Rockfall: Design considerations for passive protection structures
About this document
Introduction
Guidance on the design of passive rockfall protection structures, such as rockfall fences and embankments, which act as barriers to intercept and capture or divert falling rock to prevent it from impacting a critical structure.
Contents
This joint guidance has been published as Building Act s175 guidance and focuses on:
- How passive protection fits within the overall scope of rockfall risk mitigation
- Site assessments
- Design approaches
- The design process, including inputs, site selection, structure selection, structure sizing and long-term inspection and maintenance
- Other non-technical design considerations
- Regulatory considerations.
This document has been developed in collaboration with the New Zealand Geotechnical Society and the New Zealand Transport Agency and is part of the general guidance on geotechnical engineering that is being developed in response to issues arising from the Canterbury earthquake.
Please note that while Christchurch City Council did issue preliminary guidance to assist owners in the Port Hills, this new guidance is more comprehensive and detailed and applies throughout New Zealand.
Education
Learn about Rockfall in the geotechnical education section.