| Over the course of a prolonged heavy rainfall in June and early July 1998, a section of the Canadian Pacific Railway near Port Douglas, New York, endured numerous embankment small and large earth slides, and overland flow erosion events.; The stability of two typical embankments during the prolonged rainfall was assessed using unsaturated soil theory. It was found that the stability of the embankments decreased as the rainfall continued and the critical slip surfaces moved gradually towards the ground surface. The surface region and the toes of the embankments were more vulnerable to failure than other regions during heavy rainfall.; The watershed boundaries within the study site were determined with a Geographic Information System program from a digital elevation model. Hydrology and hydraulic modeling were performed to check the flow capacities of the culverts under the base of the embankments. Possible culvert performance and their effect on the embankment stability were discussed. |
