Soil nailing of a bridge fill embankment : construction report.

PDFTech ReportExperimental Features OR 89-07Soil nailingLateral supportsWallsSlopesConstructionMonitoringPerformanceEmbankmentsBridgesOregonOregon. Dept. of Transportation. Highway DivisionSakr, Claude T.Oregon. Dept. of Transportation. Highway DivisionUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationUS Transportation CollectionSoil nailing as an alternative lateral earth support method has recently been introduced in Oregon to build the first permanent Soil-Nailed Wall on the State's Highway System.The soil nailing technique was used for an underpass widening to provide for additional traveling lanes under the existing Oregon Slough Bridge in Portland, Oregon. The project required removal of the existing south end slope and the construction of a Soil-Nailed Wall in front of the pile-supported end bent to permanently retain the existing bridge fill embankment.Construction and post-construction monitoring was performed to study the new wall's performance.This is the first of a five-paper sequence describing the results of ODOT's extensive investigation into the soil technique as an alternative to more conventional bridge embankment retention methods.Based on the results of our study, it may be concluded that:The soil nailing technique is a viable lateral earth support system to retain an existing bridge fill embankment and to allow for a roadway widening under a bridge. The selection of the soil nailing support system was based on economic considerations. This technique enabled (1) considerable cost saving to the owner, (2) the project to proceed without disrupting overhead bridge or adjacent roadway traffic, (3) the Contractor to work in low overhead clearance conditions, and (4) the Contractor to quickly alter his construction procedure to fit soil conditions