Celebrating RECo UK's incredible journey of some if our iconic projects.
Patent filed for Reinforced Earth® 1963
French engineer Henri Vidal files the patent for Reinforced Earth® and becomes the modern inventor of what is now commonly referred to as Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE). Much like a combination of pine needles and sand, metal or geosynthetic soil reinforcement is placed at regular intervals in an embankment linking grains in soil by means of friction, becoming it’s own supporting structure.
1974 – 2024 50 years, 50 challenges
Having worked at Reinforced Earth Co. Ltd. aka RECo for more than 20 years, I had great pleasure in putting together this book, many of the projects contained within I had personal involvement with and many of the ‘firsts’ were amongst some of the most technically challenging and rewarding contracts you could wish for. We can say we were the ‘first’ on many works, but we couldn’t have said that without being part of a global network of experts who have and continue to support the work we do in the UK and our overseas territories. A big thank you to all our clients and many consultants, especially those who have placed their trust in us over
the years, it takes some effort to put forward alternatives and innovative solutions but the rewards can been seen if you look through these pages. In an ever changing and challenging world where we must do our part to mitigate our impact on the environment and help bring social empathy to all those touched by our work, one thing remains consistent at RECo, our people and the values we respect. I have had the privilege to have worked with some of the best in our business and we would be nothing without them.
Tony Austin Director, Reinforced Earth Co. Ltd.
Timeline 1960 - 2023
1980 First Reinforced Earth Co. Ltd.
1999 First Reinforced Earth Co. Ltd. Avalanche Barrier built in Iceland
1963 Patent filed
1972 First Reinforced Earth wall in UK
2012 BBA certificate for GeoStrap (polymeric) soil reinforcement
2017 First use of TerraLink shored Reinforced Earth solution in Jersey
Bridge Abutment built at Glasgow
1983 First Reinforced Earth Co. Ltd. Seawall built at Swansea
2001 First Reinforced Earth Co. Ltd. Breakwater in UK/Ireland built at Dun Laoghaire
2001 First RECo precast arch over High Speed Line in Kent
1965 First Reinforced Earth wall built in France
1974 Reinforced Earth Co. Ltd. Registered
1981 BBA certificate for galvanised steel soil reinforcement
1990 First Reinforced Earth Co. Ltd. wall supporting mainline railway
2014 Highest Reinforced Earth wall at
2020 Longest
1999 First Reinforced Earth Co. Ltd. AbutmentsupportingIntegral Bridge Deck
Reinforced Earth wall constructed in the UK at over 1km
32m built in UK in South Wales
The 1980s are often remembered as the decade of the rise of consumerism, from the large shoulder pads on Dynasty to the Yuppie with their brick sized mobile phones. It wasn’t without it’s share of pain though, there was great hardship during the miner’s strike, AIDS was first clinically reported in the U.S. and in one of the worst man-made accidents in history on April 26th 1986, when the number four RBMK reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station exploded, releasing large amounts of radiation into the atmosphere, countries as far away as Finland were subjected to the fallout. TV dominated many people’s lives, MTV started, Band Aid was watched by 1.9 billion people worldwide and the marriage of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer saw many street parties, we were also first introduced to Bart and Homer Simpson. After ten years of construction the Thames Flood Barrier opened protecting central London from potentially catastrophic storm surges. As the decade came to an end so it seemed did the Soviet Union as on the 9th November 1989 the first news reports were coming out that Berliners were taking pickaxes to the wall which had separated their city since the end of the 2nd World War. 1980s
Maryhill, Glasgow
This was the first RE bridge abutment to be built in Britain, it was also the first use of high adherence (ribbed) reinforcing strips, which as the name suggests have higher frictional characteristics than smooth strips. Perimeter retaining structures were identified as a requirement during the design of a new shopping centre in the district of Maryhill, Glasgow in 1980. The designers of the scheme choose to use Reinforced Earth Company for these structures as it offered a cost saving over what was at the time more traditional methods. During design it was decided that one of the walls would also act as an abutment and carry a 15m span precast beam bridge deck on a bankseat with bearings, the abutment was designed to carry the vertical and horizontal dead and live loads associated with the bridge. The abutment and walls were built during the winter and despite appalling weather conditions 800 facing panels (an average of 2m² each) and 20,000 m³ of backfill material was constructed in 15 weeks to complete the structure.
Bournemouth International Centre
strips in the fill behind the walls. The tiered feature of these walls offers two purposes, one to breakdown a large vertical structure and the second reason is so that plant growth will green over these areas. Reinforced Earth structures act as a coherent gravity block, enabling significant loads to be supported. In this instance a car park was also built above the structure.
