2016 Victoria Symposium

Excavations and slope stability in Melbourne geology: experiences and recent developments

The Victorian chapter of the Australian Geomechanics Society (AGS) is pleased to welcome you to this half-day symposium titled “Excavations and slope stability in Melbourne geology: experiences and recent developments”.

Since the publication of the “Engineering Geology of Melbourne” in 1992, both the geotechnical profession and Melbourne has undergone significant change. Urban sprawl over the past few decades has seen increasing development in the hillside areas in the Dandenong and Mornington Peninsula regions. This coupled with changes to the regulatory environment and the introduction of the Landslide Risk Management Framework by the AGS in 2007 has changed the way in which local and state government as well as geotechnical practioners manage and assess slope stability.

In addition to development in hillside areas, significant development in the inner parts of Melbourne has posed many challenges for excavations not just in the soft soils of the Yarra Delta but also the weak rock of the Melbourne Formation.

This symposium seeks to bring together practioners from consulting, construction and academia
to share and discuss their experiences on the separate, but related, topics of excavation and slope stability. Best practices, case histories and innovative solutions for dealing with these challenges will be presented and discussed, with a particular emphasis on local geotechnical issues.