THE PROBLEM
Construction had to adhere to a tight project schedule to avoid interrupting the train timetable on this busy railway route. It was also necessary to connect the retaining wall to the bridge structure, which was required to support the wider railway embankment.
THE SOLUTION
The proposed reinforced soil retaining wall uses simple technology which would not be affected by weather conditions during construction. Also, TensarTech TW1 System creates a permanent wall that supports the railway embankment.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The wall was constructed using small TensarTech TW1 modular facing blocks and Tensar RE stiff monolithic uniaxial geogrids. The wall varied in height, ranging from 0.60m to 9.65m with a face angle of 86°. The top of the wall is loaded by an embankment measuring 2.20m in height and an inclination of 1:1.50. At the beginning of the section, the wall flows smoothly into original terrain and finishes in connection to the bridge structure.
The first layer of blocks are laid on a concrete foundation strip. To divert any drainage water from the reinforced soil retaining wall, there is vertical drainage column behind the modular facing blocks. The width of the drainage column is 0.5 meters consisting of sorted gravel fractions 11/22 mm diameter. For the reinforced backfill, crushed stone of 0-125 mm (0-63 mm top part of structure) was used. The wall is topped with a prefabricated parapet installed in 2.0m lengths. Along the railway line a noise protection barrier and columns for overhead electricity lines for trains were installed.
