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Robert Dykstra, P.E., Named Vice President

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dykstra-rob-2x3-300-dpi
Robert Dykstra, P.E.
Vice President
Geotechnical Engineering
Construction Observation
and Testing

NYC Metro Office
(201) 641-1850
RDykstra@gtaeng.com

Geo-Technology Associates, Inc. is pleased to announce the promotion of Robert Dykstra, P.E., to Vice President. 

Rob Dykstra is Vice President responsible for work performed out of GTA’s New York Metropolitan office, which he opened in 2014. Rob is a New Jersey and New York licensed geotechnical engineer, with 27 years of experience, who specializes in providing value-based geotechnical solutions to problematic soils and construction challenges. He provides responsive project management and geotechnical engineering, as well as technical assistance and oversight to field personnel during drilling and construction operations and testing for residential, commercial, and institutional projects in NY City and NY State (dba GTA Engineering Services of NY, P.C.), and in northern New Jersey, and southern Connecticut. He is particularly knowledgeable of the New York Metropolitan area market and geology. He has obtained certification from the American Concrete Institute as a Concrete Laboratory Technician Level II.

His responsibilities include coordination of subsurface exploration operations, lab testing, and preparation of geotechnical exploration reports, as well as, the design of driven piles, micro-piles, and underpinning, support of excavation walls and other structures. He also provides project management and technical oversight of construction observation and testing, including concrete, masonry and structural steel services for the New York office. Rob’s field experience includes monitoring, testing, and evaluation of the placement/suitability of controlled fill, foundation soils, underpinning, slope stabilization measures, retaining walls, drilled shafts, micro-piles, driven piles and other various geotechnical and construction monitoring activities.

Rob earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Calvin College in Michigan, and is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Rob was the geotechnical Project Manager for the geotechnical design of the 21-story Riverwalk 7 residential building on Roosevelt Island; a 42-story hotel in Manhattan; the VUE, which is a 7-story residential building in Hackensack, New Jersey; as well as numerous other projects throughout New York’s 5 boroughs, northern New Jersey, Long Island, and lower New York State. He is currently managing the special inspection services for the $280,000,000 Ambulatory Care Pavilion, a multi-story medical facility on the Valhalla Campus of Westchester Medical Center in New York.


RETAINING WALLS – WHY ARE SO MANY PLAGUED WITH PROBLEMS OR FAIL?

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Originally published in Maryland Building Industry
Association’s (MBIA’s) Build Maryland, Sept/Oct 2015 magazine.

Written by: Ravi Malviya, P.E.

With the high cost and cutthroat competition for available land, there is an increasing push to maximize the usable area available for development. This frequently results in the need for retaining walls to provide grade transitions at the property line or within the site. Geogrid-reinforced walls (a.k.a. MSE (Mechanically Stabilized Earth) walls) or grouted and stacked stone gravity walls are very commonly utilized due to their relatively low cost, ability to use on-site soils, and ease of construction. Multiple research studies have documented a failure rate of up to six to eight percent for such retaining walls.

Below are photos of several retaining walls from the Baltimore-Washington corridor that experienced failures in the spring of 2015.

Such a high failure rate is very unusual and unacceptable for engineered structures! What is the reason for such high failure rate for MSE walls in particular and retaining walls in general? Based on published studies and Geo-Technology Associates, Inc.’s own experience during more than 30 years of practice, the contracting methods for both design and construction of walls are a big contributing factor to the high failure rate of the walls.

Lack of attention to details/setbacks during site layout and grading and procurement practices that push the design responsibilities to the wall contractor are significant contributing factors. The wall contractors frequently utilize high-volume, low-cost, out-of-town (frequently out-of-state), small engineering firms that operate more as “wall design factories” with limited manpower and expertise. The cutthroat competition for the work leads to incorrect and/or optimistic assumptions in the design. Therefore, some of the critical design issues (e.g., global stability of the wall, site-specific soil conditions, and available backfill materials) are not addressed properly or left for others to address. Use of low-quality backfill, inadequate quality control/testing during construction, and locating utilities or temporary/permanent stormwater management (SWM) facilities too close to the wall, further increases the potential for problems or failure of the walls.

