Geotechnology selection guidance and engineering tools for embankment, ground improvement, and pavement support applications.

GeoTechTools (R02)

In the Field

State	Activity	Type	Contact
Arizona	Implementation Assistance Program – The Arizona Department of Transportation is supporting project development and construction, including the development of specifications in Roller-Integrated Compaction Monitoring (RICM), to reduce project durations, improve quality of construction, limit environmental complications, and reduce the overall cost of construction.	User Incentive	Brent Conner Arizona Department of Transportation bconner@azdot.gov
Connecticut	Implementation Assistance Program – The Connecticut Department of Transportation is determining how to select the most appropriate and cost-effective geotechnical solution for several challenging geotechnical projects.	User Incentive	Leo Fontaine Connecticut Department of Transportation leo.fontaine@ct.gov
Florida	Implementation Assistance Program – The Florida Department of Transportation is facilitating a series of workshops and webinars across the State, and is training users to select the most appropriate geotechnical recommendations that are site specific and within budget.	User Incentive	Matt Gisondi Florida Department of Transportation matthew.gisondi@dot.state.fl.us
Iowa	Implementation Assistance Program – The Iowa Department of Transportation is training staff on GeoTechTools in order to determine the most applicable and beneficial geotechnical solutions during projects’ conceptual and design phases.	User Incentive	Melissa Serio Iowa Department of Transportation melissa.serio@dot.iowa.gov
Kentucky	Implementation Assistance Program –The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is evaluating new ways to backfill bridge end bents.	User Incentive	Bart Asher Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Bart.Asher@ky.gov
Louisiana	Implementation Assistance Program – The Louisiana Department of Transportation is evaluating multiple ground improvement technologies to determine the most effective solutions for the difficult soil conditions throughout Louisiana.	User Incentive	Chris Nickel Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development chris.nickel@la.gov
Massachusetts	Implementation Assistance Program – The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is supporting the advancement of innovative, accelerated, or overlooked solutions to support Design-Bid-Build (D-B-B) and Design-Build (D-B) delivered projects statewide in multiple transportation modes.	User Incentive	Tim Dexter Massachusetts Department of Transportation timothy.dexter@state.ma.us
Minnesota	Implementation Assistance Program – The Minnesota Department of Transportation is aiding the communication between geotechnical engineers and upper staff by helping decision makers understand proposed practices, cost analysis, potential risks, and design details.	User Incentive	Silas Nichols FHWA silas.nichols@dot.gov
Mississippi	Implementation Assistance Program – The Mississippi Department of Transportation is implementing alternative geotechnical solutions for problem conditions encountered and supporting the resources associated with the preparation of comparative alternative cost evaluations.	User Incentive	Colleen M. Campbell Mississippi Department of Transportation, Materials Division, Geotechnical Branch ccampbell@mdot.ms.gov
Missouri	Implementation Assistance Program – The Missouri Department of Transportation is developing a tool to locate and repair several existing slides in the region within a short time frame to create an economy of scale and lower the cost for repairing slides.	User Incentive	Silas Nichols FHWA silas.nichols@dot.gov
New Jersey	Implementation Assistance Program – The New Jersey Department of Transportation is providing training and access to GeoTechTools to reduce risks that come up in developing, scoping, and executing highway projects involving geotechnical aspects.	User Incentive	William Kettleson New Jersey Department of Transportation william.kettleson@dot.state.nj.us
New York	Implementation Assistance Program – The New York Department of Transportation is providing assurance that viable geotechnical solutions are not overlooked and that existing resources are better managed to address future challenges.	User Incentive	Matthew Barendse New York Department of Transportation matt.barendse@dot.ny.gov
Utah	Implementation Assistance Program – The Utah Department of Transportation is facilitating a workshop to train staff to identify the best geotechnical solutions during a project’s design phase.	User Incentive	Jon Bischoff Utah Department of Transportation jonbischoff@utah.gov
Washington	Implementation Assistance Program – Western Federal Lands Highway Division is accelerating construction by expediting the selection of the most appropriate geotechnical solutions for soil conditions.	User Incentive	Brian Collins Western Federal Lands Highway Division brian.collins@dot.gov
West Virginia	Implementation Assistance Program – The West Virginia Department of Transportation is training consultants not familiar with GeoTechTools to assure that the appropriate geotechnical solutions are implemented.	User Incentive	Joe Carte West Virginia Department of Transportation joe.d.carte@wv.gov

Field activities also performed in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas during the research phase.

Challenge

Many projects require geotechnical solutions that enable innovative project construction in restricted space and in challenging soil conditions. Many geotechnical solutions are either not widely used or are relatively new. As a result, the full benefits of these techniques are not realized as widely as they could be.

Solution

By assembling all the information needed to select, design, control quality, and specify soil improvement technologies for embankment construction, embankment widening, and pavement support into one convenient and comprehensive system, SHRP2’s GeoTechTools system provides transportation agencies and their contractors with the information to use proven technologies with confidence.

www.GeoTechTools.org is a web-based decision-making tool that has identified more than 46 geotechnical solutions for design and construction of embankments on soft soils, embankment widening, and pavement foundations. The website’s extensive and organized engineering tools collectively help engineers and project managers select and apply the most appropriate solution to site‐specific problems and conditions.

Benefits

GeoTechTools accelerates the design and construction process by providing practitioners with a convenient and efficient way to identify and apply the best geotechnical solutions to site‐specific conditions and issues based on performance requirements. Using the tool can help agencies choose the technology that is the fastest to build, or that will complete the overall project faster.

Save Lives

More informed decisions on geotechnical solutions reduce risk and help to minimize construction claims, thus reducing the potential for workzone accidents.
Save Money

Examining a variety of potential geotechnical solutions and selecting the best suited to project specific conditions will reduce construction costs for owners and contractors.
Save Time

The most efficient geotechnical solution for a particular project may be the technology that can be more quickly constructed or the technology that can get the overall project completed more quickly. GeoTechTools provides the information to first determine appropriate technologies for a project, and to then compare relative construction times.