Abstract:
Landlords must sustain different types of retaining structures within their inventory cost-effectively. Retaining walls are among the most common maintenance challenges for infrastructure owners across the United States. Many of these retaining structures have reached the end of their original design life. Occasionally, new walls are subject to design or construction errors that compromise their stability and risk the public and surrounding infrastructure. Retaining walls also often present various ancillary challenges related to property lines, environmentally sensitive areas, and critical underground infrastructure. The conventional remediation approach is usually to remove and replace the structure. The cost and impacts of replacement to owners and the public can become prohibitive, further delaying implementing a solution.
The presentation will include a case history for a 600-ft long, 50-ft tall wire-basket Mechanically Stabilized Earth wall bracing a shopping center that had experienced significant facing corrosion. Additionally, the wall's global stability was no longer adequate, resulting in wall bulging, pavement cracking, and putting the infrastructure at risk. In this solution, soil nails reinforce the wall in place without the need to remove/replace the wall. Design methods for structural and geotechnical aspects of this repair and construction considerations will be presented.
Applying these existing tools and techniques (i.e., drilled soil nails) to this common problem allows owners to extend the life of structures by up to 75 years and complete repairs quickly. Project owners and end-users benefit from the reduced cost of repairs and limited impacts during construction. Geotechnical and structural engineers will come away from this session will knowledge of an innovative approach to a common problem that can provide immediate value to their clients.