May/June 2024 - 75

MATTHEW R. GLISSON, P.E.
DIRECTOR OF TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
I am sure that you all felt many of the
same emotions I did upon hearing about
the collapse of the Francis Scott Key
Bridge in Baltimore. Thankfulness for
the actions of the harbor pilot and emergency personnel that
were able to stop at least some traffic before the ship impacted
the pier. Heartbreak over the loss of six individuals that are our
colleagues in the construction industry. Curiosity about what
and how many things went wrong leading up to this
catastrophe. Bewilderment at just how quickly the bridge came
down, even though the technical side of me was not surprised
at all, given the size of the ship and the location of impact.
I imagine those of you that live, work or visit that area will
have similar thoughts as those I had when the Interstate 35W
(I35W) Bridge collapsed in Minneapolis when I lived there in
2007. How many times had I driven over the bridge and was
the most recent time really just last week? How could such a
structure collapse? Did I know anyone involved in the
collapse? How long is it going to take to replace it?
In the case of the I35W Bridge, it took just over 13 months
to replace, and it is a source of pride for me to have been part of
rebuilding that bridge. It is amazing what we can do when we
collaborate and are all aligned toward a singular goal.
The failure of a structure that results in loss of life or major
disruption to the public is awful and something that none of
us in our profession want to be a part of. But these situations
also provide us with multiple opportunities to show what we
can do, as engineers, constructors and society. People and
companies will step up over the next few years not only to
replace the bridge, but to support their neighbors and local
businesses in restoring the area's economy. Local and federal
government will likely allocate money to infrastructure, with
some earmarked to correct similar deficiencies that are
identified as the causes for this disaster. Design and operation
standards will be updated, and more.
We, as specialists in the design and construction industry,
have the privilege and responsibility to help honor the lives
lost, improve our industry and restore a community. I have
seen us do it before and know we will do it again.
2024 Committee Project Fund
In late 2023, our committees submitted eight proposals as part
of the Committee Project Fund program. DFI's Board of
Trustees voted to award funds to four proposals, based on the
recommendations of the Committee Project Fund Review
Committee, led by Dan MacLean, P.Eng., Keller Foundations.
During the review process, MacLean commented on how the
quality of the proposals has improved over the last decade
making the committee's job ranking them happily harder.
Here are the four awarded projects.
* Effects of Varying Limestone Content on Grout to Steel
Bond of 0.6 " 270 ksi Prestressing Steel Strand from the
Anchored Earth Retention Committee, being led by Pete
Speier, P.E., of Williams Form Corporation
* Predictive Tools for Soil Improvement and Axial Pile
Capacities of Drilled Displacement Piles submitted by the
Augered Cast-in-Place and Drilled Displacement Pile
Committee and led by Anne Lemnitzer, Ph.D., P.E., Jasper
Vrugt, Ph.D., and Genesis Figueroa, all with University of
California, Irvine
* Combining Side and Base Resistance in Soil Bearing
Drilled Shafts from the Drilled Shaft Committee and led by
David Graham, P.E., BC.GE, and Ben Turner, Ph.D., P.E., G.E.,
both of Dan Brown and Associates
* Type IL Cement: Bench Scale Testing and Design
Recommendations submitted by the Micropile
Committee and being led by David Froster, P.E., Aria Fathi,
Ph.D., P.E., and Helen Robinson, P.E., PMP, BC.GE, all with
GEI Consultants
New Committees
Also at this year's Winter Planning Meeting, DFI's Board of
Trustees voted to establish two new committees. The
Foundation Reuse Committee had been a task force under the
Subsurface Characterization for Deep Foundations
Committee, but the continued increase in reusing existing
foundations and the work the group did as a task force made it
clear that DFI needed to make the group a full committee. The
mission of the committee is to reduce impediments to
foundation reuse through outreach, promotion of technical
advancements, and development of guidance documents and
specifications. Committee chair Andrew Boeckmann, Ph.D.,
P.E., Dan Brown and Associates, will continue to lead the group.
Recognizing the need to encourage and engage people to
consider careers in the deep foundations industry, DFI
established the Student Engagement Committee. The
committee, with support from the DFI Educational Trust, will
develop consistent student opportunities and experiences
that raise awareness of career opportunities in our industry,
grow interest in DFI and provide members the opportunity to
interact with prospective employees at school and DFI
events. Chris Woods, P.E., G.E., BC.GE, C.Eng. MIEI, F.ASCE,
LEED AP BD+C, Densification, is the chair of the Student
Engagement Committee.
DFI of India has also established a new committee, the
Helical Pile Technology Implementation Committee, with the
goal to bring awareness of opportunities for helical pile use to
DEEP FOUNDATIONS * MAY/JUNE 2024 * 75
May/June 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May/June 2024
