The Geoweb load support system provided a low-maintenance, permeable load-support road surface at a staging area for a 10-acre industrial yard site for High Steel of Lancaster, Pa. Heavy traffic at the steel fabricator’s facility caused severe rutting of the existing gravel surface and costly daily maintenance problems.
The rehabilitation required engineers to provide a permeable surface to control storm water runoff; control surface rutting and distribute heavy wheel loads; function as a drainage layer when backfilled with an open aggregate; and deliver a cost-effective alternative to conventional concrete or bituminous concrete.
With confinement of aggregate infill, the Geoweb system offered permeability as well as structural benefits—preventing shear failure and both lateral and vertical movement of the infill material; reducing subgrade contact pressures and vertical deflections; controlling differential and total settlement over the low-strength subgrade; and reducing the cross section by 50% or more.
The system’s cell wall perforations facilitated lateral cell-to-cell drainage beneath traffic areas, resulting in better performance over saturated soil. Stability of the permeable pavement surface translated to a reduction in maintenance costs. Click here to watch a 10-year performance video.
