Geotechnical

Geotechnical Engineering and Field Exploration

Including sampling and field and laboratory soil testing; foundation analysis for dams, roadways, buildings and infrastructure; preparation of reports, including rock mechanics,  slope stability, pavement section design, and soil stabilization.

Example Geotechnical Projects:

  • Sky Harbor Airport New Air Traffic Control Tower (Design Build) – Performed the Geotechnical Exploration and performed the QC Testing and Inspection services for the Federal Aviation Administration’s four story base building and 321 foot tall air traffic control tower
  • Sky Harbor Airport Automated People Mover – Project Principal/Project Engineer for the proposed underground tunneling project.  The project included: drilling of seven soil borings to depths ranging from 50 feet to 100 feet below surface grade, installation of two groundwater monitoring wells, sample collection, laboratory testing, environmental analytical testing, and preparation of a detailed geotechnical exploration report for tunnel engineering and ancillary features.
  • Port of Umm Qasr, Iraq –  HA had performed a geotechnical investigation and provided recommendations for building of new port for Iraqi navy by the US Army Corpse of Engineers.  The geotechnical work completed included drilling filed testing for Vane Shear Test, Cone Penetration tests, Hand sampling, laboratory triaxial testing, and data reduction for design of Sheet Pile Wall and for to verify the changed condition clause of the Army Corps of Engineers.
  • Sonoran Boulevard and Associated Bridges– Completed extensive geotechnical exploration program for the 7.5 mile long Sonoran Boulevard and Associated three (3) bridges and numerous culverts.  Sonoran Boulevard will be a major arterial through a Sonoran Preserve across and/or along the mountain slopes consisting of strongly cemented Tertiary conglomerate with rock-like consistency.
  • Numerous City of Phoenix Quality Assurance Testing Projects under Annual On-Call Contracts since 1998 – Numerous geotechnical exploration and QA materials testing projects performed for the City of Phoenix Street Transportation Department.  Projects have included: soil borings; collection of bulk, ring, and SPT samples; subsurface logging; construction materials field testing and monitoring, construction materials laboratory testing; and/or report preparation.  Our testing has been performed or the City’s use in design and/or construction quality assurance for a wide variety of projects including: roadways; underground storm drains, high-pressure water supply pipelines, and other utility lines; roadway and pedestrian bridges, multi-level parking structures; multi-level office buildings; and, airport runways/taxiways, terminal buildings, and infrastructure.
  • Tempe Market Place (2007) – Tempe Market Place is a shopping center developed with innovative techniques on geotechnical investigation and analysis of subsurface material including soil, inert debris, and municipal solid waste for development of specifications, observation of site remediation for landfill stabilization, and certification report generation.  The project required out of the box innovations and collaboration with different organizations including Hayward Baker.
  • Cross Hole Sonic Logging and Gamma Density Logging Projects–Completed approximately 700 drilled shaft testing using cross hole and gamma density logging located around the state of Arizona in about 18 months time period. We have more than 10 projects at this time in hand going on for logging. Notable among these projects included approximately 300 shafts at State Route (SR) 202 and more than 100 shafts at SR 303.  In addition more than 150 shafts had been tested for the Sky Train Project at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona.
  • Geotechnical Exploration for Salt River Bank Extension of Sky Harbor Airport – Completed a geotechnical exploration program for the extension of the runway safety area (RSA) encroaching the Salt River channel. The program covered to characterize the site surface and subsurface conditions, fill placement, foundation construction, and river bank protection work with soil-cement.  Upon the completion of subsurface and borrow evaluation, HA completed soil-cement mix design and developed specifications, engineering analyses for slope stability, foundation recommendations for the bank, design and construction of foundations for NAVAID and MALSR structures, and analysis for pavement design for the maintenance road.