Geology: Engineer Ignore It at Your Peril

Marian P. Rollings, M.ASCE,1 and Raymond S. Rollings, M.ASCE2

Abstract: Geology and related earth processes are an inherent part of civil engineering design and construction. This paper examines
eight specific examples to illustrate how geologic factors can dominate project behavior. The examples are from a spectrum of environ-
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ments associated with design and construction of roads and airfields and vary from the apparently obvious to the more subtle. Failure to
understand the geologic conditions at a site almost invariably results in unsatisfactory performance. This complex interplay between
geology and engineering is at the heart of the geotechnical profession and should be appreciated by all.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲1090-0241共2005兲131:6共783兲
CE Database subject headings: Geology; Engineering profession; Design; Construction.

Introduction
Knowledge of geology and related earth processes is not an aca-
demic luxury for the civil engineer, but rather it is a fundamental
aspect of design and construction. All engineering projects must
ultimately be supported on natural deposits, must withstand na-
ture’s forces, and are often largely built of variably processed
natural materials. The importance of geology in civil engineering
has been repeatedly emphasized by past eminent geotechnical
masters of the art. Although such views on the practical impor-
tance of geology receive wide intellectual acceptance, their actual
internalization and use in practice seems appreciably more lim-
ited.
We will examine eight case studies from our experience with
roads and airfields where geologic considerations had major im-
pact on the completed project’s performance. The term geology is
used here in its broadest sense to encompass classical geology
and related disciplines such as hydrology, geomorphology, and
petrology. The geologic implications in these examples were not
always recognized, and the penalty for such oversight was invari-
ably harsh. In some cases, it seems almost incomprehensible that
the geologic implications were not recognized; in others the geo-
logic impacts are more subtle.
These examples were purposely selected to encompass a broad
spectrum of geologic settings and work from different engineer-
ing organizations. In every case, the work was conducted by pro-
fessional engineers form a wide variety of private firms and gov-
ernment agencies. In most cases, there were engineers from
multiple firms or agencies or levels within the agencies involved
in the project design, review, and construction. The oversights are
1
Consulting Engineer, P.O. Box 313, Lyme, NH 03768; formerly,
Research Civil Engineer, Engineering Research and Development Center
共ERDC兲, 72 Lyme Rd., Hanover, NH 03755.
2
Research Civil Engineer, Engineering Research and Development
Center 共ERDC兲, 72 Lyme Rd., Hanover, NH 03755.
Note. Discussion open until November 1, 2005. Separate discussions
must be submitted for individual papers. To extend the closing date by
one month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Managing
Editor. The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and pos-
sible publication on May 21, 2002; approved on August 10, 2004. This
paper is part of the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
Engineering, Vol. 131, No. 6, June 1, 2005. ©ASCE, ISSN 1090-0241/
2005/6-783–791/$25.00.
the human errors we make in practice and are therefore particu-
larly troubling. The number of cases examined here is limited by
space and not by availability of appropriate examples.
Wind: Pegasus Runway, Antarctica
McMurdo Station serves as a major logistical hub for the U.S.
Antarctic Program’s scientific research in Antarctica. Ski-
equipped New York Air National Guard LC-130 aircraft provide
critical aerial support from McMurdo Station to various far-flung
locations on the continent. They are also capable of providing
aerial transport between McMurdo Station and the U.S. Antarctic
Center in Christchurch, New Zealand, but to do so diverts this
scarce resource from missions in Antarctica itself. Consequently,
wheeled military aircraft 共usually C-130 or C-141兲 are preferred
for aerial logistical missions between McMurdo Station and
Christchurch. A sea-ice runway provides access to wheeled air-
craft from the start of the austral summer flying season in October
until ice deterioration halts operation in early December. At this
point, LC-130s shift to a snow airfield, Williams Field, and
through the early 1990s wheeled-aircraft operations had to be
suspended for the duration of the austral summer.
A new airfield capable of supporting wheeled aircraft was
needed during this post sea-ice period, and the Ross Ice Sheet
composed of approximately 30-m 共98-ft兲 thick floating glacial ice
was a promising solution. The ice was structurally adequate, but
the intense 24-h duration sun during the austral summer causes
surface and near-surface melting of the ice with resulting defects
that impede aircraft operation 共Blaisdell et al. 1998兲.
Wind-driven snow became the key to the new runway loca-
tion. As shown in Fig. 1, the nearby ice sheet had an accumulation
zone where snow depth may reach 5 – 10 m 共16– 33 ft兲 and an
ablation zone where the intense Antarctic winds sweep the ice
sheet clear. Between these is a transition zone where snow cover
is constant but thin. This characteristic was crucial in placing the
new Pegasus Runway in this transition zone. This snow initially
was used to cover the glacial-ice runway during the most intense
sunlight season 共December–January兲 and then stripped off to
allow wheeled-aircraft operation at the end of the season when
there is a major exodus of personnel and equipment before the
onset of winter. Recent tests have successfully processed and
compacted a thin layer of snow on the ice surface that both

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Fig. 1. Airfield locations, McMurdo Station, Antarctica
protects the ice from the sunlight and also supports wheeled air-
craft 共C-130, C-141, and C-17兲 operation without rutting 共Fig. 2兲.
