ABSTRACT
The concept of reinforced soil was first applied in Turkey with the Web-Soil and reinforced earth technologies. These types of modern technologies were mainly introduced to Turkish engineers with the highway construction, which started as early as the 1970s, but got extensive during the 1980s. The technology-approved by the Turkish Highway Administration and observed by other engineers as being successful and economical-found itself application opportunities on other construction sites. Geosynthetic reinforcements were introduced in the construction of reinforced slopes with the overwrap technique. Both geotextiles and geogrids were used as reinforcing elements for the reinforced slope projects. Most of these applications were used on projects where public visibility was not possible; however, a few exceptions exist. An experimental wall, built in 1993, was the first geosynthetic wall where the backfill consists of lime treated clay. The objective of that wall was to investigate the replacement of granular material with an improved cohesive backfill with emphasis on real measurements and observation of field behavior. The first geosynthetic reinforced segmental retaining wall was constructed during the summer of 1997. It was a project realized for the Highway Administration. It was used to elevate an existing road to pass over a tunnel portal. Generally, this wall was stepping stone for further progress in Turkey with such technology. It is expected that many similar walls will be constructed, with the same fashion, in the near future. A brief summary for every technique used and improvement made in the area is given below under proper headings.
