How Public Works fixed a landslide

How Public Works fixed a landslide

Text by Andrea Iglar

Photos by Dan Dernosek

South Fayette Township Public Works repaired a major landslide along Morgan Hollow Road in November.

Morgan Hollow Road landslide

Eight workers spent three weeks completing the project, which stabilized the hillside below Morgan Hollow and kept the road from eroding.

Crews used equipment such as an excavator, roller, skid loader, backhoe and mulcher.

The project area was on the west side of Morgan Hollow, between Sygan Road and Morgan Hill.

A landslide occurred below Morgan Hollow Road after years of water seeping into natural cracks and saturating the ground, causing soil and rock to move downslope.

Here are the steps Public Works completed to repair it:

1

Clean up soil, rocks and debris from the landslide zone.

2

Dig a trench, or keyway, beneath the toe of the slope to help hold the hillside in place.

3

Deliver clean dirt by dump truck.

Working bottom to top, spread, compact and terrace layers of clean fill to create a new, stable slope.

4

Plant grass seed and mulch the slope.

A mulching machine helps spread the material over the dirt.

5

Create a curb to direct stormwater down the road, not down the hill.

Reinstall the guide rail along Morgan Hollow.

Project complete!