President and General Manager Asia Pacific, in a company move which emphasizes its commitment to the area. Based in Shanghai, Mala Nanda has exceptional experience in the construction supply sector, particularly her impressive progress with Owens Corning since 1994, latterly becoming General Manager, Asia Pacific South and winning company awards. Her brief tenure there included developing and investing in the Indian sub-continent, and developing the Australian market.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new design competition called the Campus RainWorks Challenge to encourage student teams on college and university campuses across the country to develop innovative approaches to stormwater management. The competition will help raise awareness of green design and planning approaches at colleges and universities, and train the next generation of landscape architects, planners, and engineers in green infrastructure principles and design.