EMPLOYING GABIONS ON EARTHWORKS CONSTRUCTION

Abstract

Landslides and erosion control is one of the most challenging tasks that road engineers have to face day in and day out in every country of the world. One solution that stands out in the specialized literature on the subject is the use of  gabions, which by definition are baskets usually of prismatic shape fabricated from a hexagonal mesh of heavily galvanized steel wire. The baskets are filled with  medium size rocks so that they can minimize the effects of side thrust forces and , at the same time, facilitate drainage of the roadway and the surrounding terrain. This paper aims to analyze state-of-the-art concepts and practices on the field of gabions usage on earthwork constructions. To achieve those goals we have comprehensively went over a sizable part of the available literature on the topic obtained from high-end databases as well as several levels of academic research material. Among other considerations , our paper accomplished a conceptualization of gabions by several authors, its current classification, the various  reasons to employ them and the manifold advantages of its use in road infrastructure works.