Geomechanics.io

Reuse of existing piled and raft foundations is accelerating on commercial property schemes as clients accept higher investigation spend in exchange for major embodied carbon and programme savings. Engineers are combining detailed pile integrity testing, targeted coring and advanced geotechnical back‑analysis with updated Eurocode‑based reliability methods to justify reusing legacy foundations originally designed for very different load cases. Planning and funding bodies are now more willing to accept partial reuse strategies, shifting project briefs away from default demolition and full replacement towards selective strengthening, load‑sharing and local pile augmentation.

Industry geotechnical specialists at the John Mitchell lecture warned that UK foundation design on chalk is still misjudging key behaviours such as solution features, variable weathering profiles and the risk of brittle collapse under cyclic loading. Speakers pointed to recent pile and shallow foundation projects where inadequate chalk characterisation, limited core recovery and over-reliance on generic SPT correlations led to unexpected settlements and construction delays. Attendees were urged to adopt more rigorous chalk-specific investigation, including targeted boreholes, high-quality sampling and site-specific load testing, before finalising foundation schemes.

Network Rail is delivering £41M of earthworks across key North West rail corridors to improve cuttings and embankments against winter rainfall, freeze–thaw and slope instability. Works are expected to include regrading and strengthening of existing earthwork assets, improved drainage systems and renewed trackside access to reduce washouts, slips and emergency speed restrictions. Geotechnical teams will need to manage construction around live traffic, legacy Victorian earth structures and variable ground conditions typical of the region’s glacial tills and weathered rock.

Calls to add ground condition metrics to public weather forecasts argue that engineers, utilities and transport operators now need near real-time data on soil moisture, pore pressure and desiccation risk, not just rainfall totals and wind speeds. Proponents point to recent UK failures on clay cuttings, embankment slips and buried pipe bursts after prolonged drought–storm cycles, where Met Office rainfall data alone gave little warning of loss of shear strength or shrink–swell movement. Integrating sensor networks, satellite soil-moisture indices and probabilistic geotechnical models into daily forecasts could materially change inspection, access planning and temporary works decisions.

Around 55,000t of rock armour is being placed by PD Ports along the South Gare breakwater at Redcar to reinforce coastal protection for the River Tees against increasingly severe North Sea storm conditions. The works focus on strengthening the existing rubble-mound structure, which has experienced accelerated damage and overtopping, with rock sizes and gradings selected to resist higher wave energy and storm surges. For coastal and geotechnical engineers, the scheme signals a need to reassess armour stability and design return periods on older breakwaters under changing wave climates.

Belfast Harbour’s £90M D3 project is converting reclaimed land into a deep-water quay designed to berth large cruise vessels and support offshore wind installation vessels, within tight tidal windows in a heavily trafficked channel. Engineers are contending with variable fill and soft alluvial deposits, requiring ground improvement and careful quay wall design to control settlement and lateral movement under high berthing and crane loads. Construction methods are being adapted to strict environmental constraints in Belfast Lough, including turbidity limits and noise controls for marine habitats.

Universal has named its first wave of contractors and consultants for the planned multi‑billion‑pound theme resort near Bedford, as enabling works start on the former Stewartby brickworks site. Early packages cover site clearance, ground investigation and utilities diversions to prepare the large brownfield plot for major earthworks, foundations and transport links to the nearby A421 and Midland Main Line. The appointments signal imminent demand for geotechnical design, ground remediation and complex phasing to manage high visitor loads and tight programme constraints.

Ground engineer Mainmark UK has used its Teretek engineered resin injection system to improve ground conditions for 77 new foundation locations at Network Rail’s Tottenham Hale station, enabling replacement of deteriorating precast concrete platforms with glass‑reinforced polymer units. Working with tier one contractor CML over a single bank holiday weekend, the team completed the works in three shifts by injecting resin through small‑diameter access points to depths of around 2m, avoiding excavation. The solution densified variable made ground and granular soils, reducing programme risk and construction disruption for the live rail environment.

