Golden Hills Wind Farm Project

Access roads needed to be constructed to support heavy turbine loads with a tight schedule for completion. The project site consisted of loess deposits in an agricultural setting. Limited water access for the moisture treatment of the 

aggregate layer also posed a challenge. The original design section called for 10 inches of AB over geotextile with subgrade compaction.

The Tensar representative visited the project site to perform DCP testing and confirmed the soil conditions before and after subgrade compaction. Next, a design analysis was performed utilizing the ACOE’s PCASE design software. The Tensar geogrid design reduced the section to 6 inches of AB over Tensar

geogrid and maintained the required performance. This solution also reduced the water usage, required material and saved valuable time. Approximately $630k in construction costs were saved. This also resulted in several environmental benefits like avoiding pollution of nearby water sources.