Gracia, A.; Torrijo, F.J.; Garzón-Roca, J.; Pérez-Picallo, M. Identification and Mitigation of Subsidence in Karstic Areas with Sustainable Geotechnical Structures: A Case Study in Gallur (Spain). Sustainability2024, 16, 3643.
Gracia, A.; Torrijo, F.J.; Garzón-Roca, J.; Pérez-Picallo, M. Identification and Mitigation of Subsidence in Karstic Areas with Sustainable Geotechnical Structures: A Case Study in Gallur (Spain). Sustainability 2024, 16, 3643.
Gracia, A.; Torrijo, F.J.; Garzón-Roca, J.; Pérez-Picallo, M. Identification and Mitigation of Subsidence in Karstic Areas with Sustainable Geotechnical Structures: A Case Study in Gallur (Spain). Sustainability2024, 16, 3643.
Gracia, A.; Torrijo, F.J.; Garzón-Roca, J.; Pérez-Picallo, M. Identification and Mitigation of Subsidence in Karstic Areas with Sustainable Geotechnical Structures: A Case Study in Gallur (Spain). Sustainability 2024, 16, 3643.
Abstract
As in many points in this middle section of the Ebro Valley (Spain), the risks of sinkholes are be-coming particularly severe, affecting urban areas and roads, where land subsidence due to karst-ic processes is frequent. However, knowledge of the area, its geological-geotechnical configura-tion and the carrying out of specific research studies are allowing solutions to be tested in an at-tempt to resolve these situations. The present analysis of the seating problems recorded on a sec-tion of the access road to the town of Gallur from the east (Camino Real) in the province of Zara-goza (Spain), is a good example. Numerous surface manifestations of the recent activity of sub-sidence and/or collapse processes have been reproduced throughout the surrounding area. The latter, appearing in the form of craters, undercuts in the ground, sometimes several metres in di-ameter. The presence of highly karstifiable materials in the area, as indicated by the existence of several pockets of subsidence and collapse dolines, constitutes a serious problem for safety, in this case for traffic and access to the town. For this reason, the road has been closed for several years. The local and provincial administrations have been undertaking studies to try to recognise this type of situation. The detailed definition of the karstification processes, the geomechanical analy-sis of subsidence and cavity collapse, and the justified technical proposal of the measures to be adopted to control and mitigate the risk, were the objectives of several reports in which possible technical solutions were proposed. Finally, a consolidation solution was proposed based on the injection at depth of columns of mortar with special characteristics, combined with the replace-ment and reinforcement of the most superficial soil by means of high tensile strength geotextile meshes.
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