Mount Morgan Road Stabilised with ACEGrid® & Terralink® Solution

The Project

Over a single weekend, persistent rain fuelled by a tropical cyclone resulted in more than 20 individual roadside slips along the Mount Morgan Range Road forcing the road to be closed until the road embankments could be safely reinstated.

The slip areas were stabilised through temporary soil nailing, rock bolting and shotcreting, however, a more permanent solution was required.

The Queensland TMR Department went about finding a fast and economical means of repair and a number of design solutions were developed for review. Consistent with the existing slope angles, a geogrid reinforced solution was proposed with a face angle set at 65 degrees from the horizontal.

In the second half of that year, TMR called for tenders for the design and supply of the components required to reinforce the fill to be compacted back into place. The tender also sought a supplier who could provide a suitable means of protecting the face against erosion and possible bushfire attack in the future.

The Solution

Global Synthetics was successful in our bid to design and supply the structures, and work commenced shortly after.

Global Synthetics worked closely with TMR and the Roadtek construction team to deliver design drawings, materials and successful remediation of more than ten individual slip areas over a few short months.

The solution incorporated the Terralink® steel mesh facing system from Global Synthetics, with ACEGrid® polyester geogrid used as the soil reinforcement element.

Erosion protection was provided by Landlok® 450 synthetic Turf Reinforcement Matting and Geofirma® geotextile was used for separation behind the structure and around subsoil drains.

Global Synthetics assisted TMR and the contractor with site supervision and training as necessary and the work progressed efficiently, allowing the Mount Morgan Range Road to be again open to traffic as quickly as possible.

Our engineers are always here to provide advice, technical support and selections for our customers. For further information or to enquire about geosynthetic solutions for your next project, contact the Global Synthetics team.