Motorist Killed by Landslide in Tennessee

March 5, 2019 rockman Geologic Hazards, News Comments Off on Motorist Killed by Landslide in Tennessee
Landslide on Tennessee Highway 70N Kills Man

A Tennesee man was killed after his vehicle encountered a landslide and his truck rolled 200 feet down an embankment slope.  The landslide occurred around 2am on February 21st, 2019 on Highway 70N in Hawkins County, Tennessee after a period of heavy rainfall.  TDOT has reported that an emergency contract to fix the road has been awarded for $8.7 million and will involve building a rock buttress and soil nails, but the road is expected to remain closed until August.  My condolences to the victim’s family.

Source: Motorist killed after landslide collapses road in Hawkins County, Tenn.

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Ocean Shore Railroad Tracks at the Devil's Slide in the early 1900s.
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Devil’s Slide Tunnel Update and First Attempts to Tame the Landslide

July 1, 2009 rockman Project Related Comments Off on Devil’s Slide Tunnel Update and First Attempts to Tame the Landslide

Ocean Shore Railroad Tracks at the Devil's Slide in the early 1900s. The Devil’s Slide Tunnel project is on schedule and on budget according to a news story at ABC7News.com from earlier in June. The video (shown after the break) has a few nice shots showing rock bolting, soil nailing at the portals, and the geologic mapping and laser scanning that happens at the tunnel face.

I also came across a very neat article about how the Ocean Shore Railroad Company was the first to try to cut into the slope along what is now PCH 1 at the Devil’s Slide back in the early 1900s. They were trying to connect the then rural farming community of Half-Moon Bay with San Francisco. The railroad fought the reoccurring landslide and serious rockfalls. Ocean Shore Railroad went bankrupt in 1922 and pulled up its rails, making room for the current highway. (Photo at left from halfmoonbaymemories.com)

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Geologic Hazards

NY Landslide Halts Highway Construction

September 3, 2008 rockman Geologic Hazards Comments Off on NY Landslide Halts Highway Construction

A report has been released by the NYSDOT on the Scoby Hill Landslide which has impacted a 4.2-mi improvement project of Route 219. The report, dated May 20, 2008 was headed to an FHWA peer  review panel.

The Feds were call in to help because of the unusual nature of the landslide. The slip surface is very deep, approximately 30-m (100-ft) below the surface and below all of the design phase investigations. And the remolded shear strength of the silty clay forming the slip surface was only 12-14 degrees.

Read on for more details of the slide. (Photo by NYSDOT)

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