Michigan's landslide exposure concentrates along the Great Lakes shoreline bluffs and the state's glacial till uplands, where lake-level fluctuation on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior undercuts bluff toes even as freeze-thaw cycling weakens the till above — a combined mechanism MDOT's shoreline-adjacent corridors experience that inland Michigan slopes do not.
It's a recurring example of the Steep Slope Stability Issues conditions MDOT and local owners manage statewide.
GSI's soil nail walls for Michigan's lakeshore bluffs account for the combined effect of toe undercutting from lake action and upper-slope freeze-thaw weakening, addressing both failure contributors in one design rather than treating them separately. This is one application of GSI's broader soil nailing expertise.
Michigan bluff drainage has to account for lake-level-driven groundwater fluctuation in addition to typical seasonal infiltration — GSI designs horizontal drain systems around both water sources simultaneously. GSI's Soil Nail Launcher™ experience informs this approach.
Freeze-thaw-weakened till on Michigan's shoreline bluffs often cannot support a conventional borehole through a full winter-to-spring transition — the Soil Nail Launcher™ installs regardless of that seasonal degradation. This draws directly on GSI's horizontal drains work.
GSI's landslide emergency response experience also informs how these Michigan projects are scoped from the start.
Engineered for Michigan's conditions. GSI's Michigan shoreline bluff repairs address the combined lake-undercutting and freeze-thaw mechanism unique to Great Lakes corridors — not a generic single-cause slope failure model. Supported by general contractors and asset owners.
Design/build delivery. A single team handles design and construction — removing the coordination overhead of separate design and construction firms.
MDOT specification compliance. Design documentation and construction practices meet DOT specifications starting with the earliest documentation.
GSI's engineers are ready to assess landslide repair conditions at your Michigan site.