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Public Roads - Autumn 2024

Date:
Autumn 2024
Issue No:
Vol. 88 No. 3
Publication Number:
FHWA-HRT-25-001
Table of Contents

Training Update

From Soil to Skyline: Geotechnical Mastery With NHI Courses

by Jonathan Strauss
County road surveyors conduct a geotechnical investigation on a county road using drilling equipment in wintery weather. Image Source: © Larry Dallaire / AdobeStock.com.
Geotechnical road investigation on a country road in winter.

A solid understanding of the earth and the foundation of our Nation’s infrastructure is paramount in developing and maintaining an expansive and complex highway transportation system. The Federal Highway Administration’s National Highway Institute (NHI) continuously shapes future geotechnical experts through training courses on everything from understanding soil mechanics to advances in geotechnical engineering principles. NHI offers a comprehensive suite of Web-based and Instructor-led courses that equip engineers, project managers, technicians, designers, and planners with the expertise needed to address challenges in difficult terrain, stable soils, subsurface exploration, foundation construction, and geotechnical analysis.

Designing Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls

Highway engineers, consultants, and contractors can now enhance their expertise through NHI’s newly updated Instructor-led course, Design and Construction of Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) Walls (Course 132042). This training course covers the latest advancements and practices FHWA encourages in MSE wall construction, incorporating updates from the revised Geotechnical Engineering Circular No. 11 manual.

Participants will gain in-depth knowledge of MSE wall terminology, critical project criteria, and soil reinforcement principles essential for designing safe and durable structures. The course includes real-world case studies to perform and evaluate preliminary designs, ensuring internal and external stability using advanced methods such as the coherent gravity method, the simplified method, the stiffness method, and the limit equilibrium method. Attendees will also learn to tackle complex geometric vendor designs and assess their durability through a performance-based approach, under impact and seismic loading. Equipped with these essential tools, participants will emerge with the skills necessary to design and review MSE walls on simple to complex transportation facilities. Interested participants can enroll in the course by searching for 132042 at https://fhwanhi.geniussis.com/RegistrationByCourse.aspx.
 

Multiple types of foundation and rock drilled and arranged in separate containers. Image Source: © Merial / AdobeStock.com.
Drilled core samples separated by composition into columns.

Mastering Subsurface Exploration for Transportation Engineers 

NHI’s Geotechnical Subsurface Exploration (Course 132084) is a Web-based learning module designed to educate transportation engineers with the essential skills and knowledge to navigate subsurface exploration. The course covers earth materials, geophysical methods, and drilling techniques, imparting invaluable insights into soil and rock properties for designing robust foundations, walls, and other geotechnical features crucial to enduring transportation projects.

Participants will also learn to identify key geotechnical features, characterize subsurface conditions, and implement guidelines for geotechnical investigations. The intricacies of soil and rock sampling, in-situ testing, and groundwater investigation will also be covered in the course. The curriculum bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, empowering participants to tackle real-world challenges with confidence and precision. Participants can explore new sessions of the course at https://fhwanhi.geniussis.com/RegistrationByCourse.aspx and search for 132084.

National Highway Institute logo. Image Source: NHI.

Exploring NHI’s Geotechnical Expertise 

NHI’s course catalog is comprehensive and user friendly and contains a variety of geotechnical courses to help participants understand soil mechanics, master foundation design, or explore the latest in geotechnical engineering. A sampling of NHI’s geotechnical course offerings includes the following:

  • Geosynthetics Engineering (Instructor-led; Course 132013).
  • Design and Construction of the Driven Pile Foundations (Instructor-led; Course 132021).
  • Geotechnical Site Characterization (Instructor-led; Course 132031).
  • Soil Slope and Embankment Design and Construction (Instructor-led; Course 132033).
  • Rock Slopes (Instructor-led; Course 132035).
  • Drilled Shaft Foundation Inspection (Instructor-led; Course 132070).
  • Design, Analysis, and Testing of Laterally Loaded Deep Foundations That Support Transportation Facilities (Web-based; Course 132106).

Participants can search the course numbers (132) or keywords in the catalog at https://fhwanhi.geniussis.com/RegistrationByCourse.aspx to find related courses.

For more information about NHI course offerings, visit NHI’s website at https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/home.aspx.

Jonathan Strauss is a senior communications specialist contractor with NHI.