FlexMSE Bank Revetment
Client: Highways & Transport, North Somerset Council
Location: Public Footpath
Service: Erosion control
Project Outline:
We were contacted by the North Somerset Council to find a solution to prevent the erosion of a bank which was undermining a public footpath.
Installation of a FlexMSE bag retaining wall to alleviate the erosion occurring on Ashton Brook
A well-used footpath owned by North Somerset Council and running along the Ashton Brook in Long Ashton was being eroded by the brook and required an erosion control solution. The bank is steep, and the footpath is narrow and inaccessible to large machinery. Our methodology needed to consider the accessibility and the site conditions. We decided on FlexMSE bags as they could be carried in and installed by hand.
Access to the brook was by ladder, allowing safe egress to the works area. A trench was dug along the base of the bank, the width was that of a FlexMSE bag, and this formed the base of the retaining structure.
The bags in the first layer are filled with free-draining gravels. FlexMSE plates are installed along the joints of the bags and bags in subsequent layers are filled with a course sand/soil mix.
Most of the work was done by hand including filling the bags on site. Every second layer was compacted level to give a regular finish. Backfilling was done if required with a course, granular material to allow water to drain away.
To aid the establishment of vegetation, grass seed was sown on top of the bags.
The images of the site one year on show how well the revetment works have blended into the bank. The footpath is safe from collapse and the client is very happy with the solution.
We provide several erosion control solutions including willow spiling, coir rolls, combination solutions using stone, FlexMSE and rock rolls. They are ideal where sites are inaccessible or where there is a need to keep maintenance to a minimum and solutions looking natural. Plus, natural erosion control solutions are often a fraction of the cost of hard landscaping solutions.
