The new Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse in Milford, Ohio required a 44-foot retaining wall. They also requested that the on-site lean clays be used as the backfill for the new wall. For a nearly-vertical, 44-foot high retaining wall the use of lean clay backfill could be disastrous! Most designers rightly specify only select backfills for nearly-vertical retaining walls that high.
After some design and construction challenges were overcome, the Client received a stunning 32,000 SF reinforced soil slope that is up to 44 feet high. Design considerations included: primary geogrid reinforcement, secondary geogrid reinforcement, effect of pH on the geogrids, facing stability, global stability analyses, and collection and removal of ground water and water entering the wall face.