PAPER NO : 30

BUKIT LANJAN ROCK SLOPE FAILURE:

CAUSAL FACTORS AND LESSONS LEARNED

By
Ibrahim Komoo
(Engineering Geologist, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)
MALAYSIA

Muhinder Singh
(Chief Operating Officer, Pengurusan Lebuhraya Berhad)
MALAYSIA

Mohd Asbi Othman

(Geotechnical Engineer, Mohd Asbi and Associates)
MALAYSIA

ABSTRACT

The large scale rock slope failure at the Bukit Lanjan Interchange on the New Klang Valley
Expressway has triggered debate amongst road authorities, professionals and the public
regarding the degree of safety of cut slopes along major highways in Malaysia. Geological and
geotechnical analyses carried out revealed that rock mass properties play an important role in
the design and maintenance of rock slopes. Causal factors contributing to failures are complex,
however, such factors can be thoroughly investigated and the outcomes used for slope design to
minimise public risk. Rock slope re-profiling was selected as a remedial measure of the Bukit
Lanjan rock slope failure based on cost considerations, short construction duration,
straightforward construction methods, easy access for maintenance, and reduced risk of
recurrence of large-scale rock slope failure.

INTRODUCTION

On the 26 November 2003 at about 07:16 a very large rock slope failure occurred at
kilometre 21.8 of the Bukit Lanjan Interchange on the New Klang Valley Expressway
(NKVE) (see Figure 1). The rock slope failure involved an estimated 35,000 m3 of rock
debris, mainly angular blocks of various sizes, which came to rest on the expressway. The
failure materials blocked the entire expressway forcing the closure of the road to the public
(see Photo 1).

The failure at Bukit Lanjan occurred on the steep cut slope on the southern end of an
approximately north-south trending cut. The failed slope incorporated six benches reaching to
a height in excess of 65 m from the road level. The failure surface was shaped like a wedge,
where the northern margin of the failure exposed a continuous major discontinuity (most
likely fault plane), while the southern end was obscured by rock debris. Individual rock
blocks within the debris had an estimated volume of up to about 40 m3. The crest of the
failure had a stepped, almost vertical face, apparently controlled by another major
discontinuity.

Rock slope failures on cut slopes along roads, highways and expressways are relatively
common phenomenon. They are generally small to medium-sized failures, and can be cleared
or rehabilitated within a few hours to several days. Large-scale rock slope failures, however,

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are rare in Malaysia. In fact, based on historical records, only two large-scale rock failures
occurred in the past (Shu et al. 1981). The first event took place at Bukit Tunggal on 17
December 1919, where more than 50,000 tons of rock materials collapsed and killed 12
people. The second event took place in 1973 at Bukit Cheruh, Ipoh, involving more than
20,000 tons of rock materials and killed 40 people. Both involved failure at natural slopes.
Perhaps, the first incidence of the large-scale rock slope failure on a cut slope occurred along
North – South Highway near Gunung Tempurung that took place on the 6 January 1996. This
tragedy resulted in permanent closure of the particular section of the highway.

This paper will discuss several aspects of large-scale rock slope failures along the NKVE
near Bukit Lanjan in particular, including rock mass properties, failure mechanism, causal
factors and lessons learned from this tragedy. The information used for this discussion is
based on the report provided by Mohd Asbi and Associates (2004) and Tajul Anuar
Jamaluddin (2004).

ROCK MASS PROPERTIES

The large-scale rock slope failure site in Bukit Lanjan is underlain by the granite bedrock,
one of the most common igneous rock masses associated with the formation of the Main
Range. The characteristic and engineering properties of igneous rock mass are generally
associated with or determined by three main elements, namely the material properties,
discontinuity orientations, and degree of weathering or alteration. For fresh to slightly
weathered igneous rock, slope stability condition is generally controlled by the characteristics
and orientations of the discontinuities.

Rock Material
Rock samples from failure material have been used to determine the specific rock type. The
general texture indicates that the constituent mineral grains occur in approximately equal
sizes. Major mineral contents are quartz (40%), alkali-feldspar (30%) and plagioclase
feldspar (25%), with minor mineral contents muscovite (4%), biotite (1%) and iron oxide
(trace). Based on constituent minerals and their average grain size, the rock material can be
classified as medium-grained muscovite granite. The bulk of rock debris that failed was
generally fresh (Grade I) to slightly weathered (Grade II) rock materials. These materials by
its own nature are competent and very strong in terms of their uniaxial compressive strength,
therefore, very unlikely the cause of slope failure.

