Chapter 86 Soil reinforcement construction

The process of construction of soil-reinforced structures is made up of many different operations. These include the assembly of all relevant information, planning, materials testing for validation purposes, delivery, acceptance and storage of materials, the construction itself, and maintenance requirements. The contractual links between the various parties to the project are also a very important consideration, as the construction process itself is often carried out by a separate contractor appointed just for that particular aspect of the works. The two main components of soil-reinforced structures are soil and reinforcement – hence the soil itself has a very important part to play in the success of the final result. The reinforcement materials should have had their assessment completed before the installation process commenced, whilst the combination of the elements can only be achieved in situ. The importance of placement and compaction of the soil materials in order to achieve the strength properties used in the design, and hence a strong, stable reinforced soil block, must be appreciated by the construction team.