West Hill Road ‘grew up’ from an old logging road into a popular ‘back way’ to Sugarbush Ski Resort.. The original logging trail was cut into the side of the mountain leaving a steep drop off into the brook below. As houses were added the town took it over as a town road. Soon it was widened and paved.
Over the years, the town road foreman began to notice cracks. More pavement was the answer. Over time the cracks became wider and it was obvious the road was shifting and slumping.
A local excavating contractor was hired in 2001 to fix the slump. They attemtped a traditional fix excavating the subbases and installing large rock in its place to re-build the section. Their fix didn’t last long. Within five years the slump was back.
In 2013, the town hired Bannon Engineering to analyze the slump and come up with options. After performing a soil geotechnical investigation, Bannon recommended an innovative soil nailing geohazard mitigation corrective action plan. This was the very first application of soil nailing in the state of Vermont.
GeoStabilization International, GSI, was hired to perform the work. GSI provided a permanent fix with a warranty. The 100-ft project was constructed in 2013. Construction took four-days. The road was allowed to be opened the entire duration of construction. The final cost was about 1/3-of the cost of a conventional stone rebuild fix….and it is GUARANTEED!