Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) State Road 70

The Florida Department of Transportation was having problems with surface rutting and erosion of a 0.7h:1v geogrid reinforced slope supporting State Road 70 near Okeechobee, Florida. The slope was originally designed and built in 2002 using geogrids for stability, as well as a turf reinforcement mat (TRM) on the face of the slope to establish vegetation. While the geogrid reinforcement within the slope was performing as designed, the face of the slope was experiencing surface erosion and rutting from rainwater runoff.

Due to the steepness of the slope, establishment and maintenance of vegetation was simply not working as planned. Therefore, our HYDROTEX® Uniform Section US400 was selected to solve the problem.

The TRM was removed and the slope smoothed. The US400 lining was placed on the slope by the contractor. Within the US400 lining, 0.25 in (6.35 mm) diameter high-strength polyester cables were placed up and down the slope on 2 ft (0.6 m) spacing. These cables have a breaking strength of 3700 lbf (16.5 kN) and were used as tensile reinforcement within the concrete lining. Weep tubes were placed on centers within the US400 near the toe of the slope to allow for hydrostatic pressure relief and drainage through the lining. This replacement lining was successfully completed in 2004.