Embankment Stabilization

Slope Stabilization for Homeowner in Ohio

My wife and I live in Ohio and we are residential clients of GSI. Your team has been securing our lakefront cliff face over the past two weeks. I am writing you today to commend you on your outstanding team members.

We had three rows of soil nails installed across about a 170' cliff edge overlooking Lake Erie. These were connected with a steel mesh, and the shotcrete facing is being finished as I write. We have been nothing but pleased with the results. In general, I can tell you that your crew has been dependable, respectful, friendly, polite, and quiet (at least as quiet as they can be). They have been flexible in their plans, and they have worked extremely hard. They even clean up after themselves after work each day. I have to say that I wasn't sure what to expect, but we have been pleasantly surprised.

The project manager, Jared McDowell, has really kept the project moving -- they will finish almost a week early. There have been some roadblocks along the way - like locating a private underground natural gas pipeline in the yard and dealing with trouble getting machinery due to hurricanes - but Jared found a way to keep things going in the right direction. He was personable, and he listened to our concerns and answered our questions. I also appreciate the fact the he never gave the impression that he was too busy to talk to us. The other primary crew members Dylan Battaglia, Michal Kopij, Aaron Cordova are tremendous workers and nice guys. We would gladly work with them again if the need ever arose.

I would also like to make a special note about our project development engineer, Greg Bachman. Thank goodness for him. We live at the end of a cul-de-sac, and we needed written permission from our neighbor to cross part of his lawn. Let's just say that our neighbor is a challenging person, and leave it at that. Greg spent several weeks meeting with different local engineering firms because our neighbor trusted their opinions and would not sign until the local firms saw our plans. I think most other compaines would have bailed at that point, but Greg stuck with us. Greg then had a face to face meeting with our neighbor and even agreed to have the GSI legal team simplify the contract language for Al's benefit. He also managed all the dealings with the city for permitting and the SWPPP plans. We are so grateful to have the GSI solution implemented as it was really the only cost-effective option available to us -- other than letting our property fall into Lake Erie. Greg went WAY above and beyond, and we can't thank him enough. I told Greg that if he ever needs a reference, we are here for him.

This has been a really long endeavor, and we are so pleased to have the solution in place. It is a great feeling to know that our family and friends will be able to enjoy the view and feel completely safe. Thank you for your solution and congratulations on fielding a great team. Best of luck to you in the future.

Slope Stabilization for Pipeline Project in West Virginia

As told by GSI Project Development Engineer: A pipeline contractor dug a trench through the county road, down a steep bank, below a stream, and then up the next mountain to install the pipes. When they went to backfill the pipes in the roadway and embankment, the soil slipped and they couldn’t keep the backfill in place. We got a call to come out and look at the site. We gave them a proposal to build a GCS toe buttress at the stream bed, and then have the pipeline contractor construct a reinforced slope to rebuild the embankment. As the GCS was nearing the top, a WVDOH engineer stopped out to the site. The engineer was asking the pipeline contractor what the plan was, as he had general concern that the road would be repaired back to his satisfaction. As soon as the contractor mentioned GSI was working on the job, the county engineer said ‘OK, as long as GSI is on the job, I’m good here’.

Emergency Retaining Wall Repair in New Mexico

I had the opportunity to work with GSI on an emergency repair of an earth retaining wall on Highway NM 475 at MM 11. This project was an emergency repair because the earth retaining wall is part of the roadway embankment, which was failing. Also, NM 475 is the only highway used to get to Ski Santa Fe. The NMDOT requested that GSI have repairs to the wall made before the kickoff to ski season. As I remember, there was not much advanced notice to proceed given. GSI was able to work in inclement weather, traveling hazardous roadways to get to the job site. The crew was good, they concentrated on production. They understood that this project needed to be expedited. The crew worked like a well-oiled machine. Apparently, some of the crew worked together on a previous project for six weeks. It showed because, for example, if one guy needed a pipe wrench, another guy already had it ready for him. Like I said above, the crew worked on production, they hustled, and did it all in a very safe manner. At the end, the wall had been completely repaired two days after the opening of Ski Santa Fe, which was good for all. I would highly recommend GSI on any future NMDOT projects.