Free educational program covers soil reinforcement
While municipalities often perceive the federal government as an entity that is always looking over their shoulders and imposing difficult and expensive regulatory burdens, the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Technology Applications has long played a more benign role.
An example is the recently created Demonstration Project No. 82, in which FHWA will demonstrate the benefits of mechanically stabilized earth walls and reinforced soil slopes in routine transportation design and construction.
Free workshops, software, technical expertise, design and construction guidelines and other resources will be offered for five or six years, depending upon demand.
Mechanically stabilized earth walls and reinforced soil slopes, which are made by combining soil, reinforcing materials made of steel or polymers and an appropriate facing to produce a composite material with improved engineering properties, are cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing.
The centerpiece of Project No. 82 will be the development of comprehensive design and construction guidelines for the two erosion control methods, and a document on the corrosion and degradation of reinforcement materials. Workshops and seminars, usually hosted by state transportation departments, are being offered in various locations. The following upcoming dates and locations have been scheduled: Oct. 21, 22-24, Ames, Iowa; Oct. 28-30, Topeka, Kans.; Dec. 2-4, Columbus, Ohio; Dec. 9-11, Montpelier, Vt.; Jan. 6-8, Albany, N.Y.; Jan. 20-22, Denver; Jan. 27-29, Rapid City, S.D.; Feb. 11-13, Oahu and Maui, Hawaii; Feb. 17-19, Maui, Hawaii; March 11-13, Harrisburg, Pa.; April 22-24, Anchorage/Juneau, Alaska; April 27-29, Juneau, Alaska; May 5-7, Nashville, Tenn.; and May 19-21, Santa Fe, N.M.
For more information on Project No. 82, access the FHWA web site: www.ota.fhwa.dot.gov/tech/struct. Information on FHWA’s Local Technical Assistance Program is available at http://patriot.net/~ltap/ltap.html; and on FHWA’s public domain software at www-mctrans.ce.ufl.edu/.