Helical Foundations and Tiebacks Seminar

The Deep Foundations Institute is presenting a one-day seminar titled, "Helical Foundations and Tiebacks: Adaptive Solutions for Changed Project Conditions." The event takes place Feb. 1 at the Las Vegas Hilton. This educational opportunity will cover the proper design, application and installation of helical foundations, with a focus on the state-of-the-art in design and use of helical foundations and tiebacks. A full slate of presentations will include best practices, case histories, the latest technical advances and more. The cost of the seminar is $345, and includes breakfast, breaks, lunch, registration materials and handouts. Also, there are exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities. You can get all the details at www.dfi.org.

Geokon Celebrates 30th Year with Expansion

As Geokon Inc.'s 30th year of operation is being celebrated, its facility in Lebanon, N.H., is undergoing its fourth expansion. A 13,500-square-foot, two-story addition brings the total to 40,000 square feet, and the company also purchased surrounding land for additional space. Geokon now has 80 employees, and has two sister companies - Geokon Beijing and GKM Consultants in Montreal.

Brayman Bridge Project Honored

And the award for "#1 Bridge of 2009" goes to ... Brayman Construction Corp. and the West Virginia Department of Highways for the Kanawha River Bridge (KRB) project. Chosen by Roads & Bridges magazine, the KRB project claimed the top spot, and graced the cover of November 2009's "Top Ten" issue. This cast-in-place post-tensioned segmental bridge, best known for its U.S. record single-span length of 760 lineal feet, eclipsed the previously held record by 10 feet.

The West Virginia Division of Highways awarded Brayman, headquartered in Saxonburg, Pa., the $83 million contract to construct the I-64 Kanawha River Bridge, which is located in Charleston, W. V. The bridge structure - defined as cast-in-place cantilever segmental construction, will have an overall length of 2,975 feet. Inclusive of the project will be the construction of 7 piers - 5 on land and 2 on the edge of the river.

Cast-in-place balanced cantilever construction requires formwork that is attached to the tip of the growing cantilever for casting. As the cantilever grows the form travelers are set forth in steps. These form travelers give shape to the segment, support the weight of the newly cast concrete until it has gained enough strength to be post-tensioned to the previous cantilever segments, and transfer the segment weight to the already existing superstructure. Consistent with this construction technique, the bridge deck and superstructure are poured as a unit in a series of approximately 180 segments - each 16 feet long.

Brayman Construction Corp. is a leading general and specialty foundation contractor was incorporated in 1947 as a family business with a staff of two. Brayman has become a large, nationally recognized provider of complex heavy/civil, demolition, geotechnical, marine and steel erection construction capabilities.

John Donohoe, 1942-2009

With deep sorrow, the Moretrench American Corp. family announces the sudden death of chairman John Donohoe on Dec. 2, following a heart attack. He was 67 years old. John is survived by Kathy, his wife of 45 years, and children Kathy, Beth, Margy, John and Ellen.

Says Moretrench president Arthur Corwin: "John joined Moretrench American Corporation in 1964, immediately after graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in civil engineering. Over the course of a long and distinguished career with the company, he advanced to ultimately hold the positions of president from 1982 to 2002 and chief executive officer from 1995 to 2007. He served as chairman since 1995.

"John was instrumental in many significant projects, notably design and construction of the largest ground freezing operation in the United States that allowed jacking of three massive box tunnels beneath South Street Station for Boston's Big Dig. He was a member of the World Trade Center Task Force Committee, where he provided immediate valuable insight to the recovery effort as it related to the heavily damaged slurry wall "bathtub" foundations. He led the Moretrench team in the design and installation of critical emergency ground water control systems for the flooded PATH tubes as well as the Trade Center bathtub to provide stability of the slurry wall for the recovery operation.

"Throughout his career, John was active in the civil engineering community. He served as president of the ASCE Construction Institute, president of AGC of New Jersey, national director of AGC of America, president of The Moles, and president and trustee of CIAP of New Jersey. He was selected as Man of the Year of AGC of New Jersey in 2001, and in 2004, he received The Moles Award for Outstanding Achievement in Construction, a tribute to his lifetime accomplishments. He was a 2009 recipient of the prestigious ASCE Opal Award for "innovation and excellence in construction of civil engineering projects and/or programs." Most recently, he was elected president of GCA of New York.

"John was a much-valued colleague and personal friend. Throughout his career, he was recognized for his outstanding character and integrity, and he epitomized grace and courtesy. He was a mentor to many, and loved by all. With all of his professional achievements, he still was regarded by all as a man of great humility. He will be greatly missed."

DFI Board Members Elected

Elections for trustees to the board of the Deep Foundations Institute were held in advance of the 2009 Annual Conference and Members' Meeting. Four of the six board members whose terms expire at the end of 2009 were nominated for re-election, and two new nominations were made to fill the positions previously held by Tracy Brettmann of Berkel & Company Contractors Inc., Richmond, Texas, and Rye, N.Y.-based consultant James Graham.

On Jan. 1, 2010, incumbent trustees Patrick Bermingham (Bermingham Foundation Solutions Inc., Hamilton, Ontario), Rudolph Frizzi (Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Elmwood Park, N.J.), Matthew Janes (Isherwood Associates, Mississauga, Ontario), and James Morrison (Kiewit Corp., Omaha, Neb.) will begin their third terms (Janes his second). James Johnson (Condon-Johnson & Associates Inc., Oakland, Calif.) and Arturo Ressi di Cervia (Kiewit Corp.) will begin their first.

Featured Product of the Month

Pan Auger Available

A new product being offered by Pengo is its pan auger. The pan auger is a shallow auger that is used to retrieve large rock and boulders out of a hole. There are no teeth or pilot bits. A 4-inch hardfaced flight guard is applied to the flight in order to keep items from rolling off the sides. There is one ¾-inch wrap, 1-inch thick flight that is 1 ½ inches smaller than the cut or hole size. For more information, visit Pengo's Web site at www.pengoattachments.com.

AEC Store Corner

Foundation Engineering Handbook - $127.95
The latest information on foundation engineering, design, construction and code

This practical resource offers complete coverage of foundation engineering, emphasizing the geotechnical aspects and the use of the 2006 International Building Code. Foundation Engineering Handbook explains how to develop a complete program of foundation investigation, conduct geotechnical field and laboratory studies, and analyze data for the design of foundations. Evaluating construction and preparing foundation engineering reports also is covered.

Covers these and other key topics:

• Soil mechanics
• Field testing
• Earth slope stability evaluation
• Seismic analysis
• 2006 International Building Code

CLICK HERE for more details or to purchase this book.