In a quaint northern Minnosota small town, a property surrounded by diverse woodlands and rolling hills was in need of a solution to provide stabilization to its roadway. The property owner faced problems with the road washing out severly each time it rained, leaving deep ruts behind.
The area was prepared and graded before a layer of geotextile fabric was placed on top to create a separation layer between the sub-base and the panels.
The 4" panels were expanded out to typical dimensions and temporarily staked to help hold them in place until they were filled. In areas where the slope exceeded a 3:1/33% incline, the panels were anchored long-term using 18" long curved rebar "j-hooks". Panels were connected with large zip ties.
The panels were filled with class 5 gravel base, which is crushed, angular aggregate that is 1" and smaller. This material is suggested for roadways and paver base applications due to its ability to compact well. They accounted for 6" deep, to overfill the 4" panel by about 2" before compacting the area and smoothing it out.
The finished product was a smooth, compacted roadway that provides over 12" of strength in just 4" of roadway, confined into the geocell panels. By strengthening the infill and sub-base layer, routine maintenance will be reduced significantly as the gravel is held in place under rolling course traffic and rainwater runoff.
