Performance of Soil Nail and MSE Wall for Stabilization of the Elbow Fill Slide

摘要

Reconstruction of US Highway 26-89 through Snake River Canyon in Wyoming requiredstabilization of the Elbow Fill Slide and an effective means to support the overlying roadway. A request for the design/build proposals resulted in construction of a geo-support system consisting of soil nail walls and a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall at the Elbow site. This was the first soil nail wall project for the Wyoming DOT. In cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, the wall was designated an 'Experiment Feature' and an instrumentation and monitoring program was undertaken. Instrumentation included slope inclinometers for measuring wall deformations and strain gages attached to the soil nails for the purpose of evaluating mechanisms of load transfer from the ground to the structural components of the wall. Objectives of the study were: (1) to provide verification of wall performance, especially pertaining to control of landslide movements and resulting damage to the roadway; (2) evaluate field load transfer to the soil nails compared to the loads assumed for design purposes; and (3) evaluate the construction an cost viability of soil nailing as a slope stabilization system, for the purpose of the utilizing soil nails in similar, future projects.