MOA Project #10-026

Golden View Drive Intersection & Safety Upgrades

Appropriate transitions can include extending the insulation beyond the roadway
improvements, reducing the insulation thickness, or angling the insulation downward.
Use of a frost tolerant section, an alternative to the insulated section, may be
warranted where subgrade soil has low to moderate frost susceptibility or where
groundwater is relatively deep and subgrade soil is not saturated most of the year. A
frost tolerant section could be considered at the beginning of the project, from
approximate station 508+00 to about station 520+00. Soil borings in this area
encountered shallow weathered rock, between 2.5 feet to 12 feet below ground
surface. A frost tolerant section may also be considered at the north end of the
project, between approximate stations 590+00 to 599+50. General appearance of
the pavement surface suggests that roadway performance in this segment is better
than the remainder of the alignment. A frost tolerant section in these two segments
would consist of approximately 2.25 feet of NFS fill material.
For both an insulated and frost tolerant section, a non-woven geotextile is included
along the base of the structural section to separate the native silty subgrade
materials from the imported subbase fill.
When peat is exposed in the base of the excavation, it is recommended that the peat
be excavated out and replaced with imported fill.

H.

Retaining Walls

Due to the steep adjacent terrain along the project corridor, retaining walls will be
required to reduce the impacts from roadway grading and slopes. Retaining walls
should be installed as needed to minimize impacts to utilities, the environment, and
adjacent properties.

1. Retaining Wall Types

Below is a description of the four basic types of retaining walls along with their
characteristics.

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Gravity: Gravity retaining walls rely on the mass of the wall structure for stability.
The wall mass must be sufficient to counteract sliding and overturning forces
from the retained soil. These systems can use stone, concrete or other heavy
material as well as mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) for stability. These are
the most common type of retaining walls and include gabions, bin walls, and

Example rock-gabion retaining wall

Example modular block retaining wall

modular block concrete construction. In most cases the slope behind the wall
needs to be temporarily removed during construction. For mechanically stabilized
earth walls, the reinforcing often extends horizontally into the embankment about
as far as the exposed wall face is tall.
Piling: Piling retaining walls have structures that extend significantly below grade
to provide support to counteract horizontal forces from the retained soils.
Typically two thirds of the structure height is embedded below grade. The
structures are usually steel sheet piles or H beams. Piles are driven into the soil
while H beams can either be driven in or set into drilled holes. Quite often, the
structural face of a piling wall is covered with a facade of concrete blocks or
panels. These are some of the most expensive types of retaining walls but they
do allow construction with very little removal of soil behind the wall.
Cantilever: Cantilever retaining walls have a large effective mass due to the soil
placed over a horizontal section of the wall. These walls are typically constructed
of cast-in-place, reinforced concrete. The horizontal (cantilevered) leg of the
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structure can either extend back into the retained soil or out away from the slope.
The slope behind the wall typically needs to be temporarily removed during
construction. Cantilever walls are relatively expensive due to the work required to
build concrete forms, install reinforcing, pour concrete, and provide joints
between pours. The concrete needs ample time to cure before the soil can be
replaced behind the wall.

Basic types of retaining walls

Anchored: Anchored (or tieback) retaining walls use cables driven horizontally
into the soil to counteract opposing horizontal forces from the retained soils. The
anchors, which typically pull horizontal plates or sheets against the soil, can be
soil nails, tieback cables, or screw anchors. The soil behind the wall does not
need to be removed during construction. The anchors may need to extend into
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the embankment quite a ways, which can impact buried utilities or future
development.
Combination: Many retaining walls use a combination of the above types. For
example, many piling walls use anchors to reduce embedment depth and
structure strength.

2. Considerations
Below are important considerations that affect the decision to provide a retaining
wall and which type of wall should be constructed. The decision to construct a
retaining wall can be subjective and must balance the cost of installing a
retaining wall with the overall impacts to utilities, wetlands, the environment, or
adjacent properties. Impacts to wetlands often demand construction of retaining
walls due to permitting requirements to avoid or minimize wetlands impacts if
possible. Exact locations of retaining walls will require further refinement during
the design phase.
Embankment Impacts: Gravity and cantilever retaining walls typically require
some of the soil behind the wall to be temporarily removed during construction. In
some cases the slope can be cut to stand near vertical for short periods of time
to reduce impacts but OSHA embankment guidelines and worker safety must be
accounted for. Piling walls can minimize impacts to adjacent properties and
structures.
Foundation Soils: Gravity and cantilever retaining walls require a solid foundation
to resist the forces of the wall and soil. Where foundation soils are weak, a piling
or anchor wall should be considered or the weak soil replaced. The bedrock
encountered near the south end of the Golden View Drive project provides an
excellent foundation but makes driving sheet piles very difficult (see APPENDIX E
for the geotechnical report).
Groundwater/Drainage: Groundwater needs to be removed from behind the
retaining wall to reduce hydrostatic forces. Many types of wall are inherently
porous while other types, like reinforced concrete, require weep holes to be
integrated into the design to relieve pressure from water behind the wall. In areas
where substantial groundwater and glaciation is expected, a subdrain should be

