Patent ID: 6595726
Filing Date: 2003-07-22
Classification: E02D

Abstract:
A retaining wall system comprising, in combination, an assembly of elements including:a) at least one wire facing unit including a face section and a floor section extending from one side of said face section, said face section having upper and lower end portions and front and rear faces, and said floor section having front and rear end portions and upper and lower faces, at least the rear end portions of said floor section being formed of a plurality of spaced, generally parallel, longitudinally extending wire elements interconnected by at least one generally transversely extending cross-wire, b) at least one elongated geogrid section having forward end portions and rearward end portions, at least said forward end portions including a plurality of spaced, generally parallel, strand elements interconnected by generally transversely extending cross-bars to define a multiplicity of through-apertures, and c) at least one connecting rod for securing said forward end portions of a geogrid section to rear end portions of a floor section of a wire facing unit, said connecting rod having a transverse cross-section and being elongated, at least some of said longitudinally extending wire elements juxtaposed to said rear end portions of said floor section of said wire facing unit forming upstanding, generally U-shaped protuberances extending from said upper face of said floor section having forward portions inclined forwardly to define a pocket in front of said protuberances, said protuberances being spaced apart by approximately a multiple of the spacing between said apertures defined in said geogrid section, said protuberances defining generally aligned openings extending generally transversely of said floor section of said wire facing unit, and said openings being larger in area than said cross-section of said connecting rod, whereby said elements are adapted to be interconnected to form at least part of a geogrid-reinforced retaining wall by positioning the wire facing unit with the front face of the face section forming a portion of the face of the retaining wall and the floor section extending rearwardly therefrom, positioning the apertures in the forward end portions of the geogrid section over the protuberances in the wire elements at the rear end portions of the floor section of the wire facing unit with one of the cross-bars of the geogrid forwardly of said protuberances seated in the pocket formed by the wire elements and with portions of the geogrid section extending rearwardly from the wire facing unit, inserting the connecting rod through the openings formed by the protuberances to connect the geogrid section to the wire facing unit, and adding aggregate behind the rear face of the face section of the wire facing unit and on top of the upper face of the floor section of the wire facing unit and over the geogrid section.