Not slipping, sliding away

摘要

The A431 Kelston Road near Bath has been making local headlines this year, after a landslip in February meant part of this important commuter route between Bath and Bristol had to be closed. With further ground movement likely, constructing a temporary bypass was not deemed feasible or safe. A team of engineers from Bath & North East Somerset Council (B&NES), Skanska and Atkins set to work on a permanent and innovative solution to stabilise this part of the hillside above the River Avon and allow journeys to resume safely along the A431. Following a prolonged period of heavy rainfall at the beginning of 2014, cracks were found in the road surface along a 75m stretch between Penn Hill Road in Bath and the village of Kelston. Further inspections revealed some of these were widening rapidly - at one stage by up to 25mm in a week. The road was clearly subsiding and, as it traverses a slope with a history of failures, B&NES decided to close it at the end of February.