Failure of Desert View Drive Embankment
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 10, Issue 1
Abstract
This paper describes the failure of the Desert View Drive fill embankment in La Jolla, Calif. The embankment was built in late 1960 or early 1961. Other than a report of surficial instability in 1977, the embankment was marginally stable (factor of safety of 1.15) until 1990, when an excavation group cut into the embankment to construct a building pad and house. The resulting failure of the Desert View Drive fill embankment was a progressive failure, starting as a circular mode and eventually increasing to a wedge type movement of the entire fill embankment. The legal theories used as the basis to sue the city of San Diego were that (1) the city officials were aware of the defective condition (poor compaction) of the embankment, but they did not fix this condition; and (2) they failed to provide subjacent support to the homeowners property. The repair of the fill embankment consisted of the construction of 40 massive piers anchored in the underlying Ardath shale.
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References
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 10 • Issue 1 • February 1996
Pages: 11 - 14
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Feb 1, 1996
Published in print: Feb 1996
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