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Reinforced Soil Wall technology is an innovative method of construction of retaining walls where instead of regarding soil as a mass to be contained by force, the soil itself is reinforced to become an integral part of the structure that is inherently flexible, easy to construct and economical.

Reinforced Soil Walls offer the following advantages over conventional retaining walls:

Economy: The low cost of elements and simple efficient means of erection realize significant cost savings when compared with traditional forms of construction Speed: The speed of construction is much faster than for a reinforced concrete structure. This is particularly advantageous where other critical activities, such as highway earthworks, depend upon retaining wall construction for rapid completion. Aesthetics: The distinctive pre-formed facing unit can be cast with a variety of attractive patterns, and in a number of colours to blend in with the surroundings. Gabion facia can also be provided to match with the natural environment Simple to construct: Construction is very simple and can be done by unskilled labour with light plant. Low bearing capacity requirements: The flexible nature of a reinforced soil structure ensures that structures can be constructed successfully on soils with low bearing capacity and on which conventional rigid forms of construction would require expensive foundations or ground treatment. Seismic Resistance: Reinforced Soil Walls being inherently flexible structures perform better than rigid form of construction like RCC Walls in event of earthquakes. Less space required for construction: Most of the construction activities are carried out from inside leading to reduced space requirement on the outer side.
Maccaferri offers the following Reinforced Soil Wall Systems:

Paraweb Reinforced Soil Walls: Paraweb Reinforced Soil Wall consists of Paraweb as the main reinforcement which is connected to the facing through a loop and toggle arrangement to ensure 100 % connection strength. The facing is made up of thin panels of lightly reinforced concrete which can be cast in a variety of shapes and finishes to get the desired aesthetics ParaWeb is the first polymeric material to have been used for Soil Reinforcement. The first Paraweb Wall structure was built under the auspices of the Transport Research Lab at its Crowthorne facility in 1977. Samples of Paraweb are periodically extracted for tests to demonstrate the long term performance characteristics of the material. The experience gained in the construction & monitoring of this structure resulting in publication in 1978 of the first UK Department of Transport Technical memorandum for reinforced Soil Walls. The first reinforced soil wall in India was constructed using Paraweb as reinforcement by Soil Structures International Ltd. in 1988 – an ROB on GT Road (National Highway 1) in Ludhiana, with maximum height at 10m and total wall area at 9000m2 approx. Millions of square meters of Paraweb walls have been constructed all around the globe.

Terramesh Reinforced Soil Walls: Terramesh is a soil reinforcement system which consists of panels of double twist hexagonal woven heavy zinc and PVC coated wire mesh used for stabilizing steep slopes and vertical walls. A Terramesh unit comprises a continuous horizontal panel of mechanically woven steel wire mesh or Geogrid with an integral gabion fascia unit. The fascia unit is filled with hard durable rock-fill, identical to a gabion, and the wire mesh/ Geogrid tail is then sandwiched between layers of compacted granular backfill. Layers of Terramesh units are then constructed to form reinforced soil retaining structures of the required height. Terramesh has the aesthetics of a gabion structure, with the reassurance and robustness of soil reinforcement system.

Maccaferri started its experience in Reinforced Soil using double twisted wire mesh with a structure built in Sabah (Malaysia) in 1979.

Segmental Block Walls: Segmental Block walls consist of modular blocks made up of plain concrete as facing and PET geogrid as soil reinforcement. The facing blocks are light in weight (and hence easy to handle) and interlock with each other.