Geotechnical Characterization of Road Cut Hill Slope Forming Unconsolidated Geo-materials: A Case Study

Geotechnical characterization of the unconsolidated geo-materials (which are mainly soils) is one of the major concerns for geotechnical engineers, administration and city planners. Recently, large scale highway projects in hilly regions leads to increase the road cut hill slope (RCHS) frequency. The slope failure along these RCHS is an uninterrupted source of suffering for human habitants and keeping human life in danger. The stability of these cut slopes mainly depends upon the geotechnical characterization of slope forming geo-materials. The present study was carried out to evaluate the geotechnical properties of unconsolidated geo-materials (i.e. basaltic soils) of Malshej Ghat, located in Maharashtra, India. Malshej Ghat is one of the most vulnerable hilly region, composed of basaltic rock and soils of Deccan plateau and suffers frequent RCHS failures, which block the National Highway-222 very frequently. A number of tests such as natural moisture content (NMC), specific gravity, grain size analysis, Atterberg limits, compaction, unconfined compressive strength and triaxial compression test were conducted to evaluate the geotechnical properties of unconsolidated geo-materials. The result of these tests indicates that the soils collected from five representative locations show high variability in geotechnical properties. Thus, the parameters from one location are not sufficient for the characterization and analyses of complete section of RCHS. For the quantification and numerical modeling of the RCHS, the geotechnical parameters of each location needs to be analyzed scientifically.