EVALUATION OF WELDED WIRE RETAINING WALL (EXPERIMENTAL CONSTRUCTION). FINAL REPORT

This report presents the results of a seven year evaluation of Welded Wire Walls at three locations in California - State Route 20 in Lake County, State Route 299 in Trinity County, and State Route 2 in Los Angeles County. The walls were constructed using various backfill materials, and with different foundation conditions. The Lake County wall is founded on silty clays. The wall has performed well with only minor bulging at the face. However, the soil reinforced unit has settled and rotated as the foundation materials consolidated differentially. This has produced large cracks in the roadway surface which have required extensive maintenance. The rate of rotation appears to have slowed in the last three years of this study. The walls at Trinity County and Los Angeles County are founded on granular material (rock at Trinity) and have shown almost no movement. The reinforcing mats at both the Lake County and Trinity County walls had strain gages attached at three levels throughout the wall height. These installations show stresses in excess of theoretical design stresses at the tops of both walls and below theoretical levels in the lowest layers. An analysis based on yield strengths of the steel reinforcement shows that the stresses measured are well within the tensile strength of the steel. Relevant portions of a concurrent study to determine the corrosion rates of soil reinforcement systems constructed along California highways are summarized and presented. Due to the bidding process used, no cost evaluation was performed.

• Corporate Authors:

  California Department of Transportation

  Transportation Laboratory
  5900 Folsom Boulevard
  Sacramento, CA  United States  95819

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Jackura, K A
  • Chang, G H
  • Castanon, D
• Publication Date: 1989-4

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 66 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Corrosion; Granular materials; Performance evaluations; Retaining walls; Rotation; Silty clays; Strain gages; Stresses; Structural settlement; Welded wire fabrics
• Uncontrolled Terms: Corrosion rate
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00497352
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA/CA/TL-89/03, Rept 633370
• Contract Numbers: F83TL08
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Sep 30 1990 12:00AM