Northwest Geotechnical Workshop

32nd Northwest Geotechnical Workshop Showcases Lessons Learned

The 32nd Northwest Geotechnical Workshop, was held in Breckenridge, CO, on September 24-26, 2006. Participants came from 10 State DOTs, the FHWA Resource Center, CFLHD, WFLHD, and FHWA Division offices, as well as several invited speakers from private industry. A variety of technical and case study presentations were made on subjects such as slope stability, foundations, geophysics, retaining walls, and other geotechniques. The workshop was held the same week and in the same location as the Highway Geology Symposium (September 27 - 29) and the two meetings shared a 1-day field trip to see geology, natural hazards, and geotechnical engineering along the Interstate 70 and U.S. 6 corridors in the mountains of Summit and Clear Creek Counties, Colorado. Presentation awards included: Best Presentation - Mark Vessely, Colorado DOT for "Maroon Creek Bridge in Aspen - What You Can Buy for $14 Million in Aspen;" Best Technical Presentation - Mitchell McDonald, Alaska DOT and Robert Dugan, Golder Associates for "Using Innovative Methods for Geologic Mapping of a Proposed Highway Alignment;" and the "Project From Hell" award - Clifton Farnsworth, Utah DOT for "Provo Canyon Reconstruction."

The 2006 Mr. Northwest Geotech award recipient was Mark Falk, Wyoming DOT. The 2006 Hat's Off Award recipient was Mark Vessely, Colorado DOT.

This Northwest Geotechnical Workshop again proved to be our most successful geotechnical technology transfer activity, according to participants. The State and FHWA personnel from the 10 Northwest and Rocky Mountain States who participated in this workshop considered this to be "the best and most productive technical session [they] attend during the course of the year."

The next Northwest Geotechnical Workshop will be hosted by the Idaho Transportation Department, September 3 - 6, 2007, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The fieldtrip will cover geological and geotechnical features along the US 95 corridor north of Coeur d'Alene.

For more information on the Northwest States Geotechnical Workshop, contact:

Barry Siel
Geotechnical Engineer
FHWA Resource Center
(720) 963-3208
barry.siel@dot.gov

History of Northwest Geotechnical Engineers Workshop

No	Year	Site
1^st	1975	Moscow, ID
2^nd	1976	Boise, ID
3^rd	1977	Olympia, WA
4^th	1978	Cheyenne, WY
5^th	1979	Portland, OR
6^th	1980	Helena, MT
7^th	1981	Portland, OR
8^th	1982	Denver, CO
9^th	1983	Seattle, WA
10^th	1984	Rapid City, SD
11^th	1985	Valdez, AK
12^th	1986	Helena, MT
13^th	1987	Portland, OR
14^th	1988	Park City, UT
15^th	1989	Post Falls, ID
16^th	1990	Glenwood Springs, CO
17^th	1991	Vancouver, WA
18^th	1992	Rapid City, SD
19^th	1993	Anchorage, AK
20^th	1994	Bigfork, MT
21^st	1995	Portland, OR
22^nd	1996	Cody, WY
23^rd	1997	Boise, ID
24^th	1998	Park City, UT
25^th	1999	Bismarck, ND
26^th	2000	Seattle, WA
27^th	2001	Deadwood, SD
28^th	2002	Anchorage, AK
29^th	2003	Tigard, OR Agenda
30^th	2004	Red Lodge, MT 2004 Agenda 2004 Executive Summary
31^st	2005	Jackson, WY 2005 Agenda 2005 Executive Summary
32^nd	2006	Breckenridge, CO 2006 Agenda 2006 Executive Summary
33^rd	2007	Coeur d'Alene, ID 2007 Agenda 2007 Executive Summary

The member Federal and State DOT organizations include: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, CFLHD, WFLHD and the FHWA Resource Center.