MONTAGNE COUPEÉ

The initial solution consisted in a mixed design, including a mass gravity gabion wall at the toe, and a Terramesh™ soil reinforced structure in the upper half. This took into account the presence of weathered material, and removal would have provided sufficient width for this structure, in a fill-type situation. Due to the need of widening the road, and the constraints imposed by existing structures, a new alignment was set, which determined a change to a cut-type situation. A new design approach became necessary, so as to minimize the space required by the stabilization measures. The solution consisted in a rock-filled gabion revetment, anchored to the slopes by using grouted steel nails ; 25 mm thick steel bars, 4,0 m long, were used to anchor a 1,0 m wide gabion revetment. The grid of the nails was 2,0 x 2,0 m, in a staggered pattern ; dished anchor plates, 150 x 150 mm, were used to anchor the gabion “beam” to the nails. A concrete base and steel dowels were used at the foundation level, so as to avoid the excavation in hard basalt.