What's new...
January 2012...The Topaz, Bannock County, Idaho project along U.S. Route 30 (the historic Oregon Trail), which was
the first use of EPS-block geofoam for road construction by the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), was completed
at the end of 2011 but continues to make the news (as seen in the above graphic it is featured on the cover of the
brochure for an upcoming ASCE conference). This project proved yet again that a design alternative utilizing EPS-block
geofoam can allow successful construction under very challenging technical and site conditions. Click here to access an
online article that summarizes the challenges of this project and how they were met by the design team retained by ITD.
Dr. Horvath had the honor to be part of this team and was the primary consultant for all design- and construction-phase
issues related to the use of EPS.
December 2011...The name of Dr. Horvath's consulting business entity has been simplified to John S. Horvath
Consulting Engineer, effective with the start of the 2012 calendar and business fiscal year.
November 2011...Dr. Horvath reactivated the registration for his professional engineering license in the State of New
Jersey and is now authorized to perform those professional engineering services such as expert witness testimony in
that state.
October 2011...The July-August 2011 issue of Geo-Strata, the membership magazine of the ASCE Geo-Institute,
featured a cover photo and brief article about the use of EPS-block geofoam as lightweight fill on a road project in Topaz,
Bannock County, Idaho. Unfortunately, the published information gave the impression that the EPS block molder
(Insulfoam) who supplied this project was the source of the "geo-innovative" use of EPS-block geofoam on this project,
a first for the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). This is completely inaccurate (Insulfoam did nothing other than
supplied specified material) and an editorial letter to that effect was submitted by Dr. Horvath, who is a consultant to ITD
on this project, within days of publication of this issue. A complete, unedited copy of this letter can be found on the
publications page of this website. Geo-Strata ultimately published this letter, albeit in a much-abridged version, in their
September-October 2011 issue.
September 2011...Dr. Horvath's 2010 paper in the ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities titled
"Emerging Trends in Failures Involving EPS-Block Geofoam Fills" was nominated for that journal's 2010 "Outstanding
Paper" award. A final-proof copy of this paper is available on the publications page of this website (click here to access
ASCE's webpage with the official paper abstract as well as other publication details).
August 2011...The final report for National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project No. 24-11(02) titled
"Guidelines for Geofoam Applications in Slope Stability Projects" for which Dr. Horvath was a co-principal investigator
(co-PI) was submitted to the Transportation Research Board (TRB) which administered this project. It is not yet known
when copies will be available to the public.
July 2011...An advance galley-proof copy of a journal-paper discussion by Dr. Horvath that was published in the August
2011 issue of ASCE's Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering has been posted on the publications
page of this website (click here to access ASCE's webpage with the official abstract and other publication details). This
discussion provides some critical comments and corrections to a paper published last year dealing with the use of
EPS-block geofoam on the well-known I-15 project in Salt Lake City. It is worth noting that the authors of the original
paper chose not to write a closure to refute or otherwise comment on any of the several items addressed by Dr. Horvath
in his discussion.
June 2011...A proof copy of an article authored by Dr. Horvath for the June 2011 issue of "The Masterbuilider", India's
premier trade magazine related to heavy construction, has been posted on the publications page of this website, with the
final published article available here beginning on Page 82. This invited article presents an overview of the cellular
geosynthetic product families of geocombs and geofoams, a subject Dr. Horvath has been researching and writing about
since 1987.
April 2011...An advance copy of a paper co-authored by Dr. Horvath that was presented at the EPS 2011 conference in
Norway in June 2011 has been posted on the publications page of this website. This paper summarizes the key results
from the final (Phase II) report for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project No. 24-11(02)
titled "Geofoam Applications in Slope Stability Projects" that was submitted in preliminary draft form to the
Transportation Research Board on 7 January 2011.
March 2011...The March 2011 issue of the online digital publication "Rebuilding America's Infrastructure" contained a
feature article about the Idaho Transportation Department's (ITD's) first-ever project use of EPS-block geofoam as a
lightweight fill material for road construction along a segment of US Route 30 (the old 'Oregon Trail') in Topaz, Bannock
County. This project presented numerous technical and logistical challenges because of its extremely remote location and
the fact that it was necessary to maintain two lanes of traffic at all times while demolishing an existing 1940s-vintage
two-lane truss bridge; constructing two new two-lane plate-girder bridges; and widening the approach embankments on
both sides from two to four traffic lanes. All of this work had to be done in an area where an active railroad mainline,
river, and irrigation canal are crossed over a river valley and floodplain underlain by highly compressible alluvial soils. Dr.
Horvath was a consultant to the ITD design team on this project, working through his strategic business relationship
with Heller and Johnsen. Design work on this project began in 2007, with construction commencing in 2009 and
completion expected later this year.
John S. Horvath Consulting Engineer - Copyright 2008-2012 by John S. Horvath. All rights reserved. - This page was last revised on 29 January 2012.
