1. CLEARING, GRUBBING AND EXCAVATION.

 Before any construction the roadway must be cleared of all vegetation and trees
including their roots removed.
 Cross sections should be taken prior to any excavation works.
 All construction works must be carried out in as safe a manner as possible.
 Excavated suitable materials should be used when possible in the works.
 Provision has to be made for drainage of the temporary and permanent works.
 Soil containing vegetable matter is not suitable as fill material.
 Borrow pits should not affect the stability of the road, or any other structure.

1.1Clearing and Grubbing

Before any construction starts the roadway must be cleared of debris. Unless there are
specific reasons, agreed to by the Engineer in writing, all materials including trees, grass,
crops and structures, which fall within the road alignment must be removed.

Also all major stumps and roots need to be removed (grubbed out) and the holes left
must be filled with compacted suitable fill material.

Figure 1 shows an example of the clearing and grubbing which is required.

1.2 Excavation

1.2.1 General
Before any excavation, including the removal of any areas of unsuitable materials,
cross-sections should be taken of the undisturbed ground. From this information, and the
cross sections taken of the completed road, earthwork quantities can be calculated.

No existing material, which will remain in the completed works, should be loosened
unnecessarily during excavation.

Excavation works, along with all construction activities, must be undertaken in as

safe a manner as possible to minimise the dangers to road users and the contractors
personnel.

1.2.2 Excavated Material

Excavated materials need assessing as suitable or unsuitable. Suitable materials
should be used when possible in the works. The excavated materials can be temporarily
stockpiled, but must cause no damage to roads, services or property and not prevent water
draining from the road or from the surrounding land.

Any excess suitable material, which is not required for the construction of the
Works or any material classified as unsuitable is the property of RHD. The Contractor
should stockpile these materials separately, as directed, or place the material in an
approved location on site. To be suitable as fill material the soil must not contain any
vegetable matter. To be suitable as road pavement the requirements for sub base or base
materials must be met. Materials excavated from existing road pavements may meet the
necessary requirements directly, or after breaking and mixing with other materials.
1.2.3 Drainage and Channel Excavation
During construction, ditches are required to be maintained to ensure proper
drainage at all times. Any necessary ditches and channels should be constructed and
maintained to ensure there is no damage to the roadway section. All existing ditches, or
drainage channels, which the road crosses, need to be closed at the edge of the
embankment, unless pipes or structures are to be constructed and, where necessary,
alternative outfalls are to be provided.

Any canals and channels which are located within the embankment area need to be
cleaned up and then back filled with sand. The sand fill should reach a level of 500 mm
above the water level, but thereafter earthworks (as described in Embankments below) can
be placed.

1.2.4 Borrow Pits

The borrow pits should be kept as drained as possible. Borrow pits should not be
constructed where they might:

a) Affect the stability or safety of the highway; see Figure 2, or any railway or other
structures, which may be present.
b) Prevent natural or artificial drainage or irrigation.
c) Damage adjacent property or future expansion plans for the highway.

As materials are only paid for when included in the embankment, there is no need to
measure the volumes of material removed from any borrow pits.
2.0 EMBANKMENT

 All fill materials must be free from vegetable matter and the material must be
approved as suitable.
 The material should be of an appropriate nature and at a moisture content that it
can be compacted to form a stable layer.
 Generally embankments should be constructed in 150 mm compacted layers
parallel to the finished grade of the road.
 For each completed layer the density should be checked (One test for each 1,000
square metres) by laboratory personnel. If test results show the required density is
not achieved further compaction is necessary
 Any soft areas must be rectified before further material is placed. Each earthworks
layer requires to be approved before the next layer can be started.

2.1 Embankment Construction Methods

Before placing any material, clearing, grubbing and the removal of any unsuitable
materials needs to have been completed. Also any necessary information to determine
earthwork quantities should have been collected (normally cross sections of the original
ground).
Where an existing embankment is widened, the new fill material must be fully keyed
into the old embankment by means of benching. Steps not less than 300 mm high and 600
mm wide should be cut into the old embankment prior to any filling, see Figure 3. Material
cut from these benches may be used as fill, if it is suitable.
 Normally embankments should be constructed in layers approximately parallel to
the finished grade of the road. The grade and crossfall should be maintained during
construction, as this will enable water to run off the embankment allowing construction
work to start as soon as possible after rainfall and avoid soft spots forming.

