Rock mass classification and assessment of stability of critical slopes on national highway-22 in Himachal Pradesh

Rock slopes require geo-engineering evaluation to assess the instability of critical slopes leading to landslides particularly in Himalayan terrain where rocks are highly jointed, fractured and weathering prone. Interplay of discontinuities in the rocks coupled with other parameters is one of the prime causes of failure of slopes. Engineering rock mass classification, such as, rock mass rating (RMR) and slope mass rating (SMR) along with geological strength index (GSI) have widely been used for stability assessment of rock slopes above tunnel portals, and these classifications are employed here for assessment of stability of slopes of critical nature along Rampur-Powari highway in Himachal Pradesh. In the present study, out of 154 numbers of slopes, a total of 29 have been selected for assessment of their criticality by employing RMR, SMR and GSI.