Topic 1

Title: Reinforced-Soil Embankment on Soft Foundation

State Job Number: 14672
Final Report,  January 2000 (2,079 KB)
Executive Summary, (72 KB)

Implementation Plan, ( KB) Not available yet

A section of 1-670 in Columbus, OH, constructed during 1997-1998, includes a 33 ft. (l0m) high embankment over a deposit of very soft sludge. The design used geo-synthetics for reinforcement of the embankment and wick drains to accelerate the consolidation in the sludge. Stage construction was used to allow consolidation of the sludge. To verify the design assumptions, a test embankment was completed in 1993. The performance of the test embankment provided the information for the design of the full scale embankment. This project provided the opportunity to demonstrate the application of research findings from the test embankment to actual design and construction.

The objective was to demonstrate how research findings can be used in design and construction. This report shows (1) how the results of the test embankment were used in the design of the full-scale embankment and prediction of the embankment performance, (2) how observation of the embankment performance can be used as construction control and (3) how the results can be used in future application of similar technology.

 

Topic 2

Title: Study of IR-70 Surface Depressions in Guernsey County, Ohio - Phase I & Phase II - GUE-70-14.10 Mine Research
State Job Number: 45041
Final Report Phase I, January 2001 (271 KB)

Executive Summary Phase I,  (11 KB)

Final Report Phase II, June 2003 (4,8637KB)
Executive Summary Phase II,  (5 KB)

Final Report Phase III, June 2003 (6,428 KB)

Implementation Plan, (79 KB)

The GUE-70-14.10 Mine Research Project is the investigation of a 2,100-foot-long section of Interstate 70 in Guernsey County, Ohio. Portions of the Project Area pavement were damaged as a result of mine subsidence. The damaged areas and other mined areas were remediated in 1995 by placement of grout in the abandoned mine workings beneath the roadway. Concerns are present regarding the post remediation condition of the soils and bedrock beneath the project. The objectives of the investigation were two fold:

1) Detect the presence and ongoing formation of voids or anomalies beneath the pavement using various geophysical, geotechnical, and groundwater investigative methods.

2) Field test and evaluate investigative methods to determine their suitability for use on other similar projects. 

Topic 3

Title: Implementation of Slope Stability Research: Geologic Profiles Along I-70 & I-77

State Job Number: 14720
Final Report, April 2001 (1,689 KB)
Executive Summary, (52 KB)

Implementation Plan, ( KB) Not available yet

Failures of cut slopes in shale and embankment slopes built of shale have occurred on many of Ohio's highways. This is particularly serious in southeastern Ohio where red shales of Pennsylvanian and Permian ages are encountered. Slope failures in red shales constitute a serious maintenance problem.  Causes of slope failures along 1-70 and 1-77 were studied in three research projects. The failure mechanisms and recommendations for choice of design parameters were presented in Wu (1977, 1981, and 1987) and Wu et a1 (1987, 1991). Two remedial measures for slope failures were evaluated and found to be successful during the period of the observation (Wu, 1995). These results provide ODOT engineers with basic information for design of slopes in the red shales. General descriptions of the red shales are given in Condit (1912) and Fisher et a1 (1 968). It is realized that knowing the geology of the bedrock and localities where the red shales occur near the surface will be helpful to ODOT engineers planning various construction and maintenance activities. Geologic profiles would provide engineers with advance information as to where the red shales are likely to be encountered, so that potential problems can be anticipated and included in the planning process.

Topic 4

Title: Use of Electrical Resistivity to Detect Underground Mine Voids in Ohio
State Job Number: 14709
Final Report, March 2002 (815 KB)
Executive Summary, (24 KB)

Implementation Plan, (78 KB)

Electrical resistively surveys were completed at two sites along State Route 32 in Jackson and Vinton Counties, Ohio. The surveys were done to determine whether the electrical Resistivity method could identify areas where coal was mined, leaving air- or water-filled voids. These voids can be local sources of potable water or acid mine drainage. They could also result in potentially dangerous collapse of roads or buildings that overlie the voids. The Resistivity response of air- or water-filled voids compared to the surrounding bedrock may allow electrical Resistivity surveys to delineate areas underlain by such voids.

 

Topic 5

Title:  Identifying Potential Collapse Features Under Highways
State Job Number: 14700
Final Report, March 2003 (6,422 KB)
Executive Summary,  (215 KB)

Implementation Plan, (78 KB)

In 1994, subsidence features were identified on Interstate 70 in eastern Ohio.  These features were caused by collapse of old mine workings beneath the highway.  An attempt was made to delineate these features using geophysical methods with no avail. The geophysical methods that were tried comprised ground penetrating radar, seismic refraction, and electromagnetics.  Subsequently, drilling was employed as the primary technique to delineate the voids. The collapse was believed to be caused by active mine subsidence which was exacerbated by the dewatering of adjacent abandoned mine workings. It is postulated that there was too much overburden for the radar to penetrate to the mined interval at the designated site.  The tunnels were too deep to be detected by the electromagnetic technique utilized, and the seismic refraction method lacked adequate resolution to delineate the voids.

Topic 6

Title: Inclinometer - Time-Domain Reflectometry Comparative Study

State Job Number: 14798
Final Report, December 2004 (4,746 KB)
Executive Summary, (26 KB)

Implementation plan, (87 KB)

Slope stability is an ongoing issue in hilly or mountainous terrains with clay rich soil, constructed embankments, fluctuating temperature, and changing soil moisture conditions. Landslides constitute a major geologic hazard, occurring in all 50 states. Accurately determining the shear plane depth in a landslide is needed to devise an effective remediation plan.  Slope inclinometer probing, the current method for slope movement analysis, is costly to install and monitor, and it becomes ineffective in measuring large lateral deflections. An economical alternative to monitor slopes is electrical Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR). The cables used to implement TDR in slope studies are inexpensive, simple to install, and provide long-term monitoring of slope movement. Measurements take only seconds, a vast contrast to the traditional time intensive ‘cable pull’ process of inclinometer probing. 

 

Topic 7

Title: Development of a Rockfall Hazard Rating Matrix & Data Management System for Ohio

State Job Number: 14782
Final Report, March 2005 (67,319 KB)
Executive Summary, (383 KB)

Implementation plan, (96 KB)

The geology in Ohio is characterized by the presence of gently dipping, harder, more competent strata (siltstones, sandstones, limestones) alternating with softer, less competent strata (claystones, mudstones, shales). This type of stratigraphy is highly susceptible to differential weathering which results in undercutting of the competent layers by erosion of the incompetent layers. Undercutting promotes a variety of slope movements such as rockfalls, plane failures, and wedge failures that may not occur otherwise. Many of the slope failures in Ohio initiate as plane failures and wedge failures in competent strata at higher elevations and descend as rockfalls. The frequency and size of these falls depend upon joint spacing within the competent unit and the extent by which it has been undercut. The undercutting-induced failures can be quite hazardous because of their instantaneous occurrence, high speed, and occasionally large volume of rock involved. There are many road cuts in Ohio, however, where closely jointed rock units lead to rockfalls without the presence of undercutting. This study was undertaken to develop a rating matrix that could be used to rank order the slopes in terms of their hazard potential with respect to rockfalls.