Developments in bored pile and slurry trench methods of forming retaining walls insitu together with the reduced landtake and disturbance caused by this form of construction, have led to an increase in use of embedded walls for roads below ground level. However the interaction between such structures and the adjoining ground is complex and this restricts the accuracy of predictions of behaviour made at the design stage. Field measurements of the performance of full scale structures, both during construction and in the longer term, provides an important element in research to improve understanding of the behaviour of these types of retaining wall. This Report describes a study carried out on a section of counterfort diaphragm wall on the A6, Chapel-en-le-Frith Bypass, in Derbyshire. The wall retains sloping ground comprising variable deposits of silty sand and Boulder Clay and is founded in the underlying sandstone of the Lower Coal Measures. The Report gives the results of measurements of ground movements, earth and water pressures, wall movements and deflections during construction and over a 16 month period following opening of the road to traffic. (A)
Abstract