Present Demands on Earth Structures in Transport Engineering in Europe

Abstract

One of the major challenges for modern society is to continue providing sustainable, affordable, and available transportation networks for people and goods. The challenge is twofold: (1) new structures should be built in a more resilient and a more durable and affordable manner, and (2) existing structures need to be maintained, retrofitted, or reset for a new purpose. Over recent times, different visions for improving transport engineering in these areas have been defined in Europe. Like many transport and geotechnical engineering platforms, European Large Geotechnical Engineering Platform (ELGIP) declares the readiness of the field of geotechnical engineering to contribute to the realization of these visions. The focus is on both engineering approaches and those which are helping to add a new dimension to Earth Structures in transport engineering—sustainability, availability, and affordability. This paper describes some opportunities that are currently on offer in this field. In Europe, the engineering approach is recorded in EC 7—Eurocode 7 in which the principle of limit state design was accepted, and the geotechnical categories classification is used. The second generation of EC 7 is now undergoing the final phase of preparation. The question on how to consider sustainability in Earth Structures in Transport Engineering is covered by describing geotechnical solutions for reducing energy and resource consumption. Moreover, proactive measures to guarantee transport infrastructure availability and affordability under extreme circumstances (e.g., natural and man-made hazards) are discerned. In conclusion, this paper explains why geotechnical engineering should devote appropriate attention to the use of the building information model (BIM) for Earth Structures in Transport Infrastructure generally.KeywordsELGIPTransport infrastructureEarth structuresSustainabilityAvailabilityAffordabilityBIM