Discontinuity
Rock masses usually inherit extensive planes of weakness (discontinuities) that result in the
rock slope consisting of blocks of rock materials of various sizes. The type of discontinuities
and their orientations determine the general shape of the individual blocks and usually play
an important role in controlling rock slope stability.

There are generally two types of discontinuities existing in rock mass, namely, major and
minor discontinuities. Major discontinuities include fault planes, shear zones, dykes or major
joints. They are generally continuous over some distance (i.e. more that 50m in length) and
usually can be traced from aerial photograph or observed at the entire slope face. Minor
discontinuities, on the other hand, are several joint sets or fractures, usually short (i.e. less
than 10m in length) and intermittent.

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The rock mass in Bukit Lanjan consists of several major discontinuities. Based on field
measurement, there are at least three major discontinuities, namely, Fault Plane F1 (dip/ dip
direction: 80o/225o), Fault Plane F2 (dip/ dip direction: 78o/327o) and major Joint Sets J1
(dip/ dip direction: 60o/070o). These are important geological structures seen as a major factor
contributing to the large-scale rock slope failure.

Numerous minor discontinuities or joint sets were found. The number of joint sets, their
spacing and the orientations varied from site to site within the slope face. Observations and
measurements from several benches indicated that between three to five minor joint sets
existed in each site. The average dip and dip direction of joint sets measured along Bench 5,
for instance, are shown in Table 1. These minor discontinuities are usually responsible for
small to medium-sized rock slope failures. However, under specific conditions, the
combination of major and minor discontinuities can also cause large-scale rock slope failure.

Degree of Weathering
A total of five deep boreholes were drilled in the vicinity of the failed slope. The borehole
logs indicate that the thickness of engineering soils or usually known as residual soil (Grade
VI), completely weathered (Grade V) and highly weathered (Grade IV) materials is relatively
thin with thickness ranging from 3.6 to 10.5m. Based on the data from one of the closest
borehole to the crest of the rock slope failure, thickness of the Grade VI-IV zone is 4.5m,
followed by the slightly weathered (Grade II) rock of about 3.0m, before fresh rock (Grade I)
was encountered. Based on this information, the failure debris can be considered mainly fresh
rock material with minor amounts of weathered rock and soil materials.

ANALYSIS OF FALURE

The stability of the rock slope in Bukit Lanjan is controlled by the characteristics and
orientations of the discontinuity planes present in the rock mass. Depending on the
orientations of the relevant discontinuities, rock slopes could fail in these forms: planar,
wedge, toppling or the combination of these three modes.

A kinematic rock slope stability analysis was conducted using a stereographic projection
technique. This method is extremely useful, particularly to project three dimensional
discontinuity planes onto two-dimensional presentation. Three measured major discontinuity
planes were plotted on a Schmidt lower hemisphere equal angle stereonet together with the
orientation of the failed slope face. The result of the stereonet analysis is shown in Figure 2.
The analysis indicates that the most likely mode of failure is wedge failure which occurred on
the intersection of two major discontinuities, namely Fault Plane F2 (dip/dip direction:
78o/327o) and major Joint Sets J1 (dip/dip direction: 60o/070o). The line of intersection
plunged at an angle of 33o with the direction of sliding toward 140o. Fault Plane F1 (dip/dip
direction: 80o/225o) may be acting as a release plane. The development of groundwater
pressure within this release plane could have reduced the resisting force, subsequently
promoting failure.

Due to the favourable orientation of major Joint Sets J1 (dip/ dip direction: 60o/070o), the
slope may also have failed as planar failure along this J1 plane, with the direction of sliding
toward 70o. Under this condition both faults F1 and F2 could have acted as release planes.
However, the actual mode of failure may not have been simply wedge or planar, but could
also be a combination of both types of failures.

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Back analysis to assess the stability condition of the wedge was conducted using the
simplified method recommended by Hoek & Bray (1981). The wedge failure was modelled
for two cases: a) dry condition – where the wedge was supported by shearing resistance
alone; and b) wet condition – where the wedge was affected by groundwater pressure and
resisted by shearing resistance and cohesion of the rock mass. Based on the analysis, the
calculated factors of safety (F.O.S.) against wedge failure under dry condition was found to
be 3.12, and under wet condition 0.41. Based on this result it can be deduced that the failure
was likely to have occurred under wet and high water pressure conditions.

CAUSE OF FAILURE

Rock slope failure can occur when there exist several causal factors with a single or multiple
triggering factors. More often than not, the triggering factor is either man-made or natural
events that cannot be controlled or avoided. In the case of Bukit Lanjan, the analysis shows
that unusual prolonged rainfall prior to the failure event may have been the triggering factor
for the rock slope failure.