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considered to direct the runoff to drainage ditches or a piped storm drain

collection system.
Utilities: Some types of retaining walls impact a considerable amount of soil
behind the face of the wall. For example, modular block walls and MSE walls rely
on reinforcing geotextile fabric embedded into the soil as part of the structure.
The fabric behind the wall can impact existing utilities or limit future placement of
utilities. Anchor wall cables also extend into surrounding soils and affect utilities.
Aesthetics: Retailing walls are often very noticeable along a roadway corridor
and they should be selected to compliment the landscaping design and blend in
with the surrounding neighborhood. Sometimes retaining walls are chosen to
match existing walls on adjacent properties. Many of the existing retaining walls
along Golden View Drive are large irregular boulders. Although many PM&E
roadway project use concrete modular block retaining walls, gabion walls may be
more appropriate for this project area where residents have expressed a desire
to retain the rural feel. Gabion walls have also been used in other Anchorage
hillside areas including along Birch Road and for South Anchorage High School.
Safety Fence or Handrail: When the vertical face of the retaining wall is more
than

2.5

feet

tall,

fence,

handrail, or guardrail should be

provided for safety.
should

be

discouraged

Moose
from

walking over the wall. Where

space is limited, a fence or
handrail can be placed near the
face of a reinforced concrete
wall.

Most other types of wall

require the fence to be set back

in the soil behind the wall.

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Construction Schedule: In some

cases, the amount of time
required to construct a retaining
wall is very important since it
can affect impacts to adjacent
property

owners

environment.
concrete

or

the

Reinforced

headwalls

take

considerable amount of time to

construct. They are typically not
a good option for stream culvert
headwalls that need to be
completed quickly to reduce

Construction of gabion-type retaining wall

environmental impacts.
Maintenance: Retaining walls and associated fences or handrails should be
designed to require little if any maintenance. Concrete surfaces can be provided
with coatings to facilitate removal of spray paint vandalism.

Construction of modular block retaining wall

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Cost:

The

installed

estimated
cost

retaining

for

walls

varies

considerably from $45 to

more

than

square

per

of

the

foot

exposed
Some

$200

of

factors

vertical
the

face.
biggest

include

soil

conditions, wall height,

tiebacks,

construction

Example modular block retaining wall with railing

access, type of fence and

the amount of soil to be removed behind the wall for construction. Below is a
summary of order-of-magnitude cost for various types of retaining walls for
comparison purposes. These costs include a chain link fence above the wall.

Retaining Wall Type

Summary of Unit Costs

Cost per
Square foot of
wall face,
installed

Excavation

Modular block (Keystone),

without tiebacks

$45

full excavation behind blocks,

limited to 4' height

Modular block (Keystone),

geogrid tiebacks

$60

full excavation behind geogrid

Mechanically Stabilized
Earth (MSE)

$75

with concrete face, full excavation

behind wall and tieback

Gabion Basket

$75

full excavation behind wall

Reinforced concrete,
cast-in-place

$120

full excavation behind base of

structure

Soldier pile, without

tiebacks

$130

with block facade, minimal

excavation behind wall

Soldier pile, with tiebacks

$190

with block facade, minimal

excavation behind wall

Sheet pile, without tiebacks

$180

with block facade, no excavation

behind wall

Sheet pile, with tiebacks

$210

with block facade, no excavation

behind wall

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3. Estimated Project Cost

The conceptual drawings located in APPENDIX B indicate where retaining walls
should be considered to limit impacts to utilities, the environment or adjacent
property. The potential areas for retaining walls for the preferred alternative
(Alternative 1) are summarized below in TABLE 7. Note: this summary does not
include stream culvert headwalls.
Table 7 Summary of Retaining Walls (preferred alternative)
Purpose
Street

Approx.
Start
Station

Offset

Ave
Height
(ft)

Length
(ft)

Area
(sf)

Golden View

528+75

Left

4.9

181

887

Golden View

531+27

Right

3.5

108

378

Golden View

535+34

Right

5.2

28

146

Golden View

541+27

Right

6.4

285

1,824

Golden View

543+88

Left

2.5

65

163

Golden View

544+69

Left

2.0

107

214

Golden View

546+45

Left

3.0

296

888

Golden View

549+72

Right

4.0

667

2,668

Golden View

568+81

Right

3.4

116

394

Golden View

570+69

Left

3.5

572

2,002

Golden View

577+45

Left

2.5

542

1,355

Golden View

584+65

Left

4.5

530

2,385

Romania

200+78

Left

4.1

38

156

Utility

Environment

Property
X

X
X

X
X

A modular block or gabion basket type retaining wall can be used in nearly all of
the areas identified above. Assuming a unit cost from $60 to $75 for modular
block and gabion basket wall types respectively, this represents an approximate
cost of $880 thousand to $1.01 million for the recommended Alternative 1.

I. Traffic Calming
Based on speed studies and comments from local residents, speeding is a concern.
Various methods for traffic calming were investigated, including:

Vertical traffic calming measures (ex. speed hump)

Horizontal traffic calming measures (ex. neckdowns)

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