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How to Stop Island Soil Erosion with a Segmental Retaining Wall Solution

Project Name

Blue Bell Island Restoration #109

Customer Name
Village of Grand Rapids, Ohio

Block Manufacturer
Redi-Rock of Northwest Ohio

Wall Installer
Weilnau Excavating and the Village of Grand Rapids

Project Location
Grand Rapids, Ohio

Year Built
2009

Project Scope

The Historic Village of Grand Rapids, Ohio is located about 25 miles Southwest of Toledo on the Maumee River. Walking around the Village of Grand Rapids, it's obvious how much this community deeply cares about preserving the important historic aspects of the town. This sense of preservation recently came into play when the Village was faced with the task of renovating Blue Bell Island.

Blue Bell Island is located in the old Miami and Erie Sidecut Canal basin branching off of the Maumee River. The island once served as a turnaround on the canal, but over the years the canal had become filled with silt runoff and other debris from the river. The historic landmark island measures about 50 ft. in diameter and is elevated 9 ft. off of the canal bottom.

The original wall that prevented the island from eroding was failing and had become a recurring issue as seasonal flooding and ice damage from freeze-thaw cycles ripped it apart. Each year, this wall either needed to be repaired or rebuilt in certain sections.

The Village Council joined forces with the local Historical Society to discuss different options for the island. Wary of the costs of installing a permanent solution, they made plans to complete a temporary repair of the island's walls, then return later to do a permanent repair. When Brian Harman of Redi-Rock of Northwest Ohio heard this, he presented the village with the option of using Redi-Rock as a permanent solution that could be installed quickly and cost effectively.

"After they saw how great Redi-Rock looked and how quickly it could be installed, they immediately fell in love with the natural stone appearance of the face of the Redi-Rock blocks. They liked that Redi-Rock could provide a permanent solution now, instead of doing a temporary fix and later having to do it again," Harman said.

An added benefit Redi-Rock offered was its proven track record for durability in freeze-thaw cycles. Redi-Rock blocks are constructed of durable, wet-cast concrete which has proven effective in multiple freeze-thaw cycles. Redi-Rock is an ideal solution for shoreline protection and erosion control in water applications due to the massive size of each block—which allows walls to be installed quickly and built taller without reinforcement than other options.

Shortly after Harman's presentation, the Village and Historical Society decided to begin construction.

The canal was drained so that crews from Weilnau Excavating and the Village of Grand Rapids could install the wall, which was constructed within two days after the blocks were delivered. The retaining wall was completed in May of 2009 and the canal has been filled up with water. The Village of Grand Rapids is currently working on a final landscaping plan for the rest of the site.

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