Based on the analysis of failure as discussed above, it appears that one of the major
factors causing rock slope failure was rock mass structure, i.e. an unfavourable discontinuity
orientation toward failure. The rock slope failure at
Bukit Lanjan was due to a huge wedge block which was formed along the intersection
between a steeply dipping fault plane F1 (dip/dip direction: 80o/225o), and a more gently
dipping major joint plane J1 (dip/dip direction: 60o/070o), with a fault plane F2 (dip/dip
direction: 78o/327o) as a release plane.

Apart from unfavourable discontinuity orientations, back analysis shows that failure of
the wedge would not have occurred under dry conditions (F.O.S. = 3.0). However, when
analysed under hydrostatic pressure in which the faults and joints were filled with water, the
F.O.S. fell below unity, indicating that failure would be expected. Under this situation, high
water pressure condition is an additional factor causing rock slope failure.

Since the analysis indicated that unfavourable discontinuity orientations and built-up
water pressure along these discontinuities were two most importance causal factors, one
might still ask why did the failure occur several years after the construction of the slope. A
more straight forward answer to this question is related to the unusual condition for the
triggering factor. Rainfall analysis based on the data collected by the Malaysian
Meteorological Service at Petaling Jaya and Old Subang Airport indicated that rainfall in
November 2003 for both stations was extremely high. In fact, the monthly rainfall of 472mm
at the Old Subang Airport station was the highest monthly rainfall since 1966.

In any case, the actual causal factors could be more complex than what was deduced, i.e.
unfavourable discontinuity orientations and hydrostatic pressure. One of the most usually
important casual factors, particularly in the wet tropical terrain, is deterioration of rock mass
properties or the weakening of the rock mass strength through time. A significant strength
reduction due to weathering of the exposed rock masses could occur over several months to
several years, well within the time frame of any engineering design. Other causal factors
include: characteristic of discontinuity planes (smoothness, waviness, infilling materials,

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etc.), time dependent behaviour (deformation, creep, displacement, dislocation, etc.) and
external factors (i.e. vibration, human interference, etc.)

REHABILITATION OPTIONS

There were several rehabilitation options available that could be considered against the
background of technical and construction issues, public perception, environmental
consideration, and safety and operational issues. Two of the options considered were rock
slope re-profiling and rock slope reinforcement.

Rock Slope Re-profiling

This option required re-profiling the rock slopes to a gentler angle. The safe overall slope
angle was determined based on detailed geological and discontinuity mapping, and
subsurface investigations. Based on the analysis of available data, an overall rock slope
profile of 48o was considered appropriate for the anticipated in situ instability condition.

Slope re-profiling usually reduces the possibility of large scale wedge and/or planar type
failure. To contain localized minor rock and debris falls, the design would have to incorporate
appropriately designed catch berms, protection screens, rock trap ditches and fencing.
Localized stabilization measures such as rock bolts, rock anchors, dowels, shotcrete and
concrete buttress were also anticipated to support kinematically unstable blocks that would
become exposed during the construction works. Drainage works were also incorporated in
the form of surface and horizontal drains; the latter were designed in excess of 20 metres to
30 metres in depth. The scenery of the slope re-profiling works is presented in Photo 2.

Rock Slope Reinforcement

This option envisaged the stabilization of the failed area and reinforcement of the adjacent
rock slopes. For this option slope stabilization would be achieved by means of rock anchors,
rock bolts, dowels, concrete buttress, netting, shotcrete and horizontal drains. This design
option was anticipated to be complex in nature, and the construction to be difficult in view of
the fact that extensive scaffolding and temporary work would be required.

Due to the existing major unfavourable discontinuities, large-scale rock slope failure was
anticipated, thus requiring substantial anchors to ensure stability. Furthermore, the visual
appearance seen by the general public would not show any obvious improvement on the
stability of the rock slope; thereby public confidence would not be engendered. This option
would also involve higher long term maintenance cost due to the extensive use of anchors
that would need to be monitored to ensure that they continued to perform as designed.

Selected Remedial Measure

Both the above rehabilitation options were evaluated in detail. As rock slope reinforcement
was found impractical and would present considerable safety risk during construction, rock
slope re-profiling was selected as a remedial measure based on the following reasons: a) most
cost-effective solution; b) relatively short construction duration; c) construction was
relatively easy; d) easy access for routine inspection and maintenance; and e) consequence of
large-scale rock slope failure could be adequately addressed.