Consequently, Pegasus has the potential to operate throughout the
austral summer flying season.
Pegasus runway is located a logistically inconvenient 29 km
共18 mi兲 from McMurdo Station. However, by locating there, it
uses the natural wind processes to both provide the needed snow
and to control excess snow accumulation. Alternate locations
Fig. 2. C-17 landing on compacted snow, Pegasus Runway,
Antarctica
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Fig. 3. Flooding: 共left兲 during construction looking west toward
runway in 1983 and 共right兲 looking north along runway in 1995
would pose insurmountable construction and maintenance prob-
lems. While the Antarctic poses unique engineering challenges,
similar problems of snow drifts and sand dune migration exist in
many parts of the world. Pegasus Runway is a fine example of the
geologist Kemp’s 共1898兲 classical observation:
“The successful engineer of the future should know, not
only how to locate his work, but how to locate it so that
Nature will aid him in its building and take it under her
protection. Too late he may know that Nature has resented
his intrusion and in spite of his efforts is surely undoing
his work.”
Water: Military Airfield, Middle East
In 1982–1983 an expansion of a small airfield in the Middle East
included design and construction of a runway and parallel taxi-
way. The area is quite remote and arid. A U.S. Midwestern firm
prepared the facility design, plans, and specifications, and con-
struction was by a U.S. and Omani joint venture. Design and
construction were rushed.
The runway and taxiway ran along a level plain for some
distance and then rose over a low ridge to the north. Surrounding
the runway area were several low eroded hills and some barely
discernible, low ridges. The surrounding ridges were typically
covered with a thin mantle of residual silty gravelly soils. The
flexible pavement design was 100 mm 共4 in.兲 of asphaltic con-
crete, 150 mm 共6 in.兲 of crushed limestone base 共CBR 100兲,
200 mm 共8 in.兲 of local silty gravel 共CBR 50兲, and then select fill
of less carefully controlled local silty gravel 共CBR 20兲 to the
weathered igneous bedrock. The weathered bedrock was pre-
sumed to have a CBR at least equal to the select fill.
During February 1983, heavy rains fell and caused major
flooding of the construction site that persisted for over a month. A
representative of the U.S. design firm was flown to the site to
review the flooding problems and the project drainage provisions.
After touring the facilities, the consultant judged such a rainfall
and flood were so extremely rare that no change to the existing
design was justified. The only drainage in the design was the
pavement crown and minimal grading of adjacent areas. Approxi-
mately a month after the consultant’s visit, a second smaller storm
caused renewed flooding of the construction site with consequent
delay and repair. A review of sketchy local records compiled by
the Royal Air Force during their use of the facility from 1942 to
1977 revealed that similar flooding had occurred at least in 1956,
1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, and 1970. Periodically since construc-
tion, the runway and adjacent facilities have been closed by flood-
ing 共Fig. 3兲.
By the early 1990s deep-seated rutting developed in over
1,000 m 共3,280 ft兲 of the southern portions of the taxiway and
 runway flexible pavements. U.S. Air Force pavement evaluation
teams rated these pavements as unsatisfactory, and the owning
nation eventually closed the runway. In 2002–2003, a U.S. Air
Force engineering unit carried out full-depth repairs to failed
areas, installed subsurface and surface drainage systems, and re-
surfaced much of the airfield.
The failing southern end of the runway and taxiway lies in a
playa, a dry desert lake bed. The surrounding hills and ridges
form a closed basin without external drainage. Although little rain
falls here, it tends to come in a few erratic but strong storms, and
the runoff collects in the playa, flooding the runway, taxiway, and
surrounding areas. There it stays until lost by evaporation or slow
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percolation into the fine-grained playa soils. The subsurface water

table remains near the surface even in extended dry periods. The
newly installed subsurface drainage system has been pumping
approximately 150,000 L 共40,000 gal.兲 of water per day out of Fig. 4. Compaction and soaked crushed limestone base 共CBR兲
the pavement system since completion in early 2003. curves available during design
As the runway extends south from the ridge crest, the subgrade
soil is a progressively thicker mantle of residual silty gravelly
soils 关typically SM or GM by the unified soil classification system signer selected a subgrade design CBR of 30 for the pavement
共USCS兲兴 that changes abruptly to fine-grained lacustrine soils facilities. All pavements except for the gravel training areas were
共typically ML and CL classifications兲 as the runway and taxiway to be full-depth asphaltic concrete, eliminating granular base and
move onto the playa. Borings to a depth of 8 m 共26.2 ft兲 in the subbases and more expensive Portland-cement concrete. Design
playa do not encounter bedrock in the vicinity of the southern end used a sophisticated layered-elastic analysis so the full benefit of
of the runway. The fine-grained subgrade soil and wet subgrade the substitution of the high-quality full-depth asphaltic concrete
conditions completely fail to meet the weathered rock foundation for less stiff granular base and subbase materials could be ascer-
assumed for design. Based on in situ measurements, the recon- tained during design.
struction used a design CBR of 5 for the failed pavement in the The estimated cost for the redesigned pavements was approxi-
playa soils rather than the original design value of 20. mately $14 million. This reduced cost was well received by all
The designer’s failure to recognize that the southern portions involved, and a trade-industry journal hailed the innovative use of
of the runway and taxiway were located in a playa resulted in full-depth asphaltic concrete as a cost-saver on this project. The
inadequate drainage provisions that allowed recurrent flooding pavement portions of the project were built during the summer of
and led to grossly misjudging the subgrade strength in the playa. 1992 and turned over to the user in August 1993.
