DEVELOPMENT OF ENGINEERING GEOLOGY AND SOIL MECHANICS STIMULATED BY PRACTICAL REQUIREMENTS

The construction program carried out in the Soviet Union during the last few decades has stimulated development of soil mechanics and engineering geology. Theoretical discoveries of these branches of science have found immediate practical applications in industrial, water-power, and road construction. The construction of huge water-power projects and the large net of canals, the expansion of railroads, building of highways, and industrial enterprises, as well as pioneer work in industrial development in the permafrost regions, have continuously put urgent demands upon the technical and research institutions and universities and have yielded new data on exploration, design, and construction. New projects under way in recent years and extensive construction in the permafrost region have stimulated further development of theoretical work and have yielded new data. Also, observational data on field performance of structures have been collected, evaluated, and published in part.