Mar 23, 2022
Billy Connor of the University of Alaska Fairbanks has published a manual for construction on permafrost he co-authored with Douglas J. Goering, Mikhail Kanevskiy, and Erin Trochim of UAF and Kevin L. Bjella of USACE CRERL and Robert McHattie of GZR Engineering, for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Safety (AKDOT&PF). The manual is titled "ROADS AND AIRFIELDS CONSTRUCTED ON PERMAFROST: A Synthesis of Practice" and is available through Scholarworks. To accompany the manual, Billy presented two webinars to staff of the AKDOT&PF. In the presentations, Billy discusses the information in the manual, both what it is and is not intended to provide to engineers. Specifically, the synthesis provides the practicing engineer with the basic knowledge required to build roadways and airports over permafrost terrain. Topics covered include an overview of permafrost, geotechnical investigations, slope stability, impacts of climate, and adaptation strategies during the design, construction and maintenance phases. The purpose of the synthesis is not to provide a comprehensive body of knowledge or to provide a complete how‐to manual. Rather the synthesis provides a working knowledge for those working in permafrost regions such that the practicing engineer will be able to work with subject matter experts to obtain the desired project outcomes. The webinars are available on the AIDC YouTube channel through the Roads and Airfields on Permafrost playlist.
