Publication in Transportation Geotechnics: 'Cost-benefit methodology for road slope stabilisation'

Dr Ellen Robson, Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience (IHRR), has published her research on 'Cost-benefit methodology for road slope stabilisation'. The paper is co-authored by Dr David Milledge of Newcastle University, Professor Stefano Utili of Newcastle University, and Dr Michael Bründl, of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL. This paper provides a methodology to evaluate the cost efficiency of cut slope stabilisation measures. The methodology is driven by mechanistic stability analyses and is tested on a cut slope in Nepal. The paper includes a comprehensive literature review of slope stability cost analyses.

Paper highlights:

• We present a methodology for road cut slope cost-benefit analysis driven by mechanistic stability analyses.
• The frequency of slope failure is estimated by combining probabilistic stability analyses with the hillslope-storage Boussinesq (HSB) model.
• This cost-benefit analysis provides an annual cost for each slope stabilisation measure evaluated.
• The methodology is demonstrated on a cut slope in Nepal, and we find that an anchoring system is the most cost-efficient road slope stabilisation measure.

You can read the full paper at Science Direct.

Photo credit: Robson, E 2024