Roadway Reinforcement - Weldgrip Gripforce ® Soil Nails and Weldgip Gabions
Blaston Hollow forms part of the country lane leading to Blaston Village in South East Leicestershire. The lane caters mainly for residential traffic, however larger vehicles, including milk tankers and articulated lorries also use the road frequently to service the local farms. It is this heavier traffic over the years, which had started to erode the road, known locally as Blaston Hollow. The hollow is at the bottom of a hill forming a left hand bend to the north of the village. Prior to the bend a stream runs under the road and along the left hand side of the hollow. It was this area of the lane, some 25 metres, that was reinforced using Weldgrip soil nails and gabions. The grass verge and side of the road, approximately 3 metres wide by 2 metres deep, was excavated. Weldgrip Gripforce ® 25 mm diameter by 3 metres long soil nails were installed into 60mm diameter holes bored both horizontally and vertically in the excavation. The horizontal nails were installed at 1 metre intervals under the road. They were grouted for 2.5 metres of their length, with 0.5 metres protruding from the excavation. The vertical nails in the floor of the excavation were installed to their full length, at 2 metre intervals. All the soil nails were grouted with OPC cementitious material. Each nail head assembly had a 250 x 250mm square 9mm thick non--metallic end plate and a standard non-metallic nut with a threaded end capacity of 80kN. Weldgrip 2 x 1 x 1 metre welded mesh gabions were assembled in the excavation. One soil nail was located through each gabion wire base and two through each basket side. The end plates and nuts were tightened to each wire section to restrain the gabions.The gabions were then hand filled with granite from a local quarry. To re-establish the surface of the road the top of the gabions were covered with hardcore and tarmaced to concrete curbing stones. A safety fence was erected behind the gabions and the excavated soil replaced to complete the roadway side. The advantages offered by Gripforce ® fibreglass rockbolts are:
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