We recommend the following dos and don’ts to reduce the risk of problems and failures of retaining walls:

  • Do not be penny wise and pound foolish! Allocate and invest adequate budget for the design and construction of walls that will last for the useful life of the development.
  • The civil engineer should account for the wall thickness; face batter; minimum setbacks for railing and guardrails; and setbacks from curbs, utilities, and SWM structures during the site layout and grading.
  • Retain a local and experienced geotechnical engineer to perform borings and design the retaining wall. The project geotechnical engineer is generally in the best position to design walls for the site.
  • Use design-bid-build process for construction of the wall. Retain a local and experienced contractor to build the wall.
  • The wall designer should take into account the site-specific soil and groundwater conditions, planned utilities, and other facilities in the vicinity of the wall. The designer should perform global stability analysis of the wall using site-specific and meaningful soil parameters.
  • Retain the project geotechnical engineer/wall designer to provide full-time observation and testing services during construction.
  • Assess and incorporate measures to improve surface and subsurface drainage in the vicinity of the wall.
  • Use nonclayey, sandy soils for wall backfill. Well-graded soils form better backfill and improve drainage. Avoid beach sands (poorly graded sands classified as SP per the Unified Soil Classification System) as wall backfill. Beach sands are prone to washouts and resulting settlement and failures.
  • Use open-graded backfill for the portions of the walls subjected to permanent or periodic flooding (e.g., walls adjacent to or within SWM ponds).
  • Avoid temporary sediment traps or concentrated water discharge in the vicinity of the walls.
  • Stabilize the areas near the top and bottom of the wall immediately after wall construction.
  • Inspect and maintain the wall drainage system and ground around the wall on a regular basis.

Happy walling!

Ravi Malviya 200x280pxRavi Malviya is a Vice President GTA with more than 25 years of geotechnical and site engineering consulting experience throughout the mid-Atlantic and New England.

 

Retaining Wall Article 12-23-15 1
Concentrated discharge resulted in sinkhole and undermining of wall foundation.

 

Retaining Wall Article 12-23-15 2
This 25’+ high wall failed within months of construction. It was reconstructed and failed a second time. Why?  Inadequate global stability assessment due to designer’s lack of understanding of site soils.

 

Retaining Wall Article 12-23-15 3
Lack of stabilization and uncontrolled runoff above the wall resulted in washout of wall and foundation soils.

 

Retaining Wall Article 12-23-15 4
Undermining of foundation support soils resulted in failure of the wall.

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RETAINING WALLS – WHY ARE SO MANY PLAGUED WITH PROBLEMS OR FAIL?

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Originally published in Maryland Building Industry
Association’s (MBIA’s) Build Maryland, Sept/Oct 2015 magazine.

Written by: Ravi Malviya, P.E.

With the high cost and cutthroat competition for available land, there is an increasing push to maximize the usable area available for development. This frequently results in the need for retaining walls to provide grade transitions at the property line or within the site. Geogrid-reinforced walls (a.k.a. MSE (Mechanically Stabilized Earth) walls) or grouted and stacked stone gravity walls are very commonly utilized due to their relatively low cost, ability to use on-site soils, and ease of construction. Multiple research studies have documented a failure rate of up to six to eight percent for such retaining walls.

Below are photos of several retaining walls from the Baltimore-Washington corridor that experienced failures in the spring of 2015.

Such a high failure rate is very unusual and unacceptable for engineered structures! What is the reason for such high failure rate for MSE walls in particular and retaining walls in general? Based on published studies and Geo-Technology Associates, Inc.’s own experience during more than 30 years of practice, the contracting methods for both design and construction of walls are a big contributing factor to the high failure rate of the walls.

Lack of attention to details/setbacks during site layout and grading and procurement practices that push the design responsibilities to the wall contractor are significant contributing factors. The wall contractors frequently utilize high-volume, low-cost, out-of-town (frequently out-of-state), small engineering firms that operate more as “wall design factories” with limited manpower and expertise. The cutthroat competition for the work leads to incorrect and/or optimistic assumptions in the design. Therefore, some of the critical design issues (e.g., global stability of the wall, site-specific soil conditions, and available backfill materials) are not addressed properly or left for others to address. Use of low-quality backfill, inadequate quality control/testing during construction, and locating utilities or temporary/permanent stormwater management (SWM) facilities too close to the wall, further increases the potential for problems or failure of the walls.

