ISSUES

• Sandy Soils
• Previous failed vegetation
• Slopes of 3:1 or greater
• High visibility project

PROBLEM

Grand Parkway is a large scale project for the creation of another loop around the Houston, TX metro area. Previous segments of the project had significant issues establishing successful vegetation, resulting in erosion problems for the project. Each vegetation failure requiring the installation of more and more expensive erosion control measures to compensate; an issue that was not desired to have repeated in successive segments. A significant cause of these issues was the fact that soil conditions were extremely sandy with significant nutrient deficiencies and low organic matter content. Additionally, the soil was prone to crusting, making successful vegetation extremely difficult to achieve.

SOLUTION

Eddie George with Webber Construction consulted a group consisting of manufacturers, distributors, and contractors to come up with a successful solution to this problem. Biotic Earth, a Biotic Soil Amendment by ECBVerdyol was chosen for its effectiveness at soil improvement, germination improvement, and success at vegetation establishment. With the successful vegetation establishment that could be achieved through the use of Biotic Earth, hydraulic erosion control was sufficient for most areas. Seed mix was the TXDOT required blend for the location.

RESULTS

The site received a significant rain event within two weeks of being installed with no erosion or rilling. Germination was fast and excellent cover of vegetation was achieved in spite of one of the hottest summers on record in conditions that historically had significant issues achieving successful vegetation results. By July of 2018 a thick stand of multi species vegetation had been achieved.