Highway Engineering

Route Surveying and

Planning & Earthworks
Estimation

Lecture 2

1
 Factors controlling the geometric
design

1. Topography, physical features, geological and climatic

conditions
2. Traffic elements
3. Speed
4. Highway capacity
5. Driver performance
6. Safety consideration
7. Economic justification
8. Drainage
2 9. Aesthetic consideration
 For High Design Level

1. High design speed

2. Long sight distance
3. Large radius of curve
4. Large amount of earthworks (cut and fill)
5. High construction cost
6. Needs bridges and tunnels

3
 For Low Design Level

1. Reduce design speed

2. Short sight distance and more accidents
3. Curving the road following the contours (longer highway)
4. Little or no amount of earthworks (cut and fill)
5. Less construction cost but high user cost
6. Few bridges and no tunnels

4
 Route Surveying
The following surveys steps should be conducted for
building a route:

 Reconnaissance survey: in order to select feasible

routes. (get maps and instruments and visit the area).
 Preliminary survey: in order to select the best route and
preparing necessary plans.
 Final survey: in order to locate the final center line on
the ground and to prepare final plans of the project (set
of plans).
5
 Route Planning

Set of highway plans:

1. Site plan
2. Typical cross section sheets
shoulder pavement shoulder

Right of way
6
 Route Planning

3. Plan-profile sheets

7
 Route Planning
4. Stations cross-section sheets

Fill
Cut

Station 4+00
Station 6+00

5. Culvert and bridge details sheets

8
 Route Planning

6. Mass-haul diagram
Continuous curve from the beginning
to the end of construction distance
showing the relation between
accumulated corrected volumes of
earthwork and distance in order to
optimize the cost of grading and
earthwork.

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 Earthworks (EW) Calculations
Units for EW volumes:
 Volume as measured in the natural, undisturbed form = Bank
Cubic Meters, BCM

 Volume as measured in fill after compaction = Compacted Cubic

Meters, CCM
– Percent shrinkage = change from BCM to CCM = (BCM-CCM) / BCM X 100%
BCM = CCM/(1-shrinkage as decimal)

 Volume as measured in a stockpile or in a trailer or bowl of earth

moving equipment = Loose Cubic Meters, LCM
– Percent swell = increase in volume from natural condition to loose condition =
(LCM-BCM)/BCM x 100%

10 BCM = LCM/(1+swell as decimal)

Calculating Earthworks
 Using the cross-sections, calculate the volumes (cut and/or fill)
between each pair of stations using average end area method.
 Cut and fill areas are calculated separately.

Vol. (m3) between sections 1 & 2 = (A1 + A2) x L (L=20 or 25m)

2
Calculating Earthworks- Example 1
 List cut and fill areas separately

Station
Chainage Cross Section Area m2 Volume Between Chainages m3

Cut Fill Cut, BCM Fill, CCM

1320 30

1340 6 3 360 30

1360 43 60 460

1380 24 670

1400 4 2 40 260

1420 40 440 20

1440 57 970
Calculating Earthworks- Example 1
 calculate cut (BCM) and fill (CCM) volumes, L=20 m
Chainage
Station Cross Section Area m2 VolumeBetween
Volume
Volume between stations, m3
betweenstations
Chainages • Cut btw St. 1320 & St.1340 =
Cut Fill Cut, BCM Fill, CCM
[(30+6)/2]*20 =360 BCM

1320 30 • Fill btw St. 1320 & St.1340 =

1340 6 3 360 30 [(0+3)/2]*20 =30 CCM
1360 43 60 460
• Cut btw St. 1340 & St.1360 =
1380 24 670 [(6+0)/2]*20 = 60 BCM
1400 4 2 40 260
• Fill btw St. 1340 & St.1360 =
1420 40 440 20 [(3+43)/2]*20 =460 CCM
1440 57 970
Calculating Earthworks – cont.
 Adjust fill volumes to BCM then total up the volumes and check
the difference between cut volume and adjusted fill volume.
Station, m Cross Section Area m2 Volume Between Stations, m3 Cumulative Vol

Cut Fill Cut Fill Adjusted Fill, BCM BCM

BCM CCM Shrinkage = 10% (cut +ve, fill -ve)
1320 30
1340 6 3 360 30 33 = 30 / (1- 0.1) 360-33= + 327
1360 43 60 460 511 = 460 / 0.9 (60 -511)+327 = -124
1380 24 670 744 - 869
1400 4 2 40 260 289 -1118
1420 40 440 20 22 - 700
1440 57 970 + 270
Total 1870 1599 271/ (1870+1599) =
Imbalance =1870-1599= 7.8% < max10%
271 BCM (cut)
Graphical representations of EW-
Example 1

600
400 cut Excess cut

200
0
Cumm Vol.

-2001320 1340 1360 1380 1400 1420 1440

-400
Fill
-600
cut
-800
-1000
-1200
Station
Chainage

Mass Haul Diagram

 Mass Haul Diagram
 The mass curve falls when
the road is in fill and rises
when the road is in cut.
 When the road goes from
cut to fill Station

or vice versa, the mass

curve has zero slope.
 When the mass curve is
below the baseline, material
must be shifted from right to Station

left. When it is above the

baseline, material must be
moved from left to right.
 Example 2: earthworks calculations

Calculate the cumulative volume with shrinkage factor 10%.

Then draw the haul mass diagram. Station, m Volume Between
Stations, m3
Cut Fill
BCM CCM
0
100 22275
200 13902
300 2268
400 17744
500 14256
600 900
Total 36177 35168

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 Example 3: earthworks calculations

Calculate the cumulative volume with bulking factor

(swelling) 20% and show the haul mass diagram.
Station, m Cross Section Area
m2
Cut Fill
LCM BCM
0 2
100 3
300 4
500 3 1
800 2 2
1200 6

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