BASIC APPROACH AND GENERAL CONDITIONS – ROADS AND BRIDGES

BASIC APPROACH AND GENERAL CONDITIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS FOR THE

PREPARATION OF STANDARD DATA ON ROADS AND BRIDGES

The basic approach for the preparation of Standard Data for Roads and Bridges is indicated as under:
1. Description of Items
The description of items is given briefly and linked with the relevant Sections and Clauses of the
Ministry of Rural Development (MORD) Specifications for Rural Roads 2004 / MORTH
Specifications (Fourth Revision 2001) referred as Technical Specifications in the description
of items, wherever feasible, which may be referred for detailed description, provisions and
interpretation.
2. Use of Machinery
2.1. Due to mechanization of construction work inputs for various items have been indicated
using mechanical means. However, manual means have also been provided for certain
cases, where areas may be inaccessible for machines or quantum of work may not be large
enough to justify use of machines. Medium in put of Machinery is also proposed, where
ever required.
2.2. For rolling, use of static roller / vibratory / pneumatic tyre roller has been considered
wherever required as per provisions of Specifications. However alternatively vibratory
roller also proposed.
3. Working Conditions
3.1. The inputs for the Data have been analysed for average working conditions prevailing in the
state.
3.2. Average achievable outputs of machinery and labour have been considered taking into
account the job and management factors.
3.3. Since, the outputs of machinery and labour reduces substantially in hilly areas as the altitude
increases, reduced outputs have been considered for hilly areas as indicated in the Preamble
of Chapter 8.
4. Overheads
This is assumed to include interalia the following elements:
i. Site accommodation, setting up plant, access road, water supply, electricity and general site
arrangements
ii. Office furniture, equipment and communications
iii. Provision towards expenditure on:
(a) Corporate office of contractor
(b) Site supervision
(c) Documentation and "as built" drawings
iv. Mobilization / de-mobilization of resources .
v. Labour camps with minimum amenities required as per labour laws and transportation to
work sites
vi. Light vehicles for site supervision including administrative and managerial requirements
vii. Setting up of Laboratories for quality control, field and laboratory testing for control of
quality of various items of work and documentation of test results as per requirement of the
MORTH / MORD Specifications.

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viii.Minor T&P including vibrators for concrete work and survey instruments and setting
outworks, including verification of line, dimensions, taking trial pits and bore holes, where
required.
ix. Watch and ward
x. Arrangement for Traffic and Traffic Management during construction.
xi. Provision towards safeguarding environment
xii. Sundries
xiii.Financing expenditure of the Contractor
xiv. Sales/Turnover Tax / VAT at 4%
xv. Work Insurance / compensation.
5. Contractor's Profit
It is considered to allow 18% towards overheads (Item No. 4) & contractor profits put together
which includes various items recommended in Item 4 above. This includes 4% VAT which
should be exhibited separately. In agreements it should be mentioned that it will be reimbursed
as per actuals.
6. General
6.1. The Section and Clause numbers refer to the MORD Specifications for Rural Roads
2004 / MORTH as the case may be.
6.2. Additional assumptions made for analysing different items have been indicated in respective
Chapters in the form of Preamble and notes/footnotes wherever required.
6.3. For some of the items, certain size/specifications have been assumed. If size/specifications
other than the same are adopted, corresponding modifications may be made in the inputs of
analysis.
6.4. While presenting the Data some items, the quantities of sub-items involved in that analysis,
like, excavation for foundation, foundation concrete, masonry work, painting, lettering, etc.
have been given. For required inputs of such sub-items, reference may be made to relevant
Chapters dealing with the sub-items.
6.5. The sources of all materials and samples of materials are required to be approved by the
Engineer before start of any work.
6.6. For reinforcing steel both HYSD and TMT bars conforming to IS: 1786 have been
considered.
6.7. For pipe culverts both NP3 and NP4 pipes have been considered.
6.8. The Data include inputs for testing of soil, materials and works.
6.9. The use of surface by construction vehicles shall be governed by Clause 117 of MORD / 119
of MORTH Specifications.
6.10. The contractor shall arrange to provide and maintain an adequate equipped field laboratory as
per Clause 119 of MORD / 121 of MORTH.
6.11. Quality control of works shall be governed by the relevant MORD / MORTH Specifications.
6.12. Sundries to cater for unforeseen contingency and miscellaneous items have been added in the
overhead charges.
6.13. Arrangement for traffic during construction shall be as per Clause 112 of MORTH / 111 of
MORD specifications for Road & Bridge Works.