Lovell has paused construction on a nearby housing development in Charlton, south London, after three homes on Woodland Terrace suffered a partial collapse. Lovell took the decision to pause work while it works with the Royal Borough of Greenwich and other relevant parties to understand what happened. The cause of the incident has not been established. Lovell commissioned an independent structural engineer to carry out a visual survey of the properties.

British Tunnelling Society chair and Jacobs tunnels director for Europe Alastair Smith calls for earlier geotechnical investigation and constructability input in UK tunnel planning to cut redesign and delay on major schemes. Drawing on five decades of work on large-bore metro, water and road tunnels worldwide, he points to fragmented client governance and late contractor involvement as key causes of cost escalation. Smith urges standardised design frameworks and clearer risk allocation for ground conditions to speed delivery of long linear assets.

Network Rail has launched an Expression of Interest for a £77.6M multi-year framework to deliver geotechnical and civil engineering works across its Wales and Western regions, covering earthworks, structures and associated lineside assets. The framework is expected to package embankment and cutting stabilisation, retaining walls, culverts and bridge repairs into regional workbanks, with contractors providing design-and-build capability under railway possession and access constraints. Bidders will need proven experience in rail-adjacent geotechnics, temporary works and working under live traffic with tight blockade windows.

Network Rail has launched a £93m, multi-lot design-and-build framework for rock cutting remediation and associated geotechnical works across its Wales (£40.8m) and Western (£36.8m) regions. The three-year framework, extendable by up to two years, covers investigation, design, construction and handback for rock cut stabilisation, earthwork drainage upgrades and burrowing management on operational rail corridors. Contractors will act as Principal Contractor and, where required, Principal Designer, with separate appointments planned for each region but the option to bid for both.

Devon County Council has let a £1.29M contract, including VAT, for highway stabilisation works at the A377 Weirmarsh slip, a known failure point on this key Barnstaple–Exeter route. The scheme is expected to involve ground stabilisation and slope support to address ongoing embankment movement affecting the carriageway formation. Contractors and designers will need to manage works under live traffic on a constrained rural corridor, with careful control of groundwater and temporary works to maintain slope stability during construction.

Slope stabilisation case studies from Aarsleff Ground Engineering show driven steel sheet piles, a 10 m-deep contiguous piled wall and soil nails being tailored to constrained brownfield and heritage sites in Alnwick, Tynemouth and Northampton. Solutions include 57.6 m and 20 m sheet-piled retaining walls installed with silent press and Movax to protect listed masonry, a 300 mm-diameter contiguous wall with 3 m rock bolts, gabions and 25 m² carved shotcrete for a 120-year cliff design life, and 8 m R32 hollow-bar soil nails designed via 3D clash modelling around buried services.

Two derailments at Lewes in Sussex and Wickford in Essex, plus a landslip on another Sussex route and a separate track defect in Surrey, have simultaneously disrupted key commuter and regional rail corridors in south-east England. The incidents point to localised formation instability and asset degradation across multiple routes rather than a single point failure, with engineers now inspecting embankments, ballast condition and rail geometry. Operators face short-term speed restrictions and diversions while permanent repairs and geotechnical assessments are completed.

Vattenfall has appointed Natural Power to deliver comprehensive ground investigations for its planned 100MW Qurack and 90MW Quantans Hill onshore wind farms in Scotland, extending a 15‑year collaboration. Natural Power’s construction and geotechnical teams will deploy specialist site investigation techniques and advanced survey technologies to characterise geotechnical, geological and environmental conditions across both sites. The data will feed directly into turbine foundation design, access road alignment and construction risk reduction, giving Vattenfall higher confidence in earthworks, drainage and infrastructure layouts before detailed design and procurement.

Extensive ground engineering works are under way on the West of Leeds section of the Transpennine Route Upgrade to manage legacy risks from historic industrial activity beneath and adjacent to the railway. Contractors are deploying a mix of ground investigation, grouting, soil stabilisation and structural retaining solutions to deal with old mine workings, made ground and buried obstructions that could compromise track formation and structures. The interventions aim to secure long-term track geometry, reduce differential settlement and maintain line availability during and after capacity and electrification upgrades.

