The two phases of the Joan Bernat Slide Reclamation Project were completed in the historic coal camp town of Hardburly, near Hazard, Kentucky. The camp was established around 1918 and was named after the Hardy-Burlingham Mining Company and many of the original houses remain today. Additionally, drainage structures, built by Italian immigrant stone masons in the early 1900’s, are still in use. Many of the current residents are descendants of the men who worked in the mines during Hardburly’s boom years. Historical accounts indicate that 400 – 500 miners likely resided in the valley during the peak of production.
A slide had occurred on the hillside above multiple residences at Hardburly and further movement of the slide would threaten homes. Slide material had filled a culvert and impacted Hardburly Road. The slide was still actively moving and as many as 8 residences could be affected by the mud and debris. One resident had already evacuated her home because of the potential danger. Drainage from the slide area was funneled to a ditch that ran within 10’ of a residence and proceeded through multiple culverts of varied size and near other residences, before reaching the stream channel. The slide was on the opposite side of the hill from a large slide that had been reclaimed as part of an earlier project. Just above the scarp, on an apparent auger bench at the level of the Hazard #7 Coal Seam, was an area of ponded water that was likely lubricating the slide area.
Phase I of the project was designed for re-routing drainage above the slide, controlling drainage and silt from the slide and improving the drainage structures near the homes along Hardburly Road to handle the run-off. After establishing silt control, the contractor began clearing the bench above the slide and excavating a ditch, along the bench, to carry the considerable amount of water away from the slide. Water was temporarily re-routed to a stripped-to-rock area that had been part of the Samuel Salyers Slide AML Project. Channeling water away from the slide area dried the area considerably and slowed the progression of the slide. This procedure also allowed for work to be completed in the slide area and on related drainage without the complications of the high volume of water that was emanating from old auger holes on the Hazard #7 bench.
In the Hardburly neighborhood, drainage from the hollow where the slide occurred had historically run through multiple undersized and mismatched culverts and sections of shallow ditch line. A 30” Corrugated Metal Pipe under a private driveway was replaced with a 60” HDPE Pipe and a 12” HDPE pipe installed by a landowner was eliminated. The open ditches were upgraded to 4’x4’ concrete ditches.
A challenging part of the project turned out to be replacing an existing undersized 2’x2’ box culvert that carried water under Hardburly Road with a new 3’x3’ Concrete Box Culvert. Since Hardburly Road is the only access to dozens of homes in the community, at least one lane had to be kept open at all times. Forming and pouring the concrete in place was considered, but had several safety and time factors that were undesirable. The contractor, Keith Miller Construction, arrived at a creative solution. They fabricated a steel and wood form that would allow them to manufacture 5’ long sections of the 3’x3’ Box Culvert in their shop. Each section had a deep collar at one end that allowed the sections to be fitted together. They fabricated 10 of these sections and transported them to the site. A portion of the old box culvert was excavated, leaving a lane open for flagged traffic. The pre-cast sections were placed and leveled on a bed of DGA, backfilled with more DGA, then additional sections were added in the same manner. 8 of the 10 sections were installed in one day with virtually no disruption to the traffic flow. The two additional sections were installed and backfilled the next day. A few weeks later, the disturbed section of Hardburly Road was re-paved.
Phase II of the project was designed with the primary objectives of excavation of the landslide area to rock and installation of drainage controls. Jackson & Jackson Reclamation began preparing the primary waste area on an abandoned contour bench above the slide area, along Hardburly Cemetery Road. This bench is at the level of the Hindman Coal Seam. An added benefit was that by using the pre-law bench as a waste area, KY AML was able to reduce the amount of pre-law highwall and control drainage that could potentially cause future problems. Provisions were made to protect the cemetery and maintain cemetery access throughout the project. This bench had open highwall that was approximately 40’ high. The bench was saturated with water and had ponding water in several locations. The contractor cleared and grubbed the area and installed 1,510 Linear Feet of Subdrain along the bench to control the water. Additionally, the contractor improved the gas well access road to top of the slide that was used as a haul road. When the primary waste area was prepared, the contractor began breaking down the top of the 4.7 acre slide. The material was hauled to the primary waste area and installed in lifts, forcing the standing water into the subdrain and prepared drainage. This process methodically dried the bench. A slump along the outslope on the initial section of the Hardburly Cemetery Road was recognized and the road was re-routed, using slide material, to offer a more stable entrance for construction traffic. This improved road not only benefitted the AML project, but improved access to the Hardburly Cemetery for future generations.
Slide material was hauled through the spring and summer with the upper portion of the slide area being excavated down to natural rock. A total of 113,298 Cubic Yards of material were removed from the slide area. The upper gabion weir that was installed on Phase I was beneficial. It was cleaned out several times during the project. Toward the end of the slide removal, this weir was removed and the lower section of the slide area was graded and Class II Rock drainage channels were installed and larger, permanent Gabion Weir was built at the toe of the slide. The lower gabion weir, installed on Phase I near the residences, was cleaned out and left in place.
A permanent drainage channel was cut from the Hazard #7 level, down the left side of the slide area. Near the end of the project, the water that had been diverted off of the slide at the beginning of Phase I, was turned into this channel. This water is now routed through the drainage controls completed during Phase I.
