WADI SHEES HAJAR MOUNTAIN

Wadi Shees is a scenic valley village located in a mountainous exclave of the Sharjah Emirate, nestled within the rugged Hajar Mountains. This area is renowned for its traditional settlements, ancient falaj irrigation systems, and a unique environment that supports lush date palm plantations and ecotourism.

Despite modern road development that has improved access to sites like Shees Park, the infrastructure faces a significant challenge, severe road erosion and slope instability. This problem is primarily caused by the region's susceptibility to intense, seasonal flash floods, which generate high-velocity water flows that destabilize the highly erodible mountain slopes. The resulting landslides and constant maintenance burden pose a substantial safety risk and challenge for local authorities seeking a durable, yet environmentally sensitive, engineering solution.

The chosen solution to mitigate these issues is the implementation of the Terramesh system, a robust, modular earth retention technology developed by Maccaferri. The system utilizes durable double-twisted steel wire mesh units that form a strong front facing, combined with integral mesh panels extended into the backfill, this facing is reinforced with high-strength Paralink geogrids layered horizontally into the backfill, creating a massively stable, composite reinforced earth structure designed to withstand flash floods and stabilize the slopes long-term.

This approach offers several critical advantages over traditional rigid structures in the wadi environment. The steel mesh facing is highly flexible, allowing it to accommodate natural ground settlement without failure, which is crucial in active mountain areas. It also permits excellent water drainage, preventing the buildup of hydrostatic pressure during floods. Furthermore, the system is durable (with a design life often exceeding 120 years), easy and quick to install with minimal heavy machinery, and environmentally compatible, as the Terramesh gabion facing, blends the engineered slopes seamlessly back into the natural Hajar Mountain landscape. The successful application of this system is expected to stabilize the infrastructure, enhance public safety, and ensure the long-term sustainability of the area for ecotourism.