Development of the Geoconstruction Information and Technology Selection Guidance System (2014)

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TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2014 www.TRB.org RepoRt S2-R02-RW-2 The Second S T R A T E G I C H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M Development of the Geoconstruction Information and Technology Selection Guidance System S. Caleb DouglaS anD Vernon r. SChaefer Iowa State University Ames, Iowa ryan r. berg Ryan R. Berg & Associates, Inc. Woodbury, Minnesota

Subject Areas Bridges and Other Structures Construction Geotechnology Highways Pavements

SHRP 2 Reports Available by subscription and through the TRB online bookstore: www.TRB.org/bookstore Contact the TRB Business Office: 202-334-3213 More information about SHRP 2: www.TRB.org/SHRP2 SHRP 2 Report S2-R02-RW-2 ISBN: 978-0-309-12972-5 © 2014 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Copyright Information Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copy- right to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. The second Strategic Highway Research Program grants permission to repro- duce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Per- mission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, or FHWA endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing material in this document for educational and not-for-profit purposes will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from SHRP 2. Note: SHRP 2 report numbers convey the program, focus area, project number, and publication format. Report numbers ending in “w” are published as web documents only. Notice The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the second Strategic Highway Research Program, conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The members of the technical committee selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. The report was reviewed by the technical committee and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, and the sponsors of the second Strategic Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report. The Second Strategic Highway Research Program America’s highway system is critical to meeting the mobility and economic needs of local communities, regions, and the nation. Developments in research and technology—such as advanced materials, communications technology, new data collection technologies, and human factors science—offer a new oppor- tunity to improve the safety and reliability of this important national resource. Breakthrough resolution of significant trans- portation problems, however, requires concentrated resources over a short time frame. Reflecting this need, the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) has an intense, large-scale focus, integrates multiple fields of research and technology, and is fundamentally different from the broad, mission-oriented, discipline-based research programs that have been the mainstay of the highway research industry for half a century. The need for SHRP 2 was identified in TRB Special Report 260: Strategic Highway Research: Saving Lives, Reducing Conges- tion, Improving Quality of Life, published in 2001 and based on a study sponsored by Congress through the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). SHRP 2, modeled after the first Strategic Highway Research Program, is a focused, time- constrained, management-driven program designed to comple- ment existing highway research programs. SHRP 2 focuses on applied research in four areas: Safety, to prevent or reduce the severity of highway crashes by understanding driver behavior; Renewal, to address the aging infrastructure through rapid design and construction methods that cause minimal disrup- tions and produce lasting facilities; Reliability, to reduce conges- tion through incident reduction, management, response, and mitigation; and Capacity, to integrate mobility, economic, envi- ronmental, and community needs in the planning and designing of new transportation capacity. SHRP 2 was authorized in August 2005 as part of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The program is managed by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) on behalf of the National Research Council (NRC). SHRP 2 is conducted under a memorandum of understanding among the American Associa- tion of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the National Academy of Sciences, parent organization of TRB and NRC. The program provides for competitive, merit-based selection of research contractors; independent research project oversight; and dissemination of research results.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achieve- ments of engineers. Dr. C. D. (Dan) Mote, Jr., is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, on its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. C. D. (Dan) Mote, Jr., are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisci- plinary, and multimodal. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transporta- tion, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. www.TRB.org www.national-academies.org

