In 1992, Queensland Department of Main Roads was commissioned to monitor and interpret the findings of a fully instrumented trial embankment in Area 2A of the Sunshine Motorway, South East Queensland. This embankment was used to observe the foundation response upon loading, and evaluate the effectiveness of various ground improvement techniques on the soft, organic clays characteristic of this region. The principal focus of this paper is to compare the numerical predictions obtained from the finite difference analysis with field data obtained during the construction phase. The numerical analysis was undertaken using the finite difference program, FLAC, and deformations predicted on the basis of a fully coupled Biot consolidation model. Vertical drains installed in the trial embankment were modelled by converting each system into a number of equivalent parallel drain walls, and adjusting the coefficient of permeability to account for the smear generated through the drain installation.