Geomechanics.io

Helical piles are being positioned as an alternative to traditional drilled or spread concrete foundations for lattice and monopole communication towers, particularly where uplift, lateral loads and variable soils control design. Screw-in steel piles with helix plates can be installed with smaller rigs, generate minimal spoil, allow immediate loading and are removable at decommissioning, contrasting with large-diameter drilled shafts or pad-and-pier systems that require curing time and substantial excavation. The comparison focuses on sites with constrained access, weak or layered soils, and projects needing rapid deployment or future relocation.

Thames Water has launched procurement for a multi‑lot framework worth up to £177M (excluding VAT) to deliver site investigation surveys across its asset base. The framework will cover intrusive and non‑intrusive ground investigations, including boreholes, trial pits, in‑situ testing and laboratory analysis to support major water and wastewater infrastructure works. Geotechnical and environmental consultants and drilling contractors can expect long‑term programmes tied to pipeline renewals, treatment works upgrades and resilience schemes across the Thames Water region.

Persimmon Homes has partnered with ground engineering technology firm Ecofill to re-use site-won excavated soils as engineered fill in adoptable roads, retaining walls, piling mats, embankments and trench backfills, displacing imported primary aggregates. Ecofill’s process allows classification and treatment of cohesive and granular arisings to meet highways and structural fill specifications, reducing soil sent to landfill and cutting lorry movements for aggregate haulage. The move signals wider potential for specification-compliant reuse of marginal soils on large housing schemes under UK earthworks and highway adoption standards.

Aarsleff Ground Engineering is promoting an integrated ground solution offer that combines vibro stone columns, rigid and hybrid inclusions, and driven precast piles into a single engineered package for each site. The firm targets projects with variable or weak soils, using mixed systems across a footprint to manage differential stiffness and keep floor slabs flat and frames within tolerance without multiple specialist contractors. For geotechnical and structural teams, the pitch is one design responsibility, coordinated load paths and programme certainty on brownfield or heterogeneous sites.

Dennis Boehm has received the Wallace Hayward Baker Award from the Deep Foundations Institute for more than three decades of work on deep foundations, starting with Hayward Baker (now Keller) in 1990. He is recognised as an expert in both wet and dry soil mixing, applying these methods on complex ground improvement and deep foundation projects across North America. For practitioners, his work reinforces the role of soil mixing in controlling settlement and improving bearing capacity where conventional piling or mass excavation is impractical.

Thames Water has begun procurement for a £5.7bn design-and-build contract to deliver the proposed Abingdon strategic reservoir in Oxfordshire, covering full design, construction, testing and commissioning under a single main contractor. The utility describes the selection as an “extensive” multi-stage process, signalling a long lead-in for bidders needing capability in large earthworks, major water-retaining structures and complex commissioning. For civil and geotechnical contractors, the scale and integrated scope point to significant opportunities in reservoir embankment design, seepage control and long-term performance monitoring systems.

Disaster recovery has started on the Bruxner Highway at Mallanganee, where Transport for NSW is repairing and stabilising two failed downslopes damaged by a landslip between Willock Street and Bulmers Road, about 40 kilometres west of Casino. Works include installing soil nails to reinforce the slope mass and control further movement, alongside reconstruction of the affected pavement and drainage. Geotechnical teams will need to manage access and traffic staging on this constrained highway section while drilling and grouting operations are underway.

A collaborative project to maintain the Victorian Bateman Dam has secured the 2025 Fleming Award for excellence in geotechnical engineering. The team focused on improving dam resilience, likely involving upgrades to the embankment, foundation seepage control and spillway performance to meet current reservoir safety standards for extreme flood and seismic loading. For practitioners, the award signals continued industry emphasis on extending the life of ageing UK dams through targeted ground engineering and risk-based asset management rather than full replacement.

ISSMGE’s International Journal of Geoengineering Case Histories recorded 138,733 paper downloads in 2025, an 18.32% increase on 2024’s 117,260, signalling growing use of detailed case records by practising geotechnical engineers. Open-access case histories on foundations, embankments, ground improvement and slope stability are increasingly being used for benchmarking designs, calibrating numerical models and validating observational methods. The trend points to stronger reliance on documented field performance data, construction records and back-analyses to refine design parameters and risk assessments.

