Geotechnical consideration of the cut‐and‐fill slope problems related to the Struma motorway construction

Abstract

AbstractThe forthcoming construction of the Struma motorway which is part of the Pan‐European corridor IV is one of the most challenging geotechnical assignments in Bulgaria nowadays. The road trace is situated in a region of high seismic activity where the topography reveals mostly areas with steep mountain slopes. Geotechnical considerations of the road construction including cut‐and‐fill works and building of different supporting structures as pile founded retaining structures, anchor systems and reinforced soil embankments is needed. Numerical solutions based on the limit equilibrium theory and the finite element method are applied. This paper analyses and summarizes the design options and the results of the different numerical models of preferred structures.