Project Portfolio--Modular PreCast Concrete Retaining Wall Systems

ALTON CITY HALL

Alton, Illinois

Description
This Stone Strong wall replaced a deteriorated retaining wall for City Hall, allowing public access to shopping and restaurants.  The stairwell was designed with walls reaching a maximum height of 18’8” without geogrid.  In lieu of geogrid, mass extensions were designed for minimal disturbance of buried utilities.  The elevation change from the bottom of the stairwell to the parking lot is 30’+.

ASPEN COURT

Carbondale, Illinois

Description
The developer needed to cut into a hill in order to provide parking for a Southern Illinois University student housing development.  The original design was a mix of a C-I-P wall with a maximum height of 16’ and a series of five terraced small block walls, each about 4’ high.  We only needed three terraced walls instead of the five in the original design.

We were able use Stone Strong® for all the walls, giving uniformity and therefore greater aesthetics to the project. 

TRI-STATE TOLLWAY (RETAINING WALL 13)

Cook County, Illinois

Description

This wall is one of several that ECC built for the Illinois Tolll Authority.  It is made up of over 500 individual T-Wall units and 100 precast barrier wall caps.  Where most other wall systems use loose metal or fabric tie-backs, the T-Wall System uses integrally cast stems to stabilize the wall against the earth pressure.  The height of the wall system is virtually unlimited.

MCKINLEY GARDENS

Chicago, Illinois

Description
This wall project was in a highly constricted space with only 5 feet of right of way between the driveway and the IDOT parking lot under the adjacent highway. The original design called for a sheet pile wall, but since there were utilities underground at that location allowing only an 11’ excavation, that design deferred to modular block. 

We designed a 9’ wide foundation, starting under the driveway and ending at the property line with a 4’ deep sheer key.  Rebar was placed up through the foundation and inside the cavities of each Stone Strong® block,  the blocks were infilled with concrete, locking them into the foundation, providing the additional strength to overcome the active pressure of the adjacent parking lot (when the project is complete, a guardrail will be added just behind the wall securing the parking lot for IDOT).

The speed of construction combined with the obvious aesthetic appeal, particularly relative to a sheet pile wall, increased sales and profits for the developer and beautified the neighborhood.

THE WOODLANDS OF MORTON GROVE

Morton Grove, Illinois

Description
Under very constricted space, the goal for this project was to build a retaining wall to support a driveway to the side entrance parking garage for a condominium complex. There was limited area between the building and a sound fence along the railroad tracks (both commuter and freight), as well as utilities 4 feet underground along the driveway that could not be moved. The contractor poured a cast in place box over the utility manhole and the modular wall was constructed around it. Once the wall was complete, the contractor added rebar through the cavities in the blocks and poured a cast in place curb. Blacktop was then applied to complete the entrance.

The village at this point allowed the owner to close on all sales and allowed home owners to move in.   Our quick response made the owners and buyers very happy.