Palatka to St. Augustine State Trail

The Palatka-to-St. Augustine State Trail currently runs through Northeastern Florida and stretches throughout the communities of Armstrong, Elkton, and Vermont Heights. The majority of the trail follows State Route 207, hence its former name as the State Road 207 Rail-Trail. Along the trail, the scenery transitions between a mix of woodlands and rural landscapes.

Parts of the Palatka-to-St. Augustine Trail that pass through the woodlands are being compromised due to soil erosion. The slopes on which the trail was built upon started to fail. In certain areas, erosion caused parts of the asphalted path to crumble and rendered the trail unsafe for community members to use.

The Florida Department of Transportation searched for a solution to their erosion problem and ultimately decided on installing HPTRM along the slope of the trail. To secure the slopes and ensure intimate contact between the soil and the HPTRM, the Gripple Terra-Lock™ System was utilized. The Gripple Terra-Lock™ Ground Anchor (TL-A2) was used in conjunction with the TL-100, which allowed a quick and easy installation of the HPTRM and provided security to the HPTRM and the slope. By installing the HPTRM using the Gripple Terra-Lock™ System and Gripple Installation tools, vegetation will be allowed to grow and stabilize the slopes. This will allow the Palatka-to-St. Augustine Trail to be enjoyed by the community members once again.

The Gripple Terra‑Lock™ System allowed our crews to secure HPTRM efficiently on challenging slopes without slowing the project down. The speed of installation helped us address erosion issues quickly and get the trail safely reopened for the community.