Rockfall catch fences protect coastal road and rail in Northern Ireland

摘要

The Seacoast Road and neighbouring rail line, hug the exposed coastal strip through an area of outstanding natural beauty and, at a point a few miles to the west of Coleraine, pass beneath a steep rocky out-crop at Downhill.The Downhill site has a long history of rockfalls, the most serious of which, in 2002, caused a derailment and lead to the installation of a concrete crash barrier next to the line to prevent further incursions. Mindful of the potential dangers to both road and rail travellers, the Northern Ireland Department for Regional Development, Road Services, commissioned URS/Scott Wilson to undertake a detailed assessment of the site. URS principle engineer, Adrian Koe explains: "The north facing cliffs at Downhill are made up of layers of heavily jointed basalt - a volcanic material similar to the rocks that make up the Giant's Causeway. Weaker layers of rock have weathered more quickly which has made overlying layers unstable, causing significant rockfall."