The profile of the Reinforced Earth wall had to follow the curvature of the road around the Purbeck Hall. With sweeping radii of 35.5m on the North and South ends of the walls and a tighter 25m radius in the centre, the walls produced an S shaped profile along its entire length of nearly 400m.The maximum height of the walls are 9.7m and built using the original TerraClass cruciform shaped panels with a raised chequered panel configuration using steel retaining
The Bournemouth International Centre (commonly known as the BIC), was opened in September 1984. It is one of the largest venues for conferences, exhibitions, and events in southern England. It is well known for hosting national conferences of major British political parties and trade unions. In 1990, the circular Purbeck Hall was added and as part of the infrastructure works a unique curved, 2-tiered Reinforced Earth retaining wall was chosen to provide an aesthetic feature for traffic to the facility.
Llandudno Connecting Road
Ironbridge Bypass
Replacing the old A5 single carriageway to North Wales meant new connecting roads from the new A55 coast road were required. Running alongside the A55 for much of its entirety is the mainline, which therefore required a double pier span bridge across local roads and the railway for the new connector road to Llandudno. North and South ramp walls were built with Reinforced Earth precast panels and high adherence steel strips. High impact precast copings were also required at the top of the walls. At its highest point the walls reach 11.3m. Designed to have a feature finish to match the reinforced concrete abutments, Reinforced Earth’s versatility for many applications like this make it a preferred option.
The increased traffic use through Ironbridge and it’s known flooding issues due to the river Severn meant that a bypass had to be built. The steep sided valleys of around Ironbridge with regular streams meant that the bypass needed elevated sections. One such section required back-to-back retaining walls that were built over a reinforced concrete culvert. The wall height reached 19m in places and required intricate detail at the arch interface. As the total carriageway width with verges was less than 16m, high adherence galvanised steel strips reached 14m in length in places, nearly occupying the whole space in the Reinforced Earth block. An intricate panel facing aesthetic was also required, to help the structure blend in with woodland surroundings.
Mumbles Marina
As part of the redevelopment of the Mumbles Marina, a car park and boat launching slipway were required alongside the existing coastal road. The foundation had to be laid and the first row of panels installed during periods of low tide. At high tide the sea level can rise to 1m below the final level of the wall and so up to 9m of wall height could be submerged twice every day. The wall rests on a bed of drainage material, the footing for the wall panels was prefabricated in sections and secured to the lower panels, thus avoiding the need to pour concrete on site. After construction in the tidal zone was completed, erection proceeded quickly, as on a land based project. The base of the structure is protected against erosion by a stone embankment 1.5m thick. Reinforced Earth is a proven and effective construction technique which can offer cost savings and rapid construction when applied to marine structures.
1990s
The 1990s saw the rise of the Internet, heralding the age of mass communication, shopping from home and online gaming. The decade began with hope having seen the end of the Cold War but also there was much anger on the streets of the UK as riots were sparked by the introduction of the Poll Tax. We also gazed at the skies with the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope at the beginning of the decade, and in 1999 we witnessed the awe of a total solar eclipse, something we won’t see again in the UK until 2090! Hollywood had it’s fair share of serial killer movies, but in the UK we went for light hearted comedies like The Full Monty and Four Weddings and a Funeral. On the 1st December 1990 the French and English sides of the Channel Tunnel connected when engineers broke through the service tunnel and shook hands after digging towards each other for two years, as well as this and other major projects RECo also worked on the 5km long Second Severn Crossing over the Severn Estuary connecting Bristol with South Wales. We were concerned by scientific advances such as the first cloning of a mammal with Dolly the sheep, and there was much worry over the ‘millennium bug’ when we thought all our computer systems would crash because of their apparent inability to distinguish dates correctly.
But it didn’t stop us from partying like it was 1999.
Channel Tunnel Folkestone Terminal
Pontardawe A notable feature that runs alongside the A4067 Swansea to Pontardawe road is one of Reinforced Earth’s first river training wall. The simplicity of build meant that these walls could be built in one season and thereby preventing any flood issues causing damage during the build time. The walls are standard precast panels, however whilst the maximum height is over 8m
in many places, much of the wall had scour protecting stones cover up to half of the precast wall height. The Reinforced Earth panels provide excellent protection for river training walls and with river flow rates and localised eddying effects at the joints, this can be minimised as in this instance using scour protection. In total over 4,500 m² were installed.
Part of the prestigious Channel Tunnel project, Reinforced Earth were asked to design and supply a unique feature finish wall that runs alongside the M20 and forms a retaining structure to support the embankment carrying the main continental arrival lines of the high-speed rail. With over 4,000m² and a maximum embankment height of 14m, the wall also had a unique facing, often referred to as a fan shape. At 550m long it’s a perfect example of ingenuity as it’s the first case in the UK of using Reinforced Earth to support a main line railway. In addition, special systems were put in place to monitor the long-term durability, the effects of train vibration and any effect of stray currents. All of these tests have proven to show no issues to Reinforced Earth walls in this situation.
B & Q Carmarthen
Glengonnar Water Bridge
Construction of the A74M to Glasgow required installing new river crossings. One such crossing over the river Glengonnar, which feeds the river Clyde nearby, required a structure that was in keeping with more historic bridge structures, namely in the form of an arch. Reinforced Earth developed it’s precast arch in the late 1980’s that offered the client its versatility to fit into the surrounding landscape and represent a cost effective modular build. This was the first RECo precast arch to be used in the UK. With a span of 9.2m and rise of 4.6m the structure comprised of twin piece arch elements that ran the whole 40m length, which were joined at the crown. The wingwalls were completed using Reinforced Earth.
