Keystone Victorian Stone™ Allows for Building Wall on Bedrock

Minneapolis, MN (April 10, 2007) -- A relocation site for The Metropolitan Plant Exchange in Fort Lee, New
Jersey provided the larger-sized area needed to operate its retail nursery, florist and greenhouse services.
However, the land needed to be leveled before the facility could be built. To level the land, a 36’ retaining wall
was to be built on the site’s south side. The proposed site solution of building a structural retaining wall, first
thought to be routine, was complicated by area rock outcroppings, the discovery of subsurface bedrock and
local construction codes.

“Local codes did not allow for any blasting and hammering out all the bedrock would have used more time and
equipment. It was less expensive to just go over the bedrock, so you had to work with it,” said George Kreis,
General Contractor, J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc.

Extensive site surveying was necessary to determine what portion of the bedrock was competent to be built
upon and also to hold rock anchors for grid reinforcement. Bedrock was left intact both below and behind the
wall. Excavation also included drilling holes at the lower level of the remaining bedrock for rock dowel
placement. After the rock dowel installation was complete, the concrete leveling was poured and pinned to the
bedrock and first course of the wall was pinned and grouted to the leveling pad.

“It was a restricted space and we couldn’t work from the front at all. Also both contractors had to work
simultaneously in the same area. At some points, we would build the wall to a certain elevation and they would
continue driving in the rock dowels as we got to a certain elevation. Overall the installation went well, it was
just a coordination effort,” said Joseph Pillari, Wall Contractor, Pillari, LLC.

According to Staff Engineer Jon Hansberger, Keystone Retaining Wall Systems, Inc., much of the remaining
bedrock occurs at varying angles that produce additional forces exerted on the anchors and grid. The additional
forces required extensive analysis that included a combination of hand and design software calculations.

For complete Metropolitan Plant Exchange project details, please view the Keystone Case Study.

About Keystone Retaining Wall Systems, Inc.
For more than 20 years, Keystone Retaining Wall Systems, Inc. has set the standard for excellence and
innovation within the segmental retaining wall industry. Symbolizing cutting-edge design, performance and
aesthetics, Keystone products and services offer the best site solutions for governmental, commercial/industrial,
recreational, public works and residential applications. As the global benchmark, Keystone is present
nationwide and has more than 30 international locations.

Keystone is a subsidiary of CONTECH Earth Stabilization Solutions Inc (www.contechess.com). To learn
more about Keystone’s innovative products and services, please visit www.keystonewalls.com or call 800-747-
8971.

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