We recommend the following dos and don’ts to reduce the risk of problems and failures of retaining walls:

  • Do not be penny wise and pound foolish! Allocate and invest adequate budget for the design and construction of walls that will last for the useful life of the development.
  • The civil engineer should account for the wall thickness; face batter; minimum setbacks for railing and guardrails; and setbacks from curbs, utilities, and SWM structures during the site layout and grading.
  • Retain a local and experienced geotechnical engineer to perform borings and design the retaining wall. The project geotechnical engineer is generally in the best position to design walls for the site.
  • Use design-bid-build process for construction of the wall. Retain a local and experienced contractor to build the wall.
  • The wall designer should take into account the site-specific soil and groundwater conditions, planned utilities, and other facilities in the vicinity of the wall. The designer should perform global stability analysis of the wall using site-specific and meaningful soil parameters.
  • Retain the project geotechnical engineer/wall designer to provide full-time observation and testing services during construction.
  • Assess and incorporate measures to improve surface and subsurface drainage in the vicinity of the wall.
  • Use nonclayey, sandy soils for wall backfill. Well-graded soils form better backfill and improve drainage. Avoid beach sands (poorly graded sands classified as SP per the Unified Soil Classification System) as wall backfill. Beach sands are prone to washouts and resulting settlement and failures.
  • Use open-graded backfill for the portions of the walls subjected to permanent or periodic flooding (e.g., walls adjacent to or within SWM ponds).
  • Avoid temporary sediment traps or concentrated water discharge in the vicinity of the walls.
  • Stabilize the areas near the top and bottom of the wall immediately after wall construction.
  • Inspect and maintain the wall drainage system and ground around the wall on a regular basis.

Happy walling!

Ravi Malviya 200x280pxRavi Malviya is a Vice President GTA with more than 25 years of geotechnical and site engineering consulting experience throughout the mid-Atlantic and New England.

 

Retaining Wall Article 12-23-15 1
Concentrated discharge resulted in sinkhole and undermining of wall foundation.

 

Retaining Wall Article 12-23-15 2
This 25’+ high wall failed within months of construction. It was reconstructed and failed a second time. Why?  Inadequate global stability assessment due to designer’s lack of understanding of site soils.

 

Retaining Wall Article 12-23-15 3
Lack of stabilization and uncontrolled runoff above the wall resulted in washout of wall and foundation soils.

 

Retaining Wall Article 12-23-15 4
Undermining of foundation support soils resulted in failure of the wall.

STEVENSON, HENDRICKS, STANSFIELD, & WILLE NAMED GTA VICE PRESIDENTS

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We are delighted to announce that the following personnel have been promoted to Vice President of GTA.

Sam Stevenson 200x280
Samuel J. Stevenson
Vice President
Environmental
Laurel, MD Office

Andy Hendricks 200x280
Andrew S. Hendricks,
P.G., L.R.S.

Vice President
Environmental
Sterling, VA Office

Andy Stansfield 200x280 r
T. Andrew Stansfield, Jr.
Vice President
Natural Resources
Abingdon, MD Office

John Wille 200x280
John P. Wille, P.E.
Vice President
Geotechnical and COTS
Charlotte, NC Office

Click on individual photos for additional information.

 

ANDREW J. ZMODA, P.G., P.E., PROMOTED TO ASSOCIATE

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Andy Zmoda 200x280
Andrew J. Zmoda, P.G., P.E.
Associate
Geotechnical & COTS
York, PA Office
AZmoda@gtaeng.com

We are pleased to announce that Andrew J. Zmoda, P.G., P.E., has been promoted to the position of Associate in our York, Pennsylvania office.

Andy has been with GTA for five years, has a total of 28 years of experience, and specializes in geotechnical and materials engineering. In addition to helping to manage the 11-person York office, Andy provides geotechnical analysis and design recommendations for a wide variety of challenging development projects throughout Central Pennsylvania. These projects typically include recommendations for shallow and deep foundations, stormwater management facilities, earthwork, rock excavation, flexible and rigid pavement, geologic studies, damage studies, groundwater and drainage, retaining walls, and slope stability. He also manages Construction Observation and Testing services, including on-site consultation, supervision of field personnel, report review, and budget monitoring; and oversight of GTA’s AMRL accredited soils laboratory.

