Roads cutting through mountain ranges and waterfalls
Do they cause landslides and reactivate old ones?

Temporary fix for Waterfall Way at Gordonville slip site
"Waterfall Way has reopened between Bellingen and Dorrigo after temporary repairs to the Gordonville slip site. The temporary fix consists of a gravel filled shipping container wall, two containers high and eight containers long, attached to the rockface using nine high-strength steel anchors drilled deep into the rockface." >>
https://insidelocalgovernment.com.au/temporary-fix-for-waterfall-way-at-gordonville-slip-site/

Video of landslide: Waterfall Way, Gordonville Crossing Landslip >>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGymAVc1u8g

Do roads mean landslides are more likely? >>
https://blogs.egu.eu/geolog/2015/01/16/geosciences-column-do-roads-mean-landslides-are-more-likely/

Could road constructions be more hazardous than an earthquake in terms of mass movement?

"In this study, we report a distinct correlation of mass movements and major road constructions that explicitly shows human impact on mountainous environments which are under anthropogenic disturbance recently. Our results further suggest that slope instabilities increased drastically after major service road constructions for hydroelectric power plants and as well as other road extension works."

"We also stress that the impact of road construction can disturb the natural slope equilibrium to an extent comparable with moderate (larger than 6 Mw) earthquakes."

"Such an observation implies that human activities can have a large, if not even dominant, impact on landscape evolution and the natural regime of surface processes. This is part of the definition of “Anthropocene,” an age where our society shapes nature for our purposes, frequently at the risk of damaging ourselves."
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-021-05199-2

Image: Sisyphus, Franz von Stuck, 1920

#roads #WaterFallWay #mountains #ecosystem #denudation #overloading #waterfalls #Bellingenshire #Dorrigo #landslides #landslips #infrastructure #cars #engineering #Sisyphus #mindsets #Anthropocene