In November 2017, a landslide occurred in the village of Gardenstown, North Aberdeenshire, causing major disruption to the local community. The landslide limited essential access for residents and local businesses by blocking off the vital local harbour road.

Aberdeenshire Council reacted quickly to erect a temporary blockwork wall. However, following another landslide in March 2018, the road was closed in the interest of public safety.

In April 2018, the BAM Ritchies team started stabilisation works of the slope, following delivery of a successful ground investigation.

Project Highlights:

• Following several landslides, we stabilised the land in Gardenstown to re-open their vital harbour road.
• Over 200 tonnes of debris was removed to partially re-open the road and restore access.
• For safety, we implemented a vibration monitoring system to detect any slope movement.
• Just seven months after the first slope failure, we restored the road to full width and operation.

Minimising risk

We removed over 200 tonnes of debris to allow the road to partially open, with a traffic light system in place. To allow the road to open safely, we installed a vibration monitoring system to detect any further slope movement. If any movement was detected, the team would be alerted immediately, and they would close the road. Without this measure in place, there’s no way we could have opened the road to the public, so early in the project.

Adapting to change

Throughout our programme, we were faced with unpredictable ground and weather conditions. It meant we had to be agile and adaptable.

With this in mind, we worked quickly to install a network of 120 galvanised soil-nails alongside a TECCO green mesh system, to stabilise the slope crest and face.

This provided the community with a safe route through the village, and the foundation for a long-term, updatable design solution.

Long-term stabilisation

We completed the works in June 2018, having battled complex geology, logistical issues and serious safety risks. We successfully restored the road to full width, and enabled the vital access harbour road to re-open, unsupervised – just seven months after the first slope failure.

We succeeded in this project by forming a collaborative, dynamic team. We focused on adapting our working methods to respond to the changing immediate challenges, whilst implementing a long-term solution to meet the project brief.