Flooding periodically disrupted critical flight operations, and the As pavement facilities were opened to student drivers, failures
wet, fine-grained soils led to premature structural failure of the occurred, and the new pavements were soon closed to vehicular
pavements within the playa. At this facility, neither site hydrology use. These failures were massive shear failures 共Fig. 5兲, and vari-
or geologic development of soil stratigraphy were understood by ous reports put them as occurring on the day the pavements were
the designer nor were the implications recognized during con- opened to traffic to within a week of opening. Significantly, these
struction. failures occurred under initial student training when the vehicles
were operated without cargo loads.
Much was argued and theorized about this failure, but in the
Soil: Military Facility, Missouri end, the fatal flaw causing the unsatisfactory performance of the
pavement was selection of far too optimistic a design strength
As part of the Base Realignment and Closure 共BRAC兲 process of 共CBR兲 for the subgrade. Table 1 shows that the in situ material
the early 1990s, this facility was to become the heavy vehicle was much finer and more plastic than the original sample upon
operator training center for the Department of Defense 共DOD兲.
New pavement facilities as well as buildings were needed to sup-
port student training. The pavement facilities were quite extensive
because of the size of the vehicles and anticipated large student
classes and were dispersed over a wide area covering tens of
square kilometers 共square miles兲 at the base. The training fleet
included a mixture of standard vehicles such as conventional
tractor-trailer trucks as well as military heavy expanded mobility
tactical trucks 共HEMTTs兲 with wheel loads of up to 3,640 kg
共8,000 lb兲 and tire pressures of 680 kPa 共100 psi兲. The initial pre-
liminary cost estimate for the pavement facilities exceeded $20
million and was rejected as too costly by the BRAC committee in
Washington, D.C.
An aggressive redesign was undertaken to reduce these costs.
A soil sample was obtained and used to characterize the subgrade.
This soil sample classified as a GC clayey gravel under the
USCS. Based on a modified-energy laboratory compaction and
accompanying soaked CBR curve of the sample 共Fig. 4兲, the de- Fig. 5. Example of rutting in pavements when opened to traffic

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 Table 1. Comparison of Design Sample and Postfailure Selected August 1991. This included slipforming 475-mm 共19-in.兲 thick
Laboratory Soil Test Results, Military Facility, Missouri Portland-cement concrete at one end of the runway during May
Gradiation, % passing Atterberg limits and June. Concrete placement did not go smoothly. There were
USCS many placement problems: numerous surface voids, a rough sur-
Sample classification Number 4 Number 200 LL PI face with tears and voids in the mat behind the paver, excessive
Design GC 48 37 32 12 edge slump, plastic shrinkage cracking, and defective keys in the
Postfailure samples longitudinal construction joints. Initial placements of concrete
1 CH 73 52 56 41 were removed and replaced. Changes in the concrete mixture pro-
2 CL-ML 85 69 28 7
portions, substitution of dowels for keys, and adjustments in
placement procedures reduced the frequency and severity of prob-
3 CH 70 58 72 55
lems but failed to alleviate the problems. The contractor was only
4 GC 76 45 56 40
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5 CH 88 69 41 26
6 CH 93 74 43 26
Mean failure CH 81 61 49 32
samples
Notes: Unified Soil Classification System⫽USCS; ASTM D 2487.
Gradation, ASTM D 422. Atterberg Limits, ASTM D 4318, LL= liquid
limit; and PI= plasticity index.
which design was based. In situ CBR tests and dynamic cone
penetrometer 共DCP兲 tests found that the actual strength was well
below that selected for design. All of the 10 in situ CBR tests
found the strength to be 4 or less. Only three of 23 DCP tests
equaled or exceeded the design CBR of 30, and 83% of the CBR
values estimated from DCP correlations were less than 10.
Clearly, the actual subgrade strength was far below the design
value. Previous pavement projects at this facility historically used
pavement design CBR values on the order of 4 or 5.
The local soils are formed by in situ weathering of interbedded
cherty dolomite and sandstone. This geologic setting produces
variable fine-grained, plastic soils with a significant chert gravel
fraction. The geologic reality is that no high-strength subgrade
soil with a design CBR of 30 can develop here, regardless of what
a single sample may suggest. Not recognizing such was fatal. The
soil is as nature made it. No stern commands from higher head-
quarters, wishful thinking by the engineer, or fulminations by the
finance department shall ever make it otherwise.
