Get the New FHWA Drilled Shaft Manual
Dan’s Speaking Schedule September 21-23, 2010 - NHI Drilled Shaft Course, Iowa
October 5-6, 2010 - 42nd STGEC, Charleston, West Virginia
October 14-15, 2010 - DFI 35th Conference on Deep Foundations, Hollywood, California
October 19-21, 2010 - - NHI Drilled Shaft Course, Iowa
November 10, 2010 - ADSC Drilled Shaft Seminar, New York, New York
December 1-2, 2010 - TRB 27th Bridge Conference, San Antonio, Texas
Other DBA Team Speaking Appearences Tim Siegel (Sept 30-Oct 1, 2010): North Carolina ASCE Section Annual Meeting, Asheville, NC
Robert Thompson (October 5-6, 2010):42nd STGEC, Charleston, West Virginia
Tim Siegel (October 29, 2010): Deep Foundation Design - Axial Capacity, Settlement, and Lateral Resistance, Norfolk, Virginia
Tim Siegel (December 16, 2010): Shallow Foundation Design, Atlanta, Georgia
Steve Dapp (January 11, 2011): 2011 Louisiana Transportation Conference, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Conferences, Meetings, Seminars, Workshops
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By Robert Thompson, on August 30th, 2010
 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
By Robert Thompson, on July 7th, 2010
 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.
By Robert Thompson, on May 28th, 2010
By Robert Thompson, on May 12th, 2010
The Professor Ralph Peck Legacy Website has been launched by Geoengineer.org:
Geoengineer.org is pleased to announce the launch of "Professor Ralph Peck’s Legacy Website". The Website has been developed to celebrate the life and legacy of one of the Heroes of the geotechnical engineering field and honor a distinguished geotechnical engineer for his dedication and contributions to the society as a teacher, author, and engineer. The Website includes a lot of resources such as biographical data, quotes, photos, powerpoints, and even videos of lectures by Professor Peck. The Shamsher Prakash Foundation has generously sponsored this activity. The website has been developed in collaboration with Mrs. Nancy Peck-Young, Prof. Peck’s daughter and was supervised by an international Advisory Committee of distinguished members of our community that had the luxury of knowing Prof. Peck and consists of Prof. Dobry, Prof. Cording, Prof. Prakash and Dr. Lacasse. The content of the website is divided in three parts: "About his life", "Publications" and "Resources". We hope that this resource will be a source of inspiration for the future generations of geotechnical engineers. We also encourage you to provide us with any additional resources/content and we will be glad to include it in the website’s content.
Such a website is a fitting tribute to such an icon in the geotechnical engineering and construction industry. Make sure and check it out. I have added a link on our sidebar in the Geotechnical Resources section.
By Robert Thompson, on May 4th, 2010
Our own Tim Siegel, P.E., D.GE. will be part of the seminar Foundation Design in Karst Terrain in two locations: Johnson City, TN (also known as the Tri-Cities) on June 16th, and in Chattanooga on August 27th. Tim will be instructing on evaluating karst terrain and designing foundations in such terrain. If you are interested in the seminar, information can be found here.
We also want to say Congratulations! to Tim for receiving the specialty certification Diplomate, Geotechnical Engineering (D.GE) from The Academy of Geo-Professionals (AGP). Tim received the designation at the recent Geo-Institute conference Geo-Florida 2010 at West Palm Beach. The excerpt below comes form the AGP web site. Tim is on the second row, far left.
Latest Class of D.GEs Inducted in West Palm Beach, FL
(Back Row, Left to Right: Timothy Siegel, Melvin Esrig, John Wolosick, Thomas Zimmie, Kenneth Stokoe, II, Roberto Sanchez, Marco Boscardin, Allen Cadden, Thomas Witherspoon, Daniel Pradel, Edward Ulrich, Jr., Robert Lukas; Front Row, Left to Right: Peter Nicholson, Derek Cornforth, Don Dotson, Larry Jedele, Delon Hampton, Joram Amir, Anand Puppala, Larry Madrid, Ivan Contreras, Craig Benson, Tuncer Edil)
The Academy of Geo-Professional (AGP), held its latest induction ceremony on February 21st in West Palm Beach, Florida at the GeoFlorida 2010. If you have at least 8 years (post-licensure) in the geotechnical field, a P.E., and a Masters or equivalent, then you may qualify to become a Diplomate, Geotechnical Engineering (D.GE). Above is a picture of the Diplomates who were present to receive their certification plaque and pin.
