Selecting Appropriate Mitigation Methods for Soil Slope Failures: A Safety and Equity-Centric Approach

Soil slope failures pose significant risks to both human lives and infrastructure, necessitating effective mitigation strategies. This research proposal aims to investigate the selection of appropriate mitigation methods for soil slope failures, with a dual focus on safety and equity considerations. The proposed study will employ a multidisciplinary approach, integrating geological, climatic, geotechnical engineering, and socioeconomic perspectives. It will begin with comprehensive review of existing mitigation methods, including slope flattening, stabilization, lightweight fill, and drainage. Subsequently, a systematic evaluation framework will be developed to assess the efficacy of these methods in terms of safety enhancement and equitable distribution of benefits. Safety considerations will encompass factors such as slope stability and resilience to extreme weather events. Equity considerations will involve analyzing the distribution of risks and benefits among different socioeconomic groups, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable communities disproportionately affected by soil slope failures. Taking advantage of the collected field slope data for the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) geotechnical asset management system, computational modeling techniques will be employed to quantify the performance of various mitigation strategies under different scenarios. Additionally, stakeholder consultations will be conducted to incorporate local knowledge and community perspectives into the decision-making process. The anticipated outcomes of this research include a set of guidelines for selecting optimal mitigation methods tailored to specific soil slope failure scenarios, taking into account both safety and equity. By integrating technical expertise with social equity principles, this study seeks to contribute to the development of more resilient and equitable disaster risk reduction strategies for soil slopes. This research will contribute to the knowledge and procedure for selecting optimal mitigation methods of soil slopes to address their safety and community equity.

    Language

    • English

    Project

    • Status: Active
    • Funding: $206,637.00
    • Contract Numbers:

      69A3552348307

    • Sponsor Organizations:

      USDOT/OST-R

      Washington DC,   United States 

      Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

      University Transportation Centers Program
      Department of Transportation
      Washington, DC  United States  20590
    • Managing Organizations:

      Mid-America Transportation Center

      University of Nebraska-Lincoln
      2200 Vine Street, PO Box 830851
      Lincoln, NE  United States  68583-0851
    • Project Managers:

      Stearns, Amy

    • Performing Organizations:

      University of Kansas, Lawrence

      Transportation Research Institute
      2117 Learned Hall, 1530 W 15th Street
      Lawrence, KS  United States  66045
    • Principal Investigators:

      Han, Jie

      Parsons, Robert

    • Start Date: 20240601
    • Expected Completion Date: 20260630
    • Actual Completion Date: 0
    • USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

    Subject/Index Terms

    Filing Info

    • Accession Number: 01972421
    • Record Type: Research project
    • Source Agency: Mid-America Transportation Center
    • Contract Numbers: 69A3552348307
    • Files: UTC, RIP
    • Created Date: Nov 21 2025 2:23PM