The project geotechnical engineer failed to adequately inves-
tigate the site soil conditions and misjudged the soil strength. In
this particular case, the engineer was newly graduated and work-
ing under the supervision of more experienced staff. Human error
of this type must be accepted when dealing with people and par-
ticularly with newly graduated or inexperienced colleagues. A far
more damning indictment must be laid at the feet of the engineer-
ing management that failed to provide adequate guidance and
oversight, that curtailed the geotechnical engineer’s investigation
to a single sample to hold down design costs and avoid delays,
and that feebly acquiesced to higher headquarter’s pressure to
radically redesign the project to reduce costs without reducing the
scope of the work.
Ultimately, strengthening the failed pavements would cost an-
other $9 million and delay occupation by the user for a year.
Unfortunately, this scenario has close parallels to much modern
engineering work where technical issues are decided by bureau-
cracy’s managers, insurers, lawyers, or accountants rather than
professional engineers.
Rock: Travis AFB, California
During the spring and summer of 1991, a runway at Travis AFB
was partially reconstructed and returned to operational use in
able to place the concrete with a heroic effort: slump was main-
tained at the absolute maximum allowed in the specification 关
50 mm 共2 in.兲兴, intensive hand finishing was used behind the
paver, extensive hand repairs were needed to fix tears, voids, edge
slump, and other surface defects. It was not a good job and was
placed only with great effort and trouble.
Within a year of placement, severe spalling developed along
two-thirds of the joints in this new pavement. Samples were re-
covered from the pavement as part of a larger study of spalling
problems on new Air Force concrete airfield pavements 共Rollings
1998兲. The Travis AFB concrete samples were sawed and pol-
ished for laboratory petrographic examination. Then the petrogro-
pher rinsed the sawed samples with distilled water to remove
sawing dust and polishing grit and set them aside to dry. A short
time later, the petrogropher returned and observed small brownish
bumps on many of the freshly cut and rinsed coarse aggregate
surfaces of the concrete sample. Upon closer examination and
testing, these brownish nodules turned out to be predominately
smectite clay. Further x-ray diffraction tests revealed that smectite
clay was present throughout the matrix of the concrete itself.
When this aggregate was mixed with the water and remaining
ingredients to produce the project’s portland-cement concrete, it
had released smectite clay into the mixture. The impact of small
quantities of plastic fines on concrete mixtures is very dramatic:
water demand skyrockets as workability suffers; shrinkage in-
creases; the mixture becomes more sticky and prone to tearing
and finishing difficulties; and the expansive nature of smectite in
particular can contribute to microcracking as it interacts with
water molecules during the life of the concrete. The problems the
contractor encountered placing this mixture and the subsequent
spalling are all consistent with plastic fines being included in the
concrete mixture.
The coarse aggregate was quarried basalt from the nearby
California Coast Mountain Range to the west of the base. This
problem was unexpected. Basalt is usually a good aggregate, and
this quarry had produced concrete aggregate for the local concrete
industry for many years. The contractor had also submitted qual-
ity control tests showing the aggregate met the rigorous military
specification for aggregates for airfield concrete pavements.
Further investigation found the quarry’s geology was quite
complex. Much of the basalt was of very good quality, but por-
tions of the deposit had been partially metamorphosed. Aggre-
gates from the partially metamorphosed basalt were much poorer
than those from the unaffected basalt. In fact, unbeknown to the
Travis AFB project personnel during construction, another DOD
agency in Sacramento had extensive data showing that this quarry
was capable of producing both good and bad aggregate and that
careful testing and control of quarrying location were necessary to
reliably produce aggregate meeting military specifications for
concrete. The variability of the aggregate from this quarry was
not recognized by the contractor or concrete producer 共or at least
they appeared surprised and quite upset by the findings兲.

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 Table 2. Sample Corralline Construction Aggregate Properties
Types Coral: cemented coral reef material and associated talus,
lagoonal, and beach sand deposits
Limestone rock: sedimentary deposits of reef making
materials, often forms the core of older massive coral reefs
Cascajo 共Guam兲 or Coronus 共New Guniea兲: local terms for
lower quality, weathered reef deposits or limestone found
on land on larger islands
Composition Calcium carbonate in form of aragonite, calcit, and
dolomite secreted by coral polyps and nullipore algae.
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Specific Gravity 1.7–2.6
CBR 25– 100+
PI Nonplastic to 22
Absorption Coral: 5–20%
Limestone rock: 1–3%
Casacajo/Coronus: 4–15%
Density 1,400– 2,250 kg/ m3
87.4– 140 lb/ ft3
The quarry has only limited storage space, and quarrying pro-
ceeds sporadically at several locations and depths. The aggregate
sampled and tested by the contractor was from the quarry storage
area. By the time aggregate was actually produced for the job at
Travis AFB some months later, it was coming from a different
part of the quarry than where the samples were taken earlier.
There is often a lag between sampling, completion of required
testing, and start of production for the actual job. When dealing
with natural geologic materials such as aggregates, one must be
alert for changes in the geologic nature of the deposits—both
quarried and pit-run aggregate sources—or run the risk of unex-
pected adverse results such as encountered here. Ascertaining sig-
nificant changes in the deposit is not for the layman or amateur,
however, and the services of a competent geologist knowledge-
able of the local deposits and the needs of construction provide
cheap insurance indeed.
