The Department of Public Works and Highways Region III were looking for an immediate solution to tackle the road slips and slope collapses along Bagac-Mariveles Road in Bataan. The continuous pouring during monsoons and improper drainage arrangement resulted in severe slope failures in some parts along the road that would further aggravate and result in a major landslide if not rehabilitated immediately.

The conventional solutions of Reinforced Cement Concrete retaining walls and Crib walls from interlocking precast concrete components were not a practical solution since it was expensive and time-consuming, as it required competent foundation and heavy concrete base width for requisite resistance. Hence, Strata came up with a resourceful solution to provide a Mechanically Stabilized Earth Structure reinforced with StrataGrid™ uniaxial geogrids and nonwoven geotextile wrap around, along the length of the affected road.

In addition to it, shotcreting along with suitable drainage arrangement was proposed for the face treatment to ensure further protection. This helped in providing a sustainable solution compared to any other conventional solution.

Some of the major challenges faced during the project were slope slips already present along the area of concern, poor drainage of the slope area and landslide which was imminent due to possible slope instability. But Strata’s skill and knowledge on geotechnical solutions helped in overcoming these challenges, hence providing end-to-end solution for soil reinforcement challenges.

Given the remote location and road size, Strata’s value addition not only helped in providing faster construction with less machinery and labour, but also helped in utilization of site-won soil reducing costs of imported fill and associated cost of transportation. This was approved to be by-far the most economic and sustainable solution by the client.