WORK to reconstruct the retaining wall on the Nepean Highway in Frankston begins this week.

The wall was under construction in April when it experienced movement and collapsed.

As a result, VicRoads engaged ARUP Pty Ltd, an external consultant, to do an independent investigation into the incident.

VicRoads regional director Metro South East, Peter Todd, said that a gabion wall was still the most appropriate structure for the site, subject to the use of a lighter backfilling material, which will reduce the load imposed on it.

"A gabion retaining wall is flexible, strong, durable and cost effective. It involves minimal excavation in its construction and allows the growth of vegetation, which enhances the environment," Mr Todd said.

The new retaining wall design has been independently verified to ensure the safety of road users and workers.

The reconstruction of the new wall began on October 15.

No lanes will be closed to motorists as a result of the works.

But VicRoads requests that all road users observe the 40km/h speed limit.

The bicycle lane and footpath will continue to be unavailable for use throughout the duration of the work.

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HAVE YOUR SAY: Slow going as Frankston retaining wall work resumes

RACINE Students at Racine Unifieds Mack Center have been busy in art class the past three weeks, breaking tiles and arranging them just right for a water-themed mosaic that will decorate the retaining wall outside the buildings entrance.

Students finished designing mosaic sections last week and those sections should be installed outside this week.

Its actually pretty cool that everybody will see it, said 16-year-old sophomore Connor Christensen, a special education student who worked on the mosaic along with about 60 other regular and special education students enrolled in art at the Mack Center, a Racine Unified program housed at 1325 Park Ave. that helps misbehaving and credit-deficient sixth- through 12th-graders get on track and back into their regular schools.

Mack Center art teacher Megan Goers came up with the mosaic idea in talks with a special education teacher.

We just started thinking about public works of art and getting our kids involved with something thats a little bit bigger, Goers said. A lot of our students have rough home lives and they dont really have much that happens that they can really be proud about so that was our goal to allow them to beautify their community and take pride in a space.

To fund the mosaic, Goers received some grant money from Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church, 625 College Ave., and then got donations of necessary supplies, she said. A mosaic is constructed using bits of tile, glass, stone or other materials that get grouted together to reveal a larger picture or design.

Mack Center students started their mosaic construction by measuring the buildings 50-foot long retaining wall, which ranges in height from 21 inches to 18.5 inches. It was selected as the mosaic site because the Mack Center building itself is a historic site and cannot be altered, Goers said.

The mosaic location set, students smashed and sorted tiles Im talking kids with safety glasses and gloves and hammers, Goers said. and then arranged the broken pieces into 1-foot by about 1-foot sections.

You had to fit different pieces in different areas to see what ones went best, student Connor said. It was fun to figure out what pieces went where.

When all the sections get grouted put together outside this week, the mosaic will show the Root River flowing along the retaining walls western side.

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Mack Center students create outdoor mosaic

MINNEAPOLIS, MN--(Marketwire - Oct 10, 2012) - Allan Block Corporation, a leading provider of retaining walls, today announced the launch of its Residential Retaining Walls Estimator for the Android phones and tablets.This app is a fully featured estimating tool that guides a user through the step-by-step process of estimating a retaining wall project.This release is following up to the popular release of the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch version back in May 2012.

This user-friendly app has 5 quick steps to enter the information for the project and then has the ability to email the user a complete detailed package with everything needed to get started.This package includes wall drawings in an easy to read format, a listing of local suppliers ready to assist the customer and a complete material list for all of the available AB block collections -- so the user can see the difference and make a choice.

This app is also a great benefit to the contractors bidding projects.Using the simple steps to enter the project's information, they can use the detailed package as a professional proposal to potential customers which saves them time and resources.

Also included within this app is a photo gallery where you can browse through the project photos to find ideas and see the different styles of the Allan Block Retaining Wall products.Check out the Featured Projects to see examples of successful projects from all over the world.Use the app along with our website http://www.allanblock.com to find the installation details, giving the user everything they need to plan, design and build an Allan Block project.

Allan Block has millions of square feet of retaining wall products installed throughout the world, and has the resources to deliver performance and quality to every project.The Allan Block products are inspired by nature and manufactured with recycled materials in order to increase efficiency and minimize the footprint we have on the world we live in.

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Allan Block Releases an Android Version Estimator App for Residential Retaining Walls

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

This week's nasty forecast is making nearlytwo dozenNorth Charlotte homeowners nervous.

They said with each rainstorm the wall that's holding up theirbackyardskeeps lurching outward, and they're worried about safety.

