Retaining Walls & Soil Reinforcement
2020
Bangor, CO Down
Crawfordsburn Construction
P G Contracts
Alan Cooke Architects
Village Brow, Crawfordsburn
Area for Green Terramesh footing cleared and prepared
Green Terramesh beginning to 'green up'
Green Terramesh face becoming green and vegetated
Problem
Maccaferri were appointed by PG Contracts to provide an engineered solution for a site in Crawfordsburn, Bangor, Co Down, Northern Ireland. Retention was required up to a maximum of 5m as existing site levels were to be raised to provide increased garden lengths for the new residential properties being constructed on site. Directly neighbouring this site is Crawfordsburn Glen, an off-road pedestrian path that originates in the nearby Crawfordsburn Forest Country Park and follows the course of the Crawfordsburn River. As the proposed solution would run parallel to a section of this path a system that could provide a ‘green face finish’ was required to tie in and blend in with the surrounding natural environment.
Solution
Maccaferri Green Terramesh Reinforced Soil Slope was proposed and accepted as an appropriate solution. The total length of the slope was 70m, reaching a maximum height of 5m and was constructed along with ParaGrid 50/05 geogrid reinforcement. The ParaGrid layers are sandwiched between layers of the compacted backfill and this reinforcement can be designed to bespoke lengths to suit the geometry of the site. Following testing of material on site, it was confirmed that a site-won backfill could be used behind the Green Terramesh units, not only reducing costs but also the environmental impact of sourcing and transporting additional material to the site. Once the Green Terramesh units were in place, the topsoil behind the front face was seeded and over time the green face finish was achieved.