News from New York State Department of Transportation

For more information contact: Charles Carrier, 518-457-6400

Federal Peer Review Endorses State Actions on Route 219 Landslide

NYSDOT to Adopt Design Process Recommendations

ALBANY, NY (08/19/2008; 1516)(readMedia)-- A federal review of the unique geological conditions encountered by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) on its Route 219 construction project found the corrective measures to address the underground landslide and complete the $109.2 million project to be reasonable and appropriate.

NYSDOT requested the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) peer review in June in order to provide independent scrutiny of the design and construction changes that NYSDOT is implementing to address the challenge of constructing a new four-lane highway on top of soils that are weaker than those it has ever encountered. NYSDOT also requested that the national review team assess its geotechnical procedures.

The resulting report commended NYSDOT on its response to the deep-seated landslide, which proved to be unusual, even by the review team's nationwide standards. It also recommended improvements to the department's geotechnical project development procedures, which the department is implementing immediately.

The report includes a review of the geotechnical issues associated with the underground landslide at Scoby Hill Road, which occurred on a section of the Route 219 freeway being constructed on new alignment near Springville, Erie County. Significant ground movement interrupted construction work last year and a subsequent investigation revealed an extremely deep-seated landslide in the area.

The report's recommendations call for revising the way geotechnical studies are developed for locations where there are questions about the suitability of native soils to support new highway construction. NYSDOT engineering geology staff will be involved in these geologic site reconnaissance studies, and department personnel will review all available sources of geological and geotechnical information and help develop a project geotechnical report for widespread use on the project. NYSDOT will work with FHWA and other states to build on its experience with these unprecedented conditions to develop geotechnical best practices.

The independent peer review was conducted by geology and geotechnical engineering experts from the FHWA and West Coast. The report can be viewed at https://www.nysdot.gov/portal/page/portal/regional-offices/region5/projects/us-route-219-section5.

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