Coopernook To Herons Creek Pacific Highway Upgrade – Geosynthetics Over Soft Ground

As part of the Pacific Highway Upgrade by the New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA), the Coopernook to Herons Creek section presented some interesting challenges with deep soft soil profiles. High strength soil reinforcement geosynthetics were used over piled foundation to stabilise bridge abutments. In other areas a working platform and access road to support a 300T crane also represented an opportunity for a composite geosynthetic geogrid reinforced pavement design. The paper examines the pavement design adopted, the critical design parameters, the benefits and savings to a traditional pavement and the contractors’ experiences with the unique composite used on site within this case study.