OWNER:
Newland California
9404 Genesee Avenue, Suite 340
La Jolla, California 92037

ENGINEER:
GeoCon, Inc.
6960 Flanders Drive
San Diego, California 29121

CONTRACTOR:
Noveco, Inc.
5947 Jasmine Street
Riverside, California 92504

The site of the Sorrento Boulevard Retaining Wall was underlain by alluvium clay ranging in depth from twenty to forty feet. The maximum wall height was twenty-six feet and tapered on each end with a length of 330 feet. Portions of the site had been pre-loaded with a ten foot fill prior to construction, but the geometry of the proposed construction dictated that the toe of the wall be placed approximately fifteen feet beyond the area which had been pre-consolidated under the test fill. Under the imposed load of the wall the alluvium clay was expected to consolidate approximately two feet. Wick drains spaced at seven feet on center were used to accelerate the rate of settlement and strength gain of the underlying alluvium. Construction plans called for a wrapped face wall to be constructed using uniaxial geogrids. At the end of settlement the Keystone Wall System was then erected using geogrids that protruded from the wrap faced system as an anchor for the Keystone units. The wall was designed for not only an adequate factor of safety under static loadings, but also under seismic loadings as well. This wall was completed in 1990 and was selected as the 1991 Outstanding Engineering Award presented by the California Geotechnical Engineering Association.