the BEACON Newspaper, Indiana beaconweb9-18 | Page 7
September 2018
THE BEACON
Page 7A
Slip Sliding Away- the Roads of Dearborn County
found. To date, Mr. Greive
has applied for and has been
instrumental in the county
receiving numerous grants.
However, the county must
still use funds to pay for the
projects and then must wait to
be reimbursed, thus tying up
invaluable resources.
“At the end of the day, it’s
all about helping people and
doing the right thing,” said
Mr. Greive.
Of the five hundred forty-
three roads in Dearborn Coun-
ty, only forty are not paved.
And snow removal is just
around the corner...
Sheet piling technology was used on West Laughery to repair a slip and ensure maxi-
mum vertical strength of the hillside. The angle of the trackhoe indicates the severe
grade of the terrain.
Flood waters washed over
Arlington Road and washed
out the road, causing a
collapse around the culvert
pipe.
An enormous culvert that
spans Stateline Road was
placed quickly so that mo-
torists were inconvenienced
as little as possible.
Continued from page 1A
These residents could not get
out of their roads much less
receive a multitude of things
from lifesaving services such
as fire and EMS support to
daily services like mail and
fuel deliveries.
The Dearborn County High-
way Department, comprised
of twenty-three men, worked
tirelessly to address all of the
havoc wreaked by this storm.
Eight slide sites were identi-
fied. When asked how the
highway department knows
about a problem, Tim Greive,
highway superintendent,
replied, “ Experience. When
you know about a storm, you
know where to start looking.”
Pruss Road was literally
washed away, debris and
trees left in its wake.
While many of us were
blissfully unaware of the
perils our fellow neighbors
were experiencing, these men
were clearing away debris
and devising ways to repair
bridges and slips as efficiently
and safely as possible.
Several slip repair tech-
niques have been utilized by
Mr. Greive and his crew. A
massive slip on West Laughery
was repaired with soil nailing.
The process treats unstable soil
such as a slip to maintain the
maximum vertical plane pos-
sible. This alleviates interfer-
ence with waterways and uses
the least amount of land neces-
sary. The process involves
steel “nails” being driven into
the hillside until stable ground
is reached. They are forced
into place and faced with mesh
that is then topped with a shot-
crete facing mixture.
The installation of micro
peers was also used to correct
slips on roadways. Interlocking
sheet pilings were driven into
the ground and backed with
layers of geotextile fabric and
rap-rock. The result is a retain-
ing system that sends pressure
downward rather than outward,
thus stabilizing the slip.
A monopour was imple-
mented in another area where
the road literally buckled like
a ribbon due to excess storm
water. Plans to fix the road by
doing a monopour to form a
two-foot footer and the deck
of the bridge will alleviate the
problem.
Perhaps the most techno-
logically advanced process
that the county is using to
repair slips was developed
by Geostabilization, Inc. and
is based on rocket launching
technology. A compressed air
cannon shoots 2.5” diameter,
20-foot long steel tubes into
the ground to stop further
progressions of soil slides.
While all of these unexpected
problems are being addressed,
the highway department crew
has in the back of their minds a
list of things that aren’t get-
ting done. Mowing isn’t being
completed; the resulting jungle
of weeds will be untenable.
Spraying weeds cannot be
done, giving them freedom to
take over in great strength.
An interesting note- Mr.
Greive is a firm believer in
using the correct chemical for
the treatment of weeds and
vegetation. The location of
surrounding waterways must
be considered. Mr. Greive and
three of his coworkers have
earned Indiana Commercial
Pesticide Application licenses
from Purdue University. Oth-
ers who are technicians can
apply pesticides but must be
under the supervision of those
who are licensed.
At the end of the day when
the road crew gets back to
the garage, the story is only
partially complete. Trucks
need to be unloaded and
stocked for the next day’s
projects. Equipment needs
to be repaired and serviced.
And of course, funding for
the next round of unforeseen
road emergencies must be
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