Ranking and Assessment of Seismic Stability of Highway Embankments in Kentucky (KYSPR 96-173) (original) (raw)

The objectives of this study were to (a) evaluate the seismic stability of over 400 highway embankments along priority routes in western Kentucky and rank them in terms of their risk of failure, (b) provide a preliminary assessment of the seismic stability of the approach embankment of the U.S. 51 bridge across the Ohio River near Wickliffe, Kentucky, and (c) provide a stability assessment of the approach embankments for the U.S. 41 twin spans across the Ohio River near Henderson, Kentucky. These objectives have been completed in accordance with the state of the art. The ranking of highway embankments for western Kentucky designated 6 embankments that may be at serious risk of failure for the 50 year event, and 145 embankments that may be at serious risk of failure for the 500 year event. The ranking also provided a rating of all embankments in terms of potential displacements or psuedo-static factors of safety for the 50 and 500 year events. The preliminary study of the seismic stability of the U.S. 51 approach embankment near Wickliffe indicated a low to moderate risk of localized pockets of liquefied soils causing some embankment damage for a 50 year event, and a likelihood of liquefaction and possible loss of portions of the embankment for a 500 year event. The stability assessment of the U.S. 41 approach embankments near Henderson indicated low risk of liquefaction and a factor of safety of approximately 1 for the embankments in the event of either a 50 or 500 year event. The displacements that would be expected in the event of a 50 or 500 year earthquake were estimated to be low enough that damage to spans would not occur and road surface damage would be minor to none. It was suggested that some minor damage to road surfaces could be incurred, but that it would be minor and within the scope of repair by normal maintenance personnel. Sincerely,