Andy received his Master of Science degree in Geology from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and his Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from State University of New York, College at Cortland. He is a licensed professional geologist in Pennsylvania and Virginia, and a licensed professional engineer in Pennsylvania and Maryland. He currently serves as the President of the Engineering Society of York, and is a member of the York County Economic Alliance, and the Harrisburg Area Geological Society.

Some notable projects that Andy has managed include: Citterio meat processing building (Freeland, PA), Johnson Controls Lab and Office buildings, (Shrewsbury, PA), Walmart building settlement, (Morehead, KY), Star Barn relocation, (Elizabethtown, PA), and several, 1M- to 2M-square-foot warehouse projects in York and Cumberland Counties. Prior to joining GTA, Andy managed prominent projects in Baltimore, Maryland including McHenry Row residential and retail development, JHU Gilman Hall basement expansion, Stadium Place Senior Development, and office buildings and parking garages at Sinai Hospital, Anne Arundel Medical Center, and Edenwald Retirement Center.

 

SAFETY IN MOTION – GTA’S “NEAR MISS” PROGRAM

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GTA Hardhat - Safety Sticker 300x300 px

Since May 2015, when GTA hired Mike Whiteman as the Director of Safety, our EMR (Experience Modification Rate) has dropped below 1.00, and our OSHA Total Incident Recordable Rate has been lowered by 0.14.

One of the newest initiatives Mike has developed for GTA, which is sure to lower these rates even further, involves our “Near Miss Program.” A near miss is any type of accident in which a person was not injured, or any circumstance which increases the potential for an injury, if not avoided. The reporting of near misses is a vital component in promoting safety and reducing injuries.

In the trending and tracking world of safety “Near Miss” reporting is crucial and provides multiple benefits. It is used as a valuable leading indicator to identify reoccurring scenarios of poor judgement, and the day and/or time patterns when events are most likely to occur. It can also help to project expected number of first aid and OSHA recordable incidences. With this information, Mike can identify areas of concern in GTA’s safety program to focus future educational programs for the staff in these areas.

In an effort to further entrench the value of and encourage staff to report near misses, GTA has designed a “safety sticker” which is given to staff who report their near misses. Previously, near misses were reported infrequently. Since the establishment of this new incentive, which started in January 2016, near miss reporting has increased 75% from 2015.

It is all about safety in motion…our ongoing effort to keep our staff safe.

Robert Howard, E.I.T., Promoted to Associate

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GTA - Robert Howard Headshot-resized
Robert Howard, E.I.T.
Associate
COTS
Quakertown, PA Office
RHoward@gtaeng.com

We are pleased to announce that Robert Howard, E.I.T., has been promoted to the position of Associate in our Quakertown, Pennsylvania office.

With 27 years of experience, Rob’s responsibilities include management of construction observation and material testing services (COTS) performed by the office, overseeing the quality assurance and quality control on a variety of commercial, academic, and residential projects; on-site project management and representation; providing training and supervision of field and lab technicians; reports and special inspection letter preparation; and preparing proposals and budgets for a variety of construction projects and work scopes.

Rob received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Drexel University. As member of the Pennsylvania Aggregate and Concrete Association (PACA), he provides class instruction for the ACI Concrete Field Testing Technician-Grade I Certification. Rob serves as the 2016 Vice Chair of the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC) Lehigh Valley Council and is an active member of their Regional Business Development Committee. Rob also serves as the Chair of GTA’s COTS Committee which works to provide increased safety awareness; uniform hiring, training, and testing guidelines; a forum for group discussion, problem solving and member opinion in decision making; team building strategies; and training for future leadership for our 16 offices.

GTA was established in 1985 and specializes in geotechnical engineering, geoscience and environmental consulting, and materials testing engineering. GTA has a staff of more than 300, including 19 in our Quakertown office.


Managing Risk of Slope Instability for Marlboro and Potomac Clays

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Originally published in Maryland Building Industry
Association’s (MBIA’s) Build Maryland, Sept/Oct 2016 magazine.

Written by: Andy McKeen, P.E.

