BEAR Scotland NW trunk road maintenance: efficient management of geotechnical emergencies

This paper examines the procedures developed and employed by BEAR Scotland Limited to efficiently deal with geotechnical emergencies on the trunk road network in NW Scotland, and specifically how BEAR can call upon expert geotechnical consultancy and construction services to promptly resolve failures which impact on road infrastructure. The paper considers two case studies involving the failure of a significant embankment on the A9 and a natural terrain hazard (landslide/debris flow) failure affecting the A83, and how BEAR9s approach allowed these geotechnical emergencies to be dealt with in an efficient manner.