Ground investigation techniques typically used for highways and foundations have been deployed in a 1960s missing person cold case, with RSK geophysicists leading the subsurface search. The team is combining ground-penetrating radar (GPR) with intrusive investigation methods such as boreholes or trial pits to characterise stratigraphy and detect potential burial anomalies. The work shows how standard site investigation tools can be adapted for forensic applications, including in constrained or previously disturbed ground.

Coates has expanded its engineered dewatering capability with a new fleet of electric BBA Pumps, including PT200 D265 (8″/200mm), PT150 D185 (6″/150mm) and PT100 D130 (4″/100mm) units for urban construction sites. The electric configuration targets groundwater control on projects from small residential excavations to complex basements, water assets and civil infrastructure in dense urban areas where diesel emissions, noise and access constraints are critical. For geotechnical and civil contractors, the range allows closer-to-face installation and longer runtimes on grid power, simplifying dewatering design and temporary works planning.

The Observational Method in ground engineering is regaining interest as major infrastructure schemes look to manage geotechnical uncertainty in real time rather than rely solely on conservative design factors. Engineers are revisiting staged construction with predefined trigger levels, instrumented slopes and retaining walls, and adaptive support measures, but uptake remains patchy due to contractual risk allocation, programme pressures, and limited monitoring budgets. Wider use could cut unnecessary pile lengths, excavation support thicknesses and contingency allowances, provided clients accept flexible design envelopes and robust monitoring–response plans.

Newport City Council has issued a £2.7M procurement for a solar farm and battery energy storage system at the capped Docks Way Landfill Site in Newport, South Wales, aiming to convert the former waste facility into a grid-connected renewable energy asset. The design-and-build contract will need to address foundation detailing on landfill cover, settlement behaviour and gas management, as well as integrating the BESS with local distribution network constraints. Civil and geotechnical bidders will be expected to manage construction over waste, including differential settlement and leachate control.

Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering, VSL Systems (UK) and Bachy Soletanche have formed a dedicated Geotechnical Sub-Alliance for the Sizewell C nuclear project, in what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind delivery model on a UK megaproject. The alliance is expected to coordinate complex ground engineering packages for the twin EPR units, including deep foundations, retaining structures and heavy temporary works for major nuclear island and marine structures. For contractors and designers, the move signals tighter integration of design–build geotechnical risk management on a highly regulated, coastal, soft-ground site.

Laing O’Rourke has appointed Clare Rodgers as head of Expanded Geotechnical, making her the first female business unit leader across any of the contractor’s specialist trading businesses. Rodgers moves from Select, where she was lifting solutions leader responsible for complex crane and heavy lifting strategies, bringing temporary works and lifting logistics expertise directly into the ground engineering unit. She succeeds Ronan O’Rourke, who becomes director of clients and markets for Laing O’Rourke’s Europe Hub, signalling closer alignment between geotechnical delivery and major project clients.

Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering, VSL Systems (UK) and Bachy Soletanche will jointly deliver major geotechnical works for the Sizewell C nuclear project, covering piling, soil mixing, diaphragm walls and plastic cut-off walls. The package will form key below-ground containment and support structures for the twin EPR units, where groundwater control and long-term settlement performance are critical on the Suffolk coast. The collaboration signals early locking-in of specialist contractors for complex deep-foundation and seepage-control systems on one of the UK’s largest current infrastructure schemes.

An updated “higher confidence model” from the British Geological Survey refines estimates of superficial deposit thickness above Great Britain’s bedrock, giving engineers improved depth-to-rock data for foundations, earthworks and buried infrastructure. The model integrates existing BGS geological mapping with borehole records and geophysical datasets to reduce uncertainty in areas with complex drift sequences and variable till or alluvium cover. Practitioners can use the outputs to optimise preliminary ground investigation targeting, refine early-stage design assumptions and better screen geohazard susceptibility at corridor and site scale.

