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Re: California High Speed Rail Authority wants to test-drill under the Angeles National Forest
Author: mook
Date: 09-28-2015 - 08:57
Doesn't require an advanced degree in Geology to find the major faults. They're well-documented if somebody non-political wants to look. Planners should know where they are, even if Alquist-Priolo zones haven't been drawn for all of them yet.
I like your concept. Tunneling is expensive, so doing only what's really needed is good. But doing what's necessary is also good. Your arrangement keeps the major (known) active fault crossings on the surface, which makes the inevitable repairs a bit easier. The original scheme along 14 wasn't innocent of tunnels, either. Kind of goes with building in mountains for more than 60-70 mph.
Yes, a lot of tunnels are done in faulted regions. That doesn't mean that known faults should be ignored when planning (as some versions of the mountain tunnels seem to). Avoidance (as with most environmental issues) is better than mitigation, if you can do it.
I like your concept. Tunneling is expensive, so doing only what's really needed is good. But doing what's necessary is also good. Your arrangement keeps the major (known) active fault crossings on the surface, which makes the inevitable repairs a bit easier. The original scheme along 14 wasn't innocent of tunnels, either. Kind of goes with building in mountains for more than 60-70 mph.
Yes, a lot of tunnels are done in faulted regions. That doesn't mean that known faults should be ignored when planning (as some versions of the mountain tunnels seem to). Avoidance (as with most environmental issues) is better than mitigation, if you can do it.
