33nd Northwest Geotechnical Workshop

2007 Executive Summary Report

As part of our technology sharing program, we are distributing this Executive Summary of the technical information presented at the subject workshop hosted by the Idaho Transportation Department, September 3 - 6, 2007 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. This year we had participants from 11 State DOTs, the FHWA Resource Center, CFLHD, WFLHD, FHWA Division offices, USFS, BLM and several invited speakers from private industry. A variety of technical and case study presentations were made on subjects such as slope stability, foundations, geophysics, retaining walls, and other geotechniques. The workshop included a 1-day field trip to see geology, natural hazards, and geotechnical engineering features along US 95 from Coeur d'Alene to north of Lake Pend Oreille and included a visit to the Farragut Navel Submarine Testing Facility. Presentation awards included: Best Presentation - Darin Sjoblom, Utah DOT for "Provo Canyon: To (Project From) Hell and Back"; Best Technical Presentation - Bob Kimmerling, PanGEO and Bill Hegge, Washington State DOT for "SR-539 Nooksack River Bridge" and Project From Hell - Mike Schulte, Wyoming DOT for "Year 2000 Project From Hell, Part V". The final agenda for this meeting is attached.

The 2007 Mr. Northwest Geotech award recipient was Darin Sjoblom, Utah DOT. The 2007 Hat's Off Award recipient was Bill Capaul, Idaho Transportation Department.

This years Northwest Geotechnical Workshop has again proven to be our most successful geotechnical technology transfer activity. The State and FHWA personnel from the 10 Northwest and Rocky Mountain States who participate in this workshop consider this to be the best and most productive technical session they attend during the course of the year.

Next year the Northwest Geotechnical Workshop will be hosted by the Utah DOT, October 20 - 24, 2008 in Springdale, Utah. The fieldtrip will cover geological and geotechnical features in and around Zion National Park.

Barry D. Siel, FHWA Resouce Center Northwest Geotechnical Workshop Steering Committee Chair

Agenda

Monday September 3, 2007

• Registration and Icebreaker

Tuesday September 4, 2007

• Welcome
  Dennis Quarto, Technical Services Branch Chief, FHWA-Western Federal Lands
  Bill Capaul, District 1 Geologist, Idaho Transportation Department
  
  
• Session 1 - Landslides Moderator - Dave Stanley, Alaska DOT&PF
  • A Grand Slide on the Grand Mesa - Mark Vessely, Colorado DOT
  • Year 2000 Project From Hell Part V - Mike Schulte, Wyoming DOT
  • Avoiding Geotech Hell During Design/Build Projects - Jim Higbee, Utah DOT George Machan, Landslide Technology
  
  
• Session 2 - Piles, Retaining Walls and Tunnels Moderator - Doug Anderson, Washington State DOT
  • Correlation of Computer Program Driven With Idaho Pile Case Histories - Tri Buu, Idaho Transportation Department Charles Burgert, American Geotechnics
  • SR-539 Nooksack River Bridge Pile Load And Dynamic Testing - Bill Hegge, Washington State DOT Bob Kimmerling, PanGEO
  • Rockfalls, Landslides, and Retaining Walls In Western Montana - A Geotech's Vacation Destination - Brian Collins, Montana DOT
  • HOLY CRACK! Closure and Repair of the I-70 Hanging Lake Tunnel - David Thomas, Colorado DOT
  • Mesh Face Soil Nail Wall or "Don't Pull the Nail" - Nathan Jenks, FHWA-WFLHD

Wednesday September 5, 2007

• Session 3 - Landslides and Floods Moderator - Barry Siel, FHWA - Resource Center
  • Operation Southern Comfort, My Experiences With the Idaho National Guard in Response To Hurricanes Katrina and Rita - Keith Nottingham, Idaho Trans. Dept.
  • US 95 MP 210 Landslide - Brian Bannan, Idaho Trans. Dept.
  • LRFD Group Discussion - Jan Six, Oregon DOT Bob Kimmerling, PanGEO
  • SR 543 Blaine Border Crossing Drilled Shaft Walls - Design and Construction Monitoring - Bill Hegge, Washington State DOT
  • Tsunami in Paradise -Barry Siel, FHWA - Resource Center
  
  
• Session 4 - Non-Standard Session Moderator - Neil Croxton, Kansas DOT
  • Oh NO! Not Another ERFO Presentation - Rich Barrows, FHWA Western Federal Lands
  • Provo Canyon: To (Project From) Hell and Back - Darin Sjoblom, Utah DOT
  • Unraveling the Mysteries of Non-Standard SPTs (or How to Drive Yourself Crazy in One Easy Lesson) - Dave Stanley, Alaska DOT&PF Dave Hemstreet, Alaska DOT&PF
  • Field Trip Presentation - Bill Capaul, Idaho Transportation Department
  • 2008 NW Geotech Workshop - Keith Brown, Utah DOT

Thursday September 6, 2007

• Fieldtrip - US 95, Farragut Navel Station, Sandpoint Project, Lake Missoula outlet.
• Awards Banquet

Contact:

Barry Siel
Resource Center (San Francisco)
720-963-3208
barry.siel@fhwa.dot.gov