Transportation

Congratulations are due to Sam Lamont of Fairbanks, Alaska. He received the Educational Achievement Award during the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) for his education work with the Alaska Department of Transportation. Lamont designs and evaluates drainage and erosino control plans. Learn more here.;

ACH Foam invites attendees of Geosynthetics 2009 to take a tour of ACH Foam Technologies' Plant in Murray, Utah on Thursday, 26 February 2009. This free tour--transportation from the convention center provided--will take place from 8:30 - 10:45 am. A history of geofoam will be provided and participants will learn about applications for geofoam, installation, and long-term performance. A plant tour and manufacturing information rounds out the trip. Email Terry Meier (tmeier@achfoam.com) or call +1 801 599 2220 for more information or to take part. Learn more here.;

Professor Shobha K. Bhatia has been awarded a Chancellor's Citation for Excellence at Syracuse University, where she teaches civil and environmental engineering. Five people were honored during a February 12 awards ceremony. Dr. Bhatia's 20 years of geotechnical and geosynthetic engineering work was recognized for her broad range of professional contributions (including soils characterization in geosynthetic applications, waste containment, and road construction), dedication to research, the fostering of international work and dialogue, and social justice. We congratulate her on this well-deserved honor. Learn more here.;

An abandoned mining in Canada's Yukon will take 40 years and $500 million to properly close, the government estimates. The Faro mine project will undergo a 15-year-construction phase that is expected to cost $30 million per year, and an additional $10 million is thought to be needed for the last 25 years of closure operations. Learn more here.;

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is encouraging all members to call their Congressional representatives and senators to push for greater infrastructure dollars in the current stimulus proposals. The roughly $800 billion proposal, as it currently stands, does not have nearly as much infrastructure money as expected. For example, senators such as Barbara Boxer (D-CA) are proposing to use $50 billion not spent in the first year of stimulus for future transportation and water infrastructure improvement. Read more in ASCE's alert. Learn more here.;

Tensar's main United Kingdom office has been awarded the North West Greater China Business Award. The Blackburn-based firm was presented with the award at the North West Greater China Business Awards at a banquet hosted by UK Trade and Investment and the North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA). The awards recognize businesses and organizations that are cultivating strong trade links with China. Learn more here.;

Peak Engineering Technologies has changed its name to Peak GeoSolutions to better reflect the company's impressive growth in services. The February 2009 newsletter from the company reveals the name change, a new logo, and new service offerings, including geoelectric liner integrity surveys and technical tailgate training. Also, Peak is offering short courses: ** CQA/QC Short Courses for Compacted Clay Liner and Geosynthetic Installations, which features proctorship for the Geosynthetic Certification Institute - Inspector Certification Program (GCI-ICP); and ** a Peak-exclusive short course on total landfill construction and CQA. Learn more in the February newsletter.

The Initial Public Offer (IPO) market has been grim in the United States with economic investment so low. More than 100 offers were withdrawn last year in the US, and over the past six months only two IPOs have gone forward. A few more companies withdrew IPO floatation on February 3. Among them, geogrid and infrastructure specialist Tensar. Learn more here.;

The March-April 2009 issue of Erosion Control includes Tara Beecham's look at various erosion control blankets (ECBs) and turf reinforcement mats (TRMs). She focuses on the basics behind reasons for selection (natural look and long-term anchorage for vegetation), various systems (such as erosion control systems above geomembrane and clean soil, as you might find in remediated areas), and touches upon biodegrable options. Commercial development, recreational development and other sectors are represented. Among those companies mentioned in the article you'll find American Excelsior, East Coast Erosion Blankets, North American Green, and Presto Products. Read it online. Learn more here.;

St. Patrick's Day 2009 (March 17) is also the next Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) Lobby Day. This important annual event brings industry, lobbyists, government agency representatives and Congressional offices and committees together. With important water, coal ash management, and transportation issues to address (and in the context of an economic crisis sorely in need of infrastructure spending), this year's event holds great importance. Read an invitation from GMA Executive Director Andrew Aho and learn about how to be part of this gathering.

The Freedonia Institute's latest geosynthetics market report ("Geosynthetics to 2012") indicates that demand for these materials will advance 2.5 percent annually to over 900 million square yards in 2012. This projects a value in excess of $2 billion. Freedonia expects that gains will be promoted by rebounding road and highway construction spending. In the near term, demand is also expected to be promoted by components of the Obama Administration’s economic stimulus program that involve public works. Geosynthetics can be used to stabilize foundations, promote drainage and prevent erosion, generally at a lower cost than alternative products. Demand for high-performance geosynthetics, such as geomembranes, geogrids and preformed geocomposites, will outpace demand for less costly geosynthetics. Learn more here.;

geosynthetica's Tech Note series publishes concise questions and observations from the practice. The latest, "Are you testing the reinforcement or the polymer?" comes from frequent contributor Ian Peggs of I-CORP INTERNATIONAL. His question is important, for the durability and degradation of the polymer is just as important to a material's service life suitability as its reinforcement component.

