Highway Construction Project, Lampang Bypass Road
(Soil Bag MSE Wall)
Location
lampang, Thailand
Client
lampang road construction center
project type
MSe wall (Soil bag)
CHALLENGES & INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
CHALLENGE
Steep Embankment Construction within Constrained Right-of-Way
Elevating the road grading to reach the required bridge approach level over a public waterway at the Lampang bypass required significant earthworks. However, severe spatial limitations mandated the construction of unnaturally high-angle embankment slopes.
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Restricted Right-of-Way: Limited spatial boundaries along the alignment prevented the use of standard, naturally stable slope gradients.
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High-Angle Elevation: Reaching the necessary bridge clearance elevation within the confined area required the design of an aggressively steep earth embankment.
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Waterway Adjacency Risks: Constructing massive earthworks immediately adjacent to a public waterway increased the critical need for immediate erosion control and structural stability.
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Long-Term Facing Degradation: Utilizing temporary containment materials (like soil bags) presented a future risk of soil leakage and facing failure once the materials naturally decompose over time.
SOLUTION
Geosynthetic Reinforcement and Bio-Engineered Facing
To achieve the required elevation and ensure long-term stability within the spatial constraints, the engineering team implemented a Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) wall utilizing geogrids and specialized creeping vegetation.
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Geosynthetic Reinforcement: Integrated high-strength geogrids to internally stabilize and reinforce the steepened soil mass.
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Flexible Soil Bag Containment: Utilized a soil bag facing system in combination with the geogrids to efficiently construct and shape the high-angle embankment face.
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Bio-Engineered Surface Protection: Planted Singapore Daisy, a robust creeper plant, directly into the facing to establish a dense, living vegetative cover.
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Decomposition Mitigation: The creeping vegetation was strategically selected to interlock and form a permanent protective bio-layer, effectively preventing soil leakage as the temporary soil bags naturally degrade.
THE OUTCOME
Sustainable and Stable High-Angle Embankment
The engineering team successfully constructed the steep road embankment within the limited ROW, safely achieving the necessary bridge approach elevation. The integration of the geogrid-reinforced soil bag system provided immediate structural stability, while the Singapore Daisy successfully matured into a dense, fully functional vegetative facing. This bio-engineered solution effectively extended the lifespan of the MSE wall, ensuring long-term soil containment and structural integrity without compromising the adjacent public waterway.
Green
Structure
Stable
Steep slope
Quick
Construction