During construction of the retail complex near Carmarthen alongside the river Towy, it was necessary to incorporate a retaining structure that took vehicle loads as well as having a near vertical face to minimise the footprint towards the river and that was to be vegetated. Reinforced Earth Company Ltd (RECo) have a precast product that utilises the retaining properties with soil reinforcement, but that also incorporates large planting bays in each section. The product is called TerraVert, and this was its first ever use in the UK. The project was a huge success and whilst only a small surface area, the principle achieved some great results.
Dingle Brook Bridge
Dingle Brook Bridge formed part of a single carriageway distributor road to serve the commission for New Towns housing development in Grappenhall Heys near Warrington. The bridge was designed to carry the road over a wooded ravine at an area known as Dingle Brook. The Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) offered an alternative solution to the conforming bid to Birse Construction. It was proposed to install precast arches as the main spanning elements, with Reinforced Earth spandrel and wingwalls forming the structural infill support over the top of the arch backs. The cladding methodology was identical to that of concrete structures, employing wall ties to fix the bonded stonework to the Reinforced Earth walls. RECo carried out full detailed design for the entire structure, with finite element analysis used to minimise the quantities of reinforcement and concrete used in fabrication of the Reinforced Earth arches. As an example of a combination of Reinforced Earth products & methods, the bridge arrangement was put forward for, and won the ‘Construction Industry Award for Innovation 1998’ from the CONSTRUCT Structures Group both for the prefabrication element and the recognition of the increasing importance of durability requirements within bridge structures. The time saved on the original program at Dingle Brook by the use of our arch and wall systems was over 4 weeks.
Second Severn Crossing
Reinforced Earth® wire mesh facing system wins its first British Construction Industry Award. The NCE commented that “It is unusual for a temporary structure to be entered for an award, but the Reinforced Earth Company’s TerraTrel Ro-Ro ramp is no ordinary structure. This is a creative, bold and cost effective solution.” During the construction of the Second Severn Crossing, the caissons for the bridge piers were cast on land and transported 500 metres to a sea-going barge. The caissons were then placed on the sea bed and concrete filled. The operation required a 12 metre high jetty ramp to allow the transportation of caissons on crawlers (a combined weight of 2600 tonnes) to the waiting barges. These loads were the heaviest ever transported in Europe and the ramp was inundated throughout its life within the estuary’s 15m tidal range. Reinforced Earth Company Ltd (RECo) ramps were chosen as the safest, most economical solution. It was also the least damaging to the environment of the sea bed as the ramp was built directly on the floor of the estuary.
A50 Blythe Bridge to Queensway
a built-up area some large retaining structures were required for the flyover interchanges Over 5,000 m² of Reinforced Earth retaining walls were provided by RECo with a large proportion having a special cleaved wood finish.
The construction of the A50 Trunk road through Stoke-on- Trent marked a major improvement to the road network of the city, providing much better access to the area. The new route, linked Queensway (A500) dual carriageway with the existing A50 at Blythe Bridge. The A50 (opened in 1997) spans 7km (4.4 miles) across the southern part of the city. As expected in such
A470 Cancoed to Minfford Improvement
Llanelli Millennium Coastal Park
park. The project was completed on time and within budget, saving 13% against the target cost. Furthermore the project was awarded the 1998 George Gibby Award by the ICE South Wales Association and shortlisted for the 1999 British Construction Industry Awards.
formed these tunnels. The eastern (100m long) and western (35m long) land bridges were analysed using finite element techniques which produced a very economical 350mm thick arch section. The portals were formed using oblique precast concrete segments, which blended with the landscaped contours of the
The Millennium Coastal Park near Llanelli, has been created from a stretch of derelict industrial land into a recreational amenity. As part of this project, two land bridges were required to span the Swansea to Fishguard mainline railway. Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) were subsequently appointed by Birse Construction to design and supply the precast concrete arch segments which
Construction of the improved A470 from Dolwyddelan to Blaenau Ffestiniog required several new structures, one such being the mainline overbridge. The client required a structure that was in keeping with more historic bridge structures in the area, namely in the form of an arch and clad with local stone. This was the first Reinforced Earth® precast arch to be used in the UK over rail, in the 1980’s we developed a three pinned precast arch which could be built in a staggered arrangement so that there was only need for one crane to be on site after the initial few units were erected, rather than the usual two. The project was challenging for several reasons, as all of the 60 arch units which made up the 46m tunnel length had to follow the 250m curvature radii of the mainline track, each unit had to be manufactured tapered to fit. Keeping the road profile to a minimum was also critical which meant clearance from the arch crown to the top of the road surface was less than 1m so an overslab was designed to spread the traffic surcharge load at this point.
