Patent ID: 7311470

Claim:
A wale and retaining system for use in bracing a retaining wall, the system comprising: a wale of a unitary construction and comprising pultruded composite material, the wale further comprising, a back wall having a first opening therethrough, a front wall having a channel formed therein and extending from a first end of the wale to a second end of the wale, the front wall having a second opening therethrough, said front wall comprising, a first front outer wall and a second front outer wall each substantially parallel to the base wall, a channel base wall substantially parallel to said base wall, a first channel side wall extending between both said first front outer wall and said channel base wall, a second channel side wall extending between both said second front outer wall and said channel base wall, and a first interior reinforcing wall and a second interior reinforcing wall connecting said back wall and said front wall to form a middle and two side chambers between said back wall and said front wall, and wherein the middle and two side chambers extend from the first end of the wale to the second end of the wale, a tieback rod extending through the first opening, said middle chamber, and the second opening; a fastener coupled to said tieback rod and disposed within the channel; and wherein said channel has a depth sufficient such that when said wale is secured to said retaining wall by the tieback rod passing through said wale and the fastener, said tieback rod and said fastener do not protrude from the channel.