Daniel Alzamora’s research while affiliated with Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology and other places

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has recently developed the Portable Scour Testing Device (PSTD) to improve scour analysis around bridge piers in cohesive soils as part of the NextScour project. The PSTD is a compact field erosion testing device that, apart from a drill rig and larger water pump, has a lot of similarity with the In-situ Scour Testing Device (ISTD) in mechanism and data acquisition. The purpose of this paper is to provide recommendations on the suitability of using PSTD and ISTD at sites that have cohesive subsurface soils. An overview of the capabilities and limitations of the PSTD/ISTD in relation to hydraulic considerations, soil types, depth coverages, and erodibility potential is given. A multi-criteria assessment methodology to evaluate site suitability for conducting PSTD/ISTD is presented. The assessment methodology was utilized to detect suitable sites among 30 Illinois bridge sites using soil layer information, boring locations, groundwater level readings, in-situ testing results, geospatial analysis, site accessibility, and aerial photos.

This paper summarizes the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) experience with the geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) integrated bridge system (IBS), an innovative method of bridge support. The range of structure types, sites, and materials that have been used in the deployment of GRS-IBS from 2011 to 2017 are discussed. This paper will also summarize several case histories from around the U.S. where GRS-IBS was constructed for stream, roadway, and railroad crossings. Lastly, the paper will discuss updates that were made to FHWA’s GRS-IBS typical notes and details that will provide opportunities for continued use of GRS-IBS in the future.