Improving the technology of retaining walls in the Irkutsk region using gabion baskets
Problems related to the design, construction and operation of typical retaining structures, presented in the form of monolithic and precast and reinforced concrete, are studied under the climatic conditions of the Irkutsk region. A comparative analysis with gabion basket structures is provided and the advantages of using gabions are revealed. The costs of materials that make up the cost of gabion structures under real construction conditions were studied in detail and constructive technological solutions were proposed for the construction of these supporting structures. The natural stone laying technology in partial volume of containers, i.e. its use on the face, visually visible surfaces of mounted boxes, was chosen as a reserve for reducing the cost of gabion structures. It is established that the main visually unseen volume of gabions can be filled with other materials: crushed stone of various fractions, gravel, cobblestones, concrete scrap. Moreover, the use of the specified aggregate containing small fractions requires an additional measure that does not represent a significant increase in material and labour costs - laying in the process of filling the boxes of the vertical dividing wall of geotextiles along the boundary between “face stone" and “other filling”. According to the preliminary technical and economic study of the proposed options of filling gabions, the possibility of a cumulative reduction in the estimated cost of the construction of gabion structures amounted to about 20% of basic design, i.e. prices in 2019 could result in savings of 1500 rubles per 1 m<sup>3</sup> of finished products including all expenses - earthworks, transportation costs and landscaping - carried out at the end of the primary cycle of the work.