The widening of North Manhattan Avenue south of Kimball Avenue in Manhattan, Kansas, required two retaining walls. The construction contractor selected BG Consultants to provide the designs for the walls. A Mechanically Stabilized Earth wall with a Keystone masonry block face was requested by the contractor for its ease of installation. This was an appropriate solution for one of the walls that would retain fill for the wider roadway.

The second wall was retaining a cut-away hill, and after determining the lengths of geogrid reinforcement required, a conflict was identified with existing utilities. BG recommended and designed a cast-in-place concrete retaining wall that required less excavation and still followed the requested curve and slopes. To provide an aesthetically pleasing wall face, a form liner was selected by the contractor and city that gave the concrete the appearance of a stone masonry wall.