Erosion Control magazine is the latest publication to release a digital format edition. This free, optional version of the magazine displays the publication in an exact copy on your computer. It follows closely after the magazine's relaunch of its website, which included greater interactivity between the writers and readers, blogs, and more. Demo the March/April 2009 digital edition here. Learn more here.;

Plastics in Underground Pipes 2009 will take place at the Radisson Resort Orlando - Celebration, Florida, from 6-7 May 2009. With underground pipes, installation time and costs are critical and plastics--by offering flexibility, durability and chemical resistance--are increasingly being used to overcome many of the issues with traditional materials. A program for the event is now available. One of the speakers featured will be Rick Thomas of TRI/Environmental, who will speak on the subject of "The development of HDPE corrugated drainage pipe containing recycled HDPE for highway applications." View the program in PDF. Learn more here.;

Applied Market Information (AMI) has announced the dates and a call for proposals for Waterproof Membranes 2009. The event will take place in Düsseldorf, Germany from 19-21 October 2009. AMI's Dr. Sally Humphreys invites presentation proposals through 17 April 2009. Also, an early-bird registration and exhibition opportunities are available. Contact the conference organizers for more information. Geosynthetica was a media partner for Waterproof Membranes 2008 and encourages its readers to consider the 2009 installment of the event. Learn more here.;

Iryna Popova, Director of EcoInform, has announced that a draft program is now available for the 6th Cooperation for Waste Issues conference, which will take place 8-9 April 2009 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Key topics at the event include municipal and industrial waste, radioactive waste, environmental compliance, biomass, energy generation, and much more. View the program today. Geosynthetica.net is a cooperating organization to the event. Learn more here.;

India-based publication MasterBuilder has released a special issue on geosynthetics in the world's largest democracy. Artilces from Ian Peggs of I-CORP INTERNATIONAL, Lance Carter of Strata Systems, and many others are included. Subjects covered include high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes, geogrid soil reinforcement, geotextile applications (e.g., road construction), landfills, waterproofing, and more. Read the electronic version of the magazine. Learn more here.;

Geosynthetics 2009 is the largest geosynthetics industry event in North America. This biennial event will explore important issues affecting water resources, mining, infrastructure development and regulatory communities in the American, Canadian and Mexican markets. Organizers have announced an extention to the early registration rate to 30 January 2009. Register now to secure the best rates. The event will take place 25-27 February 2009 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Learn more here.;

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) has scheduled two infrastructure short courses for users (new and experienced) of geosynthetics. These much-needed educational opportunities couldn't have emerged at a better time. GSI's courses focus on public and private sector use of geosynthetics (with one course being dedicated to each). Each course will be offered twice during the spring. The dates for the one-day sessions are as follows: Infrastructure Development Using Geosynthetics: Public Sector Projects - March 23 and April 13; Infrastructure Development Using Geosynthetics: Private Sector Projects - March 24 and April 14. More information on the sessions is available here.

Democrats in the United States Congress have begun revealing details of an ambitious spending and tax program to provide an economic stimimulus to the ailing economy and revitalize a many years-deteriorating civil infrastructure. Key to the stimulus package is infrastructure investment totaling $85 billion, including $30 billion for highway and bridge construction, $3 billion for airport improvement, $10 billion for drinking water and wastewater treatment projects and $4.5 billion to the Army Corps of Engineers. More on this will emerge shortly.

Leak location technology has greatly improved construction quality assurance (CQA) measures and, thus, geosynthetic lining system performance. But while the benefits of geoelectric surveys cannot be disputed, one should understand that not all lining systems are immediately survey-able. Ian Peggs' short tech note on double liner systems illuminates this issue but establishing minimum boundaries and pointing out troubles (challenges to surveys) that may result from certain system arrangements.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has announced that it will release details from its 2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure on 28 January 2009--two months ahead of the full report's release. The association has decided to release some information now, as the new Congress and incoming presidential administration have both placed new infastructure projects high on the list of priorities for the United States. ASCE will release letter grades and short conditions summaries for each of 15 categories, solutions for infrastructure improvement, and an overall cost to improve the nation’s infrastructure. Read an important letter from ASCE president D. Wayne Klotz on the report card (and renew your membership!).

Strata Systems, Inc. announces an upgrade to its advanced interactive computer software program designed to assist engineers with the design and analysis of geogrid-reinforced steep slopes. Earthen slopes up to 70 degrees from horizontal can be safely designed in accordance with methodologies accepted by the Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a multitude of project applications. The program, named StrataSlope, is now available on Strata’s newly redesigned website and is recommended for use by experienced geotechnical and civil engineers familiar with the technology of mechanically stabilized earthen structures. Read more.

The latest issue of Water & Wastes Digest includes Mark Oriol's article on protecting pipes with engineered liners and coatings. He underscores quickly just how major of a need this preventative measure is: there are nearly 1.2 million miles of sewer lines in the United States alone. Among the liners he highlights you'll find GSE's StudLiner, a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) embedment liner that uses extruded studs rather than ribs for anchor points. A system of this sort can deliver more than 50 years of service. Learn more here.;

While specifications are to help provide stability, consistency and professionalism in engineering and construction, they can also lead to problems--especially when their authors do not seem to see the full implications of their assumptions. In example, Ian Peggs of I-CORP INTERNATIONAL writes about the placement of leak location in specifications and how some of these specs provide CQC but not real CQA. Errors of assumption like this may lead to facility failures.