December Monthly Meeting: Rattlesnake Ridge Landslide
We are excited to announce the 2018 continuation of our annual joint meeting between the Seattle and Tacoma-Olympia Sections. Please join us for a fun evening with friends and colleagues!
The Rattlesnake Ridge Landslide, near Union Gap, Washington, is a 4-million cubic yard translational slide with movement occurring along a weak, inclined sedimentary layer within a sequence of basalt bedrock. The slide was first observed in October 2017 and multiple monitoring methods confirmed south to south-westerly movement towards Interstate Highway 84 and the Yakima River. During November and December 2017, movement of the slide accelerated in a manner typical of a slide becoming less stable with time and trending towards "failure." In the interest of public safety, Governor Jay Inslee directed an independent technical review of the landslide that was performed by Wyllie & Norrish Rock Engineers, Inc.
The presentation will summarize the initial evaluation of the slide, the January 2018 review, and the behavior and understanding of the landslide developed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) over the subsequent ten months.
Norman Norrish, P.Eng., P.E.
Principal, Technical Specialist, Rock Engineering
Wyllie & Norrish Rock Engineeers, Inc.
Norman I. Norrish has 40 years of experience in the application of rock mechanics to mining, transportation, and civil construction projects including senior level project responsibility for the investigation, design, and construction management of transportation projects in mountainous terrain throughout Western North America. Mr. Norrish contributed significantly to Transportation Research Board Special Report 247, Landslides: Investigation and Mitigation and to Rockfall: Characterization and Control. In the past fifteen years, he has presented the NHI training course #132035 "Rock Slopes" to over 40 state DOTs and recently served as Designer-of-Record for rock slopes at the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass Project on behalf of WSDOT. He is the Principal and Co-Founder of Wyllie & Norrish Rock Engineers, Inc.
James R. Struthers, LEG
Chief Engineering Geologist
Washington State Department of Transportation
James Struthers is the Chief Engineering Geologist for the Washington State Department of Transportation and has worked as a geotechnical professional in the Pacific Northwest for more than 23 years. He has enjoyed a varied career that includes work on landslide and rockfall mitigation projects as well as on the SR 520 Bridge Replacement and Alaskan Way Viaduct Programs. James has a BS degree in geological sciences from the Unviersity of Washington with an emphasis on structural geology and tectonics is a member of the Association of Engineeering Geologists, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, and the Seismological Society of America. He is currently the co-chair of the Association of Engineering Geologist Licensure committee and contribution to the development of the Washington State Engineering Geology Specialty Licensure examination.
Embassy Suites - Churchill/Pimlico Room
15920 West Valley Highway
Seattle, WA 98188
Doors open at 5:30 PM
Dinner at 6:00 PM
Presentation at 6:30 PM
To sign up, click here.