TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 437: Assessing the Long-Term Performance of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls explores methods to assess the long-term performance of mechanically stabilized earth walls. For the purposes of the report, "long-term" denotes the period of time from approximately one year after the wall is in service until the end of its design life.

The report focuses on state and federal agency wall inventories and highlights methods of inspection and assessment of wall conditions.

Mechanically stabilized earth walls are retaining walls that rely on internal reinforcement embedded in the backfill for stability.