Publication by the British Geological Survey of final borehole data packs and a full drilling report from the UK Geoenergy Observatory in Cheshire provides open access to high‑resolution geological, hydrogeological and geophysical logs for the Sherwood Sandstone aquifer. The dataset covers multiple cored and instrumented boreholes with continuous wireline logging, groundwater monitoring and core descriptions, giving engineers direct parameters for permeability, stratigraphy and faulting. Geotechnical, geothermal and energy‑storage designers can now calibrate numerical models, assess thermal and hydraulic behaviour, and de‑risk subsurface infrastructure in similar Triassic sandstone settings.

Georgia Tech’s Geosystems group has released high‑resolution digital scans of Prof George F. Sowers’ handwritten Harvard course notes from the late 1940s, capturing original lectures by Karl Terzaghi and Arthur Casagrande on topics such as effective stress, consolidation and stability analysis. The archive, drawn from Sowers’ time as a graduate student, preserves worked examples, early design charts and problem sets that pre‑date many modern textbooks. Practitioners gain direct access to primary teaching material from the formative period of modern soil mechanics for reference, teaching and historical comparison.

New British Geological Survey mapping of the upper 2m of seabed across the UK North Sea shows highly variable near-surface geology, challenging assumptions of relatively uniform sands used in many cable burial designs. The work identifies rapid lateral changes between sands, gravels, soft sediments and lag deposits at scales relevant to ploughs and jetting tools, with implications for trench stability, target burial depths and pull-out resistance for subsea power and telecoms cables. Designers may need denser geophysical and geotechnical sampling and more adaptable burial equipment specifications.

Helical piles and anchors are presented as displacement deep foundations whose performance depends on correctly specifying helix geometry (diameter, pitch, spacing), shaft type (solid square vs hollow round), and corrosion protection for the design life. The guide stresses matching installation torque to required axial capacity, using torque correlation factors (Kt) appropriate to soil type, and defining minimum embedment depth and number of helices rather than leaving these to contractors. Engineers are urged to state load cases (tension, compression, lateral), serviceability criteria, and testing requirements such as proof and pre-production load tests.

Contractors McIlwain Civil Engineering and SEE Civil Joint Venture have secured the next stage of early works for Queensland’s Mooloolah River Interchange, a key connection for the Sunshine Motorway and Nicklin Way on the Sunshine Coast. The package centres on large-scale earthworks and embankment construction to build up formation levels and stabilise ground conditions ahead of the full interchange upgrade. Geotechnical focus will be on settlement control and embankment performance in a coastal, flood-prone corridor before major bridge and traffic-switching works proceed.

New climate-modelling by the British Geological Survey (BGS) projects that up to 11% of UK homes – several million properties – could face increased clay-related subsidence risk by 2070 as hotter, drier summers drive greater soil shrink–swell. The work uses UKCP18 climate scenarios to map susceptibility on shrink–swell clays, flagging particular exposure in southern and eastern England where high-plasticity London Clay and similar formations are widespread. For geotechnical and asset engineers, this points to tighter foundation design, tree and drainage management, and targeted monitoring of existing low-rise housing stock.

Professor Lyesse Laloui has been elected President of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) for 2026–2029 at the Vienna Council Meeting held alongside the XXI ICSMGE 2026. Laloui, Chair Professor at EPFL and director of its Laboratory for Soil Mechanics, brings a portfolio of more than 560 publications and 19,000+ citations spanning constitutive modelling, energy geostructures, CO₂ storage and multiphase porous media. The Council also confirmed XXII ICSMGE for Shanghai in November 2029 and the next Council Meeting in Istanbul, 20–25 August 2028.

The Corporate Associates Presidential Group of ISSMGE will run a dedicated panel at the 21st International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering in Vienna in 2026, focusing on the future of geotechnical engineering practice. Industry leaders from major consulting firms, contractors and equipment suppliers are expected to address digital design workflows, advanced in situ testing, and risk allocation in large infrastructure projects. Outcomes are likely to influence updates to corporate design standards, procurement strategies and adoption of emerging investigation and monitoring technologies.