Helical tieback anchors are presented as tension-only elements installed beyond the active wedge to support vertical or near-vertical walls, typically using grouted or screw-in steel shafts with load-tested working capacities and corrosion protection. Helical soil nails are shown as shorter, more closely spaced inclusions installed within the failure mass to create a reinforced soil block, often suited to cut slopes or temporary shoring where access limits anchor length. Selection hinges on geometry, required wall deflection, available bond length, construction access for installation rigs, and tolerance for ground movement.

Repairing the Llangollen Canal breach near New Mills Lift Bridge, Whitchurch, is expected by the Canal & River Trust to cost several million pounds and occupy most of 2026, severely disrupting navigation on this key feeder from the River Dee. Engineers will need to dewater and stabilise the affected pound, reconstruct the failed canal bank and towpath, and reinstate clay lining and embankment drainage to prevent further leakage. The scale and duration signal significant geotechnical investigation and temporary works to manage soft ground and maintain adjacent infrastructure.

Ground preparation is under way to tackle sub‑optimal geology ahead of Lower Thames Crossing tunnelling, with drives under the river not due to start until late 2028. Tunnels director Alastair Lewis is sequencing works to deal with weak alluvium and variable chalk, aiming to stabilise the alignment before launching large‑diameter TBMs for the twin road tunnels. Early treatment of poor ground conditions is intended to reduce settlement risk for the approaches and portals and to de‑risk TBM performance beneath the Thames.

A catastrophic breach on the Llangollen Canal near New Mills Lift Bridge, Whitchurch has drained a long pound and damaged the embankment, despite recent routine inspections reporting no visible defects. Engineers from the Canal & River Trust are now investigating potential failure mechanisms, including internal erosion, leakage paths and historic construction weaknesses in the canal lining and embankment core. The incident raises immediate questions over current visual inspection regimes for ageing UK canal earthworks and whether more frequent intrusive or remote condition monitoring is needed on high-consequence reaches.

Geoquest Australia is deploying turn-key geotechnical systems to reduce geo-risk and weather-related damage to transport infrastructure under rising sea levels, higher rainfall intensity and more frequent extreme heat and fire events. The company is focusing on sustainably produced ground improvement and erosion control products, including stabilisation solutions for road embankments and coastal assets, to limit scour, slippage and pavement failure during intense storms. For asset owners, the approach points to integrated design–supply packages that combine geosynthetics, drainage and soil reinforcement to extend asset life and cut maintenance interventions.

Soil nailing has been selected as the primary long-term stabilisation method for a failing section of Swanage seafront, with works expected to cost at least £4.5M. The scheme will address ongoing ground movement and slope instability affecting coastal infrastructure and promenade assets, where traditional retaining solutions have proved less viable. Designers and contractors will need to manage marine exposure, corrosion protection for nails and facing, and construction sequencing to maintain public access along this constrained shoreline.

The International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, via the International Journal of Geoengineering Case Histories, has opened a call for papers for a Special Issue on “Geo-Hazards: Lessons from the Ground”. Submissions are sought on documented case histories of landslides, liquefaction, sinkholes, tailings failures and other geo-hazards, emphasising in-situ data, back-analyses and performance of mitigation works. The issue targets practice-oriented lessons for design, monitoring and risk management, with detailed ground investigation records and instrumentation results strongly encouraged.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is assessing options for a new floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) and a strategic geological gas storage facility to bolster UK gas resilience. An FSRU would provide ship-based LNG storage and regasification at an import terminal, while geological storage would likely use depleted gas fields or salt caverns for high-volume, seasonal buffering. The work signals potential demand for large-diameter offshore pipelines, high-pressure injection wells and long-term integrity management of underground gas containment.

New research on Australian expansive clays warns that more frequent intense rainfall and drought cycles are accelerating differential movement and cracking in lightweight buildings, pavements and transport corridors founded on shrink–swell soils. The work points to heave and settlement driven by deep moisture fluctuations, with particular concern for lightly loaded slabs, shallow footings and low-volume roads where historical climate data underestimates design suction changes. Engineers are urged to revisit site classification, footing depth, drainage and moisture barriers, and to integrate updated climate projections into geotechnical design for new and existing assets.

