OWNER/CONTRACTOR:
MBA Construction, LLC
6010 West 62nd Street
Indianapolis, IN 46268

PROJECT ENGINEER:
Engineering Development Services, LLC
P.O.Box 7828
Gulf Shores, AL 36547

SEGMENTAL WALL DESIGN/BUILD COMPANY:
Synergy Earth Systems, LLC.
26240 Equity Drive
Daphne, AL 36526

With the campus of the University of South Alabama growing and more industry coming to the Mobile, AL area, there is an increasing need for apartments. One of the premier apartment builders in the country (SC Bodner Company, Inc.) decided to build some apartments near one of the most commercialized areas in Mobile. In order to maximize the amount of units to be built on this site, 5 retaining walls were required to be constructed. The walls on this site would be constructed within 13’ of the 4-story apartment buildings in certain areas. The walls would also be subjected to flooding conditions and high groundwater table conditions as well. Clearly, this project demanded that a qualified design/build retaining wall contractor be involved.

Synergy was ultimately selected to design and install the walls on this project based on their engineering expertise and ability to provide cost-saving solutions. The original plans indicated that gabion walls were to be used on this site. With the high cost of stone in the Mobile area, Synergy advised MBA Construction that the gabion wall option shown in the contract plans would be very expensive. Synergy worked closely with MBA Construction to discuss alternatives to the gabion walls and suggested the use of a combination of wire faced walls and modular block walls. MBA Construction decided that all of the fill walls along the existing creek would be welded wire form walls and the single cut-wall would be modular block, due to its high visibility. The final layout of the walls resulted in approximately 30,000 sf of retaining wall with a maximum height of 24’. The project was successfully completed in March ’09.

 

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