Geooblock: A System with Integrity

Geoblock® Standard 5150 (GB 5150) and the Geoblock® Porous Pavement Systems are a series of interlocking, polyethylene paving units designed to provide superior load support and turf protection for emergency and utility access lanes, auxiliary parking, golf cart pathways, trails, and other high-use application areas. The Geoblock® system provides vehicular and pedestrian load support while protecting the grass from the harmful effects of traffic. The Geoblock system covers a larger surface area per unit .5m x 1.0m x 50mm (20" x 40" x 2 inch Nominal), reducing costs and increasing ease of installation. The system's four-sided tabular, interlocking joint design aids in pattern layout and transfers shear loads from block to block. While some talk about strength per square foot, the structural integrity of the Geoblock® system is built in. The system features a four-sided tabular, interlocking block design that provides superior load-bearing performance and performance and layout design and construction flexibility. The recommended staggered placement (bricklayer’s pattern) of the individual Geoblock units further increases the system’s load distribution capabilities and maximizes the number of adjacent units used to effectively spread concentrated wheel loads over the largest possible area.

Geoblock & Geoblock5150  vs.  Rolled Ring Competitors Product

Click here for GeoBlock component specifications and configuration examples.

See how Geoblock® can help you reach your US Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED Credits confirmation goals.

Geoblock Applications
From fire access lanes to hiking trails to ATV trails, parking areas, to golf cart paths, the Geoblock^® system improves both the usefulness and aesthetics of an outdoor environment:

Emergency and utility access lanes, Auxiliary parking areas, Pedestrian walkways, ATV trails and wheelchair access ways, Approaches to monuments, statues and fountains Golf cart path shoulders and aprons, Driveways, driveway shoulders and medians. Geoblock® Porous Pavement Fire Access Lane System Put to the Test [1994].

See Fire Access Lane Case Studies The City of Kentwood, Michigan & AT&T Corporate Center, Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

Additional Case Histories Project-specific design, construction and performance case histories for the Geoblock® system.

Palmer Hayflats Geoblock Porous Pavement System Application

The Geoblock® product was one of a variety of materials tested by the NPS and analyzed at a trail segment during the summer of 1999. Based on test results, 800 ft of Geoblock hardening trail was installed in 2000. Palmer AK Hay Flats Project

Cottonwood Creek Trail Head Geoblock Installation  Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge 400 foot extension. Installed in 2013. Read full article here.

Online copy of "Managing Degraded Off-Highway Vehicle Trails in Wet, Unstable, and Sensitive Environments:" here.

Read The Full Article Here (PDF)

 
   Tales from the tundra (Kwigillinook, Alaska)

     

Read the Full Article Here (or in PDF Format Here)

 

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Tundra ATV trail project earns national award

 

PDF Format Here

The Alaska NPS Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program helped to coordinate an ATV Trail Hardening Demonstration Project in Bethel.  The NPS does not endorse other agencies or organizations, their views, products or services - Pictures with Permission from NPS.

Nome Alaska Geoblock Porous Pavement System Application Slideshow Presentation

• Slideshow Pictures of a Geoblock Trail Hardening Stewart River Project North of Nome Alaska: https://www.geocheminc.com/suulutaaq.htm

White Mountains Geoblock Porous Pavement System Application

• White Mountains National Recreation Area, Alaska: Quartz Creek Trail, White Mountains National Recreation Area, Alaska (WMNRA)

Flexible Structural Bridge
The Geoblock^® system creates a flexible structural bridge within the topsoil layer, promoting the vigorous growth of turf grass while protecting turf from the harmful effects of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The Geoblock® Porous Pavement System is a series of interlocking blocks designed to offer turf protection and load support in areas used by heavy vehicles.  The blocks create a flexible structural bridge system within the topsoil layer to support and distribute concentrated loads.

Geoblock^® Porous Pavement System

The Geoblock^® system is comprised of four major components:
1) The Geoblock^® unit, 2) the engineered base for support, 3) the selected topsoil infill, and 4) the selected vegetation.

