The Great Retaining Wall of Minnesota
This residential community in Plymouth, MN needed new retaining walls.
Several of walls were failing, and it was becoming a safety issue for the community. The homeowners’ association called on Southview Design to repair/rebuild glacial boulder and modular block walls.
Our commercial design/build teams worked together to execute a plan for completing the project safely and on time. Six crews have rotated through the project. Using a CAT excavator with a clam and two loaders, they carefully took one wall after another apart and rebuilt them. Lifting and placing the boulders with an excavator requires significant skill. Each boulder has a unique shape and must be placed like pieces of a puzzle to remain in place for many years to come. The walls need to be solid because, in some cases, damage to homes was a concern if it was not done right.
There are 12 boulder walls and 8 modular walls. Of the boulder walls, the tallest is 14’ and the shortest is 6’. The modular block walls range from 7’ in height to 2’. The longest wall – a boulder wall – is 300LF and the shortest is 25’. The largest boulders are 72” in diameter.
Southview Design started the project in early March 2020 and is expected to finish in August.