At an estimated cost of $53.2 million, New Circle Road was slated to undergo widening construction between US Hwy 60 and US Hwy 421. This massive project would consist of three miles of lane additions (in each direction), shoulder widening, ramp realignments, and bridge widening. On top of all that, several retaining walls were required to provide necessary grade transitions with the proposed improvements.

There would be eight soldier pile cantilever retaining walls, several of which would have exposed heights exceeding 15 feet with minimal set-back from the available right-of-way. These types of wall systems can be tough on the project schedule and budget.

Following the finalization of the contract, the general contractor began working with Redi-Rock K.I.T. and the Kentucky DOT (Department of Transportation) to explore value engineering alternatives for the costly and time-consuming construction of the drilled pier soldier pile walls. As consulting engineers to Redi-Rock K.I.T., JC Hines & Associates was called upon to “make it work” with Redi-Rock’s precast retaining wall system.

The initial structural evaluation was accomplished by the design team in three short days, returning accurate material quantities to Redi-Rock, who were able to confidently offer a furnish-and-install proposal to the general contractor for the value engineering alternative. The proposal was accepted swiftly, and the design team at JC Hines was set loose to produce preliminary design drawings with supporting structural calculations for review by the DOT.

The design team pulled together and delivered the extensive preliminary design submittal in just 24 hours.

In the end, JC Hines & Associates completed the design for nine Redi-Rock retaining wall structures along New Circle Road. The Ledgestone Redi-Rock walls, totaling nearly 41,000 square-feet, saved critical weeks in the overall construction schedule and delivered savings to the project of over $450,000.