Avalanche Protection

When building infrastructure in mountainous areas, it is important to assess avalanche hazards and implement solutions to mitigate risks to life and property.

Mountainous landscapes have very limited options when developing infrastructure such as roadways and railways, or when developing residential areas and these areas are vulnerable to avalanches. In such instances, anticipation and preparation is the key to safety. Our engineered solutions using Reinforced Earth® MSE walls for avalanche protection have proven to be very effective in these conditions as part of avalanche protection applications.

Avalanche barriers & catching dams

Avalanches create a tremendous amount of energy, and avalanche protection structures need to absorb and diffuse this energy. The design of these MSE walls for avalanche protection requires engineering expertise backed by full-scale testing, field experience, and know-how. Reinforced Earth Company Ltd. (RECo) has worked with local authorities in several locations across the world to develop tailored solutions for avalanche protection.

Our steel mesh facing MSE walls for avalanche protection are an excellent option to build embankments that would act as avalanche barriers, splitters, and catching dams with facing angles that can vary from 34° to 75°. We offer the TerraTrel® engineered solution for these conditions and the TerraTrel® structures are built of steel mesh facing with soil reinforcements comprised of either steel or geosynthetics.

This solution has the advantage of being made from lightweight elements making it easy to transport and does not require heavy lifting machinery for installation. This is especially beneficial when the structures are built in remote mountainous areas that are not easily accessible for heavy equipment.

Sheds and galleries

We can build avalanche protection sheds and galleries using our TechSpan® precast arches, which have proven to be efficient for avalanche protection applications. For adjoining retaining walls to be built within narrow excavation limits, we often design using T-Wall™ precast modular retaining walls because of the narrow footprint of this solution.

Long-term savings

RECo’s engineered avalanche barriers and splitter walls are build using MSE walls for avalanche protection and are economical, highly durable, and easy to install with little or no maintenance requirements.