Target Parking Lot Reconstruction

The existing pavement section consisted of between 6” and 9” of asphalt placed directly on top of a moderate plasticity clay. The initial plan was to remove 10” of material and install 6” of aggregate base course and 4” of asphalt pavement. However, after excavating 10” down, areas of pumping and rutting were encountered with ruts of up to 3”. The owner could not afford a costly and time-consuming fix given the high activity of this Target store and the need to get the parking lot reconstructed as quickly as possible.

Kimley-Horn reached out to Tensar for a solution that would stabilize the subgrade and fix the pumping and rutting problems without adding more excavation and time to the project. Tensar engineers recommended a solution using the exact aggregate and asphalt pavement section design that was initially intended, but with the addition of Tensar HX165 geogrid underneath the aggregate base. The HX165 laterally confined the aggregate and created a base that didn’t pump or rut. Construction continued unimpeded.