Title:
Failure of a Concrete Dam
Author(s):
Brian H. Greene
Publication:
Concrete International
Volume:
21
Issue:
3
Appears on pages(s):
64-65
Keywords:
dams; failures; foundations
DOI:
Date:
3/1/1999
Abstract:
Built in 1909, Austin Dam in north central Pennsylvania was designed as a concrete gravity structure. It was 540 ft (164.6 m) in length and rose to about 50 ft (15.2 m) above the valley bottom. But its foundation was relatively shallow, having little embedment within the site bedrock. Less than 18 months after placed into service, it failed in a sliding motion, devastating the town of Austin and neighboring Costello and claiming 78 lives. Poor foundation conditions coupled with a high uplift beneath the structure brought about the failure.