By Robert Thompson, on December 18th, 2009
By Robert Thompson, on December 16th, 2009
Some items of note from the geo-industry….
First, Tony Marinucci, P.E. joins the staff at ADSC. Here is the release from ADSC highlighting Tony’s career and his new position.
Marinucci Joins ADSC Staff
We are pleased to report that Antonio Marinucci, P.E., MSCE, MBA, is joining the ADSC headquarters staff in a full-time capacity as he completes his Ph.D. studies in geotechnical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Tony comes to this new post with many years of experience working for geo-construction specialty contractors, a major general contractor, and geotechnical engineering firms in a variety of capacities including project management and deep foundation and anchored earth retention design. His credits include participating in many geo-engineering and construction research projects. Somehow, while working full and part-time in the industry, he managed to complete graduate degrees in engineering and business. He is the current Secretary of the Geo-Institute’s Deep Foundations Committee, as well as holding the same position for the G-I’s Soil Improvement Committee. He has been an active volunteer and committee member for many ADSC, ASCE, and DFI initiatives. Among his many volunteer service achievements was serving as the President of the ASCE Student Chapter while attending the University of Rhode Island. In addition to all of his volunteer service, he has authored or co-authored twelve published technical papers, and several feature articles that have appeared in Foundation Drilling magazine. One of his most interesting and challenging geo-construction experiences was working as a staff engineer for Modern Continental Construction in a variety of capacities on Boston’s “Big Dig” project. A member of four leading National Honor Societies, he was also the recipient of an ADSC Civil Engineering Graduate Study Scholarship.
You can see by this abbreviated description of Tony’s stellar career that he will be an excellent addition to the ADSC’s professional staff. His responsibilities will include serving as an in-house technical resource, coordinating ADSC’s eight regional chapters, assisting in the associations technical education and field training programs, working with the association’s 18 technical and organizational committees and task forces, overseeing the association’s membership recruitment and retention programs, and assisting ADSC CEO Mike Moore in a number of related endeavors.
Second, the PDCA is soliciting nominees for the 2010 Project of the Year award. There are several categories based on project location and size. Projects must have been completed in 2009. Deadline for entries is February 26, 2010.
The PDCA would like to inform you about the 2010 "Project of the Year" Award competition.
The PDCA is dedicated to acknowledging the hard work, ingenuity and commitment that goes into each project where driven pile are used i a deep foundation or earth retention system, or utilized to solve foundation problems. This PDCA tradition recognizes excellence in driven pile projects completed by PDCA members in good standing.
Through the "Project of the Year" award, the PDCA has the distinguished opportunity to continue its long-standing and consistent commitment t recognize those PDCA members who demonstrate excellence in the process of providing solutions, services and products to the needs of the deep foundation and earth retention environment.
Project entries must feature projects completed in 2009. Projects entries will be awarded in two entry categories and three dollar volume categories. The two entry categories are distinguished by either "Land-based" or "Marine-based" projects. The dollar volume categories are Less than $500,000.00, $500,000.00 – $2 Million, and Greater than $2 Million. Price ranges are based solely on the dollar volume of the piling contract associated with the project.
The PDCA is asking each of its members to consider submitting a project worthy of this prestigious PDCA award. Entry Forms will be made available on the PDCA website by Monday, December 7, 2009.
The "2010 Project of the Year" entry deadline is Friday, February 26, 2010. Late entries will not be considered.
Winning entries will be announced during the 2010 PDCA Annual International Conference and Expo, Coeur d’Alene Golf and Spa Resort, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho during the PDCA Business Luncheon on Saturday, May 8, 2010. PDCA will NOT reveal the winning entries prior to the luncheon.
Winning entries will also be featured in the following editions of Pile Driver magazine and on the PDCA website.
PDCA looks forward to receiving your entry – GOOD LUCK!