Researchers at UC Berkeley, funded by Yuba Water, have launched a Levee Digital Twin Platform for the Yuba River corridor, integrating continuous sensor data, geotechnical models and inspection records into an interactive system for levee condition assessment. The platform combines real-time pore pressure and deformation monitoring with historical performance data to flag anomalous behaviour along specific reaches and embankment sections. Engineers can use the tool to prioritise field investigations, refine seepage and stability analyses, and plan targeted remediation before high-flow events.

Geosynthetics are moving from niche products to standard tools for Australian infrastructure delivery as Geoquest deploys geogrids, geotextiles and geocells to tackle increasingly poor ground and constrained project footprints. The company is customising reinforced soil structures, basal reinforcement and pavement subgrade improvement systems to reduce imported fill volumes, shorten construction programmes and enable construction over soft clays and variable alluvium that would previously require deep piling. For practitioners, the shift allows slimmer pavement designs, higher embankments on marginal soils and more predictable deformation behaviour under traffic loading.

Vinci Construction has expanded its Latin American ground technologies portfolio by acquiring Grupo TDM’s geosynthetics division in Peru, a regional supplier of geotextiles, geomembranes and geogrids for mining, road and hydraulic works. The deal gives Vinci direct control of design–supply–install capability for reinforced soil walls, basal reinforcement and lining systems on high-embankment highways and tailings storage facilities in the Andes. For geotechnical contractors and designers, this signals stronger OEM-backed support for geosynthetic solutions on steep slopes, soft-ground foundations and aggressive seismic conditions in the region.

Inter‑helix spacing for helical piles and anchors is traced from early empirical rules of thumb (typically 3× helix diameter) to current design approaches based on cylindrical shear and individual bearing models. The review compares performance implications of close spacing (overlapping stress bulbs, higher installation torque, potential group behaviour) versus wider spacing (reduced interaction, deeper embedment, more steel), and links them to torque‑to‑capacity correlations. For practitioners, it clarifies when legacy spacing rules remain adequate and when soil type, load regime, and installation constraints justify project‑specific optimisation.

Tasmania’s Government has let a contract to dismantle and compact the early‑20th‑century Goods Shed at Macquarie Point to clear the site for a $1.13 billion multi‑purpose stadium in Hobart. The former rail and port freight hub will be packed down to formation level, providing a prepared platform for the stadium’s deep foundations, services corridors and future transport interfaces. Geotechnical teams will need to manage demolition spoil, variable fill and potential contamination typical of historic industrial waterfronts before main works can proceed.

Keller North America has expanded its field engineer / project engineer development programme after a successful pilot, formalising a structured path from site-based roles into project management and technical leadership. The scheme combines intensive on-the-job training on ground improvement and deep foundation projects with rotations through estimating, design, and operations, exposing graduates to tools such as geotechnical instrumentation, grout mix design, and pile load testing. For contractors and clients, the move signals a pipeline of early-career engineers with stronger design–build integration skills and site-ready competence.

Recent high-rise construction in South Florida is driving demand for deep foundations in karstic limestone, with Keller using large-diameter drilled shafts and augered cast-in-place piles to control settlement in weak, highly variable strata. The DFI Deep Foundations Magazine feature by Michael Meneses, Will Burgos, and James Hussin details case histories where groundwater levels near sea level, aggressive chloride environments, and strict lateral deflection limits governed design. For practitioners, the projects emphasise rigorous geotechnical characterisation, corrosion protection strategies, and construction QA/QC to manage risk in coastal high-rise work.

The British Geological Survey is advancing a national geotechnical data service to collate UK ground investigation records into a single, standardised digital platform for project teams. By aggregating borehole logs, in situ test results and laboratory data from multiple legacy sources, the system aims to give designers earlier visibility of variable strata, groundwater conditions and historical contamination. For geotechnical and civil engineers, this could reduce duplicate site investigations, refine ground models at concept stage and improve risk pricing for foundations, earthworks and underground structures.

A 93m-long bridge over the White Cart Water forms the core of the Amids South transport scheme, linking an existing industrial area to Paisley town centre and Glasgow Airport. Poor ground conditions along the river corridor drove a redesign of the substructure, with foundations and pier locations adjusted to avoid weak strata and reduce settlement risk. The scheme’s experience will interest geotechnical and bridge engineers dealing with soft alluvium and variable bearing capacity on constrained urban river crossings.

