Geosynthetics in roads and pavements

REINFORCED STEEPENED SLOPE (RSS) 

 

Advantages Of RSS Systems 

Slopes are common geographic features and can 

be found everywhere with steepness ranging 

from gentle swales to ultra steep mountain sides. 

The full range of these terrain features is 

commonly found adjacent to transportation 

rights of way and building sites. The economics 

associated with a particular highway alignment 

or with the development of a parcel of land may 

be determined by the ability to create sufficient 

flat, or level, land to satisfy space, safety, or 

access requirements.   On highway and building 

projects relatively flat areas are preferred. 

 

These areas must be constructed by excavation 

or filling in the existing terrain, often leaving 

significant grade changes at the edges of the 

excavation.   

 

Reinforced steepened slopes provide a cost-

effective means to achieve more efficient grade 

changes than are possible with conventional 

unreinforced slopes.   

 

 

Conventional vs. Steepened Slopes 

 

Geosynthetic reinforced steepened slopes are 

soil structures constructed with a slope face 

angle up to as high as 80 degrees from the 

horizontal.  Typical unreinforced soil slopes are 

limited to a slope face angle of approximately 

30 degrees, or less, depending on the angle of 

repose of the slope soil.