AIDC project number: 510016
Andrew Metzger
Geotechnical assets- things like rock and soil slopes, shore protection, embankments, retaining walls, material sites, bridge foundations, tieback anchors and more — literally touch or affect every other physical asset owned by the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (Alaska DOT&PF). Because of this acute inter-connection, effective management of geotechnical assets is necessary to maintain the level of transportation safety and service required by Alaska DOT&PF clients, a.k.a. people who utilize the transportation system in Alaska. In fact, Alaska DOT&PF recently identified asset management as the second of six key initiatives the department will target in its new strategic plan.
Supporting this initiative, new research led by Andrew Metzger at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) seeks to develop a framework for addressing challenges related to geotechnical asset management (GAM) that can be implemented with other asset management systems. Overcoming the several salient challenges GAM brings is integral to any comprehensive asset management approach. For instance, difficulties with maintenance performance, unpredictable service life, and financial accounting complexities are among the proven obstacles to managing geotechnical assets within most infrastructure organizations, and in Alaska. Nonetheless, Metzger and his team expect the GAM project to produce a “road map” for transportation-related GAM in the state of Alaska. This draft program framework will include specific planning recommendations that address the most significant challenges for implementation of GAM across the broad range of geotechnical asset classes owned by ADOT&PF.
No final report submitted by this project.
