Slope ALARMS: Road
Ruthlin and Duffryn, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK

A landslide in the hamlet of Ruthlin triggered by a prolonged period of wet weather in winter 2014 caused damage to a minor rural road near Ruthlin Mill.

The same period of wet weather also triggered a landslide that caused damage to a nearby rural road at Duffryn Cottages.

Ruthlin
Surface drainage was constructed as part of the remediation effort and Monmouthshire County Council enlisted WSP (formerly Parsons Brinckerhoff) to perform a monitoring programme to inform on-going risk assessments for the site.

In January 2015, as part of this monitoring programme, two active waveguides were retrofitted inside existing standpipe casings to convert the periodically read instruments to real-time continuous deformation monitoring systems.

Duffryn
Monmouthshire County Council enlisted WSP to undertake a monitoring programme to inform on-going risk assessments for the site. As part of this monitoring programme, in January 2015, an active waveguide was retrofitted inside an existing standpipe casing.

Progress and impact

At both Ruthlin and Duffryn, Slope ALARMS sends SMS messages to Monmouthshire County Council if movement exceeds a pre-determined threshold.

An engineer can then be dispatched to site to assess slope stability and any damage to the roads.

Monitoring is ongoing.