Concrete Ready Mix Plant

The proposed concrete plant in Innisfil presented major geotechnical challenges from the start. Variable soil conditions across the site created serious risks for heavy traffic and critical infrastructure. A geotechnical investigation confirmed extremely weak subgrades, with California Bearing Ratio (CBR) values as low as 0.25%, raising concerns around rutting, settlement, and long-term stability.

The Owner needed a solution capable of supporting approximately 55 heavy truck movements per day—nearly 200,000 over a 10‑year period—while protecting circulation areas, ramps, fire routes, and underground services. Simply adding more granular material wasn’t practical; it would have driven up costs through excessive excavation and material import, without fully addressing differential settlement risks beneath key structures like the batch plant and water containment vault.

Tensar stepped in early to assess the true severity of the subgrade conditions. Field evaluations, including DCP testing, confirmed extremely low soil strengths and reinforced the need for a smarter approach. Tensar developed targeted, performance‑based geogrid solutions tailored to each functional area of the site.

Our Partners: The project also incorporated Geopier® Rammed Aggregate Pier® solutions to address foundation support requirements. Geosolv Design + Build supplied and installed the Geopier system, while Terrafix Geosynthetic Inc. provided the geogrid materials used in Tensar’s ground improvement design.