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Case Study
Coward St Channel
SEGMENTAL BLOCK WALL
Project:
Vertical Block Wall
Location:
Coward St Channel, Deagon, Brisbane
Client:
Brisbane City Council
Retaining walls forming part of an open stormwater and tidal channel had suffered the effects of saltwater corrosion of the reinforcing steel through poorly constructed construction joints. This resulted in wall failure where the steel had been completely exposed and corroded.
Brisbane City Council called companies to tender on the demolition of the affected sections and the construction of a mass gravity reinforced concrete wall. The areas affected included a total of 120 lineal metres of wall with a height of 1.5m.
After an initial site investigation, we submitted an alternative to the proposed reinforced concrete gravity wall.
This system consisted of the Pioneer Besser "Vertica" masonry segmental block in combination with Miragrid polyester geogrid, which provided the internal reinforcement to the retained soil.
The system proposed offered numerous advantages including:
- Cost: the proposed segmental wall option was a more cost-effective solution than the reinforced concrete gravity wall.
- Aesthetics: Given that the channel passed through a residential area the segmental block wall offered a more pleasing appearance than plain concrete.
- Maintenance: The omission of construction/expansion joints in the segmental wall meant less maintenance would be required in these areas over the life of the wall.
- Engineering: The segmental wall allows a degree of differential movement, which is not offered by the concrete wall option.
- Ease of construction: Due to the space constraints, the installation of segmental blocks posed fewer problems than that of placing concrete.
After careful evaluation our proposal was accepted and we were subsequently awarded the contract.
The project was successfully completed within a three-week period saving council both time and money.
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