Stabilization of Surficial Slides Using Recycled Plastic Reinforcement

Surficial slope failures, or nuisance slides, constitute a significant economic and manpower burden for many transportation agencies because of the frequent and recurring nature of the slides. TRB recently estimated that annual costs for stabilization of nuisance slides exceed the costs for repair of major landslides; this estimate suggests that annual costs for repair of nuisance slides on the National Highway System alone exceed $100 million. Recent work has shown the feasibility of using slender recycled plastic members for in situ reinforcement of surficial slides in slopes and embankments. This paper describes the activities performed to evaluate the technique and the results and conclusions derived from the work. Topics covered include the description of five instrumented field test sites, material properties of the recycled plastic members used, construction equipment and techniques used to install the members, general performance observed at the field test sites, and the costs of the technique as compared with other methods.