A gravel walkway in front of a Houston-area school's softball field was prone to mud and erosion. The heavy foot traffic throughout the area caused the area to be muddy and full of potholes over time, leaving fans to dodge puddles before taking their seats.
RutGuard 3" Geocell along with landscape fabric was used to stabilize the area. When filling the panel with gravel infill, the strength equivalent of laying 9" of gravel was provided through confining and strengthening just 3" of gravel. By providing a solid sub-base beneath the surface, a smooth and even rolling course free of ruts was provided. The area is now ready for springtime, for spectators and fans to enjoy for years to come!
The presence of ruts or potholes is an indicator of a weak sub-base and/or poor drainage. RutGuard makes solving this challenge a bit easier, with lasting results! Geocell is a cellular confinement system designed to hold loose material inside the cells, adding structure and strength to it. The panel creates a large mattress effect by taking the weight seen on the rolling course - foot traffic, animals, vehicles, machinery, etc. - and spreads it laterally/across. This reduces the amount of pressure seen on the sub-base layer, which prohibits gravel from being pushed down into the base, creating those ruts, potholes and other un-even problem areas.
Redirecting waterflow and adding a slight grade to redirect water flow is a key portion of the prep-work stage, before installing the panels. Geocell is designed to be installed right atop your existing area, right after some brief preparation is done.
After preparing the sub-base by repairing existing ruts, potholes, and smoothing out the area, it is suggested to install a layer of fabric. Fabric can be non-woven (felt-like texture) or woven (potato-sack like texture). This creates a separation layer between the prepared sub-base and the filled geocell panels.
Filling the panels can be done so by hand or using a tractor. Once the cells are filled, they can be walked or driven on. Pushing the material inside the cells can be done using a rake, shovel or machinery. The product is designed to be completely buried, so overfilling by 1-2" before compacting is a good rule of thumb.
The panels expand to typical dimensions of 8' wide x 28' long. The panels are flexible, as they are manufacture with HDPE plastic. This allows the panels to be shaped or curved to best fit the area. The panels can be under or over expanded to best fit the area. Staking the panels tempoarily to help hold them in place until they are filled can make installing to your specific dimensions a bit easier.
