# Cuttings & Embankments



## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

I like these features of the motorways, as they goes through the terrain...

Lets start some classic one:

cutting at Scammonden:
MAPS.GOOGLE











Sideling Hill Cut:
MAPS.GOOGLE












EDIT:* I'd like to see many photos and maybe some explanations: why were they chosen over tunnels and viaducts?* 

AFAIK the Scammonden cut option was chosen cause they wanted to build a reservoire which recquired huge amount of material for the dam...

and the explanation for the *Sideling Hill Cut*:

_For the 8 miles of the National Freeway in the Sideling Hill area, there were 5 alternatives studied, 3 of which would have involved an open cut through the mountain, and 2 of which would have involved a tunnel through the mountain. The northernmost *open cut alternative involved a 350-foot-deep open cut through Sideling Hill*, with a total segment length of 8.7 miles and *a cost estimate in 1973 at $24.2 million*, and that is the one which was ultimately selected. *A tunnel alternative *on the northern alternative would have involved a tunnel 1.76 miles (9,293 feet) long, with a total segment length of 7.2 miles and a cost estimate in 1973 *at $44.3 million*. 

*The tunnel alternative *would have avoided making a huge cut in the mountain, providing less impacts to the natural environment, *but it would have cost 83% more to build the 8-mile Sideling Hill area segment of highway, and a tunnel has high round-the-clock operational costs for personnel and electrical power for ventilation and lighting, and a tunnel usually has major restrictions on HAZMAT (hazardous material) cargoes which would cause most of those vehicles to utilize the original 2-lane US-40 over the top of the mountain, a highway with not nearly the safety as the design of a freeway.* It was decided to build the open cut through Sideling Hill, the final design of which involved the removal of 3.5 million cubic yards of soil and rock and a cut up to 380 feet deep. Sideling Hill is a mountain with a peak elevation in Maryland of 1,760 feet, about one mile south of the Pennsylvania border._


It seems to me unbelievable that a 120m deep cut is cheaper than a tunnel... :nuts:

How can it be possible?


----------



## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Nothing beats Dinant, Belgium!


----------



## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

^^ its not an artificial cut, or is it? :nuts:


----------



## Slagathor (Jul 29, 2007)

Of course it is. If the Belgians want a road, they are damn well paving a road. Come hell or high water!


----------



## Timon91 (Feb 9, 2008)

Alaska has some pretty big ones, unfortunately I don't have pics of them hno:


----------



## Mateusz (Feb 14, 2007)

I remember some Poland

Road 5 somewhere like Strzegom, heading to A4


----------



## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

c'mon guys! I want no memories, but photos! (and maps.google links  )


----------



## Sponsor (Mar 19, 2006)

Hill cut directly on border between Poland and Slovakia (S69/D3) in Zwardoń.
*maps.google*
Right on the border, looking at polsih side.








From Poland towards Slovakia.


----------



## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

^^ cool!

its interesting that this border crossing motorway section was built well before the connecting motorways...

(similar situation was on the HU/SRB border at Röszke, where the border crossing section of M5 (and the new office/custom buildings) was built well before the M5 reached the border...

unfortunately there was no need for a nice cut, 'cause the terrain is flat. very very flat... :lol


----------



## pijanec (Mar 28, 2007)

A2/Slovenia


----------



## Qwert (Jun 25, 2006)

Border crossing between Slovakia and Poland (D3/S69), but now Slovak side:









Cut on R2 (location)









Cut on R3 (location)

















And what about "half cuts" or how to call them:

D3 (location)









R1 (location)


----------



## GENIUS LOCI (Nov 18, 2004)

ChrisZwolle said:


> Nothing beats Dinant, Belgium!


Cool

But I want to show you this one in the suburbs of Naples. Its name _'Montagna Spaccata'_ means 'broken mountain' and the cut was made by the Romans during the Republican Age


----------



## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

here's our largest one on M6 at Érd:



and U/C:


----------



## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

IMHO the largest is on M0 east.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=25399762&postcount=2257


----------



## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

^^ oops, really, I almost forgot that... :lol:

heres the location

(google is not up to date, sat image shows only a little section of the cut...)


