Transportation

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) will hold an open house on October 16 from 4:00 - 7:00 pm to introduce visitors to the association's new Denver headquarters. The IECA invites you to come for refreshments, appetizers and staff introductions. Learn more here.;

geosynthetica's new site organization still includes our most popular items of use, such as the Buyer's Guide, Industry Directory, Publications/Tech Docs and Abstracts Database, and much more. Use the links along the top row of the banner at the top of the page for easy access to these zones. And don't forget to try out our new channel pages for geosynthetics functions (row two of the link buttons along the page's top banner) and applications (row three). For information on how to get listed in any of these databases, directories and guides, please contact Chris Kelsey.

Andrew Aho, managing director of the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA), has met with staff members of the US House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. This meeting was related to the Transportation Reauthorization Act. Those Andrew and his colleague met with have requested geosynthetic case studies in stormwater runoff and clean water management. This is a tremendous, unprecedented opportunity to deliver geosynthetics into federal infrastructure legislation. If you have the appropriate case study information, please contact Andrew to find out how to become part of this effort. Learn more here.;

Elizabeth Peggs and Chris Kelsey would like to extend warm thank yous to the organizers and participants of EuroGeo 4 (Edinburgh, Scotland) and the Global Waste Management Symposium (Copper Mountain, Colorado), events they attended for geosynthetica last week. Reports from the events will appear shortly: about Copper Mountain this week (Wednesday, September 17) and about Edinburgh next week. Pictures, presentation notes, and much more are on the way! They were fantastic events.

The Business Co-ordination House (BCH) of India and India-Tech Foundation will hold a one-day symposium, "Geotextiles in India: What, Where and Why," on 17 October 2008. The event will be held in conjunction with CONSTRU India 2008. Read more from BCH on the symposium.

Cumberland, Maryland residents and city engineers are celebrating after a little more than $800,000 in funding was announced for much-needed road improvement. Paving fabrics are being installed to help extend the service life of the roads in question. Learn more here.;

The geogrid-supported road redesign project in Ann Arbor, Michigan that was reported here a couple months ago has been completed. The $3.7 million, 1.3-mile-long Huron River Drive project adopted geogrid reinforcement so that the base could be shallower. This minimized slope disturbance during construction along the scenic route. Learn more here.;

Propex Inc. has announced the appointment of Stan Brant to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Read more on Brant's work in the release.

Milliken has acquired the fire-retardant barriers and geotextile businesses of Western Nonwovens. The geotextile portions of the business include Western's Sandmat product line, which is used mostly in golf course construction and remediation work. Learn more here.;

Though the threat of a hurricane at our Florida office this week caused us to prepare for shutting down our servers, we (and our industry's companies) managed to accomplish quite a bit. Newsletters were launched, conferences were furthered, second quarter statements were issued, and so much more. Catch up on the week's action in our review column. 8/22/08

Erosion Control magazine's revamped website offers not just interactive content, articles from the magazine, and an e-newsletter; but a chance to win a 16-gigabyte iPhone. Visit the magazine website for more information. Learn more here.;

Firestone has added another date to its successful series of PondGard EPDM Geomembrane Installation Training sessions. A Tucker, Georgia session will be offered on October 21. Some seats are still available for the September 10 session in Uniontown, Ohio. Register online today. Learn more here.;

We missed this in the news two weeks ago, but it's worth sharing. Propex Inc. has gifted the village of Lake Delton in Wisconsin $100,000 worth of erosion control products to help with some key projects. Propex's ArmorMax system will be used by the village, especially with steep slopes. The product has proven itself in New Orleans' infrastructure repair. This is a fantastic gesture on Propex's part. Learn more here.;

Russia based SIBUR Holding has announced that two of its subsidiaries, Orton OJSC (based in Kemerovo) and Plastik OJSC (Uzlovaya), have signed procurement contracts for equipment to be used in the manufacture of geosynthetic materials. Nonwoven geotextiles and geonets will be produced. The company aims to be at full production by 2010.

As noted in the "SIBUR Expands Production" news item, Russian infrastructure growth offers tremendous opportunity. Karl Mayer and Karl Menzel, a German maker of geosynthetics manufacturing machines, adds more fuel to the fire with its August 2008 news piece on geosynthetics demand in Russia. Learn more here.;

It is seldom that one finds wick drains mentioned in the popular media, but the Southeast Missourian has "unearthed" them for its readers. The $180 million widening project of US Highway 67 has involved significant soil consolidation in parts of Missouri. One zone has used 1,200 wick drains to dry out a zone enough to safely construct an elevated road. The area had experienced flooding over the road as recently as 2002. Learn more here.;

Though much attention was given in the press to the flooding in the central United States this year, Europe has also experienced significant floods. In Romania, they put out a call for support, including emergency geotextile fabric for erosion control, flood defense and levee repair. Poland responded, sending 15,000 sq. m. Learn more here.;

The second installment in our "Catching Up With..." series visits with Professor Han-Yong Jeon of INHA Unversity GeoSynthetics Research Lab (GSRL). Korea is a growing market for geosynthetics use in construction and for exports. The topics being pursued at GSRL reflect the interests of the overall Korean industry.

Engineers, contractors, architects and other construction professionals are always in need of more professional development credits and new skills. We have two offerings to remind you of you today: EPDM Installation Training (from Firestone) and the Civil Applications and Design Seminar (from Tensar). All dates are in August and September.

Arstein Watn, the president of the newly formed Norwegian chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), reports on the chapter's long and winding road to formation.

Geogrids are not just in large-scale stabilization projects but smaller-scale ones too. The reinforcement can provide significant savings on the cost of aggregate placement by reducing aggregate need. Case in point, Estherville, Iowa where a school reduced its base aggregate need from 12 to 8 inches with the installation of geogrids. Learn more here.;

An amended release on the 2008-2009 GSI Fellowships awards is now posted. One of the research topics was incorrectly listed in the original release.

Firestone's 4-hour seminar combines classroom demonstrations, discussion with expert staff and video training. It is designed for individuals interested in residential and light commercial lining projects. The next sessions will be held in Westminster, Colorado (Aug 14); Grant, Michigan (Aug 22); and Uniontown, Ohio (Sept 10). Contact Firestone about future offerings and how to get a seminar in your state or region. Learn more here.;

The next Civil Applications and Design Seminar from Tensar is 21 August 2008 in Birmingham, Alabama. Topics may include geosynthetics in pavement design, reflective cracking reduction, waste containment applications, foundations, steep slope stability, design and construction of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls, and wastewater treatment. Participants can earn up to 8 PDH credits. Learn more here.;

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) has announced the winners of the 2008-2009 GSI Fellowship Awards. Each fellowship carries a $10,000, renewable stipend. A list of the students and topics--and contact information for the next fellowship call--is available here.