Gary L. Seider, P.E., is retiring after nearly 40 years with A.B. Chance, where he was instrumental in developing helical pile and anchor systems that became core to Hubbell’s foundation solutions portfolio after its 1994 acquisition. His work helped formalise design methodologies, installation torque–capacity correlations and training standards for contractors and engineers using screw anchors in transmission, distribution and commercial foundation projects. Seider’s legacy is a mature, codified helical foundation practice that many US geotechnical and structural engineers now treat as a routine design option.

Two engineering consortia have been shortlisted by the New South Wales Government to design and deliver a fix for Mitchells Causeway on the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass, closed since March after substantial cracking and ground movement were detected. The move follows an industry briefing and on-site inspection involving 20 Australian and international firms, signalling complex geotechnical and structural stabilisation requirements on this steep Blue Mountains section. Outcomes will directly affect detour durations, heavy vehicle access and long-term slope and pavement performance on this key freight and commuter corridor.

Mexico City’s subsidence has been mapped in new detail by the NASA–ISRO NISAR L-band radar mission, revealing metropolitan zones sinking by more than 50cm per year over clay-rich former lakebed deposits. Interferometric SAR time-series show differential settlement across key infrastructure corridors, with some districts exhibiting cumulative subsidence of several metres over recent decades, far exceeding typical building serviceability limits. The data set offers geotechnical engineers block-scale deformation rates to refine foundation design, tunnel and metro monitoring, and groundwater extraction management.

Brownfield infrastructure projects are seeing geotechnical and environmental teams urged to integrate ground investigation, contamination data and 3D ground models from the outset, rather than running parallel site characterisation workflows. The piece stresses unified digital datasets combining borehole logs, in situ test results and contaminant plumes to refine ground risk registers, optimise foundation and earthworks design, and avoid late-stage remediation surprises. Case experience shows that early joint modelling of variable made ground, buried obstructions and legacy industrial pollution can materially cut unforeseen ground conditions claims and programme delays.

Rock & Alluvium, part of Van Elle, has installed its deepest continuous flight auger piles to date, reaching 40m, for the Bow Green development in East London. The record-depth CFA piles indicate challenging ground conditions and high load or settlement performance requirements typical of dense urban sites near the Thames. Contractors and designers may need to consider comparable pile lengths, rig capabilities and spoil management strategies for future high-rise or mixed-use schemes in similar London alluvial and made-ground profiles.

Helical piles are presented as displacement deep foundations that can be installed with small hydraulic drive heads on mini-excavators or skid steers, generating minimal spoil and vibration compared with driven piles. The FAQ addresses load capacity verification via torque correlation (e.g. kN-m per kN of capacity), corrosion protection options such as hot-dip galvanising and increased sacrificial thickness, and suitability in soft clays, fills, and below groundwater. Design is framed around ICC-ES AC358, with emphasis on tension, compression, and lateral performance for underpinning, boardwalks, and utility structures.

Settlement prediction in layered soils is shown to depend strongly on how vertical stress increments are computed, comparing classical Boussinesq-based methods with numerical analyses in Settle3, RS2, and RS3. The piece contrasts 1D influence-factor approaches against 2D/3D finite element and finite difference models that capture stiffness contrasts, non-linear behaviour, and complex load geometries. For practitioners, it signals when simple elastic solutions become overly conservative and when full numerical stress redistribution is needed to refine serviceability settlement estimates.

Quaise Energy is advancing Project Obsidian in Oregon, aiming to build the first superhot geothermal plant by drilling into rock above 300°C and delivering a baseload 50 MW from only a handful of wells by 2030. A modelling analysis presented at the 2026 Stanford Geothermal Workshop by senior mechanical engineer Daniel W. Dichter indicates higher subsurface temperatures could ultimately support 250 MW in phase two, with a regional goal of 1 GW. The confirmation well is due online later this year, with lab work at Oregon State University recreating extreme downhole geochemical conditions.