Nevada NDOT Geotextile Fabrics

Solmax DOT Standard Specification Product Chart (click image to expand)

Nevada NDOT - Geotextile Uses

Nevada highways cross decomposed granite in the Sierra, caliche and alluvial fans in the Basin and Range, playa silts and clays, and urban fills around Las Vegas and Reno. Add extreme heat, high UV exposure, long dry periods punctuated by intense monsoon cloudbursts, and heavy truck traffic on I-15 and I-80, and you get subgrades that can ravel, rut, or wash out when water finally arrives. Geotextiles are the quiet engineering layer that helps pavements, structures, and drainage systems keep working.

Separation and stabilization. On new lanes, shoulder widenings, and rehab work, NDOT commonly places a woven geotextile between native soil and granular base. It stops fine desert silts and dusty subgrades from pumping into the aggregate under traffic, spreads loads, and preserves base thickness—especially important where construction proceeds over marginal, freshly watered subgrade for dust control. Over very weak or collapsible soils (playa edges, utility crossings), rolls of geotextile create a working platform so haul trucks and pavers don’t punch through; in exceptionally soft areas, fabric is paired with geogrid for added stiffness.

Separation and stabilization. On new lanes, shoulder widenings, and staged construction, a woven geotextile is placed between native soil and granular base. It prevents fine soils—loess, silts, and clayey fills—from migrating into the aggregate under traffic, spreads loads, and preserves base thickness. Where subgrades are very soft or saturated (floodplain approaches, low shoulders, disturbed utility trenches), crews roll out fabric to create a working platform so trucks and pavers don’t punch through. On exceptionally weak ground, geotextile is often paired with geogrid to add stiffness and speed construction.

Filtration and drainage. Even in arid regions, water management is critical. Nonwoven geotextiles line edge-drain and underdrain trenches, wrap perforated pipe, and separate drainage stone from surrounding soils behind retaining walls and abutments. Selecting the right apparent opening size (AOS) and permittivity lets stormwater pass while trapping fines from silty alluvium, cutting off the mechanisms that clog outlets, create wet spots, and undermine shoulders. In colder high-desert corridors, pairing nonwoven geotextile with open-graded aggregate also forms a capillary break, limiting upward moisture that weakens base layers during freeze–thaw.

Riprap underlayment and flood control. Where flow concentrates—desert washes, culverts, storm outfalls, and channel linings—geotextiles serve as riprap underlayment. A robust nonwoven filter goes on the prepared bed or slope before armor rock or gabions. It prevents subgrade from piping through rock voids during flashy, sediment-laden floods, helping the rock “lock in” and protecting embankments at bridge approaches and ditch transitions. On long reaches with steep draws or rapid drawdown, seams are overlapped generously or sewn and anchored to stay continuous under shifting hydraulics.

Structures and MSE walls. NDOT corridors include extensive mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls and grade separations. Geotextiles act as joint and face filters, tucked behind panel or block joints so backfill fines don’t migrate to the face while drainage continuity is preserved. The same concept applies at wingwalls, backwalls, and structural penetrations, where a filter layer protects weeps and outlets without trapping water.

Pavement interlayers. Asphalt-impregnated nonwoven geotextile beneath overlays improves waterproofing and slows reflective cracking—valuable where hot summers, large day-night swings, and heavy axle loads age pavements quickly. On the chip seals used across rural districts, paving fabrics limit water intrusion into base and subgrade, extending service life with minimal added thickness.

Temporary erosion, sediment control, and access. Geotextiles appear in silt fence, inlet protection, curb socks, and check structures. They filter runoff while trapping fines—important for stormwater and dust compliance in urban work zones and along long desert medians. At project entrances, stabilized construction exits typically include a nonwoven geotextile beneath coarse rock; the fabric spreads wheel loads and prevents stone from punching into soft or freshly watered soils, reducing track-out.

Liner protection and containment. Heavy nonwoven geotextiles cushion geomembranes in detention basins, lined ditches, salt-shed pads, and deicing-brine containment, protecting liners from puncture by angular aggregate and construction traffic.

Performance hinges on basics: prepare subgrades smooth, avoid wrinkles, overlap or sew seams as required, anchor with pins or the first lift, and cover promptly to limit intense UV exposure. Selection is function-driven—woven for stabilization and tensile capacity; nonwoven for filtration, drainage, and protection—tuned to Nevada’s soils, hydraulics, and traffic demands.

Nevada NDOT