What is considered a stable slope?  A slope with a factor of safety (FOS) of less than 1.0 is considered unstable.  The FOS is a measure of the ultimate strength of a system to the actual applied load.  So when the applied load is greater than the overall strength, the slope will fail, and the FOS will be less than one.  In engineering practice, a slope with a factor of safety of 1.2 to 1.5 is considered stable.  What attributes to the stability?  There are many factors that contribute, but primarily the soil weight, strength, groundwater, and the overall slope geometry.

In soil mechanics, soil can be assigned an internal angle of friction, and cohesion to measure strength.  Generally speaking, the friction angle is the angle at which a soil can “stand up” without sliding over itself.  To put it in perspective, picture a large stockpile of soil.  For gravelly soils, the pile can be placed at an angle ranging from 38 to 45 degrees before slides and sloughing of soil will occur under its own weight.  For sands, this angle can range from 28 to 38 degrees, and for clays 15 to 28 degrees. The second component, cohesion can be thought of as the “glue” that holds soil particles together through cementation in sandy soils or by attraction in clay soils.  While shearing under a confining pressure, the shear stress in soil will increase to a certain peak strength level.  This peak strength level is typically reached within relatively small displacements.  As shear deformation continues past the peak strength, the shear stress drops to a residual strength level and will remain constant, even for large deformations.  Internal friction angles at the residual strength level can be as much as 40 to 50 percent less than the typical friction angles at the peak strength, as mentioned above.

Due to low shear strength, clays can be problematic for slopes. In many cases cracks and old slide planes (known as slickensides) are present within clayey soil stratums.  Such “slickensided” clays are present throughout Maryland.  In particular, the Arundel or Potomac Clay, present throughout central and northern Maryland and Marlboro Clay present primarily in Prince George’s County. Considering the slides and movement, it is more appropriate to utilize the residual friction angle in Marlboro and Potomac Clay.

Marlboro Clay Slope SLide 1000px wideSlides of the Marlboro Clay (reddish-brown in color, bottom of picture) layer after a storm event, during a mass excavation and replacement slope stabilization.

Slopes constructed in or on top of these formations require careful analysis, and if not analyzed and designed properly, can result in an unstable slope potentially leading to failure.  Roadways, buildings and other structures should not be located within a shear plane with inadequate FOS.  To perform a proper analysis of a proposed slope or retaining wall, geotechnical information including soil borings to delineate the top, bottom, and thickness of the clay layers, and laboratory testing to estimate the residual strength of the clay should be performed.  Enough information should be obtained to fully characterize the clay both up and down slope.

Every given situation is unique, but some general rules of thumb are highlighted below:

  • Avoid slopes steeper than 5H: 1V on top of the clays.
  • If possible, “bury” the clay, and keep it as deep and far behind the slope as possible.
  • Minimize excavation or “unloading” of soil in front of the slope when adding fill behind or on top of the slope.
  • Keep water away! The buildup of water will reduce stability of the slope.

Slope Stability Diagram - 1000 px wideThe top diagram identifies slope instability due to the presence of Marlboro Clay. The planned structures are impacted by the 1.5 FOS line. The bottom figure shows a mass removal and replacement to stabilize the slope. This is very expensive, and can possibly be avoided with proper analysis and input from the geotechnical engineer prior to permitting and final site designs.

To minimize headaches, a qualified geotechnical engineer should be involved early in the site design to analyze proposed slopes, and work with the civil designer to minimize slope impacts.  Revising grading and layout to accommodate slope issues is much easier (and cheaper) than dealing with expensive slope improvements such as mass removal and replacement of the clay or structural stabilization techniques.

A McKeen Headshot scAndy McKeen is a project engineer with GTA and has more than six years of geotechnical and site engineering consulting experience throughout the state of Maryland.

ENVIRONMENTAL SITE DESIGN: PITFALLS AND LESSONS LEARNED (SO FAR…)

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Originally published in Maryland Building Industry
Association’s (MBIA’s) Build Maryland, Sept/Oct 2017 magazine.

Written by: Ben Dinsmore, P.E.

Whatever happened to those big stormwater management ponds that used to be constructed in every development? Since 2010, those large facilities have been gradually phased out of new developments in favor of smaller-scale, and non-structural facilities known as Environmental Site Design (ESD) devices. This change is the result of efforts by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to control stormwater runoff from new developments. Any development that did not receive stormwater management (SWM) plan approval prior to the May 4, 2010 deadline must be designed using ESD facilities to the Maximum Extent Practicable, thus the advent of the phrase “ESD to the MEP.” The goal of this change was to refocus SWM design to mimic the natural runoff characteristics of the site, as opposed to the “old” method of collection and long-term storage of rainwater in larger-scale ponds or infiltration systems.

