It seems like mud slides block a portion of the line between Portland and Seattle every year. Is there not a permanent fix for this problem?
Most of the problems start off the property.
Portland-Seattle isn’t normally a problem, usually it’s the Seattle-Everett portion. We’ve just had record rain this winter.
I do not remember hearing of slides south of Portland until this year.
Since we can’t fix the geology, soil conditions, or wet weather, it seems to me there are 3 main things that are needed:
- Additional right-of-way or easements off/ beyond the railroad’s property - as mudchicken alludes to - for doing the necessary geotechnical (e.g., soil nails and drains) and/ or structural (e.g., retaining walls) work where it’s needed. Some of this is going to encounter vehement objections by (buy ?) the property owners whose spendid homes and manicured yards are right at the top of the slope that’s causing the problem;
- Engineering and geologist talent to figure out what needs to be done and how to do it, including site investigations to ascertain the existing conditions and likely causes of and solutions to the problems; and,
- Lots of $, which is probably the biggest single factor - enough of it will also cover needs 1. and 2. above.
- PDN.
JPS1,
To get an inkling of what you are asking go to the Trackside heading. Find the post “Is this the best place in Seattle” by Yardlimit. He is at Carkeek Park on the North end of Seattle and the first view is to the north.
The distance between Seattle and Everett is 30 miles, and about 25 miles of it looks just like this and has been unstable ever since the glaciers left about 10,000 years ago.
See also the longish discussion of the local geology that I did on Blue Streak’s “Mudslides Season…” thread.
I am not familiar with the sites south of Seattle.
Mac McCulloch
The one thing about the PNW area in general is the makeup of the geological background. Your in an active volcanic area on top of earthquakes plus your soils are leftovers from the last ice age sitting on solid basalt bedrock. If and when one of the volcanoes does erupt your going to have massive land and mudslides 100s of feet thick. The geology alone makes it fun.
There’s no permanant solution to our area for the Bellingham Sub which runs from Seattle to Everett (the most prone area for slides). If you look on Google Maps you can kinda tell what we’re up against (look between Everett and Mukilteo specifically). A good chunk of the sub is right on the water which means everything directly to its east is quite often from 50 to a hundred feet or more in elevation above the track. There’s no more room to expand and with our climate slides will happen every year, some years worse than others. Some of the bigger problem areas have had so many slides that the hill side has eroded back enough that the slide fences now in place help stop most of the debris. But, that just means other areas will become new problem areas.
A while back a train was knocked into the sound near Edmonds. Some of it still in the sound.