Neskaupstaður Avalanche Barrier
The project involved the construction of avalanche defences at Neskaupstaður. The defences comprised a 14m high catching earth dam and 13 No. 10m high breaking earth mounds (splitters) in the run out zone of snow avalanches. The defences formed the first phase of avalanche protection works to the town of Neskaupstaður on the east coast of Iceland. Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) was initially contacted by the project consultant to assist in developing the design and specification. Both the catching earth dam and the splitters comprised a 76° steep face to the upstream side of the mounds. This steep face was formed using RECo’s wire mesh facing system, a galvanized steel facing utilising galvanized steel high adherence reinforcing strips. Graded rock fill, obtained from blasting operations at the job site, provided the structural fill to the Reinforced Earth structures. RECo was chosen to design and supply these defences because of speed of erection, robustness and proven ability to withstand significant impact loading.
The start of the ‘noughties’ saw a date that many people would never forget, on the 11th September 2001 a terrible tragedy unfolded live on our television screens when terrorists hijacked two planes and deliberately flew them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York killing thousands of innocent people. The first coins and banknotes of the Euro were introduced into 12 countries signalling the biggest cash changeover in history. A few years later Iceland suffered a financial meltdown as many banks failed. Britain’s first toll motorway opened around the North of Birmingham and RECo played a major part in the design and manufacture of many of it’s key structures. In three successive years the Lord of Rings movie trilogy was created and released to much adoration, little known web services began to emerge like YouTube and Facebook, how many of us would imagine how much of an impact these would make on our social life in the years to come. 2000s
M6 Toll
The M6 Toll road involved building a completely new 27 mile, 3-lane motorway to the north east of Birmingham between junctions 4 and 11 of the M6. It is the first tolled motorway built and operated by the private sector in the UK. The Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) undertook the design and supply of 39 permanent bridge abutments and several retaining walls along the route. The use of Reinforced Earth™ for abutments supporting full bridge loads has become widespread over other techniques as it reduces the need for piles or foundation improvements thus lowering costs and saving on programme time. In total, RECo supplied 23,000 m² of precast concrete facing panels and over half a million metres of galvanized steel reinforcing strips for the project.
Dun Laoghaire
As part of the continuing development of the existing Dun Laoghaire Harbour, there was a requirement for a 430m long breakwater. During the project tender, the main contractor Ascon Ltd offered an alternative design for the breakwater using the Reinforced Earth Company Precast concrete panel system with geosynthetic soil reinforcements. This alternative demonstrated significant cost savings over the reinforced concrete caissons shown in the project tender documents. Construction of the breakwater commenced in the summer of 2000 following the completion of dredging works and placing of the submerged rock fill core. Construction was substantially complete by November 2000. The construction was performed between tides by starting from the shore and progressing into the harbour. In this way all of the labour, plant and materials required for construction travelled along the partially completed breakwater from a land base. This procedure virtually eliminated the need for expensive floating plant. The Reinforced Earth breakwater was designed to withstand traffic loading, diurnal tidal variations and a substantial lateral wave force from a specified ‘design wave’. Furthermore, by using a synthetic soil reinforcement strip and connection system, potential corrosion difficulties were eliminated.
Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1)
Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) is a 67-mile long high-speed rail line running between London and the Channel Tunnel terminal near Folkestone. The £5.2bn link enables trains to run at 300km/hr between London St.Pancras and Gare du Nord in Paris. As part of this contract, two cut and cover tunnels were required near to the villages of Hollingbourne and Sandway. The initial proposal was to construct the tunnels as in-situ reinforced concrete box structures. However, following a value engineering exercise involving RLE, Reinforced Earth Company and the contractor, an alternative solution using precast concrete arch segments was accepted, the first of its kind over a high speed rail line. The longer tunnel at Hollingbourne covers a length of 360m, while Sandway tunnel measures 170m. Backfill cover to the crown ranges from 0.5m to 5.5m at the deepest section. The portals to the tunnels were formed from Reinforced Earth precast concrete headwalls and wingwalls. Erection of the first 170m length phase of the Hollingbourne tunnel was completed on schedule in just four weeks. The rapid construction, together with the efficient use of materials has produced a cost effective solution for these two significant structures.
Banbury Lane
WCML Trent Valley
when required by each separate main contractor. In addition to supplying on-site installation expertise, the design and delivery team at Reinforced Earth Company was able to assist the client in the attainment of technical approval for the structures.
The addition of extra tracks required retaining structures in several locations, these wall structures had to support the new lines. By using a simple modular precast panel facing system for all three contracts, the supply of panels could be taken from an ‘as cast’ stockpile of compatible panels
Network Rail’s £350 million Trent Valley Four Tracking Project increased capacity on the West Coast Main Line, doubling the tracks from two to four along a 12 mile stretch of railway between Armitage with Handsacre and Tamworth and removing a major bottleneck.
