Investigations into the reinforcing design for a rock slope located above highway tunnel portals in Italy

This paper deals with the analysis of the stability conditions of a slope located above a motorway tunnel on a hill called Siestro; the case concerns the “Autostrada dei Fiori”, which runs close to the border between Italy and France, along the Ligurian coastline. Because of the touristic and commercial importance of this motorway, the planning of the investigation considered the importance of minimising the impact on traffic. Reinforcement operations were foreseen and designed in order to censure safety of the slope.