Arkansas's Ozark Highlands (US-65, US-412), Ouachita Mountains (US-270), I-40 western approaches produce recurring slope failures driven by saturated soils, weak geologic structures, and progressive weathering that reduces soil strength over time. When rainfall or snowmelt raises pore water pressure along failure surfaces, slope masses mobilize—burying road sections, shearing utility lines, and threatening structures downslope.
ArDOT has historically managed these failures with emergency patching—regrading the slide mass, repaving the road, and reopening the corridor. But patching does not address the failure mechanism. The same slope fails again the next wet season, and the cycle of emergency response, temporary repair, and repeated failure consumes maintenance budgets without producing lasting stability.
Soil nailing reinforces failed slopes from within—driving steel reinforcement through the slide mass into stable material below the failure surface. The nailed zone resists the driving forces causing movement. GSI installs soil nails using both conventional drilling and the patented Soil Nail Launcher™, which fires SuperNails™ into saturated, actively moving ground without excavation.
Where Arkansas's slopes fail along shallow surfaces, driven steel pins provide rapid, cost-effective reinforcement without full soil nail wall construction. Combined with surface drainage improvements, slope pins arrest shallow translational failures common in weathered residual soils.
Water is the trigger for virtually every landslide in Arkansas. GSI designs horizontal drainage systems— that reduce pore water pressure within the slope mass. Combined with reinforcement, drainage provides the layered defense that prevents future reactivation.
Soil Nail Launcher™ for difficult soils. When saturated ground collapses conventional boreholes, our Launcher installs reinforcement on the first attempt—no failed drilling, no wasted mobilization.
Deep failure plane targeting. We engineer repairs that reach the actual failure surface, not surface patches that reactivate next season.
Integrated drainage design. Every slope repair includes drainage because water is the trigger for virtually every Arkansas landslide.
ArDOT-ready documentation. Engineering designs, construction records, and as-built drawings meeting state specifications.
ArDOT partners and Arkansas infrastructure owners describe the landslide repair solutions GSI delivers across the state.
Unstable slopes can pose immediate risks. GSI’s engineers are ready to assess your site and develop a reliable repair strategy—so you can move forward with confidence.
