ABSTRACT
McKay (1970) described a location in Australia where an embankment had to be constructed across an 8 k m (5 mile) wide floodplain, which sometimes carried enormous flows. In such cases it is often impractical to build an embankment that is higher than the flood level and uneconomic to provide as many waterway openings as might be desired purely from the hydraulic point of view. The only practicable design solution may be to allow water to pass over the embankment (Fig. 6.1). Provided the embankments are designed not to be damaged by overtopping and the road is not so important that it must be kept open at all costs, this provides a pragmatic solution to a potentially difficult problem.