Nature’s Construction Materials: Military Airfield,
Pacific Ocean
The pavements at a remote airfield in the Pacific Ocean are sched-
uled for a major rehabilitation. The airfield pavements, some of
which date back to World War II, consist of crushed coral as fill,
subbase, and base with an asphaltic concrete surface that uses
crushed coral as aggregate. The airfield has seen a number of
cycles of structural upgrades, facility expansions, and neglect.
Today the aged, cracked, and badly oxidized asphaltic concrete
surfaces require replacement. A few localized problem areas will
require more extensive repair, but structurally the pavement re-
mains in good shape. The projected design traffic loads are com-
mensurate with those supported by the pavement without struc-
tural distress in the past.
The rehabilitation design was contracted to a U.S. mainland
engineer. The designer noted that the in situ coral did not meet the
Federal Aviation Administration 共FAA兲 requirements for a 100
CBR base course in a flexible airfield pavement. On this basis, the
initial design called for removal of the asphaltic concrete surface
and the coral base course and replacement by a crushed stone
aggregate base and a new asphaltic concrete surface. The aggre-
gates for the base and the asphaltic concrete were to be barged in
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J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 2005, 131(6): 783-791
Gradation for a coral base course
共Department of Defense 2001兲
Sieve size Percent passing
2 in. 100
1-1 / 2 in. 70–100
3 / 4 in. 40–90
No. 4 25–60
No. 40 5–25
No. 200 0–10
Above gradation provides an 80 CBR material for design. LA Abrasion
共ASTM C-131兲 should be less than 50%.
from Hawaii. The initial cost estimates for this solution greatly
exceeded available funds.
The U.S. consultant was unfamiliar with coral as a pavement
construction material. Even though discussion of coral in U.S.
engineering literature is limited and dated, coral is often the only
available construction material in remote areas of the tropics.
Coral is a relatively soft, absorptive, and highly variable material
共Table 2兲, but it has a long successful history of use as base and
subbase material for airfield pavements as well as for aggregate in
asphaltic and Portland-cement concretes 共e.g., Stevens and Verall
1988; Department of Defense 2001; Rollings et al. 2003兲. Coral
served this facility well, and at least one other very heavily loaded
U.S. Air Force airfield routinely uses coral aggregate in airfield
pavements. Since World War II, standard military airfield design
manuals have included guidance for acceptable gradations and
design standards for use of coral aggregate in airfield pavements
共Department of Defense 2001兲.
As one may expect of a facility built and expanded sporadi-
cally over a half century, conditions and materials vary at this
airfield. Areas of the coral base material do not meet the desired
military specification. Some of the coral particles are oversized
and some of the coral is gap-graded with an excess of sand-sized
particles. In situ tests conducted by military pavement evaluation
teams over the years and by the geotechnical subconsultant on
this project found the coral base course materials fell into two
general groups: those with CBRs above 80 and those with CBRs
in the range of 40–50. The first is consistent with military stan-
dards for coral base courses while the second is representative of
a good-quality subbase. One must consider that the existing coral
bases have proven structurally adequate for the existing loading,
and the most pragmatic solution is simply to replace the asphaltic
concrete surface and leave the existing base materials alone 共al-
though this raises some liability question for the designer as some
areas are known not to meet military specifications兲. Alterna-
tively, one could increase the asphaltic concrete thickness in the
substandard coral areas to account for their lower strength. As a
third alternative, one might replace the substandard areas with
new base material. Regardless of which approach one might pre-
fer, wholesale replacement of the existing coral base is not justi-
fied.
To be effective engineers, we must build with local materials.
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Fig. 6. The Cul-de-Sac Plain and Northwest Bypass Road
If we are too conservative, we make the project cost prohibitive,
and it remains on the drawing board. If we fail to recognize the
limitations of the local materials, we may use them in a place or
manner where their performance will be unsatisfactory.
Man’s Mistake: Port-au-Prince, Haiti
A multinational humanitarian effort designed and constructed the
Northwest Bypass Road that ran from near the coast at Port-au-
Prince at the foot of the southern mountain chain to its intersec-
tion with National Highway One 共Route 1兲 near the base of the
mountains at the northern edge of the Cul-de-Sac Plain 共Fig. 6兲.
This route bypasses a much longer and very congested portion of
the route from Port-au-Prince to the towns and villages on Haiti’s
northern peninsula. Funding for this road project was provided by
the World Bank. Surface hydrologic evaluations were conducted
by a French organization; road design was provided by a U.S.
firm in a Mid-Atlantic state; and construction was performed by
U.S. Navy engineer forces.
The Northwest Bypass Road consists of an asphaltic concrete
surface and a granular base course on a 1.2- to 3.7-m 共4- to
12-ft兲 high compacted embankment. This structure crosses almost
the entire mouth of the Cul-de-Sac Plain. Sixty-one culverts were
installed along the 8.8-km 共5.5-mi兲 long route to handle drainage.
Construction of the Northwest Bypass Road was complete by
July 1997. On September 22, 1998, the eye of Hurricane Georges
passed over Haiti just north of the Cul-de-Sac Plain. No official
rainfall data are available for Haiti, but the U.S. Naval Station in
Port-au-Prince measured in excess of 250 mm 共10-in.兲 of rainfall.