Homeowners in the Sonoma Village community have been battling for months with building company DR Horton to fix the retaining wall that keeps their backyards from falling into a marsh.

"Every rain you just pray you still have a house when you come home," said homeowner Layla McCall.

McCall showed Eyewitness News the 6-foot wall that keeps her backyard from slipping into the undeveloped marsh.

"Our issue is it's eroding here, and eventually this wall is going to fall," McCall said. "You just worry if the wall is falling today. You worry if this the day you come home and your house is in this natural wetland."

Nearly two-dozenresidents said for the last few months bricks along the wall are moving and sliding, and cracks have started to develop -- small at first, then bigger with every rainstorm.

"This is definitely a safety risk because if this wall goes, eventually it'll cause all of this ground to go, because this is a slope. Our houses will potentially fall off the foundation," McCall said.

McCall said homebuilder DR Horton added cement two years ago to fix the problem, but now they're refusing to do more.

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Homeowners battle building company over deteriorating wall

Nedburn Thaffe, Gleaner Writer

The retaining wall of an apartment complex in Liguanea, St Andrew, which has rendered a section of the Sandy Gully unstable, has raised concern about how the construction received approval from the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC).

Yesterday, Richard Azan, state minister in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, who went on a tour in the area along with a technical team, said it was clear the wall was in breach of the building code.

Azan said the KSAC should play a part in the repair work at the site as, "from observing the wall it is quite heavy and that has helped to contribute to the problem that we are having here".

Communication manager at the National Works Agency Stephen Shaw, who was also on the tour, later made it clear that the apartment buildings behind the wall did not themselves seem to be in breach of the code which stipulates that construction should take place at least 15 feet away from gullies.

"Certainly the building itself looks like it adheres to that minimum, but the retaining wall seems to be in breach. But that is something that the Town and Country Planning Authority will have to look at," Shaw said.

RESIDENTS HAVE TO ASSIST

Azan disclosed that residents occupying the complex might have to assist in whatever way possible to minimise the damage being done to the gully.

"There are some pipes from the apartment buildings that lead to the gully and I think that is contributing to the problem that we are having here," Azan said. "We need to have some discussion with the owners of the property ... they have to help in some way to control the waste water from their property."

In the meantime, Azan said repairs to the Sandy Gully could cost the Government more than $300 million, up from initial estimates.

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Approval for retaining wall at Sandy Gully leaves officials scratching heads

Two months after a midsummer flash flood wreaked havoc on a vibrant neighborhood talent showcase, performers returned to tell Lyric Hall impressario John Cavaliere how much they love him. And to help him buy a new furnace and build a retaining wall.

More than 100people gathered Saturday night at the restored vaudeville theater and antiques shop on Whalley Avenue to recite, sing, and play music all in the service of launching the Lyric Hall Flood Relief Campaign, an online fundraising instrument

The aim is to raise $21,500 to replace the furnace the four-foot-high waters destroyed in the basement on Aug. 15; to restore waterlogged decaying sills; and to build a retaining wall at the rear of the property, with drainage channels appropriate to handle the heavy run-off from the West River behind the the theater, among other projects.

Within an hour of the kick-off the party and the fund, nearly $1,000 had been contributed online.

Cavaliere has restored the former vaudeville theater and opened it up to local performers from video artists to poets to composers restoring original scores to silent films. Many were on hand Saturday night to return the favor, and more.

The business that supports those effortsframing, antique restoration, furniture repair, and artisanal gildingsuffered a big blow in the flood: lost essential tools, supplies, jobs-in-progress, and other equipment.

Click here for a story with a tour by Cavaliere of the basement the day after the flood and an itemization of the damage.

The point of the Saturday night outpouring of support was not to relive the flood or to itemize the damages. It was to give a hand to Cavaliere, whose catholic tastes in the arts, humanity, and great pizza cooking in a 1930s gas oven have given a hand and even a new start to many, and transformed Lyric Hall into an essential community resource.

It was a flood, but my cup runneth over, Cavaliere quipped before he introduced the performers and they took the small, elegant stage he had restored in the theater .

James Joyce scholar Richard Stack gave a lively reading of the first published chapter of Finnegans Wake

Go here to see the original:
“Now I Have A Whole Great Big Family”

04 October 2012 | last updated at 12:40AM

Retaining walls are being built along the road to Batu Ferringhi beach to prevent soil erosion on slopes prone to landslide. Pic by Micheal Ong

Road users who had feared being hit by falling trees and boulders from the slope can heave a sigh of relief when the construction works are completed in about a fortnight.