The increase in the number, speed and frequency of trains using West Coast Main Line as a result of its modernisation would lead to increased delays at level crossings on the line, to mitigate against these delays improvements have been made at a number of crossings. The level crossing at Bugrooke was replaced with a new section of road including new rail and canal crossings. Network Rail required a modern high performance structure that would be in keeping with the canal environment over which it crossed. Discussions were undertaken with British Waterways to provide a structure that would appeal to all stakeholders. Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) precast arch provided an attractive cost effective solution that would meet British Waterways’ requirements for a traditional structure. The use of Reinforced Earth headwalls and wingwalls allowed RECo to provide a full design solution for the structure. The arch units were erected during two night-time possessions allowing the canal to remain open during the construction period. The Reinforced Earth spandrel walls were constructed using selected granular fill with galvanised steel soil reinforcement and wire mesh facing elements. The wingwall were constructed in Reinforced Earth with precast concrete facing panels subsequently clad with local bricks.
Rugeley Eastern Bypass
Reinforced Earth Company Ltd (RECo) worked with Staffordshire Highways and Wrekin Construction to design a multi-span flood relief arch structure to replace an existing masonry arch bridge. The design of the new structure needed to allow phased construction so that traffic could be diverted onto the new structure before the old bridge was demolished. Reinforced Earth Company designed and supplied twenty- seven arch units to form the bridge structure. The 24 tonne single piece arch units required no temporary support and the 15 units required for the first phase of construction were erected in a single day. A Reinforced Earth wire mesh faced retaining wall was used to form a temporary stop end to allow the old arch bridge to be removed. The Reinforced Earth bridge spandrels and wingwalls were brick clad to provide an attractive finish in sympathy with the adjacent Grade II Listed river bridge. The bypass has won awards for its technical expertise and its community focus. It was completed three months ahead of programme and within budget.
M62 Junction 6
This improvement project was undertaken to add two direct connections to the busy Junction 6 of the M62. This meant traffic would no longer need to use the present junction roundabout, thus reducing congestion and delays. Pell Frischmann asked RECo to design bridge abutments for three structures. Abutments for the M62 On-Slip bridge were required to support a 28m precast concrete integral bridge deck. This would be one of the United Kingdom’s largest integral bridge spans supported on reinforced soil abutments. RECo used numerical analysis to model the Reinforced Earth behaviour and examine the structure’s response to thermal effects. The advanced finite-difference model showed how the Reinforced Earth abutments would respond to the loading from the 28m span integral bridge deck. This detailed analysis allowed a significantly more efficient design solution to be developed when compared to more traditional methods of analysis.
Heathrow Terminal 5
Coleshill Parkway
challenge in that its height of only 7.4m was relatively low compared to the span of 17.4m. This was successfully achieve using only 350mm thick precast arch segments over its entire length of 130m. The portals to the tunnel were formed with oblique ends to match the steep slope sides.
The most suitable and aesthetic way of achieving the roundabout with the perimeter road below was to install a cut and cover tunnel with a Reinforced Earth precast arch system. The arch itself comprised a standard twin section that met at the crown. The arch however represented a significant
During the build of T5 at Heathrow airport, a new perimeter vehicle access route had to built. The Western perimeter road also needed access to the main entry point off the M25. This was achieved by dropping the perimeter road below the access road and forming Terminal 5 roundabout above.
The Coleshill Parkway Transport Interchange comprises a new railway station and car park at Hams Hall, and an adjoining new bridge at Station Road, Coleshill, for pedestrians, cyclists and buses crossing the Birmingham-Nuneaton rail line. Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) was asked to undertake the specialist design of the Reinforced Earth approach ramps for Warwickshire County Council. The walls were constructed using selected granular fill with galvanized steel soil reinforcement. The walls were faced with precast concrete facing panels featuring a bush hammered finish. The curved alignment of the ramps meant that the precast wall panels had to be designed to accommodate radii of less than 12m. On top of the walls, vehicle containment was provided by parapets supported on precast copings designed and supplied by RECo which in turn are connected to in-situ concrete anchor slabs beneath the road surface. The performance of this parapet support arrangement has been verified under full scale dynamic impact tests and is included in our HAPAS certificate. In addition to designing and supplying materials for the project RECo provided on-site construction training to enable the Main Contractor to construct the walls using their own team.
Seyðisfjörður and Ísafjörður Avalanche Barriers
The project involved the construction of avalanche defences at Seyðisfjörður and Ísafjörður, Iceland. These defences comprised a 20m high catching earth dam, 600m above sea level and breaking earth mounds (or splitters) located in the avalanche path. The earth dams at both sites comprised a lower half constructed from rock fill materials at a slope angle of 34° and a steep reinforced earth upper half with a slope angle in excess of 76°. This upper half was formed using a galvanized steel mesh facing with robust galvanized steel high adherence reinforcing strips. The lightweight components were shipped to Iceland in May 2004. With initial on-site technical assistance provided by RECo, erection of the steep upper sections of the mounds commenced in June 2004. These were successfully completed in October 2004, just before the first snow falls marking the end of the earthwork season. RECo were chosen to design and supply these defences because of proven speed of erection, robustness and successful use on a similar project in Neskaupstaður, Iceland.
