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<p><?tk 2?>The complex geological formations and rugged topography of mountainous regions, such as Nepal, present significant challenges for road construction. These construction challenges are exacerbated by the intense annual monsoon season, which triggers extensive landslides. Existing road excavation guidelines often fail to account for the impacts of heavy rainfall on slope stability and road design. In many hilly areas of Nepal, road construction involves hillside excavation without adequate slope stability investigation and analysis, often neglecting geotechnical properties. This haphazard approach further increases landslide susceptibility along road corridors, posing severe risks to infrastructure, settlements, agriculture, and economic connectivity. This study investigates the influence of monsoon rainfall on excavated hillside road slopes with varying soil types, topographies, and excavation scenarios. Seepage analyses were performed under realistic rainfall conditions, followed by detailed slope stability evaluations. The findings highlight that soil permeability and rainfall intensity play pivotal roles in slope instability. Shallower cut slopes experienced significant reductions in their Factor of Safety (FoS) due to rainfall infiltration. Coarse-grained soils exhibited the most substantial FoS reductions, reaching up to 70.08%. In contrast, coarse-grained soils with plastic fines experienced reductions up to 38.6%, and those with non-plastic fines saw reductions up to 46.2%. Silts, low plasticity clays, and high plasticity clays displayed lower reductions of up to 40.58%, 40.65%, and 42.7% respectively, highlighting soil-specific vulnerability to rainfall.&#xa0;Additionally, coarse-grained soils with plastic fines exhibited higher stability compared to those with non-plastic fines, primarily due to matric suction and enhanced cohesiveness, which contribute to additional stability. This study advances current knowledge by integrating critical factors of soil plasticity, matric suction, and permeability into slope stability analyses under monsoon conditions, offering practical guidelines for resilient road construction in Nepal’s Himalayan terrain. These results emphasize the importance of incorporating these factors into road excavation and slope design to effectively mitigate landslide risks and support sustainable transport infrastructure.</p>

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Understanding monsoon rainfall impacts on roadside slopes: a pathway to resilient transport infrastructures

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月5日

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  • Prajwal Timsina,
  • Birasa Malla,
  • Santosh Basnet,
  • Samana Bhattarai,
  • Sagar Paudel,
  • Sushil Kafle,
  • Tunisha Gyawali,
  • Ellen B. Robson,
  • Bhim Kumar Dahal

摘要

The complex geological formations and rugged topography of mountainous regions, such as Nepal, present significant challenges for road construction. These construction challenges are exacerbated by the intense annual monsoon season, which triggers extensive landslides. Existing road excavation guidelines often fail to account for the impacts of heavy rainfall on slope stability and road design. In many hilly areas of Nepal, road construction involves hillside excavation without adequate slope stability investigation and analysis, often neglecting geotechnical properties. This haphazard approach further increases landslide susceptibility along road corridors, posing severe risks to infrastructure, settlements, agriculture, and economic connectivity. This study investigates the influence of monsoon rainfall on excavated hillside road slopes with varying soil types, topographies, and excavation scenarios. Seepage analyses were performed under realistic rainfall conditions, followed by detailed slope stability evaluations. The findings highlight that soil permeability and rainfall intensity play pivotal roles in slope instability. Shallower cut slopes experienced significant reductions in their Factor of Safety (FoS) due to rainfall infiltration. Coarse-grained soils exhibited the most substantial FoS reductions, reaching up to 70.08%. In contrast, coarse-grained soils with plastic fines experienced reductions up to 38.6%, and those with non-plastic fines saw reductions up to 46.2%. Silts, low plasticity clays, and high plasticity clays displayed lower reductions of up to 40.58%, 40.65%, and 42.7% respectively, highlighting soil-specific vulnerability to rainfall. Additionally, coarse-grained soils with plastic fines exhibited higher stability compared to those with non-plastic fines, primarily due to matric suction and enhanced cohesiveness, which contribute to additional stability. This study advances current knowledge by integrating critical factors of soil plasticity, matric suction, and permeability into slope stability analyses under monsoon conditions, offering practical guidelines for resilient road construction in Nepal’s Himalayan terrain. These results emphasize the importance of incorporating these factors into road excavation and slope design to effectively mitigate landslide risks and support sustainable transport infrastructure.