Road stabilization in Converse County with MIRAFI

Overview

Converse County in Wyoming has firsthand experience with the performance of MIRAFI® RS380i when used to stabilize county roads. The town has successfully installed the high-performance geosynthetic multiple times and knows that it can increase a roadway’s useful life while also reducing the amount of maintenance needed in the future.

MIRAFI RSi-Series is a high-performance geosynthetic engineered to offer a single solution for roadway reinforcement and stabilization. Its high-modulus construction integrates key performance properties including soil reinforcement, confinement, separation, and filtration.

When Converse County needed to stabilize Mormon Canyon Road, they knew that MIRAFI RS380i was the right solution.

Challenge

This project required approximately 30,000 y² (25,084 m²) of MIRAFI RS380i. Several challenges were faced during installation including high winds, material supply issues, and challenging terrain. The winds would reach nearly 40 miles per hour in the afternoons, creating a potential uplift of the geosynthetic. The durable design of the MIRAFI RSi-Series provides resistance to damage caused by moderate to severe stress during installation. This includes enduring high winds without tearing or ripping.

Solution

To address the challenge of wind uplift, MIRAFI RS380i was secured to the subgrade. Additionally, the use of MIRAFI RS380i stabilized the soft, clay soils that were onsite. The MIRAFI RSi-Series is constructed with a double layer weave technology consisting of both monofilament and fibrillated years to provide more than three times the surface area of a typical woven geotextile. This engineered design creates higher in-plane friction and micro-interlocking, resulting in excellent interaction with the underlying subgrade and overlying materials. This surface friction mechanism enables the use of a wide range of materials on top of the geotextile.

Separation is also a critical requirement for roadways built on unfavorable soil conditions. MIRAFI RSi-Series provides both separation and stabilization, eliminating the need for a separate reinforcement and separation geosynthetic, ensuring significant cost and time savings.