Dan Brown and Associates, PLLC » Robert Thompson

DBA on team for New Hastings, MN Bridge

Robert Thompson — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:08:39 +0000

The Lunda/Ames design-build joint venture (Lunda Construction Company of Black River Falls, Wisconsin and Ames Construction, Inc. of Burnsville, Minnesota) has been awarded a contract to build the new Highway 61 Hastings Bridge over the Mississippi River in Hastings, Minnesota. Parsons Transportation Group is the designer and DBA is performing geotechnical design of the bridge foundations and settlement mitigation as a sub-consultant to PTG.

Here is the exisiting bridge that is being replaced (viewing from upstream):

In addition to several relatively large approach spans, the new bridge will include a 545ft long free-standing arch main span with four lanes of traffic and a 12 foot wide common use pedestrian/bike path. The new bridge will allow additional parking and an artistic plaza area south of the river. An anti-icing system will be installed to help achieve the 100-year design life.

On the south side of the Mississippi River, the bridge foundations will consist of spread footings bearing on dolostone bedrock. The remaining bridge foundations will utilize 42in diameter pipe piles. Several Statnamic load tests, both axial and lateral, will be performed by our friends at AFT.

Settlement mitigation is required beneath the North Embankment due to several relatively thick and deep strata of compressible fine-grained soils. The embankment will also be heavily instrumented to evaluate performance of the embankment and mitigation technique.

Preliminary work including subsurface investigation has begun. The subsurface investigation is being performed by Braun Intertec under sub-contract to DBA. Test piles will be installed in early September, 2010 with subsequent load testing soon after.

The awarded design-build contract is for $120M. The estimated project completion date is May 13, 2013.

DBA Project Page here.

Mn/DOT Hastings Bridge Project Home Page

Here is a sampling of the local news on the project award:

Hastings Star-Gazette

South Washington County Bulletin

Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal

ADSC to Distribute new FHWA Drilled Shaft Manual

Robert Thompson — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:46:17 +0000

As I posted on July 7th, the new FHWA Drilled Shafts: Construction Procedures and LRFD Design Methods has been released and is available for download (PDF) at the FHWA web site (link at previous post). ADSC has just announced that the printed version is now available to both ADSC members and non-members:

By special arrangement with the FHWA, the ADSC’s Technical Library Service offers the manual to ADSC Members and to the design and construction community at large. ADSC Member Price is $105.00 USD, Non-Members, $140.00. A small shipping charge will be added depending on manner of delivery requested.

You can read more on obtaining the printed manual on the ADSC web site.

Three Updates: World Record O-Cell Load Test in St. Louis, MO

Robert Thompson — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 02:33:01 +0000

Check out the bottom of my post on June 30th World Record O-Cell Load Test for some updates and new links to recent news articles.

Pile Load Tests in New Orleans – Presentation

Robert Thompson — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:13:49 +0000

Robert made a presentation at the recent Alabama Section ASCE 2010 Summer Meeting on our participation in some pile load tests on a couple of the storm protection projects in New Orleans (see previous post here). DBA worked for Kiewit Engineering Company (KECo) and the two joint ventures on the projects, providing geotechnical consulting. We are collaborating with KECo on a couple of papers (maybe more) that include the test data. This presentation covered the basics of the test pile programs, highlighted some of the results, discussed the measured setup values for the piles (driven in the soft Louisiana clays), and looked at some comparisons of the dynamic and static load test results to the pile resistance predictions made by DBA during the course of our work. Please note that the Corps of Engineers (and their consultants) were the design engineers. Our work was in support of the contractor joint ventures, especially evaluating pile drivability and installation issues.

Some of the photos included in the presentation were obtained from the public Flickr albums posted by Team New Orleans, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. There are a lot of good photos there of many of the ongoing projects around New Orleans, as well as an album of historical photos.

You can check out several webcams at the West Closure project here.

You can see Robert’s presentation here.

New FHWA Drilled Shaft Manual is Done!

Robert Thompson — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:32:04 +0000

Although I have known for several weeks that the manual was finished (I work for one of the authors, after all!), I was waiting for the FHWA to post the link for the new manual before posting this…and now it is here! My friend, Randy Post, has an outside review (meaning not connected to one of the authors!) over at his blog Geoprac.net. Not only did he get “the scoop” on me, but he covers some of the highlights of the “what’s new” with the new, fully revised manual. The biggest change is completely re-writing the design sections to follow LRFD as well as to update the methods for calculating soil and rock resistance. As Randy also notes, the manual has been given a Geotechnical Engineering Circular (GEC) designation: GEC 10. Make sure and go read his review, as well as check out the other things on his blog (disclosure by Robert: I am an occasional contributor there).

