Three geotechnical engineers from GeoEngineers’ Baton Rouge office, David Sauls, PE, Larry Sant, PE and Sunil Malla, PE, represented the company at the Deep Foundations Institute’s 37th Annual Conference in Houston, Texas, October 16-19, 2012.
At the event, Larry Sant presented Design-Build Synergy to Deliver Pile Foundations, a paper the three co-wrote for the conference. The coauthors also hosted a poster presentation at the conference.
LA DOTD US909/LA85 Project Highlighted
In their paper and presentations, Sauls, Sant and Malla shared insights they had gained as project partners for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development’s (LA DOTD) US Highway 90 at Louisiana State Highway 85 (US90/LA85) intersection design-build project. This project was one of five LA DOTD design-build projects recognized by The Design Build Institute of America when it honored the LA DOTD as its 2011 Transportation Owner of the Year in the Highway/Bridges category.
The US90/LA85 project was contracted under the design-build delivery system, in part to take advantage of unique opportunities for efficiencies in pile foundation design and installation. The project included construction of pre-cast, pre-stressed concrete (PPC) piling in compressible southern Louisiana soils.
One design-build method advantage the authors stressed was its shorter schedule, which helped make the US90/LA85 project “shovel-ready” quickly, enabling the LA DOTD to secure American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. The three also described the synergy between owner and the partners of working toward a common goal, design and construction efficiencies and team building.
Since 1976, the Deep Foundations Institute has facilitated gatherings where engineering and construction profes¬sionals in the deep foundations industry can learn from one another and advance the industry. At the conclusion of the conference, David Sauls remarked, “We had a prime presentation time at the conference, and Larry Sant did a great job presenting our paper to a very engaged audience. Sunil’s pile design and his operation of our pile driving analyzer (PDA) provided the opportunity to meet and engage lots of new professional associates. We were able to build on our reputation for technical excellence in the foundation industry.”
