Railway Ditch

In March of 2011, Concrete Canvas Geosynthetic Cementitious Composite Mat was used to redirect water and stop erosion that was undermining a railway on a Canadian National rail line. Water was coming down the hill off the nearby highway and was pooling near the tracks. This was causing erosion that was undermining the railway.

It was unfeasible to remove the track to repair the rail bed. The railroad company needed a solution that would protect the rail bed from becoming compromised. The solution was to line the ditch to redirect water flow to a nearby culvert.

The Titan Solution

Workers used a rail cart to deliver the product to site and brought in a excavator by rail unroll the bulk of CC.

Batched rolls were used for the ditch portion of the project. CC in man-portable batched rolls were ideal for this job due to the remote location and difficult terrain.

Shotcrete was considered, however the surface was very uneven and would require extensive preparation that would be cost prohibitive and require machinery that would have been difficult to maneuver in this area. Further, because the site was rail only, it would incredibly costly to bring in equipment necessary for other applications.

Concrete Canvas® (CC) is a Geosynthetic Cementitious Composite Mat (GCCM), a factory-produced material combining cement within geosynthetic layers that hardens when hydrated for erosion control and weed suppression.