GABION WALLS

Gabion walls are fundamentally modular gravity walls. They utilize uniform baskets sizes to construct a system with varying overall depths to develop the mass required to resist the lateral forces applied such as saturated soil or surcharge loadings. Gabion baskets are fully enclosed containers constructed of a wire form and wire mesh facing with varying gauges and securing rings or coils. The baskets are filled with aggregate and enclosed to create one unit. The typical application for gabion baskets is a water application where they are expected to be partially to fully submerged. The rock within the gabion basket creates a free-draining wall face eliminating the effects of a rapid drawdown condition. In addition to the free draining nature of the system, gabion baskets are capable of deforming with the subgrade under extreme settlement without cracking and are constructed of galvanized steel making them ideal for channel applications.

Before considering the use of gabion walls in your design, some things to consider are:

• Sometimes criticized as being unsightly. But the use of attractive facing stone toward the front of the wall and by establishing vegetation in the spaces between the rocks can mitigate this.
• More expensive than either vegetated slopes or riprap.
• The wire baskets may be subject to heavy wear and tear due to wire abrasion by bedload movement in streams with high velocity flow.
• Can be difficult to install, requiring large equipment.

Considering gabion walls for your next project?  Contact us to learn more and let us help you find the right design solution for your project.