Geotechnical Reports

The geotechnical data report (GDR) is a document developed by the designer and/or the designer's geologic or geotechnical engineer, which presents the information that has been gathered during the exploration and design phases of the project. Depending on the design approach and number of design iterations that occur, multiple geotechnical memoranda may be produced. The geotechnical baseline report (GBR) should be limited to interpretive discussion and baseline statements and should refer to, rather than repeat or paraphrase, information contained in the GDR, drawings, or specifications. The GBR will rely to a significant degree on the data contained in the GDR. However, the baselines will also reflect information from relevant projects and may need to fill gaps in the database that are the result of incomplete exploration that has created a nonrepresentative database, or the inability of the exploration program to detect certain conditions known to exist that need to be expressed in baseline statements. Other topics covered in this chapter include geotechnical memoranda for design, the GBR, and contractual hierarchy.