GRI received three awards at the ACEC-Oregon Engineering Excellence 2012 awards banquet on January 11.  The entry for the NOAA Marine Operation Center - Pacific project in Newport, Oregon, won both a Grand Award in the Special Project category and the People's Choice Award. GRI and KPFF Consulting Engineers completed the geotechnical and civil engineering effort for this 1,500-ft-long dock and on-shore office and warehouse buildings while meeting a challenging schedule including in-water work window restrictions.  NOAA moved its Pacific research fleet to the successfully completed facility in August 2011.

Our second entry, US 20: Simpson Creek Curves Realignment project won an Honor Award in the Transportation category.  This 2-mile section of highway in Lincoln County, Oregon, included eight new retaining walls, new soil and rock cut slopes up to 160 ft high, and a new fish-friendly bridge over Simpson Creek.

Fifteen Mile Creek Bridge on I-84 near The Dalles is now open to traffic again.  GRI worked with David Evans and Associates, Inc. to replace the aging bridge as part of ODOT's Oregon Transportation Investment Act (OTIA).  The new bridge crosses a relatively deep canyon of Fifteen Mile Creek, about 75 ft above the canyon floor. The sidewalls of the canyon consist of nearly vertical outcrops of flow basalt. The bridge is supported on spread footings, most on hard basalt. The interior bent footings are tied down with rock anchors.

Photo courtesy of ODOT

Congratulations to Walker Macy for winning the American Society of Landscape Architect's Oregon Chapter 2011 merit award for Analysis and Planning for Cottonwood Canyon State Park on the John Day River in eastern Oregon.  In July 2011, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission approved the Comprehensive Plan for the new park, which will become Oregon's second largest state park and is scheduled to open in September 2013.

Working as a consultant to Walker Macy, GRI provided geotechnical design services for soil and rock cuts and associated retaining walls for the entry road to the park.  If you'd like more information about the project, contact GRI’s project engineer, Tammy Kimball, PE.

Photograph by Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department showing John Day River flowing into Cottonwood Canyon 

GRI associate Scott Schlechter (right) received the Young Engineer of the Year award at the American Society of Civil Engineers' Oregon Section banquet on September 30.  Scott has 11 years of experience with GRI and leads the firm’s earthquake engineering group. He has completed seismic design studies for many infrastructure projects, including the new NOAA Marine Operations Center in Newport, Oregon, and the planned Jordan Cove LNG Terminal in Coos Bay, Oregon.  He has co-authored several papers on the seismic performance of waterfront structures. 

Scott has been actively involved with ASCE throughout his career.  He served 2 years as program chair for the Oregon Section and led fundraising and organizational efforts for the ASCE Younger Member Forum golf tournament for the last 7 years. In 2009, he helped start the American Council of Engineering Companies-Oregon’s  Future Leaders Forum committee.  He also recently joined the national committee for ASCE's Coasts, Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute (COPRI).

GRI's Vancouver, Washington, office is hosting an open house on Thursday October 13th from 4 to 7 pm.  The office is located in downtown Vancouver at 1101 Broadway Street, Suite 130. Hearty snacks and refreshing beverages will be served. If you'd like to join us, please RSVP by October 10 via e-mail to Matt Shanahan or by phone at 360-213-1690.

GRI opened our Vancouver office in 2008 to better serve our Washington clients.  Examples of projects the Vancouver office has worked on include Washington State University’s Vancouver campus; the Port of Vancouver’s West Vancouver Freight Access project, and Fisher Creek Corporate Campus in Camas. We also provided geotechnical design services to the Washington State Department of Transportation for the SR 16 Interchange in Tacoma.

(Photo:  Building A nearing completion at Fisher Creek Corporate Campus in Camas, Washington)

GRI Principal Dwight Hardin, PE, GE, and Associate Scott Schlechter, PE, GE, were guest speakers at the Oregon Department of Transportation Region 4 Brown Bag session on September 1, 2011.  Their presentation entitled, “Addressing Variable Rock Conditions to Minimize Construction Problems,” addressed common types of construction that are impacted by variable rock conditions and how to identify and characterize the variability.  Dwight and Scott presented several case histories that successfully implemented risk mitigation approaches and outlined a cost-effective foundation solution for challenging rock sites.

Congratulations go out to GRI staff engineer Jack Gordon, who can now add the initials PE after his name!   He passed the state exam and became an Oregon-registered professional engineer in July. 

Jack began working part time at GRI in 2005 while finishing his master’s degree at Oregon State University and joined the staff full time in 2007.  Since then he has focused on design of deep excavations, seismic design considerations, and instrumentation monitoring.  He can often be found at construction sites evaluating foundation subgrades or observing micropile load tests.

The new Simpson Creek Bridge on Hwy 20 in Lincoln County, Oregon, was completed over the weekend of May 13, 2011.  Crews from Kerr Contractors, Inc. completed the work ahead of schedule during a weekend closure of the highway.  

GRI provided geotechnical and engineering geology design services for the project as part of an on-call contract with Oregon Department of Transportation and observed earthwork and construction of foundations for the new bridge and associated improvements.

Cinco de Mayo has long been one of our favorite holidays at GRI, and this year an overflow crowd joined the celebration. 

It’s always good to see new and familiar faces around the office, especially when a party is involved.  Kathryn of Artistic Catering prepared a zesty feast that included chicken and goat cheese enchiladas, tapas-style shrimp, pulled pork sliders, homemade jalapeno poppers, and assorted sweets. 

A good time was had by all -- even the piñatas made it through the evening in one piece.  How’s that for workplace safety?

Thank you to all who attended, and for those who couldn’t make it, we hope you’ll join us next time! 

Located along the Historic Columbia River Highway and high above the Columbia River, Crown Point has long been a favorite destination for viewing the Columbia River Gorge.  Originally constructed in 1914, the structurally supported sidewalk, or viaduct, is located near the top of a sheer basalt cliff and provides unobstructed views of the gorge.  In 1915, a retaining wall was constructed to support the road bed for the highway.  The Vista House was built a year later in 1916. 

GRI is part of a multi-discipline design team led by David Evans and Associates, Inc., that is working with the Federal Highway Administration and Oregon Department of Transportation to restore and strengthen the viaduct after nearly a century of use.  The goal of the work is to structurally strengthen the viaduct while preserving the appearance and as much of the original structure as possible.  The challenging site conditions as well as the project requirements have given rise to innovative, yet cost-effective, solutions that will extend the life of this remarkable facility for at least another 50 years.

Courtesy of ODOT Photo and Video Services

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Brian Bayne to the position of Project Geotechnical Engineer.  Brian has been with GRI for 6 years and works from our Vancouver, Washington, office.  He is  a registered professional engineer in Washington, Oregon, and California  and much of his recent work has focused on transportation projects with the Washington Department of Transportation and the Port of Vancouver, USA; waterfront and marine projects; and industrial facilities.  Brian holds BS and MS degrees from Washington State University, is an avid sports fan, and hopes the Cougs’ football fortunes will someday improve.  He is also an accomplished golfer, so think twice before agreeing to any hasty wagers on the course.  We congratulate Brian for his hard work and dedication to our profession!