SMUD Solano 4 Wind Project

Fisher Associates and Clark Bros. Construction teamed up to design the network of haul roads for the Solano 4 Wind Project near Suisun City, California. Poor soils and the demands of heavily loaded delivery and construction equipment required the support of costly and time-consuming 24” thick aggregate haul roads.

Looking for solutions to address these construction challenges, the design team reached out to Tensar for help. Local Tensar reps visited the site and conducted DCP tests on the subgrade along the future haul roads. Loading specs provided by the trailer supplier were applied and Tensar+ software was used to calculate a heavy haul road design based on in situ subgrade strengths. The mechanically stabilized layer (MSL) incorporating InterAx geogrid reduced the required section thickness from 24” to 10”, while being able to adequately support the heavy haul traffic.