Soil Nailing: Creating Natural Looking Rock Walls.
Along Arizona State Route-87 (Beeline Hiway) you will pass 120,000 sq ft of soil-nailed retaining walls carved by Je’Pierre Liles, master sculptor of Je’PierreLLC. The project was part of a massive $55.6 million project in the late 1990’s to widen the final 6.8 miles of hiway between Phoenix and Payson, AZ
The dozen walls were designed by Gernot Ueblacker of Ground Enhancement Corp., Denver CO., after exploring the ground conditions and determining the loads each wall would face. Once the process of soil nailing is complete, steel and mesh are secured, and the first layer of shotcrete has been applied, a second layer is applied with Je’Pierre and his crew following right behind. As a master sculptor Je’Pierre takes his cues from surrounding rock formations and carves natural looking details into the shotcrete so the final appearance resembles a natural rock outcropping.
On this project wall heights were as high as 50ft with lengths from 60ft to 600ft. About one week after the shotcrete has cured, the walls receive their final look by shading and staining cracks, columns and shelves with up to five different colors.
Je’Pierre Liles has specialized in sculpting shotcrete, creating unique GFRC molds and boulders, and staining for over 40 years. His project experience spans aquariums, zoos, resorts, theme parks and multimillion dollar homes. Je’Pierre considers his ability a true gift and has taught a lot of people to do what he does. He also takes great pride in hiring local labor to assist in his creations that exist from coast to coast in the United States and select destination around the world. Visit our about page to review a notable list of commercial and residential projects.
