A growing concern from community members over safety hazards at the intersection of Rybolt Rd and Wesselman Rd influenced Hamilton County officials to act. The development of a multifamily subdivision along Rybolt would increase daily traffic along the road significantly. In April of 2014, the Hamilton County Engineer’s Office released construction plans for a $5.76 million-dollar project to update the intersection at Rybolt and Wesselman. The roads would be widened, flattened, and straightened, adding dedicated turn lanes and new sewer lines. The plan also stated that the retaining walls that had previously lined the intersection would be replaced.

Due to the widening of the road, the previous retaining walls would be removed, and new walls would be set-back farther towards the surrounding private property. While tight property lines can serve as a challenge, precast modular blocks from Redi-Rock are able to easily function without external reinforcement, alleviating spatial concerns.

The wall design incorporated Redi-Rock units with intermittent 16-5/8” horizontal set-backs that maximized the design height while reducing the verticality of the taller retaining walls.

All eight retaining walls were designed by JC Hines & Associates, with Redi-Rock blocks supplied by Redi-Rock Structures of OKI. The final face area of the walls exceeded 11,250 square feet.