Steve Barnett Case Study Description
When the SCDOT had severe erosion on a slope face of an overpass bridge on I-26 in Spartanburg County, they turned to a proven solution. Having already used Combat Concrete GCCM material for a similar application, they knew its value. In both cases water coming off the bridge approach was running under a guardrail, then down the slope of the approach embankment causing erosion of the slope face. CC material was used to create a flared inlet to funnel the water to the flume or downslope swale. This created a structure similar to SCDOT Standard Drawings 403-205 and 403-210.
Solution
Hot mix asphalt or cast-in-place concrete are common solutions for these types of problems, but cast-in-place, especially, is a multi-step process that can add days to a small project such as this.
The unique attributes on Combat Concrete GCCM include the ability to custom shape the material to the contours of the finished grade after the earthwork is completed to fill the previous erosion. The GCCM material also fits with the landscaping plan, which included the addition of trees and shrubs.
The photograph to the left shows the positive aesthetics achieved with CC GCCM.
Results
Concrete material was used again for this project because of its flexibility to conform to the terrain, which made this an easy installation. The material can be installed by the earthmoving contractor with no subcontractors and is competitive against hot mix asphalt or cast-in-place concrete.
The GCCM material was a very small part of the cost for this project, which required a significant amount of earthwork to correct the erosion. About $2,000 of Combat Concrete material was used for this project.