All fill material used must be free from roots, or any vegetable matter. Each layer of
fill should be less than 150 mm on completion of the compaction. Compaction must be
undertaken using appropriate equipment. If large rollers (very heavy vibrating
compaction) are used it may be possible to increase the depth of the layers but this should
only occur after checking that adequate compaction is being achieved. Generally the
compaction should begin at the outer embankment edges and gradually progress toward
the centre rolling in a longitudinal direction so that the full width is uniformly compacted.
In order to ensure proper compaction of the embankment slope it is good practice to
overfill by 150 – 300 mm and then trim the embankment to the specified shape. The
arisings can be re-used as fill material.

The fill material needs to be of a type and moisture content so that it can be
compacted to form stable layers. The water content of each layer, before being compacted,
must be assessed. The material may require water to be added or be allowed to dry to
bring the moisture content close to the optimum in order to make it possible to achieve the
required dry density and hence degree of compaction.

Normally one density test for each 1,000 square metres of every layer should be
carried out by laboratory personnel. These tests should be carried out at random and be
across the full width of the embankment. If the test results show that the density is less
than that required, then further compaction to obtain at least the required density is
necessary. Results of all the compaction tests undertaken should be kept on file.
 If it is not possible to arrange for compaction testing at the appropriate time (e.g.
where this would delay the contractor) a visual check of the earthworks should be made. If
the layer appears to be satisfactorily compacted, approval maybe given. In this case tests
must be carried out on the subsequent layer. This procedure is not acceptable for any layer
within 300 mm of the subgrade level.

As an alternative the Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) can be used to test

earthworks. The DCP is a rapid in-situ method which after correlation can be utilised to
obtain CBR's and density results.

If the embankment contains any -

 soft areas this generally means insufficient compaction has been used. Further
rolling required.
 spongy areas, (which move under the wheel of the roller) this generally means the
materials have been placed too wet. In this case the material needs to dry out, and
to enable this to occur scarification of the surface is often necessary.

Each compacted layer requires to be approved before the Contractor can commence
on a new layer. If the Contractor does not obtain approval before starting a new layer, or
does not follow acceptable procedures, the contractor must be advised of the non-
compliance and the Engineer informed immediately.

Adequate compaction for embankments is to ensure that only limited settlement

will occur with time. If the embankment settles unevenly, this will give an uneven surface
to the road. Figure 4 provides a comparison between placing material in a single thick layer
and placing thinner layers in an approved manner. It is particularly important to
adequately compact fill material adjacent to bridges and culverts to prevent noticeable
transverse level differences occurring.
3.0 SUBGRADE (Specification 2.7 and 2.12)
Key Points
· All subgrade material must be free from vegetable matter.
· The subgrade must be shaped to the required profile.
· The subgrade should be of an appropriate material and at a
moisture content that it can be compacted to form a stable
layer, for the full width of the embankment.
· Three tests to check the compaction for each 1,000 square
metres should be completed. If the results show the required
density is not achieved further compaction is necessary.
· When specified, subgrade drains should be constructed to the
edge of the embankment.
· The compacted subgrade layer requires to be approved with
any soft areas being rectified, before work can start on the
pavement.
The subgrade is the layer of embankment immediately below
the pavement. This may be undisturbed local material or may
be soil excavated elsewhere and placed as fill. In either case it
has to be prepared to give added strength.
All subgrade material must be free of vegetable matter. The
material also needs to be of a type and moisture content that it
can be compacted to form a stable layer. If the material in the
subgrade level is found to be unsuitable, this must be
excavated and replaced with suitable material, which should
then be compacted.
The subgrade must be prepared over the full width of the
embankment, including the shoulders. This is generally carried
out in lengths of greater than 100 metres. In some cases to