Procedure to Estimate the

Earthwork in excavation for

Road Construction
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• Roads are constructed either in the plain area or in hilly areas.
• To calculate earthwork in excavation for road, we have to use the separate
formula for plain and hilly areas.
• Here are the types of estimation for road construction
1. Volume Method
• Adopted to find earthwork quantities for various civil engineering projects
such as : • Road Work • Irrigation Canal project • Tank and etc.
• It is measured in cubic meters without any allowance for an increase in
bulk. The volume of earthwork shall be calculated by multiplying the
length, breadth, and depth or height measured from the ground from
which soil has been taken out.
• During the estimation of earthwork in the road, the volume of
earthwork may be calculated by the various methods of
measurement which three methods are given below.
Method – 1, Mid sectional area method
• Quantity = area of mid section x length
• Area of midsection = Area of rectangular portion + area of two
triangular portions.
Therefore, the Quantity of earthwork,

= (Bd + Sd2) x L

Where,

d = Mean depth or height

B = Formation width
S = Side Slope
• The quantity of earthwork may be calculated in a tabular form as
below,

Note: Typing error. It should be write as Sd2

Example
• Calculate the quantity of earth works of a road embankment which is
200 metres in length. The height of banks at the two ends being 1
metre and 1.5 metre. The formation width is 10 metres and side slope
2:1 (horizontal: vertical). Assume there is no traverse slope.

mean
Method 1
Quantity = L x mean sectional area
= L x (Bd + Sd2)
B = 10 m; S= 2; L = 200 m
d = mean depth = (1 + 1.5)/2
= 1.25 m
Quantity of road embankment = 200 [10 x 1.25 + 2(1.25)2
= 200[12.50 + 3.13]
= 3,126 m3
Method-2: Mean Sectional Area Method
• Quantity = Mean Sectional area x Length

• In this method, it is not necessary to calculate mean depth but, we

should calculate the mean area after calculating the area of each
station.

• The quantity of earthwork may be calculated in the tabular form as

given below.
Where,
Am = Mean sectional area
d = Height or Depth
B = Formation width
S = Side Slope

Note: Typing error. It should be write as Sd2

Method 2
• Quantity = Mean Sectional area x Length

Area of section at one end where height is 1 m

Area of section = Bd + Sd2
= [10 (1) + 2(1)2]
= 12 m2
Area of section at other end where height is 1.5 m
Area of section = Bd + Sd2
= [10 (1.5) + 2(1.5)2]
= 19.50 m2
Mean area = (12 + 19.50)/2
= 15.75 m2
Quantity of road embankment = 200 x 15.75
= 3,150 m3
B) Estimate the Earthwork in excavation for
Road Construction in hilly area
• Earthwork for hill roads having transverse slope i.e for two-level
sections where contour lines are very close to each other (as in hilly
area) transverse or cross slope cannot be neglected in calculating
earthwork.
• When these transverse and longitudinal slopes are unknown in
between two cross-sections this portion of a road is called two-level
sections. The method of estimating the volume of earthwork for such
cases has been illustrated below.
Case:-1 Wholly in Banking or wholly in cutting
Where,
s:1 = Side slope

r:1 = Transverse Slope

H = Height of banking or depth of cutting

b = Half of formation width

Case:-2
When the centerline (FG) is in the cutting portion
(figure: a)
• Area of ABE = Area of banking
Area of ABE = Area of banking

• Area of EDC = Area of cutting

b) When center line (FG) is in banking portion
(figure:b)
Where,

H = Center depth of cutting or banking

S:1 = Side slope of banking

P:1 = Side slope of Cutting

b = Half of formation width

r:1 =Transverse Slope

Numerical Example
• Calculate the earthwork for or portion of hill road from the following
data.
Solution