In 2016, Rozier Construction prepared to build a discount sporting-goods store in Starkville. Located just off MS Hwy 12, Academy Sports + Outdoor had acquired an 11-acre undeveloped site that would require access roads, a parking lot, and two retaining walls.

To stabilize the terrain, two 6-foot-tall retaining walls were proposed along the access road. Though modest in height, the walls would support 5H:1V crest slopes of similar elevation in marginal soil conditions.

A geotechnical report revealed on-site soils with limited shear strength and a tendency for unstable expansion. Both walls would be built in high-plasticity clay.

Rozier Construction, serving as contractor, had prior experience installing precast wall systems and working with MMC Materials, the regional Redi-Rock supplier. MMC partnered with JC Hines & Associates to develop preliminary designs for two Redi-Rock gravity walls.

The final design used 41-inch blocks at the base, transitioning to 28-inch units at the top. To address shrinkage risks from expansive clay, crews excavated two feet below the leveling pad and backfilled with compacted lean clay. Instead of a standard crushed stone pad, JC Hines & Associates engineered a 12-inch concrete leveling pad that would further mitigate the effects of shrinkage and swelling in the soil.

Completed later that year, the walls totaled 1,000 square feet of face area.

Redi-Rock precast units supplied by MMC Materials.