Utah DOT is the first in the country to use the reinforced soil technique at the abutment of an interstate bridge. The geosynthetic reinforcement, soil-integrated bridge system uses tons of soil and will save taxpayers time and money.
"Basically what we are doing here is just building a bridge abutment out of soil and reinforcement instead of concrete," said Tim Rose, UDOT Region 2 deputy director.
For the Echo Junction I-80 overpass, crews are building the footing for a 58-foot-wide span of multiple layers of compressed dirt separated by a tarp-like fabric.