Third, registration is open for the Geo-Institute GeoFlorida 2010 conference in West Palm Beach, Florida. There will be short courses, a technical program, student competitions, exhibits, honoring our heroes, and all the usual events at the annual G-I meeting. Click on the logo to go to the conference website.
Lastly, abstracts are now being accepted for consideration of the 2011 Geo-Institute meeting Geo-Frontiers 2011 in Dallas, Texas. Abstracts are due March 8, 2010. Click the logo to get to the conference website for submission information.
By Robert Thompson, on October 2nd, 2009
Karl von Terzaghi (October 2, 1883 – October 25, 1963)
Photograph From the World Wide Web of Geotechnical Engineering Hall of Fame (http://www.ejge.com/People/Terzaghi/Terzaghi.htm)
Yes, my geotechnical friends, another year has passed and it is again that special date in geotechnical engineering history: Karl Terzaghi’s Birthday!
Each year we pause to recognize the birth of the Father of Modern Soil Mechanics. For those of you that this is the first year you have received this message, let me welcome you to my annual tribute to Professor Terzaghi and the geotechnical engineering profession. (If you do not want this annual greeting, please let me know and I will drop you from my list!).
For this year’s reflection, I thought I would share a story from Professor Terzaghi’s biography: “Karl Terzaghi – The Engineer as Artist” by Richard E. Goodman (quotes in italics). Terzaghi was in the U.S. in the fall of 1938 working on securing an appointment at Harvard. He received a lot of invitations to speak once word spread he was in the U.S. He organized them into something like a tour. “But he did not defer the invitation from Dean Grinter, of the Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago, because Karl knew that construction of new subway tunnels through soft clay was about to start under the heart of Chicago. At Armour Institute, he wisely chose to speak about the dangers of tunneling in soft clay beneath cities.” The lecture was on December 1, 1938. Representatives of the property owners along the subway right-of-way as well as the chief engineer of the subway department were in attendance. Both parties sought out Terzaghi as consultant and made offers. He eventually chose the offer to work for the city after requiring several conditions that including hiring Professor Ralph Peck, “beginning a job that propelled the young field of soils engineering.” The rest, as they say, is history. This story illustrates how the right words (a lecture, a presentation, etc.) at the right time in front of the right audience can pay huge dividends, both professionally and financially.
Remember that every day is a great day to be in the field of geotechnical engineering and construction! Have a great Karl Terzaghi’s Birthday!
By Robert Thompson, on September 16th, 2009
I wanted to make a quick post on the passing of Dr. Lymon Reese – Dan’s mentor, Ph.D. advisor, and a great engineer. I’ll post more later as it becomes available. (and catch up posts on our normal activities that I am way behind on). Below is from an e-mail sent by the ADSC.
Drilled Shaft Foundation Industry Giant
Dr. Lymon C. Reese Passes
Drilled Shaft Foundation Industry Giant Dr. Lymon C. Reese Passes
We are sad to report that Dr. Lymon C. Reese, Professor Emeritus, University of Texas, Austin, and one of the world’s leading drilled foundation experts, passed away on Monday, September 13, 2009. Dr. Reese was an ADSC Honorary Technical Affiliate Member and a great friend to the ADSC and to the drilled foundation industry. His seminal drilled shaft foundation research conducted for the Texas Department of Transportation and his subsequent writings are among the most important work ever conducted in the field. His graduate students have achieved international acclaim in their own right, and include: Dr. Michael W. O’Neill (deceased), Dr. Dan A. Brown, Larry Olson, Dr. Magued Iskander, Dr. James Long, and many others, all of whom have had a major impact on the advancement of the drilled shaft foundation industry. Dr. Reese was one of the last surviving early “giants” of our industry. At age 92, he remained a vibrant contributor to the profession. To say he will be sorely missed is an understatement. We have lost a most beloved friend.
Further details regarding a Memorial Service will be posted on the ADSC website as they become available.
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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.
ADSC Drilled Shaft Foundations Seminar – Mar 19
PDCA 14th Annual International Conference and Expo – May 6-8
TRB 7th International Bridge Conference – Dec 1-2
