Design and Construction of Geotextile Reinforced Soil Structures for Road Earthworks in Japan

The application of geotextiles as reinforcement in embankments and retaining walls for permanent and temporary roads has recently gained popularity in Japan particularly since the publication of “Design and Construction Manual for Reinforced Soil using Geotextiles”. This manual sets the technical standard in Japan for the design and construction of earthworks involving geosynthetic reinforced embankments and walls. This paper describes the design of reinforced embankments using clayey soil fills with high water contents and the design of reinforced soil walls. A construction example, along with instrumentation results, is given for each case.