A method of forming a vehicle arresting system includes installing a plurality of stratified layers of aggregate and compressing each layer prior to adding a next aggregate layer, a slab layer, and/or some other separation layer. In one aspect, one or more of the aggregate layers comprises a glass foam, and one or more of the slab layers comprises a cementitious material having an oven-dry density of 100 lb/ft3 or less, such as cellular concrete. The aggregate layers may be poured to approximately the same depth as one another, or at least one aggregate layer may have a different depth than the other aggregate layers. Similarly, the method of compaction for one aggregate layer may be the same as or different from the method used for the other aggregate layers.