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration in cooperation with the American Asso- ciation of State Highway and Transportation Officials. It was conducted in the second Strategic Highway Research Program, which is administered by the Transportation Research Board of the National Acad- emies. The project was managed by James Bryant, Senior Program Officer for SHRP 2 Renewal. The research reported on herein was performed by Iowa State University, supported by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, University of Kansas, Geosystems L.P., Ryan R. Berg & Associates Inc., The Collin Group, Trinity Construction Management Services, Barry Christopher, and Dennis Turner. Authors of this report are S. Caleb Douglas and Vernon R. Schaefer of Iowa State University, and Ryan R. Berg of Ryan R. Berg & Associates. The other principal investigators of this project are Barry Christopher; James Collin of The Collin Group, Donald Bruce of Geosystems; David White of Iowa State University; Jie Han of University of Kansas; Gary Fick of Trinity Construction Management Services; and George Filz, James Mitchell, and Linbing Wang of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The principal investigators acknowledge the contributions to this research by the following research- ers and students: Andrew Beatty, Peter Becker, Ashley Disburg, Caleb Douglas, Heath Gieselman, Peter Hunsinger, Wenjuan Li, Shenting Li, Caitlin McCarthy, James Meyer, Bin Tong, and Pavana Vennapusa of Iowa State University; Sari Abusharar, Bhagaban Acharya, Anil Bhandari, Ryan Corey, Deep Khatri, and Jitendra Thakur of University of Kansas; and Steve Adamchak, Amanda Barngrover, Jamie Brickman, Corrie Campbell, Kolleen Carlson, Conrad Cho, Cristian Druta, Micah Hatch, Kyle Lawson, Daniel Maine, George Malouf, Michael Nolden, Alex Reeb, Gary Riggins, Kurt Schimpke, Joel Sloan, Lee Vanzler, and Chadd Yeatts of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. SHRP 2 STAFF Ann M. Brach, Director Stephen J. Andrle, Deputy Director Neil J. Pedersen, Deputy Director, Implementation and Communications Cynthia Allen, Editor Kenneth Campbell, Chief Program Officer, Safety JoAnn Coleman, Senior Program Assistant, Capacity and Reliability Eduardo Cusicanqui, Financial Officer Richard Deering, Special Consultant, Safety Data Phase 1 Planning Walter Diewald, Senior Program Officer, Safety Shantia Douglas, Senior Financial Assistant Charles Fay, Senior Program Officer, Safety Carol Ford, Senior Program Assistant, Renewal and Safety Jo Allen Gause, Senior Program Officer, Capacity Rosalind Gomes, Accounting/Financial Assistant James Hedlund, Special Consultant, Safety Coordination Alyssa Hernandez, Reports Coordinator Ralph Hessian, Special Consultant, Capacity and Reliability Andy Horosko, Special Consultant, Safety Field Data Collection William Hyman, Senior Program Officer, Reliability Linda Mason, Communications Officer Reena Mathews, Senior Program Officer, Capacity and Reliability Matthew Miller, Program Officer, Capacity and Reliability Michael Miller, Senior Program Assistant, Capacity and Reliability David Plazak, Senior Program Officer, Capacity Rachel Taylor, Senior Editorial Assistant Dean Trackman, Managing Editor Connie Woldu, Administrative Coordinator

F O R EWO R D Jerry A. DiMaggio, D.GE, PE, SHRP 2 Senior Program Officer, Renewal This report describes the development details of the web-based information and guidance system produced as part of SHRP 2 Project R02, Geotechnical Solutions for Soil Improvement, Rapid Embankment Construction, and Stabilization of the Pavement Working Platform. Project background, literature review, development, programming, and testing of the system are detailed in this report. Recommendations for future enhancements of this website are also presented. Problematic soil and rock conditions routinely have significant negative cost and schedule effects on transportation infrastructure projects. Many geoconstruction solutions to these problems face obstacles that prevent broader and effective utilization. SHRP 2 Project R02 investigated the state of practices of transportation project engineering, geotechnical engineer- ing, and earthwork construction and identified and assessed methods to advance the use of these technologies. Several of the identified technologies, although underused, offer significant potential to achieve one or more SHRP 2 Renewal objectives: (1) rapid renewal of transporta- tion facilities; (2) minimal disruption of traffic; and (3) production of long-lived facilities. This project encompasses a broad spectrum of materials, processes, and technologies that are applicable to new embankment and roadway construction over unstable ground, roadway and embankment widening, and stabilization of pavement working platforms.

C O n t E n t s 1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1 SHRP 2 R02 Project Background 2 Project Statement 3 Report Organization 3 Anticipated Outcomes of Project 3 Study Limitations 4 CHAPTER 2 Background 4 Previously Programmed Systems 7 Geotechnical Design Process Review 13 CHAPTER 3 System Development 14 Summary of System Development 17 Programming 17 Interactive Selection System 20 CHAPTER 4 Web-Based Information and Guidance System 20 Introduction 21 Website Structure 21 Information and Guidance System Website 21 Homepage 22 SHRP 2 R02 Project Background 22 Geotechnical Design Process 22 Catalog of Technologies 23 Individual Technology Information 26 Technology Selection 26 Glossary and Abbreviations 26 Frequently Asked Questions 26 Submit a Comment 27 Links 27 About This Website 28 Additional Resources 30 CHAPTER 5 Interactive Selection System 30 Introduction 30 Strategies for Development 31 The Knowledge 31 Research Team Work Products 31 Expert Input from Research Team and Advisory Board 31 Elimination of Technologies 32 Initial Inputs into Selection System 33 Interactive Selection System 34 Project-Specific Technology Selection for Construction over Unstable Soils

35 CHAPTER 6 Limitations of the Information and Guidance Website 35 Information and Guidance System Limitations 35 Inappropriate Application of System by Inexperienced Personnel 35 Limited Number of Technologies in System 35 Technology-Specific Information 36 Selection System Limitations 36 Selection System Does Not Replace Engineering Judgment 36 Selection System Leads to Single Technologies 36 Selection System Uncertainty 37 CHAPTER 7 Conclusions and Recommendations 37 Introduction 37 Public Release of Site 37 Final Technology Selection 38 Recommendations for Additional Research 39 References 41 Appendix A. User’s Guide to the Information and Guidance System