Both the Geoblock^® unit and the base support soil work together to support the imposed loading, while the Geoblock^® unit and the topsoil contribute to the vegetative support. Other components may include a geosynthetic separation / reinforcement layer, sub-drain components, and topsoil additives, which enhance vegetative growth.

Click here for GeoBlock component specifications and configuration examples.

Geoblock^® & GeoPave System Usage Guideline

Recommended Topsoil:
Suitable topsoil should be pulverized prior to filling the Geoblock^® cells and contain sufficient organic content to support vegetative growth. Topsoil such as sandy loam is recommended. Clay and clay loam materials are considered unacceptable.

Recommended Engineered Base: Vegetated Systems
A recommended ‘engineered base’ consisting of clear-stone / crushed rock having an AASHTO #5 designation blended with topsoil will promote vegetative growth and provide required structural support. The aggregate portion shall have particles ranging in size from 9.5 to 25 mm (0.375 to 1.0 in) with a D₅₀ of 13 mm (0.5 in). The percentage void-space when compacted shall be at least 30%. Topsoil, equal to but not greater than the aggregate void percentage, shall be added and blended prior to placement. The mixture shall be compacted to a density that will provide a minimum California Bearing Ratio of 7%. Under some conditions, a geotextile separation layer may be required between the natural ground and the ‘engineered base’.

Recommended Engineered Base: Non-Vegetated Systems
A recommended ‘engineered base’ for non-vegetated porous pavement systems shall be a well-graded aggregate with a fines content less than 10%. The aggregate shall be compacted to a density that will produce a California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of 7% minimum. After compaction, the surface shall be uniform with no protrusions from larger aggregate particles.

[Contact Us!] for design assistance, specifications and/or technical field support and representation.

GeoCHEM offers assistance to anyone interested in evaluating, designing, building or purchasing a Geoblock® porous pavement system.  You may access these services by [contacting us].  GeoCHEM reserves the right to withhold any information from any individual or company.

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Working with the Environment
In many cities, current storm water management systems are pushed beyond their capacities by run-off from traditional hard surfaces. With over 87% open area at the surface, the Geoblock^® system offers a permeable solution. The Geoblock^® design allows water to percolate into the ground through drain holes in the bottom of the units, decreasing storm water run-off and allowing natural groundwater replenishment. Under rainfall simulation of 64 mm/hour (2.5 inches), the run-off coefficient for the Geoblock® system is 1.5%.  The Geoblock^® units are manufactured from up to 100% recycled polyethylene and are inert to common chemicals, will not absorb moisture and are unaffected by freeze-thaw cycles.

Geoblock Technical Specifications 

Presto Geosystems Video Case Studies

Geoblock Porous Pavement System Case Studies

Geoblock®Fire Access Lanes

• Geoblock Fire Access Case Study Summary (.pdf)

  Fire Access Lanes / Pedestrian Green Areas
   

• Friends University (.pdf)
  Wichita, Kansas

• SOKA University (.pdf)
  Aliso Viejo, California

  Green Parking
   

• Phipps Conservatory Event Parking (.pdf)
  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Jack Darling Park (.pdf)
  Mississauga, Ont., Canada

  Trails
   

• Solutions for Trails and Greenways (.pdf)

• Museum of Science and Industry Walking Trail (.pdf)
  Tampa, Florida

• Walking Pathway (.pdf)
  Caribbean Island

ATV/OHM Trail-Hardening

• Hard Trails in Alaska Article (.pdf)
  Alaska

• Palmer Hay Flats ATV Trail (.pdf)
  Alaska

• Aitkin and Itasca Counties Trail (.pdf)
  Aitkin & Itasca Counties, Minnesota

• National Park Service, Managing Degraded Off-Highway Vehicle Trails in Wet, Unstable, and Sensitive Environments Handbook (.pdf)
  Kodiak Island, Alaska

• Trail Hardening Applications (.pdf)

Grass Steps

• Edith Wharton's The Mount Grass Stairs (.pdf)
  Lenox, Massachusetts

Submit Geoblock and/or Geoweb Project Information
The project information will be placed in our Project Library as reference and will be considered for case studies and/or magazine editorials. 

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