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The Influence of Ground‐Water Flow Systems on Pavement Stability in Highway Cuts
Author(s) -
Williams R. E.
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1967.tb01622.x
Subject(s) - piezometer , groundwater recharge , geology , geotechnical engineering , snow , drainage , flow (mathematics) , glacial period , groundwater , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , geomorphology , ecology , geometry , mathematics , aquifer , biology
The failure or “breaking up” of pavement in cuts in glacial till is a phenomenon commonly observed in northeastern Illinois and other areas in the midwest. Failure commonly follows periods of significant ground‐water recharge, especially when such periods are concomitant with freezing and thawing conditions. Water levels in piezometers installed in glacial till in northeastern Illinois indicate that during periods of high precipitation or rapid snow melt, the potential surface normally occurs at shallow depths. Therefore, cuts of appreciable depth intersect the zone of saturation and establish local, gravity, ground‐water flow systems with the bottom of the cut acting as a ground‐water discharge zone. Such shallow gravity flow systems may bring about pavement failure by facilitating the growth of thick ice lenses or by developing high pressure beneath the pavement due to poor drainage.