A check by the Northern Streets to the site showed that the Works Department (JKR) had engaged two contractors to clear the slope with a backhoe before building the perimeter walls, causing disruption to the traffic flow.

Several workers were seen constructing retaining walls at two locations along the road.

A recent landslide during the morning rush hour brought down a tree, earth and boulders, missing vehicles on the road by a whisker.

The incident raised serious concerns about the safety of road users.

Many asked for remedial action as the slope along the road is prone to soil erosion, especially during heavy rain.

Mohamed Ariffin Yusoff, 32, said: "I am worried about landslides when there is a downpour. It is good to see the road authority taking measures to prevent landslides by building the wall," he said.

Another motorist, L. Shanmuggam, 41, said he was relieved to see the construction of retaining walls.

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Motorists happy with retaining walls

Engineers are still in the planning stages of working on improvements to a retaining wall on Lake Avenue.

Grand Haven Project Manager Julie Beaton said the wall project is being designed by the Wade Trim engineering firm, and it is tentatively scheduled for construction in spring 2013.

Its budgeted for that and wed like to do it then, she said. We wanted to do it when Harbor Drive was done.

City officials say the wall is failing or has failed. Sand is washing out from behind it, threatening further erosion, and possibly leading to problems with the street and private property.

City Manager Pat McGinnis said the city has identified some safety and infrastructure improvements that could inflate the cost of the project beyond the estimated $300,000.

The project will be reviewed at the Oct. 15 City Council meeting, he said.

According to McGinnis, potential changes to the project include making visibility enhancements for motorists.

If theres room in the right of way, we could dig that hill back and improve sightlines, he said.

Visibility is currently limited for motorists traversing Lake Avenue around the wall.

McGinnis also noted that it may be a good time to make repairs to road and water lines in that area, and they'll consider decorative additions to the wall all of which would hike the project's cost.

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Residents question wall plan

1 October 2012 Last updated at 14:55 ET

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George Collier (right) is accused of manslaughter due to gross negligence

A jury trying a builder after a wall he designed collapsed and killed a three-year-old girl has been warned not to "seek revenge" for her death.

Meg Burgess was crushed as she walked home with her mother in Meliden, Denbighshire, in July 2008.

Builder George Collier, 49, from Kinmel Bay, denies manslaughter.

Defence barrister Ronald Walker, QC, said it was a "natural human tendency" to want revenge, but said the case had to be judged according to the evidence.

It was not inevitable, it was the result of human error on behalf of one or more persons

Mold Crown Court has heard that the wall failed after pressure from infill which included soil, clay and builders' rubble.

The prosecution claimed Mr Collier, who had 30 years' experience, should have realised the wall was a retaining wall and needed to be secured to the foundations for added strength.

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'No revenge' plea over wall death

WALLINGFORD An ethics complaint was filed against two town councilors with various affiliations to Holy Trinity School, saying they should not have discussed town obligations for repairing a retaining wall on the schools property at two separate council meetings.

Yet nearly all of Wallingfords nine councilors have connections with the 143-year-old Holy Trinity Church, its 99-year-old school, or both.

Many councilors say that in a town of Wallingfords size, everyone is connected somehow to everything.

To me its got to be (a) direct benefit to a councilor for there to be the appearance of an ethics violation in a vote, said Jason Zandri, a Democrat.

Though the Ethics Code in the Town Charter states that no officer ... shall have any interest, financial or otherwise, direct or indirect, which is in conflict with the proper discharge of his or her official duties, Zandri said the councilors cant recuse themselves from everything to which they have some relationship or they would rarely be able to vote. Zandri used himself as an example, as a utility ratepayer in town and yet voting on items that affect the towns Electric Division and Water Department.

Zandri said he feels that the relationships of Republicans John LeTourneau and Tom Laffin with the school are too fringe to merit ethical concern. LeTourneau and Laffin are the two councilors resident Robert Gross has charged with ethics violations in discussing the wall at June 26, 2012, and Sept. 11, 2012, meetings.

LeTourneau has grandchildren at the school and a daughter on the school board, and Laffins son goes to Catholic education classes once a week at the school through the church, though the complaint alleged his son attended the school.

Both councilors have disputed the charge and will attend a Board of Ethics meeting on Tuesday at Town Hall.

Despite his grandchildrens enrollment at Holy Trinity School, and daughters seat on the board, LeTourneau is not a member of Holy Trinity Church. Laffin is a member of the church, and attended the school.

Several of the councilors not named in the complaint are parishioners at Holy Trinity Church.

Excerpt from:
Is the Holy Trinity connection a Wallingford ethics concern?