Bridge abutments made of geotextile-reinforced soil have been shown to support the bridge load without the use of piles. However, current design procedures are considered to be conservative. To determine the strength, and to understand better the behavior of reinforced soil, large unconfined cylindrical soil samples reinforced with geosynthetics were axisymmetrically loaded. Samples were 2.5 ft (0.76 m) in diameter and 5 ft (1.52 m) in height. Peak strengths of 4.8 kips/sq ft (230 kPa) to 9.6 kips/sq ft (460 kPa) at 3% to 8.5% vertical strain were obtained from cylinders reinforced with geotextiles at 6-in. (152-mm) vertical spacing. A strength reduction occurred after the peak strength, but most of the loads were sustained up to at least 10% strain before yielding. Tension in the reinforcement appears to be mobilized first in the middle layers, as determined from the location of tears in the geotextile. An equation to calculate the tensile force in the reinforcement, Tmax, in a reinforced bridge abutment is proposed. The normalized strains led to the development of the strain distribution factor incorporated in the proposed equation. The proposed equation is slightly more conservative or almost equal, depending on the type of facing, when compared with the K(sub 0)-stiffness method, but gives values approximately one-half of those obtained using the National Concrete Masonry Association and FHWA Demonstration Project 82 methods.