Newry Bypass
Shrub Hill Retail Park
This major roads PFI scheme is for the Design, Build, Finance and Operation of 5 separate schemes. The £250 million project involved the upgrade of 21km of the A4 between Dungannon and BallyGawley and 12km of new dual carriageway on the A1 from Beechhill to Cloghogue. Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) were approached to undertake the specialist design and supply over 6,000 precast facing panels and 2.5km of copings on 20 structures on 3 different schemes on the project over a 2-year period. The walls and abutments were constructed using selected granular fill with galvanized steel soil reinforcement. The walls were faced with TerraQuad concrete panels with a vertical rib finish. The bridge loads were designed to be supported in one of two ways; either the deck was supported on columns passing through the Reinforced Earth end walls, or the integral bridge deck was fully supported on the Reinforced Earth abutments. The versatile nature of Reinforced Earth allowed both support principles to be used depending on the site requirements.
As part of a retail development, a new canal bridge was required to replace an existing masonry structure. The conforming scheme for the bridge comprised a simply supported single span deck on piled abutments. As an alternative, Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) proposed an arch structure. The arch was required to accommodate a clearance envelope for the navigable waterway and provide pedestrian clearance along the towpath. The solution adopted comprised a buried arch structure founded on a piled strip foundation. The precast segmental arch was erected as a three pinned structure. However, due to the minimal fill cover over the crown, the structure was made continuous across the crown joint with an in-situ concrete stitch to form a two pinned structure. The spandrel walls and wingwalls were formed in Reinforced Earth using a galvanized steel mesh facing system. The completed walls were subsequently clad in brickwork to meet the aesthetic requirements of the project. Erection of the arch units was completed in just two days. The combination of Reinforced Earth Company’s arch and masonry clad retaining walls provided the Contractor with a cost effective alternative to the conforming scheme. The finished project was shortlisted for the Institution of Civil Engineers’ Midlands Award in 2003.
(photo courtesy of David Scott PhotographyMacrete Ireland Ltd)
Pont Gwynfynydd Bridge
Located in the Coed y Brenin forest on the edge of Eryri National Park the original 18th Century masonry arch bridge at the site was washed away in the 2001 floods. A new structure was required to replace the temporary footbridge and to reopen the route to forestry traffic. The client required a solution that could be constructed quickly and safely over a fast flowing river. Precast construction was important to minimise the risk of polluting the river. Materials for the project needed to be capable of being transported along forest tracks to the site. Reinforced Earth Company designed and supplied single piece arch units and wire mesh faced bridge spandrel walls to form the bridge structure. Bespoke precast concrete parapet units were also supplied by RECo. The structure was clad with locally quarried stone to give a traditional appearance to this modern high performance structure. The bridge won the Constructing Excellence Award for Innovation in 2007.
TO PRESENT DAY 2010s From the 2010s to the present day RECo have continued to be involved in many key infrastructure projects from Crossrail to the London Olympic Park which ended in a fantastic medal haul for Team GB. Over recent years, many global and local events have changed our perspective and outlook on the world and how we fit into it; Brexit, Covid, social media, the death of Britain’s longest serving monarch, Elizabeth II, and the biggest threat to humanity of all, global warming. There were incredible scientific advances, at CERN the Higgs Boson particle was discovered which gives all other fundamental particles their mass. NASA announced that liquid water was found on Mars and anthropologists found evidence of a previously unknown species of human in a lonely Siberian cave. We witnessed the demise of screen baddies Lord Voldemort and Kylo Ren but most sadly of all James Bond, and love them or hate them, we all started to become more and more accustomed to these things.
London 2012 Olympic Park
Construction for the Olympic Park involved considerable redevelopment on a former industrial site in Stratford, East London. As well as the construction of Olympic sports venues, the 200 hectare site also required a complex arrangement of infrastructure to allow access during the games and hold a lasting sustainable legacy for the local population. Reinforced Earth Co. Ltd. (RECo) was approached early in the design stage to develop a retaining solution for the bridge ramps leading up to a local distributor road bridge. Part of the solution involved building a system around the aesthetic requirements. A bespoke pattern was suggested and created by RECo to fit on the concrete facing panels. The wall was built using BBA accredited GeoStrap soil reinforcing strips which consist of discrete channels of closely packed high tenacity polyester fibres encased in a polyethylene sheet, GeoStrap reinforcing strips do not impose any limitation on salt concentration within the backfill.
Seaton Carew
Following a Coastal Strategy Study by Hartlepool Borough Council, a section of sea defence wall was required to be replaced and strengthened to afford protection against coastal erosion to homes and businesses along the seafront. The works would also allow the existing promenade to be widened and create a new access point to the beach. Reinforced
Earth Co. Ltd. (RECo) designed a solution which resisted wave impact on the structure and took into account the differential water level across the structure using local tidal conditions. The wall was constructed so that the majority of the wall was buried beneath the beach level - this would allow for predicted future reduced beach levels to occur and not cause
the undermining of the structure. The concrete facing panels were manufactured by RECo using glass fibre reinforcing bars to eliminate the risk of corrosion damage to the concrete, and to reduce the thickness of the panels. Both the soil reinforcement and the connection to the concrete panels were fully synthetic.
