Rock scaling near St. Regis
STPP 35-1(18)16 is an example of a project that required rock-scaling.
Rock-scaling is sometimes needed to safeguard the traveling public by keeping loose, potentially unstable material off the roadway. In such cases, 2 to 3 laborers harnessed and suspended by ropes, use pry bars, air pillows, and other mechanical means to remove loose rock from weathered highway cut slopes. The material is brought down in a controlled manner without risking public safety.
Rockfall netting may be used to safely redirect falling material into a catchment area (typically a highway ditch). The netting arrests the lateral energy of the material and keeps it from falling into the travel lanes of the roadway.
In the project photographs below, MDT worked on two slopes of HWY 135: one at milepost 16 and the other at milepost 20. Milepost 20 required rock scaling and rockfall netting. At Milepost 16, only rock scaling was necessary.