The manual’s authors are three of the country’s top experts in drilled shaft design and construction: our own Dan A. Brown, Ph.D, P.E. , John P. Turner, Ph.D, P.E. of the University of Wyoming, and Raymond J. Castelli, P.E. of Parsons Brinckerhoff. As with any major FHWA publication such as this, there was significant industry involvement in the review process through various technical committees and individuals from ADSC, DFI, and Geo-Institute. A note from Dan:

The completion of this manual is a great relief and satisfaction. Many thanks to John Turner’s hard work and also for Ray Castelli’s diligent work to review and make us better. Special thanks to PB Project Manager Jeremy Hung and our FHWA sponsor Silas Nichols for their dedicated efforts to help get this done, and to all of you who contributed.

Dan and John have been using the material in the NHI course this fiscal year, having done some pilot courses the previous year. Some NHI courses, including the Drilled Shaft course, can be hosted by non-government groups. There are also some public seats available occasionally at DOT hosted courses. The NHI catalog page for this course is here.

Download Drilled Shafts:Construction Procedures and LRFD Design Methods, 2010.

Also linked on our Publications page.

Update (7/12/10): For those that prefer the feel of a printed volume in their hands, the ADSC: The International Association of Foundation Drilling will be the distributor of the printed volume of the manual through their Technical Library. It will be available soon, according to ADSC. We’ll post about it as soon as it is available.

Update 2 (8/19/10): The printed manual is now available.

World Record O-Cell Load Test in St. Louis, MO!

Robert Thompson — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:08:16 +0000

DBA was part of foundation engineering and construction history while participating in a drilled shaft load test for the New I-70 Mississippi River Bridge in St. Louis, Missouri. A new O-cell world record of 36,000 tons (bi-directional) was achieved on the test, besting the former record of just under 32,000 tons set in 2005 in Korea (see here).

The test shaft was built by MTA (a joint venture of Massman/Traylor Brothers/Alberici Constructors) as part of an Alternative Technical Concept (ATC) that MTA submitted in their winning bid. During the bid phase, the owner allowed ATC’s to be submitted by pre-qualified teams. These ATC’s were unique to the team that submitted them (e.g., each team was allowed to submit their own ATC’s if they desired, but the ATC’s were not shared amongst all the teams). DBA worked with MTA to develop an ATC that optimized the drilled shaft foundations shown in the “baseline” drawings provided by the owner. That ATC provided a more economical foundation solution that was accepted, bid, and awarded (note MTA also had the option of bidding the “baseline” drawings as-is). A full-scale load test on a dedicated test shaft using the Osterberg Cell (O-cell) test method was included in the ATC to: 1) prove the design values used for the resistance in the rock socket; and (2) take advantage of higher resistance factors for using a load tests as opposed to only calculations. The baseline drawings did not include a load test.

Loadtest, Inc. performed the load test. The bottom-up static load test applied slightly greater than 36,000 tons (bi-directional) to the shaft resulting in about 1/8in of upward movement of the shaft and about the same magnitude of downward displacement at the base. The rock socket was about 23ft deep and 11ft in diameter in very hard limestone. Four 34in O-cells placed at the base of the shaft were loaded to 150% of their rated capacity to achieve the record load.

UPDATE (8/4/10): The bridge was featured in the July 2010 issue of Civil Engineering magazine from ASCE in the “News” section. Follow the link below and then go to Page 30.

Civil Engineering July 2010

UPDATE (8/17/10): Press Release from MTA (contractor joint venture).

UPDATE (8/18/10): ENR.com Article

New Project Summaries Added

Robert Thompson — Fri, 28 May 2010 22:53:41 +0000

I have added some new project summaries to our Consulting Projects list. I have also revised/updated the individual project pages we have, plus the Consulting Projects and Research Projects pages.

The projects I have added are:

Beck Street Bridge over I-15, Salt Lake City, Utah

Hurricane Protection Projects, New Orleans, Louisiana

I-70 Mississippi River Bridge Test Shaft, St. Louis, Missouri

Mullica River Bridge Test Shaft, Port Republic, New Jersey

Bridge updates – kcICON, Audubon, Beck Street

Robert Thompson — Wed, 26 May 2010 02:20:09 +0000

As geotechnical/foundation engineers, we don’t usually get to see much of what happens on a project after the foundations are completed, especially a project like a large bridge that can take years to complete. Technology such as the Internet, webcams, and digital photography have made it easy for us to see how things are progressing on projects, as well as maybe get images of the completed structure. As I have noted before, some projects are using Twitter and Facebook to keep the public informed on closures, delays or overall project progress as part of good public relations. Her are some updates on a few of our recent projects.

kcICON:

The main span is well underway, including the cables. The kcICON Facebook page is here.

Audubon Bridge:

Check out the webcam. You can download images if you like. YOu can also do a time-lapse from Day 1 of construction.

Beck Street Bridge:

Part of the I-15 Express Link project in Salt Lake City, UT. The photos below I obtained from the photos page on the project web site . We were involved in the design and construction of the foundations for the Beck Street Bridge only.

