Behavior of a landslide prior to inducing a viaduct failure, Caracas-La Guaira highway, Venezuela

A reactivation of a large ancient landslide identified in 1987 began to progressively damage the southern side of an important prestressed concrete span structure of a highway connecting Caracas, Capital of Venezuela, with its main port and airport. This paper deals with the behavior of the landslide over a period of 19 years, and the final failure of the structure in March 19, 2006. Results of geotechnical investigation, evaluation of inclinometer readings and surface control point displacements, as well as behavior of the structure subjected to the slide thrust, are discussed. Several causes that may explain the reactivation and behavior of the landslide, and some aspects about failure time prediction are also described. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.