Common ESD devices include micro-bioretention facilities, bio-swales, rain gardens, dry wells, submerged gravel wetlands, and pervious pavements. These facilities may incorporate infiltration techniques, if feasible based on the soil conditions. Otherwise, they will include underdrains. It is the opinion of many designers, engineers, and developers that the ESD facilities are flawed and the use of these facilities may create more harm than good in the future. One reason for these concerns is that the function of these devices is highly dependent upon proper design and construction. Minor deficiencies in either can result in clogging, saturation of the planting media, and overflowing or failure of the facility. We have observed situations in which excessive proportions of fines (silts and clays) in the planting media, a layer of sediment at the invert of the facility, or overly compacted subgrade soils have impeded drainage in the facility.

A recently-constructed micro-bioretention facility which is holding water due to clogging and saturation of the planting media. It was determined that the proportions of the silt and clay within the planting media were at or just above the specified ranges.

A micro-bioretention facility in which the planting media has been clogged by runoff from nearby stockpiles and exposed subgrade prior to paving.

A related concern is that even properly designed and constructed facilities require more maintenance than the old SWM ponds and the construction of so many facilities on large developments will create the need for significant maintenance in the future (maintenance that could be the responsibility of private homeowners and could be relatively invasive or costly). Property owners, HOAs, and private residents are not necessarily prepared to handle (or will not know how to perform) this maintenance. This could result in the failure of many of these facilities and significant maintenance costs. ESD facilities that don’t function properly would likely result in the creation of “swampy” areas, which could draw mosquitos and create perched water pockets.

Only time will tell if these concerns materialize and a large number of ESD facilities begin to under-perform. In the meantime, the following steps should be taken to reduce the likelihood of these issues:

  • Retain a qualified geotechnical engineer to perform a proper evaluation of the subsurface conditions. Many design professionals and County agencies have interpreted the MDE requirements for quantity or locations of explorations differently. In reality, the boring locations should be recommended by the geotechnical engineer based on site geology and other site-specific issues. It is a good idea to run the proposed scope by the appropriate County reviewer to verify compliance with the County’s interpretation of the requirements. If infiltration techniques are being considered, in-situ infiltration testing should be performed and supplemented by laboratory testing as appropriate.
  • The project designer should understand geotechnical recommendations and other site constraints and incorporate them into the facility design. The function and design of many systems, particularly pervious pavements, are poorly understood or implemented by many designers. Each type of facility has different design constraints and the ESD device selection is highly dependent on the subsurface conditions, such as soil types and depth to water. It may also be appropriate to modify or augment the standard details by adding underdrains or revising the inflow or outflow features based on site-specific constraints. Details of each proposed facility should be clearly depicted on the plans and all materials to be used, as well as maintenance requirements, should be clearly specified.
  • Proper construction sequencing is important to avoid problems. If planting media is placed prior to construction of adjacent pavements, sediment in the runoff from surrounding soils can clog the media. Furthermore, the construction of houses and nearby ESD facilities should be coordinated such that the construction of footings doesn’t impact a previously-constructed facility, or the construction of a facility will not undermine a previously built footing. Design of adjacent retaining walls should also take into account the fact that excavations will periodically be required in the ESD facility for maintenance.
  • A qualified engineer (ideally, the geotechnical engineer that performed the subsurface evaluation) should be on-site to observe the construction and test the materials being used in the ESD facilities. The gradation of the planting media should be carefully evaluated prior to placement. We recommend that the silt and clay content of this material should be maintained at the lower end of the accepted range to minimize the likelihood of clogging. Also, the contractor should be sure to remove any sediment remaining in the facility excavation prior to construction and should be careful to avoid excessive compaction of the facility subgrade. The on-site geotechnical engineer should evaluate the subgrade prior to construction and, if overly compacted, should recommend that the contractor tills or aerates it prior to construction.

Of course, the potential for headaches and cost overruns can be reduced by retaining qualified civil and geotechnical engineering consultants to work together to perform an appropriate SWM facility design.

