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<br />002854 <br /> <br />The third case study is the Lamplite Park subdivision in the city of Grand <br />Junction, Mesa County, Colorado: This involves a small slide having its <br />origin in a river bluff over steepened by erosion of the Colorado River. <br />Although quite small, this slide resulted in severe damage and forced <br />abandonment of a dozen homes that were only a few years old. The geologic <br />process of oversteepening and failure of unconsolidated or weak rocks by <br />localized riverine or coastal erosion is transferable to numerous localities <br />throughout the United States. Also of interest is that in retrospect, full <br />utilization of available geotechnical data could almost certainly have <br />prevented the severe losses experienced at this site. <br /> <br />Potential Catastrophic Landslides - a case history <br />(Dowd's Junction, Eagle County, Colorado) <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />Dowds Junction is located in Eagle County, Colorado, at the intersection of <br />U.S. Highways 6 and 24 with Interstate Highway 70 (I-lO). It is approximately <br />2 miles west of Vail and 2 1/2 miles north of Minturn near the confluence of <br />Gore Creek with the Eagle River (Fig. ___). <br /> <br />The landslide complex includes four distinct landslide areas: Whiskey Creek, <br />Dowds #1, Dowds #2, and Meadow Mountain (Fig. ___). <br /> <br />Identification of Landslide Hazard <br /> <br />The landslides at Dowds Junction are but one of a dozen major landslide <br />problem areas preliminarily identified in the Flood Hazard Mitigation Plan for <br />Colorado published in 1985. <br /> <br />Through the years, a great deal of highway maintenance has been required at <br />the Dowds Junction location related indirectly to the old landslides. The <br />soils in the area are seasonally wet and have low strength in many places. <br />The Meadow Mountain landslide south of Dowds Junction on HWY 24 has apparently <br />been active since before construction of that highway in 1930. This has been <br />the focus of a number of minor grading and leveling projects, especially <br />during snowmelt periods. Repeated patching and overlays on HWY 24 have <br />resulted in 8 to 10 feet of asphalt in the roadbed. <br /> <br />- 79 - <br />