Villas Del Mar Development

Ninyo & Moore was retained to provide geotechnical consulting services pertaining to the design and construction of the Villas del Mar development in San Jose del Cabo, which included the construction of custom homes on steep terrain overlooking the Sea of Cortez. Ninyo & Moore's services included review of background project materials; performance of seismic refraction profiles to evaluate rock rippability; excavation, logging and sampling of exploratory test pits; laboratory testing; detailed geologic field mapping; geologic and engineering slope stability analysis; and formulation of design and construction recommendations. Geotechnical hazards identified during our studies included a relatively large "hard rock" landslide, adverse fracturing and jointing exposed in near vertical cut slopes, friable sands comprising steep slope faces, and compressible soils. Recommendations for the project included providing design and construction parameters for the installation of rock bolts, landslide removal and slope reconstruction, retaining walls, tie-back anchors, and an approximately 75-foot high 1:1 Tensar reinforced fill slope. During construction, our services included monitoring the construction of the reinforced fill slope, evaluation of landslide removal and slope reconstruction, field mapping of cut slopes and associated fracture systems, evaluation of retaining wall foundation support, observation of retaining wall tie-back anchor construction, and field engineering support.