Soil nailing is a process similar to rock bolting but used in soil slopes or cuts. The process consists of drilling a pattern of holes of specified depth into the slope. A properly sized thread bar of grade 75 or grade 150 steel is inserted in the borehole with centralizers to maintain the bar in the center of the hole. The annular space around the bar is then grouted using cement grout. The slope face is then stabilized by anchoring selected materials to the face using the soil nails. These systems are often utilized in heavy civil/roadway construction and can be used for commercial building excavations or for stabilizing existing slopes that are experiencing stability problems. The influence of geology is critical in the design of a soil nail slope stabilization. Subsurface investigations and the proper analysis of the subsurface data by experienced personnel are of utmost importance. Below are some of the slope face materials used with a soil nailing application:

• Shotcrete, wet or dry application
• 3 mm wire mesh
• 4 mm wire mesh
• Gabion baskets
• Large retaining wall block