Mountain road engineering: the legacy of Peter Fookes across the continents

Peter Fookes played a pioneering role in many fields of engineering geology, but the legacy of his work in mountain regions, and especially with respect to the design of mountain roads, was among his most lasting. In the 1970s, he took on the challenge of assembling and leading a team of geo-specialists to assist in the design and construction of the Dharan–Dhankuta Road (DDR) through intensely dissected fold mountain terrain in eastern Nepal. Peter did not fail to deliver, and the mountain model he produced to accommodate the complexity and dynamic nature of the terrain helped guide project decision-making and design. Peter's awareness of the need to understand the geological and geomorphological history of any site led to the Total Geology Approach that offered a blueprint for engineering geological practitioners thereafter. The authors describe a project to construct a road across the Blue Nile gorge in Ethiopia where this blueprint was applied. Design and construction of the DDR and the road across the Blue Nile gorge were especially demanding. To date, both roads have performed relatively successfully since they were opened to traffic and are fitting tributes to Peter's legacy.