Design and construction of the largest reinforced soil walls project in Cyprus

The paper refers to the design and construction of the largest reinforced soil walls project in Cyprus. The overall project includes reinforced soil wall (RSW) and true bridge abutment structures for the perimeter highway in Lefkosia, the Germasoyeias - Akrountas – Dierona - Arakapa road in Akrounta, the northern bypass of Geroskipou in municipal boundaries Paphos Konia, the Limassol - Saittas Motorway. The project, with a total of 22 RSW with 23,471 m² of wall facing, is considered the largest reinforced soil walls application in the country. The walls were designed and built as reinforced fill structures, with precast concrete panel facing elements and polymeric reinforcing strips according to the the Limit Equilibrium design approach and Eurocode 7 (EN 1997). All Cyprus is a seismic area, with peak ground acceleration varying from region to region in the range 0.15–0.25 g. The paper reports the design procedure for the RSW, both in static and seismic conditions. Construction details are introduced and illustrated by photos and sketches.