Colorado Bike Path Built on Signature Stone’s Trusted Relationships & Redi-Rock Quality

The Challenge: Two Walls, One Seamless Solution

Creating a safe, durable, and visually appealing crossing for pedestrians and cyclists in Fort Collins, CO, meant more than just building walls—it required a long-term solution that could meet structural demands and community expectations. To support these goals, the project called for:

• Creative retaining wall solutions: One freestanding wall with a finished look on both sides, and one mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) retaining wall to support the grade.
• Parallel walls: Both walls needed to run parallel to one another to facilitate the bridge crossing and maintain the alignment of the bike path.
• Alternating inside and outside curves: Using Redi-Rock’s curve details, designing these features was quick and painless.
• Visual appeal: Project owners wanted this busy site to maintain a natural, highly polished appearance.
• Long-term durability and structural performance: With constant pedestrian use and exposure to Colorado’s harsh freeze-thaw cycles, the solution needed to deliver reliable performance and ensure safe passage for years to come.

From an engineering standpoint, this project presented several complex design challenges, including back-to-back wall construction, tall wall heights reaching 28.5 ft (8.6 m), and meeting AASHTO LRFD design requirements for geogrid pullout resistance. To address these, the design incorporated geogrid reinforcement ranging from 8XT to 20XT, with a 100% coverage layer near the top of the wall to meet pullout demands. Additionally, freestanding blocks with caps were used along the wall tops to satisfy the project's high aesthetic standards.

With these goals and challenges in mind, project leaders chose Signature Stone, a trusted Redi-Rock producer with over 25 years of experience in the region, to supply the retaining wall blocks required, and Miller Wall Company to design and install the walls.

In the video above, you'll get a closer look at how the project came together—and why Redi-Rock was the natural fit to meet its technical and aesthetic needs, even when another big block competitor was up for consideration.

Why Redi-Rock? Two Trusted Partners, One Proven Solution

As long-time collaborators on retaining wall projects across Colorado, Miller Wall Company and Signature Stone came together to design and build Redi-Rock freestanding and MSE walls.

Together, they delivered:

• Installation efficiency – With Redi-Rock’s machine-set engineered modular wall system and a variety of specialized block types, the team was able to streamline the installation process with small crews, all without sacrificing precision.
• Design flexibility – Redi-Rock’s wide range of components allowed the walls to follow the project’s complex curves and grades while maintaining visual cohesion.
• Aesthetic excellence – A large-block precast concrete retaining wall competitor was initially considered during the planning phase; however, its limited block variety and lack of refined natural stone-like texture options couldn’t meet the project’s high standards for appearance. Redi-Rock’s Ledgestone texture was chosen to achieve the desired look.

Signature Stone’s local production and Miller Wall Company’s design and installation expertise ensured that the right blocks were used in the right places, including:

• Freestanding units: FS Top, FS Middle
• Specialized corners: Middle Corner, Top Corner, Half Middle Corner, Half Top Corner
• Gravity and PC units: 28” PC Middle, 29” PC Bottom, 28” Half Middle
• Finishing touches: Caps

At 14,011 sq ft (1,301.6 sq m), this large-scale Redi-Rock installation delivered unmatched technical performance, visual appeal, and long-term reliability—reinforcing Redi-Rock’s reputation as the system engineers, contractors, and communities rely on.