----------



## Alle (Sep 23, 2005)

Some of the Slovakian ones are very stylisticly pure.


----------



## mapman:cz (Jan 14, 2007)

Some czech ones

D5 near Plzeň, Letkov cut: 









D1 km 26, Lensedly cut:


----------



## ionutzyankoo (Mar 27, 2008)

H123Laci said:


> ^^ cool!
> 
> its interesting that this border crossing motorway section was built well before the connecting motorways...
> 
> ...


It's HU/SRB border you're talking about, not HU/RO, we are not on M5


----------



## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

^^ oops, really... thx for correction...


----------



## Lijman (Jul 12, 2008)

..


----------



## dubart (Jun 10, 2007)

^^Impressive!


----------



## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

One of the most famous cuttings is this one in Turkey:


----------



## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

^^ I know this photo... but where is the location?


----------



## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

Lijman said:


> Large sandstone cutting on the F3 Sydney to Newcastle Freeway, about 32km (straight line distance) north of Sydney, Australia:


Cool!
The cameraman was really brave... :nuts: (did you make that photos?  )

ps: btw, nice crash barrier in the median... :lol:


----------



## pimvdh (Jan 11, 2006)

Lijman said:


> Large sandstone cutting on the F3 Sydney to Newcastle Freeway, about 32km (straight line distance) north of Sydney, Australia:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




why didn't hey make a tunnel there? ^^


----------



## Ban.BL (Dec 26, 2008)

i asked myself the same question


----------



## PLH (Mar 9, 2007)

They would now, noone agrees on this nowadays.

The natural median looks very nice


----------



## pijanec (Mar 28, 2007)

They should have at least built some bridge for animals.


----------



## Bofter (Apr 15, 2007)

pimvdh said:


> why didn't hey make a tunnel there? ^^


The cut was probably cheaper to build and it is almost certainly cheaper to operate and maintain. The cut is also safer due to open-air dissipation of any crash effects, particularly of hazardous goods.

The natural rock median is certainly a nice touch, however any rough sections would increase the risk of errant vehicles snagging.


----------



## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

^^ and the financial advantage over tunnel option can be higher by utilising the extracted material... (its a gratis quarry)

rock median: maybe it would be safer with crash barriers on it...


----------



## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

pijanec said:


> They should have at least built some bridge for animals.


...or tunnel short sections (e.g. 30-50m) instead of cutting all...

this short tunneled sections would create natural bridges over the cuts...

but probably there are no large animals since there are no fence along the edge of the cut...


----------



## inthejungle (Aug 23, 2006)

La Fria-San Cristobal Highway, Venezuela


----------



## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

^^ no slope stabilization? :nuts:
it seems to be an instable soil....


----------



## Lijman (Jul 12, 2008)

..


----------



## Chrissib (Feb 9, 2008)

In my opinion the most impressive cut in Germany:










It's the A7 in Baden-Württemberg


----------



## inthejungle (Aug 23, 2006)

H123Laci said:


> ^^ no slope stabilization? :nuts:
> it seems to be an instable soil....


Due to the geography, that highway always have problems with rocks falling in, i don't know about that section as i haven't used it, but probably it's the same, also the soil is said to be made of expansive clay, so it gets difficult also for the pavement :S


----------



## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

Chrissib said:


> In my opinion the most impressive cut in Germany:
> It's the A7 in Baden-Württemberg


png and jpg at the same time? :lol:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vr3soIYmnv0/SfDYy1685bI/AAAAAAAAAJo/9m5MqyAwatQ/s912/234.png.jpg


----------



## Lijman (Jul 12, 2008)

..


----------



## H123Laci (Dec 6, 2007)

Lijman said:


> This is what the F3 Freeway can be like in heavy rain:


wow. that's frightening... :nuts:

maybe they should make some trenches on the edge of the cliffs... 

p.s.: videos are welcomed too...


----------



## Timon91 (Feb 9, 2008)

Two pics from Alaska:

Near Valdez. Though this is not completely artificial, it was definately widened.










Somewhere between Anchorage and Glennallen.










:cheers:


----------