Ben Dinsmore, P.E., is an Associate with GTA and has 19 years of geotechnical and site engineering consulting services, primarily in the Baltimore – Washington, D.C. corridor.

RETAINING WALLS – WHY ARE SO MANY PLAGUED WITH PROBLEMS OR FAIL?

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Originally published in Maryland Building Industry
Association’s (MBIA’s) Build Maryland, Sept/Oct 2015 magazine.

Written by: Ravi Malviya, P.E.

With the high cost and cutthroat competition for available land, there is an increasing push to maximize the usable area available for development. This frequently results in the need for retaining walls to provide grade transitions at the property line or within the site. Geogrid-reinforced walls (a.k.a. MSE (Mechanically Stabilized Earth) walls) or grouted and stacked stone gravity walls are very commonly utilized due to their relatively low cost, ability to use on-site soils, and ease of construction. Multiple research studies have documented a failure rate of up to six to eight percent for such retaining walls.

Below are photos of several retaining walls from the Baltimore-Washington corridor that experienced failures in the spring of 2015.

Such a high failure rate is very unusual and unacceptable for engineered structures! What is the reason for such high failure rate for MSE walls in particular and retaining walls in general? Based on published studies and Geo-Technology Associates, Inc.’s own experience during more than 30 years of practice, the contracting methods for both design and construction of walls are a big contributing factor to the high failure rate of the walls.

Lack of attention to details/setbacks during site layout and grading and procurement practices that push the design responsibilities to the wall contractor are significant contributing factors. The wall contractors frequently utilize high-volume, low-cost, out-of-town (frequently out-of-state), small engineering firms that operate more as “wall design factories” with limited manpower and expertise. The cutthroat competition for the work leads to incorrect and/or optimistic assumptions in the design. Therefore, some of the critical design issues (e.g., global stability of the wall, site-specific soil conditions, and available backfill materials) are not addressed properly or left for others to address. Use of low-quality backfill, inadequate quality control/testing during construction, and locating utilities or temporary/permanent stormwater management (SWM) facilities too close to the wall, further increases the potential for problems or failure of the walls.

We recommend the following dos and don’ts to reduce the risk of problems and failures of retaining walls:

  • Do not be penny wise and pound foolish! Allocate and invest adequate budget for the design and construction of walls that will last for the useful life of the development.
  • The civil engineer should account for the wall thickness; face batter; minimum setbacks for railing and guardrails; and setbacks from curbs, utilities, and SWM structures during the site layout and grading.
  • Retain a local and experienced geotechnical engineer to perform borings and design the retaining wall. The project geotechnical engineer is generally in the best position to design walls for the site.
  • Use design-bid-build process for construction of the wall. Retain a local and experienced contractor to build the wall.
  • The wall designer should take into account the site-specific soil and groundwater conditions, planned utilities, and other facilities in the vicinity of the wall. The designer should perform global stability analysis of the wall using site-specific and meaningful soil parameters.
  • Retain the project geotechnical engineer/wall designer to provide full-time observation and testing services during construction.
  • Assess and incorporate measures to improve surface and subsurface drainage in the vicinity of the wall.
  • Use nonclayey, sandy soils for wall backfill. Well-graded soils form better backfill and improve drainage. Avoid beach sands (poorly graded sands classified as SP per the Unified Soil Classification System) as wall backfill. Beach sands are prone to washouts and resulting settlement and failures.
  • Use open-graded backfill for the portions of the walls subjected to permanent or periodic flooding (e.g., walls adjacent to or within SWM ponds).
  • Avoid temporary sediment traps or concentrated water discharge in the vicinity of the walls.
  • Stabilize the areas near the top and bottom of the wall immediately after wall construction.
  • Inspect and maintain the wall drainage system and ground around the wall on a regular basis.

Happy walling!

Ravi Malviya 200x280pxRavi Malviya is a Vice President GTA with more than 25 years of geotechnical and site engineering consulting experience throughout the mid-Atlantic and New England.

 

Retaining Wall Article 12-23-15 1
Concentrated discharge resulted in sinkhole and undermining of wall foundation.

 

Retaining Wall Article 12-23-15 2
This 25’+ high wall failed within months of construction. It was reconstructed and failed a second time. Why?  Inadequate global stability assessment due to designer’s lack of understanding of site soils.