New Links – The Academy of Geo-Professionals; Geoengineering Literature Finder

Robert Thompson — Tue, 25 May 2010 21:12:05 +0000

A link to the Academy of Geo-Professionals (AGP) has been added to our links in the sidebar. The AGP is the organization that awards the Diplomate, Geotechnical Engineering (D.GE.) which our own Tim Siegel was recently awarded . From the AGP website:

The Academy of Geo-Professionals (AGP) was founded in October 2008 by practicing geo-professionals who were members of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Geo-Institute. The Academy was created primarily to offer a voluntary, post-license credential that provide professional engineers an opportunity to gain further recognition in the broad field of geotechnical engineering.

AGP’s goal is dedicated to improving the practice, elevating the standards, and advancing the profession of geo-professional engineering. The Academy has begun its challenge to try and meet these goals with the oversight of our voluntary, post-licensure, specialty certification program for geo-professional engineers.

A new literature search tool is available from Geoengineer.org for geotechnical engineers – the Geoengineering Literature Finder, or GEOLIFI. This fee-based service has been created to provide access to published works in conference proceedings, etc. through agreements with publishers, etc. This service is meant to complement there free Online Geoengineering Library.

The Online Geoengineering Library is a popular tool within Geoengineer.org and intends to provide access to publications available online at no cost. However such a database, will always be incomplete, because many publications are not (and will not be) available online.

Thus, Geoengineer.org undertook a 2-year development project to establish GEOLIFI. GEOLIFI intends to become the most comprehensive, searchable online database of geoengineering papers published worldwide not only in journals, but also in conferences, symposia, workshops, and even magazines and reports. GEOLIFI is established in cooperation with publishers, conference organizers as well as professional geoengineering organizations….

…..The ultimate goal is to collect and disseminate unprecedented numbers of papers in a effective manner. The database as of today includes over 2,000 papers, most of them not otherwise available online, and will continue to expand on a daily basis. … Many of these publications would not be otherwise available, except by subscribing to a journal or purchasing the proceedings.

While I am discussing search links, don’t forget Geosearch.com developed by GeoPrac.net. A link to Geosearch.com is in our side bar.

Papers Added from Tim Siegel

Robert Thompson — Wed, 19 May 2010 02:50:53 +0000

I have added most of Tim’s published technical papers to our on line library. Most of Tim’s published works cover topics such as karst terrain, ground improvement, and augered cast-in-place piles. Links to each paper are below and on the Publications page.

Siegel, T.C. and McGillivary, A. (2009). “Interpreted Residual Load in an Augered Cast-in-Place Pile”, Proceedings, Annual DFI Conference, Kansas City, MO.

Siegel, T.C. and NeSmith, W.M. (2009). “Shortcomings of the Davisson Offset Limit Applied to Axial Compressive Load Tests on Cast-in-Place Piles”, 2009 International Foundation Congress and Equipment Expo, Contemporary Topics in Deep Foundations, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 185, ASCE, pp. 568-574.

Fellenius, B. H. and Siegel, T.C. (2008). “Pile Drag Load and Downdrag in a Liquefaction Event”, Journal of Geotechnical and Environmental Engineering, ASCE, Vol 134, No. 9.

Siegel, T.C., NeSmith, W.M., and NeSmith, W.M. (2008). “Increase in Cyclic Liquefaction Resistance of Sandy Soil Due to Drilled Displacement Piles”, Proceedings, Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics IV Conference, Sacramento, CA.

Bivens, M.J. and Siegel, T.C. (2006). “Case Histories of Micropiles in Karst: The Influence of Installation on Design and Performance”, Contemporary Issues in Deep Foundations, GeoDenver Conference, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 158, ASCE.

Siegel, T.C., Cargill, P.E., and NeSmith, W.N. (2007). “CPT Measurements Near Drilled Displacement Piles”, Proceedings, FMGM, Boston, MA.

Siegel, T.C., NeSmith, W.M., NeSmith, W.M., and Cargill, P.E. (2007), “Ground Improvement Resulting From Installation of Drilled Displacement Piles”, 32nd DFI Annual Conference, Colorado Springs, CO.

Camp, W.M. and Siegel, T.C. (2006). “Failure of a Column-Supported Embankment Over Soft Ground”, Proceedings, Fourth International Conference on Soft Soils, Vancouver, B.C.

Siegel, T.C. and Cargill, P.E. (2005). “Use of the Cone Penetration Test for Geotechnical Site Characterization in Clay-Mantled Karst”, Proceedings, 10th Multi-Disciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst, San Antonio, TX.

Siegel, T.C., Caskey, J.M., and Huckaba, D.A. (2005). “Combination of Ground Improvement Techniques for Support of Shallow Foundation in Karst”, Innovations in Grouting and Soil Improvement, GeoFrontiers Conference, Geotechnical Special Publication No. 136, ASCE.

Siegel, T.C., Chnag, C.C., and Loizias, L. (2003). “Seismic Stability of Rock Islands for Bridge Protection in Coastal South Carolina”, Proceedings, European Conference of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Prague, Czech Republic.

Siegel, T.C. and Mackiewicz, S.M. (2003). “Failure of Axially Loaded Augered Cast-in-Place Piles in Coastal South Carolina”, Proceedings, Soil and Rock America: 12th Panamerican Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Boston, MA.