January 2012...The Topaz, Bannock County, Idaho project along U.S. Route 30 (the historic Oregon Trail), which was
the first use of EPS-block geofoam for road construction by the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), was completed
at the end of 2011 but continues to make the news (as seen in the above graphic it is featured on the cover of the
brochure for an upcoming ASCE conference). This project proved yet again that a design alternative utilizing EPS-block
geofoam can allow successful construction under very challenging technical and site conditions. Click here to access an
online article that summarizes the challenges of this project and how they were met by the design team retained by ITD.
Dr. Horvath had the honor to be part of this team and was the primary consultant for all design- and construction-phase
issues related to the use of EPS.
December 2011...The name of Dr. Horvath's consulting business entity has been simplified to John S. Horvath
Consulting Engineer, effective with the start of the 2012 calendar and business fiscal year.
November 2011...Dr. Horvath reactivated the registration for his professional engineering license in the State of New
Jersey and is now authorized to perform those professional engineering services such as expert witness testimony in
that state.
October 2011...The July-August 2011 issue of Geo-Strata, the membership magazine of the ASCE Geo-Institute,
featured a cover photo and brief article about the use of EPS-block geofoam as lightweight fill on a road project in Topaz,
Bannock County, Idaho. Unfortunately, the published information gave the impression that the EPS block molder
(Insulfoam) who supplied this project was the source of the "geo-innovative" use of EPS-block geofoam on this project,
a first for the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). This is completely inaccurate (Insulfoam did nothing other than
supplied specified material) and an editorial letter to that effect was submitted by Dr. Horvath, who is a consultant to ITD
on this project, within days of publication of this issue. A complete, unedited copy of this letter can be found on the
publications page of this website. Geo-Strata ultimately published this letter, albeit in a much-abridged version, in their
September-October 2011 issue.
September 2011...Dr. Horvath's 2010 paper in the ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities titled
"Emerging Trends in Failures Involving EPS-Block Geofoam Fills" was nominated for that journal's 2010 "Outstanding
Paper" award. A final-proof copy of this paper is available on the publications page of this website (click here to access
ASCE's webpage with the official paper abstract as well as other publication details).
August 2011...The final report for National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project No. 24-11(02) titled
"Guidelines for Geofoam Applications in Slope Stability Projects" for which Dr. Horvath was a co-principal investigator
(co-PI) was submitted to the Transportation Research Board (TRB) which administered this project. It is not yet known
when copies will be available to the public.
July 2011...An advance galley-proof copy of a journal-paper discussion by Dr. Horvath that was published in the August
2011 issue of ASCE's Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering has been posted on the publications
page of this website (click here to access ASCE's webpage with the official abstract and other publication details). This
discussion provides some critical comments and corrections to a paper published last year dealing with the use of
EPS-block geofoam on the well-known I-15 project in Salt Lake City. It is worth noting that the authors of the original
paper chose not to write a closure to refute or otherwise comment on any of the several items addressed by Dr. Horvath
in his discussion.
June 2011...A proof copy of an article authored by Dr. Horvath for the June 2011 issue of "The Masterbuilider", India's
premier trade magazine related to heavy construction, has been posted on the publications page of this website, with the
final published article available here beginning on Page 82. This invited article presents an overview of the cellular
geosynthetic product families of geocombs and geofoams, a subject Dr. Horvath has been researching and writing about
since 1987.
April 2011...An advance copy of a paper co-authored by Dr. Horvath that was presented at the EPS 2011 conference in
Norway in June 2011 has been posted on the publications page of this website. This paper summarizes the key results
from the final (Phase II) report for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project No. 24-11(02)
titled "Geofoam Applications in Slope Stability Projects" that was submitted in preliminary draft form to the
Transportation Research Board on 7 January 2011.
March 2011...The March 2011 issue of the online digital publication "Rebuilding America's Infrastructure" contained a
feature article about the Idaho Transportation Department's (ITD's) first-ever project use of EPS-block geofoam as a
lightweight fill material for road construction along a segment of US Route 30 (the old 'Oregon Trail') in Topaz, Bannock
County. This project presented numerous technical and logistical challenges because of its extremely remote location and
the fact that it was necessary to maintain two lanes of traffic at all times while demolishing an existing 1940s-vintage
two-lane truss bridge; constructing two new two-lane plate-girder bridges; and widening the approach embankments on
both sides from two to four traffic lanes. All of this work had to be done in an area where an active railroad mainline,
river, and irrigation canal are crossed over a river valley and floodplain underlain by highly compressible alluvial soils. Dr.
Horvath was a consultant to the ITD design team on this project, working through his strategic business relationship
with Heller and Johnsen. Design work on this project began in 2007, with construction commencing in 2009 and
completion expected later this year.
John S. Horvath Consulting Engineer - Copyright 2008-2012 by John S. Horvath. All rights reserved. - This page was last revised on 29 January 2012.
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