Embankment Side Slope Selection in Bagaladesh

The most neglected part of our road construction is the construction of side slopes and in some
cases the shoulder. Although the shoulders and the side slopes are done once at the initial
construction stage, no proper care is taken during the maintenance period. As a result, not only
traffic flow capacity of a road is reduced but also threatens to failure of the road as a whole in
many occasions. Following steps are required to be followed in order to obtain a stable
embankment.
 The first step in obtaining a stable roadway embankment is the careful selection of
alignment of the road in respect of topography and drainage
 The second step is the proper design of the embankment and cut slopes
 The third step is the use of proper construction materials and techniques to obtain the
required stability.

In fact the stability of embankment basically depends upon the shear resistance offered by the soil
to external forces. On the other hand, soil shearing resistance is a function of the apparent cohesion
of the soil and the angle of internal friction, which are further dependent upon the moisture content
and dry density of the soil at the time of loading. However, elaborate tests involved in determining
these properties of soil may not be needed for ordinary road works. But the following factors
should however be kept in mind while choosing the side slopes:
(i) The type of soil of which the slope is made of
(ii) The climatic conditions, especially the amount of annual rainfall in the area
(iii) The adequacy of drainage
(iv) The nature and characteristics of the surface layer
A particular stable slope made out of a soil when it is dry may not remain stable when wet and
vice-versa. This is particularly true at least for pure clay and pure silt. It is further essential to
distinguish between virgin soils in cut and the made-up soils in embankments. In practice, it may
sometimes be possible to measure the angle of repose of the soil in field but such measurement
shall be subject to the exercise of judgement in respect of weathering, moisture content of the soil,
construction procedure and drainage.
A relatively rational approach to the problem of proper slope design for embankments has been
presented by the Highway Research Board in 1952. Accordingly, the soils are classified as per
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and also in accordance with
the height of fill and the exposure to the climatic conditions in the area. Based on these
information, the proper slope for the embankment may be taken from Table 2.1. It may be observed
from this table, the recommended slopes have also been corrected for degree of compaction in the
field.