Geosynthetics April/May 2020 - 47

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT | ROADWAYS/INFRASTRUCTURE

TenCate Geosynthetics Americas

Price River Terminal-
Rail Settlement Mitigation

he Price River Terminal in Wellington, Utah, is the Uinta Oil Basin's newest crude-byrail transloading facility. During a portion of the rail extension project, soft clay and silt
subgrade were encountered. Exacerbating the poor soils, a retention basin located uphill from the current project area was known
to leak and saturate the soils downhill. These soils had the potential to shrink and swell during periods of saturation and drying.
The owner was primarily concerned that the need for continuous
maintenance of the track and differential settlement would waste
valuable resources and could pose a major safety concern.
Differential settlement of the track posed both a safety concern
and a continuous expense required to maintain acceptable track
alignment. The project team members had explored various options
to mitigate rail settlement, but none of those options provided the
long-term solution they were seeking. The project team requested
a continuous defense against moisture accumulation below the
track surface. The geotechnical engineer determined that subgrade
stabilization and a moisture management system were required for
successful mitigation of differential settlement concerns.
Construction took place during winter months and the soil was FIGURE 5 Mirafi H2Ri system along the tracks at the Price River
frozen and difficult to move and place, indicating a high moisture Terminal. Photograph courtesy TenCate Geosynthetics Americas
content. The project team was searching for a solution that could
help remove the water in unsaturated conditions. Previous studies conducted by other entities
and TenCate Geosynthetics proved that reducing moisture in soils that have the potential
to swell and shrink can reduce differential settlement by creating a more uniform moisture
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
content. Mirafi H2Ri was selected and the constructed solution was placed directly above
PRICE RIVER TERMINAL-RAIL
the existing subgrade, 6 inches (15.2 cm) of subballast and 15 inches (38.1 cm) of ballast
SETTLEMENT MITIGATION
(Figure 5). The H2Ri system also served as an active moisture management system, reducing
the overall moisture content through continuous moisture reduction. In addition, the H2Ri
GEOSYNTHETICS PRODUCER,
SUPPLIER AND FABRICATOR
provided separation between the fines in the subgrade soils and the ballast, confinement to
TenCate
Geosynthetics Americas
prevent lateral spread of the ballast, and high tensile reinforcement to improve the overall
capacity of the section to support railroad loading.
ENGINEER
The project team members expressed that during their discovery phase of evaluating difJohansen & Tuttle Engineering
ferent options, they did not find any other solution to keep them on schedule and provide
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
a long-term solution to alleviate differential settlement concerns. The contractor noted that
Mountain States Contracting
installation was simple, and since they included a separation geotextile below the ballast in
PROJECT MANAGER
their original plans, the installation of the H2Ri did not add any additional construction time
AND INSTALLER
or cost to the project. The only additional cost was the material itself, which provided signifiNeilson Construction
cant savings over the alternative of over-excavating and bringing in stronger fill material. The
GEOSYNTHETICS PRODUCT
project was an overall success during installation and during its first thaw cycle in spring 2019.
Mirafi
Rail alignment/settlement and performance will continue to be assessed in years to come. G
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Geosynthetics April/May 2020

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