Landslide Causes Train to Derail into Mississippi River
Regional
Maine Geological Survey Asks for Help With Landslides
The Maine Geological Survey has posted an online questionnaire asking the public to help locate and inventory landslides that have occurred in the last 20 years. The questions include location information, damage estimates, and even […]
Geologic Hazards
The Hungarian mining accident – images of the failure of the impounding embankment
The image of this failed bauxite tailings dam is very tragic and the pictures of the impact to the local town are very sad. But one thing that struck me about this particular image is […]
Geologic Hazards
Devil’s Slide Tunnel Construction Kicks Off
On September 17, CALTRANS and Kiewit Pacific held a "tunnel excavation celebration" to kick off the start of tunnel construction on The Devil’s Slide Tunnels project on California State Route 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) in San Mateo County between the town of Montara to the south and the city of Pacifica to the north. The project involves the creation of a separated two-lane road, one lane in each direction. This road will pass through twin tunnels, over twin bridges and connect with an existing non-separated two-lane road at each end. The new road will be approximately 6,500 feet long, made up of the roughly 4,000-foot twin tunnels, the 1,500-foot north approach road (which includes the 1000-foot parallel bridges), and the 1,000-foot south approach road. Upon completion, the new road will bypass geologically unstable portions of existing Route 1, sections of roadway subject to lengthy closures, high maintenance costs over the years, and risk of permanent failure. Thanks Geology.com for the heads up. [Read on for more background, photos, maps, and movies!] (Images by CALTRANS)