Meteorologists’ best estimate is that Hurricane Georges was likely
a 100-year storm event.
The Northwest Bypass Road acted as a massive dam for the
hurricane flood waters. Water ponded behind the embankment
and then overtopped the roadway scouring away up to half the
downstream embankment 共Fig. 7兲. Mud lines on upstream build-
ings corroborated residents’ statements that flood waters were up
to 1.9-m 共6.25-ft兲 deep and that adults had to hold children on
their shoulders to keep them above the flood water. Residents also
reported water flowed over the embankment with depths of
150– 450 mm 共6 – 18 in.兲, and the overtopping lasted 1 – 24 h de-
pending on location.
The existing culverts were sized and spaced based on a 10-
788 / JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JUNE 2005
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 2005, 131(6): 783-791
Fig. 7. Downstream erosion of the embankment caused by
overtopping. Note the remnant of the embankment toe still visible on
the right.
year storm. After the fact, it is unclear what drainage area was
used in the hydrologic calculations. The only information avail-
able indicated that the land area bounded by the Northwest By-
pass Road on the west and by Highway One on the north and east
was included in the calculations 关about 26– 39 km2
共10– 15 sq mi兲兴. However, the hydrology of the Cul-de-Sac plain
is more complex than the designer realized.
The Cul-de-Sac Plain is possibly the most striking geologic
feature in Haiti. It is a major depression that extends southeast-
ward across the island and stretches from sea to sea on the island
of Hispaniola. The Cul-de-Sac Plain is roughly rectangular and
about 30.2-km 共18.75-mi兲 long and 12.9 to 16.1-km 共8 to
10-mi兲 wide. The plain is a deep trough bounded by steep moun-
tains to the north and south and generally slopes towards the
north. A low north-south divide in the eastern part of the plain
diverts a part of the drainage eastward into the lake Étang
Saumâtre and a larger part westward toward the sea. This lake and
a smaller one, Trou Caïman, are both fed by precipitation. Neither
lake has an outlet, except in times of high flood when both over-
flow across the Cul-de-Sac Plain and into Port-au-Prince Bay. The
unusual drainage of Haiti and the Cul-de-Sac Plain were de-
scribed by Woodring et al. 共1924兲:
“Certain areas 共of Haiti兲 have peculiar drainage, due to
geologic or climatic conditions. … Lost streams of the
desert type, which disappear by evaporation or by infil-
tration into alluvium, are rather common in some areas.
Usually they originate on mountain slopes, where rainfall
is abundant, and disappear at or near the arid lowlands. …
examples are Rivière Blanche, which disappears on the
Cul-de-Sac Plain, and, to some extent at least, Grande
Rivière du Cul-de-Sac 共the Rivière Grise兲. These streams
flow through to the sea, however, in time of flood.”
The Northwest Bypass Road crossed and blocked the mouth of
the Cul-de-Sac Plain. This is the major outflow and drainage of
this region and the surrounding mountains, and during times of
flood, the drainage area encompasses lakes and rivers that would
not normally flow to the sea via the mouth of the Cul-de-Sac
Plain. When Hurricane Georges arrived, the Northwest Bypass
Road became a dam. Furthermore, on this Carribean Island hur-
ricanes are a fact of life. Consequently, assessment of the impact

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Fig. 8. Example of a slide along Honda Ridge Road
of the road should have included flood waters from hurricanes.
One must also question the wisdom of using a 10-year storm
intensity for storm-water control design when the Northwest By-
pass Road location blocking the mouth of the Cul-de-Sac Plain
has such a major impact on drainage during floods. Such a design
storm is often used for low-volume rural roads in the U.S., but
Florida which has rainfall more akin to the Carribean routinely
uses 25-year design storms for roads and highways and 50-year
storms for major routes or ones that will be used during evacua-
tions.
This laudable humanitarian project foundered for several rea-
sons including 共1兲 failure to recognize the true drainage area that
was being blocked by the road; 共2兲 failure to appreciate how the
drainage area expanded during flood events; 共3兲 failure to design
for tropical storms; 共4兲 use of inappropriate design storm intensi-
ties; and 共5兲 poor communication and interaction between the
disparate parties funding, designing, and building the project.
Man’s Impact: Vandenberg AFB, California
Honda Ridge Road provides access between a tracking station on
the summit of Tranquillon Mountain and Vandenberg Air Force
Base 共AFB兲. This road is a conventional two-laned road, typically
5.5-m 共18-ft兲 wide, and surfaced with asphaltic concrete. Along
most of its length, surface water is controlled by an asphaltic
concrete curb or a portland-cement concrete V-shaped side ditch.
Traffic is all light vehicles, and traffic intensity is extremely low
关reportedly 6 AADTs 共average annual daily traffic兲 at the time of
investigation兴.
During the winter of 1997–1998, heavy rains fell on Califor-
nia, and the Vandenberg AFB weather squadron reported the Feb-
ruary rainfall of 368.0 mm 共14.49 in.兲 exceeded the all-time
record monthly rainfall by 73.2 mm 共2.88 in.兲. Following these
heavy rains which were widely ascribed to El Niňo effects, a
number of slides such as seen in Fig. 8 closed Honda Ridge Road,
and the road suffered other minor slumping damage and pave-
ment cracking.