Mersey Gateway
over 4,000 m² of large TerraQuad square panels. Some of the most notable structures were the North and South approach ramp retaining walls to the bridge. The panels provided a feature finish pattern and were also battered to a 1:10 slope that provided a unique system for the client and required a specially designed cradle system to be made to simplify installation.
One of the most iconic bridges to be built in the UK, the 6 lane cable stayed toll bridge, Mersey Gateway was built to replace the much over used and dated steel Silver Jubilee bridge running from Runcorn to Widnes. In its first 5 years it has seen over 105 million journeys. Reinforced Earth Co. Ltd. provided many structures either side of the Gateway bridge for the new access routes and supplied
A465 Heads of Valleys Carno Arch
The Heads of Valleys Dualling project is one of the Welsh Government’s key drivers for promoting social and economic regeneration in the area. The new road crosses over the Carno valley on an embankment of earth, to maintain the flow of the existing spillway down the valley from the Carno reservoir, and to provide access to the Welsh Water treatment works an arch underpass was designed and supplied by Reinforced Earth Co. Ltd. (RECo). The precast arch structure RECo provided has a span of 18m and a rise of 9.6m. The arch has more than 22m of backfill above the crown. Reinforced Earth arches are twin precast concrete segmental arch units which when erected connect at the crown. The arch strength is developed by soil/structure interaction. The geometry of the arch and the large backfill made this a complex structure to design. The arch has a 1:20 longitudinal fall. This created a problem for erection stability, RECo designed and supplied special unit geometries to enable the units to be erected quickly and safely. The arch portal units have traditionally been designed with a reinforced concrete collar beam, this can make the installation complex and involves substantial temporary works and working at height. To eliminate these hazards RECo designed the portal units as free-standing cantilever structures with a small in situ joint.
Borders Rail
Bristol Metrobus
RECo designed and supplied over 20 significant walls to overbridges and underbridges, structure types varied from approach walls carrying full rail loads to slopes supporting footbridges, in total RECo supplied around 10,000 m² of concrete facing panels.
types of soil reinforcing strips, high adherence galvanised steel and polymeric GeoStrap. Steel reinforcement was used on structures with high concentrated loads, i.e., the walls which carried the mainline track, whereas in the areas which were subject to normal loading conditions GeoStrap was used.
The Borders Railway is the longest new domestic railway to be built in the UK for over 100 years. Thirty miles of track now provide a reliable transport connection between Edinburgh through Midlothian and into the Scottish Borders for the first time in nearly 50 years. RECo provided structures using two
Bristol Metrobus is part of a package of transport infrastructure improvements in the West of England which have been designed to help unlock economic growth, tackle poor public transport links in South Bristol, long bus journey times and high car use in the North Fringe of the city and M32 motorway corridor. The Bristol Metrobus route is carried over the Portishead freight railway by Portishead rail skew bridge North and South approach ramps. The busway route is unguided over the full length of the Southern Approach Ramp, Skew Bridge and Northern Approach Ramp. The route crosses the combined pedestrian footpath / cycleway underpass at a skew angle of 30 degrees. Both approach ramps to the bridge lead up to the bridge which sits on an insitu concrete bankseat which is on true Reinforced Earth bridge abutments that support the full bridge deck loads. The panel arrangement makes use of a series of vertical slip joints to create a flexible facing which can cope with differential settlement that might occur between the abutment and wall sections of the structure. The arrangement also allows for a simple method of construction with all construction work taking place from behind the panels and edge protection easily incorporated into the panel build.
A465 Heads of Valleys Carno Walls
The Heads of Valleys Dualling project is one of the Welsh Government’s key drivers for promoting social and economic regeneration in the area. The new road crosses over the Carno valley on an embankment of earth, this option was selected in place of a viaduct as it would utilise around 250,000 m³ of surplus fill material. To support the new road a multi-tiered Reinforced Earth® retaining wall was designed and supplied by Reinforced Earth Co. Ltd. (RECo). The retaining walls forming the north portal of the underpass are up to 33m high making it the highest structure of it’s type constructed in the UK. The design of the three-tier 33m high retaining walls was technically challenging. The design of this type of structure is not adequately covered by the current design codes and required a significant level of design experience and careful detailing to ensure ease of construction and satisfactory performance. Reinforced soil technology provides an amazingly efficient solution for very high retaining structures. The precast concrete facing panels used have a maximum thickness of 160mm. this offers huge environmental benefit from lower carbon emissions when compared to other solutions such as cast in place reinforced concrete walls. It also reduces the transportation to site by almost 90% providing environmental safety and community benefits.
