Shoring
GRW builds shoring systems for excavations, road cuts, and grade separations on steep sites. We support excavations and safeguard roads and buildings so your team can dgi and build safely within tight footprints.
Understanding Shoring
What is Shoring?
Shoring is the use of structural systems to support soil, rock, and adjacent structures during excavation so cuts and faces remain stable while work is carried out.
What it solves
It prevents ground collapse and loss of support to nearby roads, buildings, and buried services when you dig deeper or steeper than the ground can stand on its own.
Where it applies
Shoring is used for foundations, road and rail cuts, bridge and underpass approaches, utility corridors, and grade separations.
Shoring Techniques
What Soil-Nail & Shotcrete Shoring Walls Are: Soil-nail and shotcrete shoring walls reinforce excavated faces with a grid of grouted bars (nails) and a structural shotcrete facing so the supported soil mass behaves as a stable, internally reinforced wal
Why We Do It: We use soil-nail walls where near-vertical cuts are required in soil and there is limited room for conventional battered slopes or large gravity walls
How We Do It: GRW drills and grouts nails on a designed pattern, and when needed installs welded-wire reinforcement, and applies shotcrete in lifts, tying in drainage and details so the wall meets geotechnical and structural design requirements for the excavation
What A Anchored / Tieback Shoring Wall Is: Anchored or tieback shoring walls use tensioned anchors extending back into stable ground to support shotcrete, soldier pile, or hybrid facings at the excavation line
Why We Do It: We use anchored walls when excavations are deeper, loads are higher, or deformation limits are tighter—such as beside roads, buildings, or critical utilities—than soil-nail walls alone can handle
How We Do It: GRW drills and tests anchors to engineered bond zones, then tensions and locks them off in stages as excavation proceeds, monitoring movements and coordinating with adjacent works
What Micropile Shoring Systems Is: Micropile shoring systems use these drilled, grouted steel piles combined with reinforced facings to support steep cuts where conventional shoring or shallow solutions are not feasible
Why We Do It: We use micropile systems where ground conditions are weak, access is tight, or higher axial and bending capacities are needed at the excavation face than soil nails or anchors alone can provide
How We Do It: GRW drills and grouts micropiles to design depth, connects them with beams or shotcrete facings, , sequencing with excavation so the shoring stays safely ahead of the cut
Featured Projects
Stabilizing the Abbot Hut
When Canada’s highest permanent structure was at risk of collapsing, we provided slope stabilization to secure this historic, heli-access-only public recreation site.
Facilitating the Passage of At-Risk Fish Species
A massive landslide obstructed the migratory path of several wild salmon species, putting them at risk of extinction and causing significant economic impacts.
California Route 36 Emergency Landslide Repair
After a landslide sent debris across both lanes of Highway 36, GRW provided emergency hazard mitigation and drapery installation to restore swift access to the roadway.
Why work with us
Experience: GRW is a construction contractor at heart—our crews scale slopes, drill holes, hang mesh, stand posts, and build barriers every season GRW has been operating for 20 years on projects ranging from $10,000 to $20,000,000 across diverse industries, geographies and climates.
Rope Access: We are North America’s first SPRAT certified geohazard contractor, with 100% of field technicians certified to work on steep slopes, cliffs, and canyons.
Safety: Our extensive safety program is 3rd party audited and recognized as best in class. Safety is in our DNA and extends throughout the organization as our leading priority.
Equipment: GRW utilizes track-mounted drills, spider excavators, telehandlers, heli-portable and custom equipment so we can reach and stabilize slopes that conventional equipment cannot.
Project Management: Our teams include PMP-certified project managers who use structured planning, risk registers, and an internal ERP, supported by tools like MS Project and Safety Evolution, to ensure we stay on top of our projects.
Collaboration: We build relationships and communicate early with our clients, subcontractors and vendors to ensure joint succes. We are prequalifed and preferred with many agencies, utilities and GC’s.
Emergency Response: GRW can respond immediately for emergency landslides and rockfall often caused from storms, floods, earthquakes or gravity
Frequently Asked Questions
A near miss with rockfall just occurred, what do I do?
First secure the area and keep people and traffic from the impact zone. Assess if additional debris can come down and notify your geotechnical engineer.
Contact a rockfall contractor to complete a rapid site assessment and temporary risk control measures as a permanent mitigation plan is put into place..
How early should we involve GRW in project planning
As early as possible once rockfall hazards are identified or new cuts are being considered.
We add the most value when we can advise on access, staging, and practical mitigation options before designs are finalized and traffic or outage plans are locked in
How does GRW handle differing ground conditions
We expect ground conditions to vary on steep slopes and rock faces, and understand subsurface samples may not always be economical to provide.
When we encounter conditions that differ from assumptions, we document them, raise them quickly through RFIs or change notices, recommend means and methods modifications, and work with the owner and engineer to agree on scope and pricing adjustments
Can GRW respond to emergencies
Yes, we can!
We frequently mobilize quickly after rockfall or slope failures to secure the area, remove immediate hazards, and reopen access, then work with owners and engineers to transition into permanent engineered rockfall mitigation systems.
How does GRW work with our internal or contracted engineer of record
We typically build to the engineer of record’s design, asking questions early about access, staging, and constructibility.
On many projects we also support design-assist, providing field feedback and options so the final design can be built safely and efficiently in the terrain you actually have.
Does GRW offer design-build solutions?
Yes. When fitting we deliver design-build in partnership with trusted geotechnical engineers so owners get a single, coordinated team for investigation, design, and construction This approach works well on time-sensitive or complex projects where access, staging, and differing ground conditions need to be resolved quickly and turned into constructible, defensible engineered solutions.