A basal reinforced piled embankment consists of a reinforced embankment on a pile foundation. The reinforcement consists of one or more horizontal layers of geosynthetic reinforcement installed at the base of the embankment.

A basal reinforced piled embankment can be used for the construction of a road or a railway when a traditional construction method would require too much construction time, affect vulnerable objects nearby or give too much residual settlement, making frequent maintenance necessary.

This publication is a guideline (CUR226) for the design of basal reinforced piled embankments. The guideline covers the following subjects: a survey of the requirements and the basic principles for the structure as a whole; some instructions for the pile foundation and the pile caps; design rules for the embankment with the basal geosynthetic reinforcement; extensive calculation examples; finite element calculations; construction details and management and maintenance of the piled embankment. The guideline includes many practical tips. The design guideline is based on state-of-the-art Dutch research, which was conducted in cooperation with many researchers from different countries.