ACEGrid® Reinforced Embankment, South Route of the New Urban Area in Cao Bang City, Vietnam

The route connects the old urban area with the new administrative center of Cao Bang province; giving the motivation for the development of the new urban area to become the political, economic, cultural, and social center of Cao Bang province.

During the extensive excavation to construct the new road, the houses, and works of residents on the top of the slope on the side of the road are in danger of landslides. Therefore, local authorities must urgently find measures to prevent such a situation.

With the urgent goal of completing the project before the rainy season, and at the same time ensuring the economic and environmentally friendly aesthetics of the new route, the investor decided to use the reinforced earth structure with geogrid. Replacing the complete use of traditional RC retaining wall solution.

First is a 4 m high RC retaining wall structure at the toe of the embankment. Then, a reinforced earth structure (RES) with ACEGrid^® GG geogrid (which is also called Geogrid-reinforced structure, GRS) with a maximum height of up to 10 m was built, and the slope angle was flexibly changed according to the terrain. This structure (GRS) functions as a retaining wall structure both to prevent landslides and to serve the traffic route on top of the wall. This structure is made of compacted soil mass and uses the geogrid as reinforcement, the surface is stacked by soil bags and wrapped by ACEGrid^® for the ability to cover the green grass after finishing. The drainage system is also integrated to quickly drain water out of the embankment.

The total length of the embankment is about 260 m which was finished within 2 months of construction. The structure has promoted the function of protecting houses for local residents. At the same time, the gradually growing green grass also contributes to the beauty of the new route. The local government and people are very satisfied with the effectiveness of the project.