Grounds for concern: Geotechnical issues from some recent construction cases

Abstract

There continue to be many substantial cases of engineering failures associated with the ground, some very problematic and expensive. This is despite most of the technical issues being well known and the subject of much study and comment. Too often for non-specialists, the lessons continue to be learnt only by bitter experience. This paper reviews various issues and risks from the perspective of the authors’ practical experiences, mostly acting in expert roles investigating and advising on numerous geotechnical cases related to construction. These involve a wide variety of types of failures and circumstances. They include foundations, shallow and deep; slopes and infrastructure for road, rail and utilities; and mining and waste industries. The examples select some of the more substantial cases, with costs frequently of many millions of pounds. None here involved loss of life, but in several cases, this was fortuitous. Some significant implications and learning points are discussed.