Experience from design & construction of a stable feature MSE wall in Dubai

Abstract

There has been continued development of various methods for mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall construction, often by specialized system providers, to solve problems when the available width of reinforced fill is highly restricted. The design manual FHWA-NHI-10-024 permits to reduce the length of soil reinforcements up to 30% of wall height in shored or stable featured walls. There are many instances where the available width is much less than the limits by design standards, necessitating innovative approaches. The current project involves constructing a link road as a diversion at the middle of an existing 6m high ramp made of concrete wall. The new ramp will be retained by MSE wall that will be joined to the old concrete wall within tight space limitations. To accomplish this 'stable feature MSE wall' within narrow space, it was imperative to adopt a novel method of actively connecting geogrid reinforcements and modular block fascia to existing concrete wall. This paper presents the challenges in designing a stable feature MSE wall in extremely narrow space. The presented approach of connecting the soil reinforcement to the concrete anchors was a determining factor in the project and could therefore be adopted for future projects under similar conditions.