With nearly 50 miles of city-owned retaining walls and some of the most dynamic hillsides anywhere, Cincinnati's undulating terrain presents an ongoing challenge to the technical staff of the Structures Section. The local geology and past development practices have left many miles of roadway affected by hillside movement. The goals of the retaining wall and landslide stabilization program are to bring all existing walls into good condition and stabilize landslides that impact the City's roadways. By inspecting each city wall on a six-year cycle, the wall group can effectively prioritize the needs for retaining wall replacement or rehabilitation. Input from the city's engineering geologist and geotechnical consultants give wall designers critical information needed to arrest landslides before city streets and utilities suffer serious damage. The wall and landslide program's annual infusion of capital funds is carefully allocated to meet the most urgent needs for wall construction and landslide correction.
A geotechnical engineer and an senior engineer staff the City of Cincinnati Geotechnical Office. The Geotechnical Office is part of the Structures Section of the Engineering Division. The primary function of the Geotechnical Office is to provide geotechnical expertise concerning landslide stabilization and prevention within the public right-of-way and other property controlled by the city. The geotechnical staff is available for consultation with all city agencies. Inquires from the public regarding any observed slope instability within the right-of-way should be directed to Richard E. Pohana, Geotechnical Engineer at telephone number 352-5278.
Earth stability of private hillside development is under the control of the Department of Buildings and Inspections through the excavation and filling of land regulations of the Cincinnati-Ohio Basic Building Code. The direct responsibility for the administration of the regulations is performed by the Building Plans Examiners in conjunction with their review of plans for building permits. The geotechnical staff assists the plan examiners in their review of projects in landslide sensitive areas as defined by the 1980 Cincinnati Landslide Susceptibility Study.
The following three online publications provide a general description of the occurrence of landslides in the Greater Cincinnati Area:
Landslides of The Cincinnati, Ohio, Area Overview of Landslide Problems, Research, and Mitigation, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2059-A
Geologic Perspectives-- The Cincinnati Example ( Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)
Landslides Along Columbia Parkway ( Part 1, Part 2)
Additional references regarding landslides and the geology of the Greater Cincinnati area provided in the following document:
References.
Further information on landslides is available online at the U. S. Geological Society National Information Center which also includes links to additional sites on landslides.
