In May 2017, two landslides occurred on road RD103. Our Rockfall solutions chosen by Géolithe.
The company Géolithe was mandated to carry out a geotechnical assessment following two landslides that occurred in May 2017 despite the existing barriers that were compliant with NFP 95 308 standards. The assessment was to evaluate the risks of landslide as well as defining the most suitable solution. Finally, Géolithe proposed to remove the unstable blocks and replace the damaged barrier.
In May 2017, two landslides occurred on road RD103 within a few hours causing an extensive disruption to traffic. The event affected the southern entrance of Lavoûte-sur-Loire village. The installed barriers that had been fixed about 20m upstream of the road and were compliant with NF P 95-308 standards, resulted heavily damaged by blocks of rock.
The company Géolithe was in charge of carrying out the geotechnical assessment. This study revealed numerous unstable rocks over the slope overlooking the road, with some rocks placed at more than 120m above the road and up to 60m³ in sized. Their fall could cause significant damage to people and infrastructures. Works should be carried out to ensure the safety of the area. The Local Council authorized to remove the unstable blocks and replace the damaged barrier. The new barrier should offer an improved interception power and must have CE marking and in accordance with ETAG027.
We proposed our Rockfall Barriers ROC200 / 5 since their features matched exactly to Géolithe’s requirements. The ROC200 / 5 is height tested, according to the ETAG 027 standard to 5m height and therefore in accordance with paragraph 4.3 of ETAG 027 with the possibility to reach 6m. This barrier is able to restrain a block of rock with an energy absorption capacity in excess of 2,000kJ.
Other features of our Rockfall Barriers motivate the choice. Our protection kits are, in fact, easy to install, even in difficult conditions. For instance, the ROC200 / 5 barrier is very functional when being set thanks to an opening curtain-type net of its interception structure. Also, the barrier installation capacity was a very important project requirement since the works would cause traffic restrictions that should last as short a time as possible. For this reason, our ROC200 / 5 barrier easy anchorage reducing the lengths of the drillings and entailing a significant saving during the installation has been a strategic feature as well.
In addition, to respect the morphology of the ground, as well as Géolithe’s requirement for protection length of approximately 40m, we adapted the spans and proposed 3 modules of 13.30ml (a total length of 39.90m), while remaining in compliance with the European Recommendation Guide ETAG 027 and the ETA document.
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