South of Ethel, at the intersection of Hwy 12 and Hwy 739, Dollar General plotted to open a new store. This store would be home to an innovative retaining wall: one of the first of its kind in the state of Mississippi.

In the fall of 2015, JC Hines & Associates designed a Redi-Rock Positive Connection (PC) wall system to support the parking area in front of the store. The PC system utilizes 12-inch-wide strips of polyester geogrid to pass through a vertical core slot in the wet-cast, precast modular retaining wall units to create a unique type of mechanically stabilized earth wall.

At 13.5-feet-tall, the PC wall was designed adjacent to a stormwater detention pond that provides temporary surface drainage storage between the Dollar General and Hwy 12. The Redi-Rock wall is designed to withstand regular flood waters through the installation of free-draining granular backfill in the reinforced zone. The result of the design is a system that is perfectly suited for a critical water application.

This 2,024 square-foot wall system was completed in 2016 by Rozier Construction, with Redi-Rock units manufactured by MMC Materials, Inc..