Simplified methods for evaluating road prism stability

Elliot, W. J.; Ballerini, M.; Hall, D.E. 2003. Simplified methods for evaluating road prism stability. Transportation Research Record, Transportation Research Board, National Academies of Science, Washington, DC. 1819(2):95-100. Paper No. LVR8-1095. Presented at the 8th International Conference on Low-volume Roads. June 22-25, 2003, Silver Legacy Hotel & Conference Center, Reno, NV.

Keywords: road stability

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Abstract: Mass failure is one of the most common failures of low-volume roads in mountainous terrain. Current methods for evaluating stability of these roads require a geotechnical specialist. A stability analysis program, XSTABL, was used to estimate the stability of 3,696 combinations of road geometry, soil, and groundwater conditions. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to find the most important site-specific variables in estimating slope stability, and two regression equations were developed to predict the factor of safety (FS) for a given road, one with the ground-water below the road fill and one with the groundwater in the road fill. The resulting equations predicted failures on road segments where failures were observed to have occurred. A comparison of the predicted FSs from the regression equations with the FS values predicted by the infinite slope equation showed that both methods predicted similar FSs.

Moscow FSL publication no. 2003b