Standard soil must be heavily compacted to support a concrete sidewalk without settling, but highly compacted soil suffocates tree roots and forces them to grow upward, cracking the pavement. Structural soil, such as CU-Structural Soil, features a rigid skeleton of crushed stone that transfers pavement loads while leaving open voids filled with nutrient-rich soil. Utilizing this material beneath new NYC sidewalks allows tree roots to grow downward, preventing future sidewalk buckling.
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