Part 12

ROCK FALL
HAZARDS
 Rockfalls
• Rockfalls are a
common problem
along highways in
mountainous
terrain
• They can be costly
and deadly; easily
triggered by short
bursts of intense
precipitation
• Many rock masses are mixtures of dissimilar
materials with markedly contrasting
stiffness, as seen in this glacial till
 Rock Falls
• 70% of all rockfalls
occur during the
initial fall freeze or
initial spring thaws
• Rock falls are
generally driven by
pore pressures, not
by the volume of
water. Its all about
pressure, not volume.
Rockfall Mitigation
• Standard
guidelines exist
for mitigating
damage from
rockfalls
• These include
debris ditches,
rock fences, and
placing mesh on
the raveling
slope using
rockbolts
Triple twisted galvanized or PVC coated gabion wire
mesh is an excellent structural material to employ on
raveling rock slopes where insufficient right-of-way
exists to construct a catchment ditch and fence.
Some mechanism for periodic mucking of
accumulated debris should be incorporated into the
remedial scheme
Most rockfalls occur during first significant freeze or
thaw cycles
Design details for typical
rockbolt stabilization scheme
on raveling rock cut slope
(from Rogers, 2003)