Vandenberg AFB is located in the Transverse Ranges Unit of
the Los Angeles Ranges Section of the Western Mountains of the
Pacific Coast Range Province with highly complex and variable
geology with intense east-west faulting and considerable defor-
mation 共Thornbury 1965; Witczak 1972兲. The roughly east-west
trending mountain ranges vary in elevation from about
300 to 1,200 m 共984 to 3,930 ft兲 and are generally steep with a
JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JUNE 2005 / 789
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 2005, 131(6): 783-791
high degree of local relief. Honda Ridge Road traverses the east-
west Tranquillon ridge and terminates at the crest of Tranquillon
Mountain on the northern flank of the Santa Ynez Mountains.
Bedrock is predominately sedimentary 共sandstone and shales兲
with some extrusive igneous formations 共tuff, breccia, and rhyo-
lite兲. A number of generally east-west trending faults have been
identified in the Honda Ridge area. A thin mantle of fine-grained
residual soil covers the bedrock.
Along the last 5.6 km 共3.5 mi兲 of the road, 17 landslides have
been identified impacting the road or nearby adjacent areas. Some
were old slides that seemed stable, some were old slides that were
reactivated, and some were new slides. These are major deep
seated slides. Some older borings in the area suggest some slides
are more than 20-m 共65-ft兲 deep. There were also a number of
shallow slumps within the soil mantle and rock falls.
Honda Ridge Road has had a long history of slope stability
problems. It was realigned to avoid recurrent slide problems in
1985 and patching and several massive retaining walls were tried
in some areas to control local sliding problems with mixed suc-
cess. The unusually heavy rains of the 1997–1998 winter certainly
reactivated slides and triggered new ones, but it was the continu-
ation of a longstanding problem.
This region has steep terrain, unfavorable bedding and fault-
ing, and weak rock formations that naturally lead to some slides,
particularly during the rainy season. When the relatively massive
Honda Ridge Road was cut into the terrain steepening slopes,
overloading tenuous slopes with fill, blocking drainage, it exacer-
bated the already marginal natural state to one where sliding be-
came prevalent along the route. Fig. 9 shows an example from
one slide where fill from the road provides the impetus for slid-
ing.
El Niňo provided an initial popular scapegoat for the problems
on Honda Ridge Road but is not the real problem. Poorly planned
construction of Honda Ridge Road without adequate recognition
of its adverse impact on the marginally stable landscape is the
true cause of the problems. El Niňo was merely a catalyst for
these slide problems that were simply one more round in a long
and continuing history of problems.
Nature’s Surprises: Holloman AFB, New Mexico
Holloman AFB is located on the floor of the Tularosa Basin.
Although the climate is arid with an average annual rainfall of
200– 275 mm 共8 – 11 in.兲, the closed basin geology results in a
high groundwater table. Soils are intermingled gypsiferous eolian
and alluvial soils that classify as SM, ML, CL, and CL-ML. Be-
cause of the sulfate content of local soils, high ground water, and
the difficult subgrade soil and water conditions, normal practice
on the airbase is to place 600 mm 共2 ft兲 of nonexpansive fill on
the subgrade before any construction. All portland-cement con-
crete on or within 300 mm 共12 in.兲 of the ground uses Type V
sulfate-resistant cement.
In 1995, a large maintenance hangar, an aircraft shelter, air-
craft parking ramp, and associated taxiway, parking lot, side-
walks, etc. were constructed on the southeast corner of the Hol-
loman airfield complex. This complex was constructed for use by
the German Air Force and is commonly referred to as GAF1
共German Air Force, Phase 1兲. During construction, the contractor
proposed and the government accepted using recycled concrete
for the 300-mm 共12 in.兲 of fill on the gypsiferous soils. This re-
cycled concrete came primarily from another on-base project
where an existing aircraft parking ramp built during the 1960s
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Universidad Militar Nueva Granada on 02/21/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Fig. 9. Cross section of fill triggering a slide on Honda Ridge Road 共based on unpublished files of 30th Civil Engineering Squadron,
Vandenberg AFB, field work by Geofon, Inc., NBS Lowry, Inc., and S/G Testing Laboratories兲
was being replaced. The pavement concrete to be recycled
showed no sulfate related distress and all available information
indicates it was made with Type V sulfate-resistant cement. The
recycled concrete was crushed to meet a well-graded base-course
gradation specification 共GW-GM by the USCS兲, and all facilities
in GAF1 had between 0.6 and 1.5 m 共2 and 5 ft兲 of recycled
concrete as fill beneath them.
Differential heaving began appearing in scattered locations
throughout the GAF1 project. Heaving effects were observed as
displaced sidewalk slabs, buckled asphaltic concrete pavement,
stuck doors, cracks in masonry walls, and differential elevation
between adjacent structures founded on recycled concrete fill and
those founded on native subgrade or other fill. Expansion within
the recycled concrete layer caused rippling of the ribbed mat
foundation slab of the maintenance hangar and led to problems
coring through the recycled concrete layer as the recycled con-
crete material squeezed into the core holes. Inspections carried
out in March and July of 2000, April 2002, and July 2004 found
the magnitude and extent of heaving were steadily increasing.
