1 Road Construction Technology

December 2014 Road Construction Technology Prepared by- Er. Dipesh Pandey

2 CONTENTS Introduction Activities in Road Construction Tools, Equipment and Plant

Earthwork Mass Haul Diagram

3 Definition Activities to change existing ground to designed shape, grade and provide necessary
facilities for smooth, safe and efficient traffic operation, including reconstruction of existing
road.

4 Activities in Road Construction

Earthwork site clearance, E/W in filling, E/W in excavation, Excavation for borrow pit,
Excavation for foundation, Disposal of surplus Structural Work Earth retaining str, Gully control
works, Land slide stabilization, River training works, Bridge protection works Pavement Work
Sub grade preparation, Sub-base, Base course and Wearing course Miscellaneous Work Road
Ancillaries Traffic sign/signal, markings Boi-engineering works Drainage Work Side drains,
Culverts, Sub surface drain, Causeway Minor bridge

5 Tools, Equipment and Plant

Hand shovel, Chisel, Peak, Spade, Hand Rammer, Brushes, Trowel, Wheel Borrow Equipment
Earth Moving Equipment Dozer, Scraper, Loader, Excavator, Backhoe, Dragline, Clamshell,
Trench digger Leveling Equipment Motor Grader Paving Equipment Binder storage tank with
heating device, binder spreader, aggregate spreader, cement concrete mixture, bituminous
mechanical paver, cement concrete paver Compaction Equipment smooth wheel roller, vibrating
roller, pneumatic roller, sheep foot roller, different capacity rammers

6 Cont.… Transporting Equipment Lifting Equipment Loader, Backhoe,

Dumping trucks, Flat body trucks, mini dumper Lifting Equipment Loader, Backhoe, Different
capacity crane Leveling Equipment Motor Grader Paving Equipment Binder storage tank with
heating device, binder spreader, aggregate spreader, cement concrete mixture, bituminous
mechanical paver, cement concrete paver Miscellaneous Equipment Rock driller, Core Cutter,
Edge cutter

7 Cont.…. Plants Cement concrete plant, Asphalt concrete plant,

cold mix plant, Aggregate crushing plant, Screening plant,

8 Earthwork Process to prepare sub grade level bringing it to design grade and shape may be in
embankment and filling Quantity based on longitudinal and cross section Mass haul diagram
necessary to decide economic haul E/W quantities are estimate based on L and X sections

9 Site Clearance Started just after survey works and before any construction works Clearing of
grass, weeds, bushes, shrubs Removal of existing trees, stumps and roots along the road
alignment Removal of existing structures along right of way

10 Earthwork in Filling Reasons:

Necessary when we have to raise the sub-grade from existing ground level Reasons: To keep
sub-grade high from ground water table To prevent damage due to surface and capillary rise To
maintain vertical alignment

11 Design elements: Height, Fill material, Settlement, Stability of foundation, Stability of slope
Equipment: Grader, Roller, Tripper and water tanker or manually for small project

12 Construction steps: Laying layer by layer Grading each layer Attaining desired density before
next layer is placed The thickness of the layers may vary between 10 to 30 cm depending on
various factors such as soil type, equipment, specifications etc. Quality Control Checking of
suitability of filling material Checking of field moisture and dry density of each layer (> 93 %
for below and > 95% for above) Proper finishing of formation slope as per design

13 E/W in Excavation In the process of cutting or loosening and removing earth including rock
from its original position, transporting and dumping it as a fill or spoil bank. Also includes
excavation for side drains Earth excavation work may be divided as excavation or cutting,
grading and compaction.

14 Design Elements Equipment Depth, Stability of foundation,

Stability of slopes, Accommodation of road side drain Equipment Grader, roller, tipper and water
tanker

15 Construction Steps Quality Control Excavation

Grading of sub-grade layer Compaction with roller Quality Control Fixing reference pegs
Checking field moisture and dry density Proper finishing of formation slopes

16 Field Control of compaction

Measurement of moisture content Measurement of max. dry density corresponding to optimum
moisture content

17 Planning of E/W Mass haul Diagram

Earthwork for a highway project involves cuts and fills. The most balanced design is one which
utilizes the cut volumes in the adjacent fills. This is achieved by a mass haul diagram which is a
graphical representation of amount of cut and the fill and the manner in which the earth is to be
hauled from cut to fill.

19 Planning of E/W Mass haul Diagram The ordinate at any station along the MHD indicates the
earthwork quantity accumulated up to that point, and is the summation of the differences
between cut and fill. The maximum (+) ordinate indicates a change from cut to fill (D) and the
minimum (-) ordinate indicates from fill to cut (A and G). Upward sloping curves indicate (rising
left to right) indicate a cut Downward sloping (falling left to right) curves occur in a fill section
peaks indicate a change from cut to fill and valleys occur when the earthwork changes from fill
to cut

20 If the curve has steep slope it indicates heavy cuts or high fills
If the curve has steep slope it indicates heavy cuts or high fills. Flat slopes indicate small
earthwork quantities. The balance point is defined as a point where the volume in excavation
balances the volume in embankment. Any line drawn parallel to the base line and intersecting
two points within the same curve indicates a balance of cut and fill between these two points ( C
and D). Such a line (HJ) is called a balancing line.

21 Haul: it has dual meaning

Haul: it has dual meaning. Distance over which material is moved and also the volume distance
of material used. Free haul: The certain amount of haulage is included in the earthwork rate itself
and the contractor is expected to carry earth over this haulage within his quoted rate. Over haul:
the haulage over the free haul distance paid for extra rate called over haul.

22 Economic over haul: the economic over haul distance can be determined by equating the cost
of roadway excavation plus overhaul and tipping in embankment with the cost of borrow pit
material plus excavation, haul and wasting of roadway material within the free haul distance a=
cost of roadway excavation per cu. m. b= cost of overhaul and tipping per cu. m. c = cost of
borrow material per cu. M. L= economic overhaul distance in stations a + b x L = c + a L= c/b