FRF Motors, one of Swansea's largest car dealerships wanted to extend their car lot but the land available was 7·5 meters lower than their existing garage.

Filling the land and building a retaining structure was suggested but most options were a problem because there was no room to grade out due to the road below and the schemes suggested reduced the size of the car lot.

Phi Group proposed their Titan Modular block reinforced earth system. This can be constructed vertically and acts as a retaining wall by linking the face to soil reinforcement.

At 7·5 metres high and 240 metres long the wall covered an area of over 1500m2. Build duration took three months and considerable savings were made using existing site material for 15000m3 of backfill.

The project was running smoothly until a 2·5m deep french drain was discovered in front of the wall, however Phi Group engineers were quickly able to recheck the design and rapidly provide a practical solution to overcome any concerns about instability and avoid costly delays.

Gareth Francis of FRF Motors said "We are very pleased with the work of Phi Group and would certainly use them again. The new wall has given us a lot more space and as it's vertical, at this height gives us the additional benefit of security."

The Titan Modular Block System is ideal for this type of application. It has been granted BBA Certification for Roads and Bridges and blocks are available in a range of colours to match different architectural and aesthetic requirements.