The Elizabeth line Stockley Junction
The Elizabeth line runs from Reading and Heathrow in the west, through new twin-bore 21km tunnels under central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. It brings an additional 1.5 million people within 60 minutes commuting distance of London’s key business districts. It provides new transport links with the Tube, Thameslink, National Rail, DLR and London Overground. The new flyover in Stockley, Hillingdon, ensures that The Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express services heading towards central London will be able to join the Great Western Main Line without delaying, or being delayed, by other trains using the route. Reinforced Earth Co Ltd (RECo), were employed to assist Jacobs in the design and to supply the materials for the Reinforced Earth retaining walls. The walls would have to support not only the critical Heathrow Express rail line, but also the launch of the new bridge for the flyover. The bridge weighed 1000 tonnes, Two jacks launched the bridge with a force equivalent to that needed to lift 115 London taxis. A total of 20 moveable wheels and special Teflon sheets were also used to help the bridge launch. To match the appearance of previous similar structures on the line, RECo designed a facing panel system combined with high adherence galvanised steel strips to provide a strong and durable structure for such a significant and sensitive application. Durability test strips are provided as standard to allow the life cycle monitoring of the soil reinforcement.
New River Bridge Hoddesdon
Weeford
The A5 Weeford to Fazeley scheme involved the construction of a new dual carriageway to replace the then existing single carriageway reducing congestion and improving journey time and safety. Bridleway and cycle/pedestrian crossing facilities over the A38 were provided near Blackbrook Farm.
Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) was asked to undertake the specialist design of the Reinforced Earth bridge abutments for Parsons Brinckerhoff, the Highways Agency’s Lead Designer for the project. RECo designed the bridge abutment and retaining wall to carry a footbridge providing a crossing for equestrian and pedestrian use over the existing A38.
The abutments were constructed using selected granular fill with galvanized steel soil reinforcement. The walls were faced with precast concrete facing panels featuring a broken rib pattern. In addition to designing and supplying materials for the project RECo provided on-site construction training to enable the Main Contractor to construct the structure using their own team.
Hertfordshire County Council needed a new bridge structure to cross New River on the only route into Hoddesdon Business Park. Located close of the site is a pumping station, it was important that the finish on the new structure was sympathetic to the appearance of this listed building. RECo designed and manufactured bespoke coloured walls panels with a brickwork pattern and texture similar to the pumping station. The versatility of RECo’s systems allow many different wall finishes to be created at little extra cost. The wall was built using PVA EcoStrap soil reinforcing strips which consist of discrete channels of closely packed high tenacity polyvinyl alcohol fibres encased in a polyethylene sheet, EcoStrap reinforcing strips are not affected by the pH, sulphate or chloride levels in the backfill material making it the perfect solution for using site won or reclaimed materials, as a result the contractor was able to make use of recycled concrete as backfill material.
A465 Heads of the Valley Centre Reserve Wall
The existing A465 was built in the 1960s and is a single three lane carriageway with two lanes in the uphill direction and one in the downhill direction. A regional traffic study in 1990 identified the need to improve this road. This improvement to the A465 is critical to the social and economic regeneration of the Heads of the Valleys area. The width of the road restricts traffic flow and opportunities for safe overtaking. In many areas there is poor visibility. Accidents on this stretch are concentrated around junctions and areas with poor visibility. Reinforced Earth Co. Ltd. (RECo) was approached early in the design stage to develop a solution for the central reserve retaining wall. The wall stretches up the valley floor for a total of 1.5 km. The site geology meant that different solutions needed to be found along the corridor and to minimize excavation into rock. One of the challenges involved building a system around the aesthetic requirements. A unique panel system was created including a bespoke method of support as it was essential that the grooved feature pattern was built to high tolerances. As well as the 6617m² for the central reserve wall a further 4080m² and five structures were designed and manufactured by RECo, one of which incorporates a feature finish which mimics a random rubble stone wall.
West substation, St Helier
The new JEC St Helier West Substation at Westpoint is vital to ensure and safeguard St Helier’s electrical supply into the future. This environmentally sensitive project involves major earthworks for the substation structure and the design and build of soil nailed embankments and a Reinforced Earth TerraLink retaining wall using galvanized steel reinforcing strips and precast concrete facing panels. The location of the substation is in the area of the old quarry. The quarry embankments are cut into the shape of a horseshoe, with the sides of the embankments standing at approximately 60°. The embankments are reinforced with soil nails and a mesh facing. The vertical faced Reinforced Earth retaining wall is founded at 1.5m approximately, at its lowest point, away from the foot of the embankments. Reinforced Earth Co Ltd (RECo), were employed to design and supply the materials for the Reinforced Earth TerraLink shored wall. RECo designed a friction link system which enables additional reinforcements to be inserted in the reinforcement layers of the RECo wall, which are attached to the existing soil nailed embankments. Bespoke connectors were manufactured to screw onto the ends of the soil nails and fish plates were attached to the connectors that allowed the attachment of galvanized steel reinforcing strips. The overlaps between the galvanized steel reinforcing strips for the embankments and the RECo retaining wall ensures their frictional connection on both sides of the structure. Due to the close proximity of the embankments to the base of the RECo retaining wall, the initial 2.25m high of retaining wall is backfilled with concrete, the rest of the retaining wall is backfilled with 6I granular fill.
(photo courtesy of Jersey Electricity)
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