Commercial & Industrial
The noise reduction, earth retention, perimeter security and privacy necessary for manufacturing, logistics, and development projects.
Learn moreTownship of Oro-Medonte, Ontario
Project Overview
The Township of Oro-Medonte needed an upgrade from their existing retaining wall system and saw the many advantages of using the Retain-A-Rock (RAR) wall system:
- RAR block units are larger is size, requiring fewer lifts on site for placement for an expedited installation and associated cost savings.
- While Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) geogrid is required for use with RAR, the geogrid tabs are already integral to the blocks.
- The RAR block units are supplied with a pattern on the exposed face of the block units, for a more aesthetically pleasing finished wall system.
OwnerTownship of Oro-Medonte
General ContractorTodd Brothers Contracting
EngineerCMT Engineering
Wall Height4.5 meters
Wall Area143 m²
Timeline2 weeks
Extended Geogrid Solves Poor Soil at Township Project
Construction began with removal of an existing 2.1m span concrete culvert below the roadway making way for a new 3.3m polymer-laminated corrugated steel pipe culvert, new concrete headwalls and MSE retaining wing walls with integral geogrid utilizing our RAR wall system. What’s more, we were able complete all this just two short weeks – talk about a quick turn-around.
The new RAR wall system abuts the cast-in-place (CIP) headwalls on both sides of the roadway requiring four wingwalls; one at each quadrant of the site. While no mechanical or structural connections are required at the interface between wing walls and the headwall structures, as each structure works independently, the project did require a geogrid.
When the soil assessment results revealed the poor quality at the base of the walls, the geogrid needed to be extended 1.0m in length to compensate. This also required an adjustment to the wall height, bringing the total up to 4.5m, and 143 m2 of overall retaining block wall face.
Due to the height extensions and additional geogrid, Retain-A-Block was better suited for the project than replacing with the previous wall. While both wall systems require geogrid at these heights, the RAR geogrid tabs are already integral to the blocks.
Municipal Infrastructure Gets Retain-A-Rock Wing Walls
Another time saver on the installation was the larger unit size advantage of RAR. The larger size requires fewer lifts on site for placement, allowing experienced contractors like Todd Brothers to get the job done all within a two-week installation time.
The Easi-Span building for this project measured 30’ wide x 30’ long, a large enough footprint to house important monitoring, electrical and mechanical equipment for the pump station.
A single-sourced structure, the Easi-Span building eliminated involvement of multiple trades or vendors such as masons, steelworkers, roofing contractors, or painters. A complete precast building also ensures the longevity of the building as compared to other material types with much shorter lifespans.
The City’s goal of securing the equipment was met. Where Precast offered a level of security during severe weather events, offering a watertight building envelope that protect against strong windstorms or flooding. Additionally, our building designs offer a blast and ballistic protection, tested to UL-752/Test Method 5. The building is not only stronger, but limits the impacts of possible theft or vandalism. Our buildings are more resilient for long-term operations.
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