Ground conditions at Sizewell C have forced the Civil Works Alliance to depart from the Hinkley Point C reference design for the offshore intake and outfall tunnels, driving new solutions for lining, support and construction sequencing. Contractors have had to re-optimise tunnel geometry and TBM drive strategy for the North Sea sediments and local stratigraphy, rather than the harder rock and different stress regime at Hinkley. The changes affect segment design, joint detailing and groundwater control, with direct implications for durability, settlement behaviour and marine interface works.

Keller has completed a ground improvement scheme for Encinal High School Stadium in Alameda, California, collaborating with the project geotechnical engineer to satisfy California Geological Survey seismic requirements. The solution, delivered as part of a larger stadium renovation, used ground improvement to mitigate liquefaction and lateral spreading risks identified in the site’s young bay mud and loose granular fills. For practitioners, the project shows how early contractor–engineer integration can tailor seismic ground improvement to school facilities on soft, seismically active coastal deposits.

AGS’s July update launches an Early Careers Video, “Discovering a Rewarding Career in the Geo-Industry”, for use by industry representatives in schools and universities, and reports 2023 geotechnical and geoenvironmental accident statistics based on a 127% increase in contributing organisations. A new two-part SiLC PTP series critiques the standard of land contamination reports submitted through the planning system, echoing regulator concerns about report quality and consistency. Forthcoming events include a 25 September EDI-focused webinar and a November Manchester meeting on groundwater impacts across design and construction stages.

AGS’s September issue centres on Fugro’s move to cut single‑use plastic in site investigation by recycling core liners, alongside guidance on structuring Employee Networks to support both staff and business performance. A new EC7 Next Gen bitesize guide stresses that BS EN 1991:2023 must be used to correctly apply FprEN 1997:2024 when assigning geotechnical risk categories to structures. Practitioners are also alerted to potential environmental law changes under the Retained EU Law Act 2023 and to upcoming AGS events on EDI, groundwater in design and construction, and the 2025 London conference.

AGS launches new Piling and Sustainability Roadmaps and confirms renewed collaboration with the British Drilling Association to target health and safety performance across geotechnical operations. The group backs wider adoption of the National Quality Mark Scheme (NQMS) in response to regulatory concerns over investigation and reporting quality, and flags upcoming technical events on cone penetration testing (29 January 2025) and effective procurement of ground investigations (26 March 2025). An in‑person AGS Annual Conference on 1 May 2025 will focus on “The Future” of ground engineering practice.

AGS’s March issue centres on women’s safety and wellbeing in geotechnics, including profiles of SiLC’s female leads and reflections on basic PPE gaps such as safety boots not available in smaller sizes. Technical content covers EC7-compliant ground model construction, Net Zero-focused rolling dynamic compaction, and current constraints in professional indemnity insurance identified by the Loss Prevention Working Group. Forthcoming CPD includes an April webinar on effective procurement of ground investigations and a May in-person Annual Conference themed “The Future”, with an early-career workplace innovation poster competition and networking reception.

AGS Magazine’s November 2025 issue focuses on analytical challenges in interpreting historical soil data, material management plans, and a rise in environmental disputes affecting geotechnical and geoenvironmental projects. The edition publishes the 2024 Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Industry Accident Statistics, giving sector-wide safety performance data to benchmark site practices and risk controls. Early-career initiatives feature strongly, with an AGS Early Careers Poster Competition on “Top Five Industry Insights” and promotion of the Ground Forum Undergraduate Mentoring Programme for structured mentoring of future ground engineers.

Researchers at New York University Abu Dhabi report Curiosity rover evidence that liquid water once flowed beneath aeolian dunes in Gale Crater, forming cemented crusts and polygonal fracture networks in fine-grained sandstones. High-resolution Mastcam and ChemCam observations show cross-bedded units with indurated tops and moisture-related diagenetic features consistent with shallow subsurface flow rather than surface runoff. For planetary geotechnics, the work implies past groundwater-driven cementation, altered shear behaviour of dune-derived sediments, and more complex subsurface stratigraphy relevant to future drilling and in situ construction on Mars.

Central Alabama Water signalled it will stick with its existing Lake Purdy Dam stabilisation concept after its board heard conflicting expert recommendations on alternative designs. Vice Chair Phillip Wiedmeyer said the utility intends to proceed with the current plan, despite consultants presenting differing approaches to address the dam’s stability and safety margins. The decision keeps design assumptions and geotechnical investigation scope unchanged for now, affecting timelines for any foundation treatment, embankment works or spillway modifications.