Retaining Wall Design

Springville-Boston Road – Retaining Wall Collapse

The Erie County Department of Public Works experienced a failure of Springville-Boston Road when Eighteen Mile Creek eroded its bank along the shoulder of the highway, causing the highway and a concrete retaining wall to collapse. McMahon & Mann completed test borings along the failed highway and found loose sand and gravel near the ground surface that becomes dense with depth. We designed a soldier pile wall along the highway shoulder to provide vertical and lateral support for the highway.

Location

Concord, New York

Client

Erie County Department of Public Works through Greenman-Pedersen, Inc.

Date

ECDPW experienced a failure of Springville-Boston Road when Eighteen Mile Creek eroded its bank along the shoulder of the highway, causing the highway and a concrete retaining wall to collapse. ECDPW engaged McMahon & Mann and GPI to design the stabilization of the creek bank to allow reconstruction of the highway.

We completed test borings along the failed highway and found loose sand and gravel near the ground surface that becomes dense with depth. The sand and gravel extend to more than 50 feet deep.

McMahon & Mann designed a soldier pile wall along the highway shoulder to provide vertical and lateral support for the highway. The soldier piles consist of concrete drilled shafts with steel wide flange beams in the core to resist bending imposed by the lateral earth pressure. Steel sheet piles were used to support the ground during installation of the drilled shafts and to provide erosion protection during high flow events. Armor stone was used to provide erosion protection to the toes of the sheet piles.