In alpine environment various geohazards affect infrastructure causing not only financial loss but even more fatalities of their users.
As the transport infrastructure - rail and road - is becoming increasingly important for economic development and strategic connectivity, the identification of natural hazards and the resulting hazards is an increasingly important planning field for geotechnical engineers.
An attempt will be made to focus attention on the various types of natural hazards - rockfall, mass movements, mudslides, avalanches etc. - not only after an infrastructure facility has been put into operation, but already in advance - when selecting routes and planning.
The different possibilities - temporary security measures, permanent security for the protection of the infrastructure - will be examined and discussed based on examples and experiences made in Europe. All phases are considered, starting with the construction of the infrastructure through to operation.
Author: Andreas Brandner, Dipl.-Ing., MSc.