Transport infrastructure - roads and railway systems - are frequently built in areas where the soil is highly compressible, such as swamps, marshes or areas near watercourses. In such cases, substantial consolidation work is required to avoid shear failure of the fill used to build the structure.

 

This type of project requires simultaneous management of multiple sites along the alignment and can often involve the use of a variety of solutions to meet the wide-ranging geotechnical conditions and specific constraints of the terrain.

 

To ensure the long-term integrity of the infrastructure and the safety of the vehicles using it, it is essential that these areas are “over-consolidated” to reduce settlement due to primary settlements, creep and to limit differential settlement.

 

For engineering structures built along the alignment, backfill generates very high loads associated with strict settlement limitations. These critical areas generally require even more extensive treatment and careful management of the interfaces.