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LESSONS LEARNED

Bukit Lanjan slope failure is a classic example of a large-scale rock slope failure occurring on
a man-made slope. It created intense discussion amongst policy makers, professionals and
general public regarding the general safety of slopes along major highways in Malaysia. The
following are some lessons which may be learned from this unfortunate event:

• Failure events usually occur on natural slopes, particularly on limestone hills. Large scale
rock failures on cut slopes, however, are rare in Malaysia. When one occurs, such as the
Bukit Lanjan Rock Slope Failure, the disruption is extensive, in this case leading to a
complete closure of the highway for more than six months, costing the government tens
of millions of ringgit in lost revenue and necessary remedial measures.

• Large scale rock slope failure along highways is a dramatic event, creating high national
impact and influencing public perception toward the safety of rock slopes. This event
triggered public inquiry regarding the safety of rock slopes along roads and highways

• Large scale rock slope failure involves major discontinuities such as fault planes, shear
zones, dykes and major joints. A separate analysis to determine rock stability based on
major discontinuities is crucial in assessing the risk of large-scale rock slope failure.
Minor joints sets analysis is not sufficient since it only addresses issues related to small
and medium-sized failure.

• Large scale rock slope failure is difficult to mitigate, time consuming and very expensive.
Remediation of the slope failure required has to be extended beyond the failure area. The
extension of works is influenced by many crucial factors that include: failure geometry,
discontinuity characteristics and orientations, geological structural conditions, weathering
condition of rock mass, slope geometry, soil profile, maintenance consideration and
safety.

• The design of rehabilitation measures is not only based on geological and geotechnical
conditions but has to also take into consideration public perception on safety, available
technological capability and the minimum time possible for construction. All of these
usually imply high costs.

• Large scale rock slope failure is difficult to predict, particularly with regard to when
failure may occur, size of the failure and degree of risk to life and property. Many factors
can contribute toward rock slope failure and all it requires is a triggering agent to initiate
failure.

• This case of large scale rock slope failure has allowed local professionals to improve
theory and practice for rock slope engineering; conduct detailed investigation on possible
instability conditions while the authority must be given the mandate to revisit prevailing
culture of monitoring and maintenance.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors wish to thank PLUS Expressway Berhad for the permission to publish the
information obtained from the Design Report. The authors also appreciate the advices and
assistances given by the staff from Pengurusan Lebuhraya Berhad and PLUS during the
course of preparation of this paper.

REFERENCES

Hoek, E. & Bray, J. Rock Slope Engineering, 3rd Edition. Institute of Mining and Metallurgy,
London.
Mohd Asbi & Associates (MAA) 2004. Rock Slope Rehabilitation Design Report: Overall
Rock Slope Re-profiling (unpublished).
Tajul Anuar Jamaluddin 2004. Slope Rehabilitation Works at Km 21.8 Bukit Lanjan
Interchange, NKVE: Discontinuity Survey and Stability Assessment of the Rock Slope
Between Berm 5 and 7 (unpublished).
Shu, Y.K., Chow, W.S. and Zakaria, M. 1981. Rockfall danger related to limestone hills in
the Kinta Valley, Perak. 1981 Annual Report, Geological Survey Malaysia. Jabatan
Penyiasatan Kajibumi, Malaysia, 184-197.

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Figure 1: Location map of Bukit Lanjan rock slope failure.

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J1

F1

F2

33/140

Discontinuity Dip/Dip direction Type

J1 60/070 Joint plane A
F1 80/225 Fault plane B
F2 78/327 Fault plane C (Release plane)

Figure 2: Result of kinematics analysis of rock slope stability analysis of the

failed slope

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Discontinuity Section Average dip/ Type

Dip direction
J2 Section 2-3 42/078 Major joints
Section 3-4 40/050 Major joints + sheet joints
Section 4-5 28/060 Joints
Section 5-6 30/012 Joints, localized faults

J3 Section 2-3 25/110 Sheet joints

Section 3-4 76/145 Localised faults + joints
Section 4-5 30/144 Localised sheet joints
Section 5-6 54/114 Sheet joints, localized faults

J4 Section 2-3 65/234 Joints + faults

Section 3-4 70/245 Joints + localised faults
Section 4-5 70/063 Major joints, high persistency
Section 5-6 66/065 Joints, impersistent, localized faults

J5 Section 2-3 65/205 Joints + faults

Section 3-4 74/216 Faults + joints
Section 4-5 70/218 Joints, smooth, undulating
Section 5-6 70/214 Major joints, very high persistency

J6 Section 2-3 85/330 Joints, very high persistency, localized

faults
Section 3-4 85/108 Major faults, very high persistency
Section 4-5 78/286 Major faults
Section 5-6 75/280 Major faults, very high persistency

Table 1: Average dip and dip direction of discontinuities measured at Bench 5

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Photo 1 : Rock slope failure at Bukit Lanjan Interchange on 26 November 2003

Photo 2 : Rock slope re-profiling in progress

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