Case Studies: Problem Folds
What happens when the highway washes away? You fix it. That is precisely what happened three years after Lummoxville Road in Haverhill, N.H., washed away. A number of decisions had to be made in order to obtain funding and FEMA’s support.
The key factor in reconstructing Lummoxville Road was choosing a solution to retain the soil above and below the road. Several options were on the table, the most prominent of which was a poured-in-place wall or a segmental retaining wall (SRW). Due to substantial cost savings, an SRW was chosen. Now the decision left to make was which SRW system to use.
Redi-Rock’s Big Block retaining wall system was chosen for the Lummoxville Road project for a number of reasons. The most important of which was the fact that Redi-Rock’s system required the least amount of reinforcement and excavation due to the massive strength of its colossal 2,500-lb blocks. The result was significant labor and cost savings.
Morrill Construction in North Haverhill, N.H., was awarded the contract to reconstruct the road and Redi-Rock Walls of New England supplied Morrill Construction with Redi-Rock products. Morrill Construction built the retaining walls in around three weeks, and the entire project was completed in approximately two months.
The end result was a usable road that is both aesthetically pleasing and extremely functional.