Microscopy and x-ray diffraction of samples recovered from
the recycled concrete conclusively identified ettringite and thau-
masite in the material. These calcium-sulfate-aluminate com-
pounds are expansive and are indicative of sulfate attack. Con-
ventional sulfate resistant cements 共Type II and the more resistant
Type V兲 achieve their protection against sulfate attack by lowered
alumina content in the cement composition. Without alumina, the
expansive ettringite and thaumasite will not form.
There appear to be three possible explanations why a recycled
concrete made originally with sulfate-resistant cements and that
suffered no ill effects for the previous 40 years might undergo
sulfate attack when recycled as fill.
1. Severe exposure conditions: Conditions as fill and base
course were more conducive to sulfate attack than when the
concrete was intact pavement on the surface. Water is needed
for the sulfate attack to occur, and more water accumulates in
the underground recycled fill than was available when it was
surface pavement. When crushed, the recycled concrete is far
more permeable than when it existed as concrete pavement.
The sulfate exposure level in the fill is very severe. In cases
where heaving was not apparent, cores taken from the
recycled concrete were intact as though the recycled concrete
had recemented itself. Chemical analysis revealed that the
cementing agent was gypsum. Ettringite and thaumasite were
found in these cores even though heaving was not yet appar-
790 / JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JUNE 2005
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 2005, 131(6): 783-791
ent. In heaved areas, cores crumbled when extracted from the
core barrel, and the concrete fragments were often soft,
moist, and could be easily broken or deformed with finger
pressure. Examination of recovered concrete stockpiles that
had not been used found no gypsum, ettringite, or thauma-
site. This gypsum cementing the GAF 1 recycled concrete fill
must have been deposited during or after placement or both.
2. Soil contamination: If the recovered concrete was contami-
nated with soil, clay minerals in the soil could potentially
provide chemically active alumina to participate in the
ettringite formation 共Rollings et al. 1999兲. Discussions with
inspectors and contractor personnel found there had been
some initial problems with soil contamination. The contrac-
tor had taken steps to control this as it was causing problems
with keeping the fines within specification limits. No evi-
dence was found suggesting any particular problem with soil
contamination.
3. Thaumasite: Much of the expansion may be driven by for-
mation of thaumasite. Since thaumasite formation is not lim-
ited by the availability of alumina, sulfate resistant cements
would be of no protection. While thaumasite has seldom
been identified as the primary cause of distress 共Taylor 1997;
Thaumasite Expert Group 1999兲, conditions for thaumasite
formation in the recycled concrete base and fill at Holloman
AFB were unusually favorable 共e.g., high humidity and cool
temperatures under the paved surface, ample sulfates, and
older carbonated portland-cement concrete fragments兲.
We tend to treat our geotechnical materials as inert. In actual
fact, there can be some very complex interactions and changes in
these materials that vary from beneficial to innocuous to highly
destructive. Sulfates are often associated with arid or semiarid
regions. Our personal experiences have included dealing with
these in New Mexico, Texas, and the Middle East where such
conditions prevail. However, we have also encountered problems
with sulfate attack from industrial cinders in Ohio, clay in Mis-
sissippi, coal stockpile leachate in Virginia, and well water used
for soil compaction in coastal Georgia. Consequently, one must
remain alert to nature’s surprises.
Conclusions
The preceding examples illustrate the impact of geology on a
spectrum of engineering projects. As civil engineers, we are in-
 exorably intertwined with the natural geologic processes that
shape and impact our construction sites and that affect our con-
struction materials. Geologic conditions that are misjudged are
implacable in exacting their retribution, and the end result of such
misjudgments may be disastrous for our project. Yet to be overly
fearful and conservative may result in impractical and wasteful
designs that doom otherwise desirable plans to remain on the
shelf. The complex interplay of geology and geotechnical engi-
neering is a hallmark of the profession to be appreciated by every
geotechnical engineer.
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Acknowledgments
Financial support for the work described in this paper was pro-
vided by various organizations including the Air Force 共AF兲 Civil
Engineer Support Agency 共AFCESA兲, AF Air Combat Command,
AF Space Command, AF 819th and 823rd RED HORSE Squad-
rons, Corps of Engineers Albuquerque District, Corps of Engi-
neers Transatlantic Project Office, Army Training and Doctrine
Command, Southern Command, and the National Science Foun-
dation 共NSF兲. Many people contributed to the efforts described
here including colleagues at ERDC Waterways Experiment Sta-
tion 共WES兲 and ERDC Cold Regions Research and Engineering
Laboratory 共CRREL兲 and numerous individuals at the project
sites. The writers would like to thank Mr. George Blaisdell
共CRREL兲, Mr. James Greene 共AFCESA兲, and the late Mr. Bryant
Mather 共Director Emeritus, WES兲 for their review and comments
on the paper. The support of ERDC in preparing this paper is also
acknowledged. The views expressed in this paper are those of the
writers alone and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies
of any government agency.
JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / JUNE 2005 / 791
J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 2005, 131(6): 783-791
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