FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jeff Coyle
(210) 826-8899
(210) 535-9015
jeffc@kgbtexas.com
CENTEX RELEASES SIMULATION OF NEW WALL DESIGN
FOR THE HILLS OF RIVERMIST
Homebuilder hires Texas-based industry leader to design and build permanent solution
San Antonio, Texas, April 22, 2010 – Centex Homes released today a video simulation of the multi-million dollar wall system proposed as a permanent solution for the slope failure in the Hills of Rivermist community. The video, which may be viewed by homeowners and other interested parties at rivermistinfo.com, simulates the pier-panel wall design that will be submitted to the City of San Antonio for approval April 30. Centex has hired Craig Olden, Inc., a Texas-based industry leader with 35 years experience in the design and construction of retaining walls, to complete the project. Pending approval, Centex expects to begin construction by May 15 and finish the wall within six months.
“Within the engineering profession, the pier-panel wall is considered to be the ‘Cadillac’ of retention systems,” said Laurin Darnell, Vice President of the San Antonio division of Centex Homes. “After evaluating a number of wall designs, our geotechnical consultants selected this pier-panel design for its unmatched strength. This will be the strongest and most effective solution for the Hills of Rivermist. We are committed to resolving this situation quickly and permanently.”
The pier-panel wall will consist of concrete piers 20 feet below and above ground that are heavily reinforced with steel beams. Spanning the drilled piers will be steel-reinforced concrete panels to retain the backfill soils and to transfer the lateral load of the backfill soil to the piers. In some locations, the pier-panel wall system will be further supported by steel tie-back anchors that are grouted in the soils.
The wall will be significantly deeper and substantially stronger than the retaining walls typically used in residential applications.
“This type of wall structure is commonly used in the transportation and commercial construction applications to safely support heavy live loads adjacent to the wall such as highways, railways, industrial or multi-story buildings,” said Trevor Bray, Vice President of Craig Olden, Inc. “This permanent wall solution can also accommodate unlimited architectural finishes to blend in nicely with the surrounding areas.”
To ensure that the wall system is the best design solution, Centex has retained the services of two renowned experts in slope stability, professors at the University of Texas and the University of Illinois, to peer-review the final design.
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Meanwhile, the effort to stabilize and reinforce the soil within the failure area in the Hills of Rivermist is nearly complete. When completed, Centex will have installed more than 120 slope stabilization pins within the failed slope area. Each slope stabilization pin consists of a concrete pier 30 inches in diameter and 30 feet long reinforced with a steel pipe that is about 9 inches in diameter. As shown in the figure below, each slope stabilization pin extends about 20 feet below the failure plane and 10 feet above the failure plane. The slope stabilization pins are installed in a grid pattern across the failure area to strengthen the resistance to sliding along the failure plane, thus reducing lateral soil movements. The slope held up very well during last week’s heavy rains.
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