 

Retaining Wall Article 12-23-15 3
Lack of stabilization and uncontrolled runoff above the wall resulted in washout of wall and foundation soils.

 

Retaining Wall Article 12-23-15 4
Undermining of foundation support soils resulted in failure of the wall.

Geo-Technology Associates, Inc. Turns 30

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GTA 30th Anniversary Header Image

Klima, Pat 200x280px
J. Patrick Klima, P.E.
President

August marks the 30th anniversary of business for Geo-Technology Associates, Inc. (GTA). GTA took root in a small office in Bel Air, MD under the leadership of John Wirth, PE. Originally founded as a local Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Observation and Testing firm, John and the leaders who followed him recognized that growth and diversity were necessary ingredients for GTA to persevere through economic setbacks and to thrive in the upturns. Since 1985, GTA has grown its service areas to include Environmental Consulting, Natural Resources Planning, Subsurface Exploration, and Groundwater / Wastewater Consulting to many of our office locations, and we presently employ nearly 300 people in 16 offices and 7 states. Talk about growth!

Our strength remains the ability to provide excellent customer service, underpinned by technical competence. We particularly want to thank our clients, who look to us as part of their team and continue to entrust us with challenging and diverse projects. And we’re also grateful to our employees, whose hard work, expertise, and drive to fulfill our client’s needs inspires each of us to be better.

Here’s to the next 30 years!

GTA Opens Its Second Office in North Carolina

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Craig Rodano 200x280
Craig T. Rodano
Vice President
(984) 200-2104
CRodano@gtaeng.com

Craig Rodano 200x280
Shawn Sullivan, P.E.
Associate
(984) 200-2104
ShawnSullivan@gtaeng.com

 

GTA Associates, Inc. (GTA) is pleased to announce the opening of its Raleigh, North Carolina office at 5605 Chapel Hill Road, Suite 112, Raleigh, NC 27607.

GTA has had a presence in North Carolina since the opening of its Charlotte office in 2006. Craig T. Rodano is Principal-In-Charge of both North Carolina offices, and Shawn Sullivan, P.E., is a geotechnical engineer and office manager for GTA’s Raleigh office.

Craig, a Professional Geologist, became a Vice President with GTA in 1998. He has 27 years of experience in geotechnical explorations, hydrogeologic investigations, subsurface and geologic studies, wastewater disposal evaluations, environmental contamination studies, and construction monitoring and materials testing for sites located in North and South Carolina and throughout the mid-Atlantic region. His responsibilities include quality assurance, directing the Engineering Divisions at GTA’s branch offices, and providing technical assistance during construction of a wide array of institutional, commercial, and residential projects.

Craig specializes in preparing design and/or design recommendations for shallow foundations, deep foundations, lateral earth pressures and retaining walls, slope stability, rigid and flexible pavements, stormwater management structures, earthwork and other geotechnical and construction related tasks. He received his bachelor of science in geology from Millersville University, and is a member of the following professional and industry organizations: Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists; GBA; International Council of Shopping Centers; National Association of Industrial and Office Properties; Urban Land Institute; National Association of Home Builders; and Building Congress & Exchange.

W. Shawn Sullivan, P.E., has joined GTA as a Senior Geotechnical Engineer and Construction Observation and Testing (COT) Project Manager. He will also be responsible for client development and office management. Shawn has 11 years of experience providing geotechnical engineering, and managing subsuface exploration and COT projects for commercial and industrial facilities, low- and high-rise buildings, and single and multi-family residential buildings. His experience also includes performing limited Phase I Environmental Site Assessments and Property Condition Assessments.

Shawn is a North Carolina registered professional engineer, and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Geo Institute, Mecklenburg County Land Development Council, and Society of Marketing Professional Services. He graduated from University of North Carolina at Charlotte with bachelor of science degree in civil engineering and a minor in mathematics. Shawn is on track to receive a master of science degree in geotechnical engineering from the University at the end of this year.

GTA has been working throughout the Raleigh area for the past several years and has provided services for numerous residential, commercial, and industrial structures.

Services provided out of the Raleigh office include: Geotechnical and environmental engineering and consulting, as well as construction observation and testing services. GTA plans to grow its Raleigh office quickly and add to its professional staff over the next several months.

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