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6.14. The various activities of works shall also be documented photographs and video cassettes as
per Clauses 125 & 126 of MORTH / 118 MORD Specifications.
6.15. The classification of Soil shall be as per preamble in Chapter 3 (Earth Work).
6.16. The earth excavated from foundations has been considered to be backfilled and balance
utilized locally for road work except in the case of marshy soil.
6.17. The Data for removal of unsuitable soil does not provide for replacement by suitable soil
which will have to be paid separately.
6.18. Items for hilly terrain have been analysed separately.
6.19. The rates for rigid, semi-rigid and flexible crash barriers have been analysed in Chapter 10.
6.20. The coarse and fine aggregates shall conform to IS : 383.
6.21. Work in Urban Roads
The inputs for earth work in urban roads inhabited area will be comparatively higher due to
following reasons:
a) There is mixed traffic on urban roads like slow moving hand and animal driven carts,
rickshaws, cycles, two/ three wheeler apart from the usual vehicular traffic resulting
into traffic jams. This causes loss of working time which may be in the range of 10
-15 per cent
b) There is considerable disruption of traffic adversely affecting the efficiency of the
working parties including machines due to congestion caused by pedestrian traffic,
local road side venders, parking of vehicles by the road side, encroachments by the
shopkeepers and local shops who make use of the berms of the road in front of these
shops and unauthorised conversion of road berms into mini local market The output
of manpower and machines is substantially reduced due to factors mentioned above.
c) Cost of living in urban areas is comparatively more resulting into higher wages.
d) At times, work is executed during night time due to heavy traffic during day time.
This involves extra expenditure by way of making arrangement for lighting and
special transport for working parties due to odd hour
In the light of above, the authorities engaged in preparing the Data cost estimates may
exercise their judgment and cater for the additional cost to the extent of 2 to 3 per
cent, keeping in view the severity of factors mentioned above. Supporting details for
the extra cost based on the actual conditions in specific cases will have to give in
justification.
7. Basic Inputs
7.1. The Standard Data Book is based on the requirements of basic inputs of materials, labour and
machineries for various items.
7.2. The rates for labour, material and usage charges of machinery for the area where the project is
located are to be ascertained from local authorities/enquiries to prepare Schedule of Rates
for the area.
7.3. The basic rates of materials, such as, stone boulders, stone for masonry, stone ballast,
stone dust, moorum, gravel, lime, manure, sludge, quarry sweep, kankar, bricks, brick
ballast, crushed slag, etc. at quarry / crusher sites shall be fixed by the Board of Chief
Engineers yearly (effective from 1st June to 31st May). However, the basic rate of
materials hand broken / machine broken, crushed aggregates shall be based on
Analysis in Chapter 1 of Roads and Bridges.
7.4. The cost of materials should include the cost at source and the cost of their carriage (as per
Schedule of rates arrived in Chapter 1 for conveyance, loading and unloading charges) upto
the work site.

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8. Plants and Equipment

8.1. Keeping in view the job and managerial factors and the age factor of machines, the output
of plant and equipment is taken approximately 70 per cent of the rated capacity given by
manufacturer under ideal conditions.
8.2. A dozer is proposed for excavation where cutting and filling for the roadways is within
100m. For longer leads, a combination of hydrolic excavator and tipper is proposed.
8.3. The requirement of machinery has been worked out assuming working period of 6 hours per
shift of 8 hours.
8.4. Certain equipment, like, road rollers, are required to be available at site for complete
period of the shift, though from the consideration of their output, they may be required only
for 3 to 4 hours. This is necessitated to match with the output of other associated machines,
like, HMP, Pavers, etc. In such cases, the hire charges of road rollers have been multiplied
with a factor of 0.65 to account for the idle period wherever considered appropriate.
8.5. Though electrically operated equipment, like, concrete mixers and vibrators have been
provided, diesel operated equipment can be used where electricity is not available.
8.6. Wherever electric generator has not been provided to run a plant or equipment, it is assumed
that it is fitted with a diesel engine.
8.7. For small jobs where loading and unloading is required to be done manually, tractor-
trolley has been considered for carriage instead of tipper.
8.8. Output of plant/equipment is considered for the compacted quantities.
8.9. A water tanker of 6 kl capacity which is commonly used at construction sites has been
considered.
8.10. The usage charges for machines include ownership charges, cost of repair and
maintenance including replacement of tyres and running and operating charges which
includes crew, fuel and lubricants. The hire charges shall be worked out based on the
Guidelines issued CWC for machinery covered in CWC Guidelines. For other machinery,
MORTH Guidelines shall be followed.
9. Labour
9.1 The labour wages should be as per rates fixed by the Board of Chief Engineers keeping the
minimum wages fixed as per Minimum Wages Act.
9.2 Skilled labour include mason, carpenter, blacksmith, mechanics and other trades.
10. Materials
10.1. Quantities of materials considered in the rate analysis are approximate for the purpose of
estimation and include normal wastages. Actual consumption would depend on mix design.
10.2. The rates of material should include basic cost at locations of stone crushers/factory/rail head
and cost of its carriage to the site of work/plant including loading, unloading and stacking.
10.3. The supply of materials will be taken either at the location of mixing plant or at the
work site as per requirement of use.
10.4. Contractor will make his own arrangements for borrowing earth. However, compensation
for earth taken from private land has to be included in the rate analysis for construction of
embankment / sub-grade with borrowed earth.
10.5. Credit for Dismantled Material: The dismantled materials should be examined and a realistic
assessment made for credit for such materials, which can be utilized for works or auctioned.
10.6. The basic rates should include all octroi charges, toll tax, sale tax, VAT, municipal taxes and
other local taxes, etc.
10.7. The specifications of materials shall be governed by section 1000 of MORTH specifications

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for Roads and Bridge works / relevant Specifications for rural Roads (MORD).
11. Carriage of Materials
11.1 The unit for vehicle for carriage has been taken as under :
a) In hours where lead is defined including time required for loading and unloading.
b) In tonne – km where lead is variable. The loading and unloading for such cases have been
provided separately.
11.2 Where the quantity of material to be transported is small such as dismantled materials and the
same are required to be loaded manually, provision of tractor – trolley has been made instead of
tipper.
12. Items of Culverts
Items in Chapters 11, 12 & 13 on Foundation, Substructure and Superstructure cover both minor
bridge works as well as slab culverts as per Section 1200 of MORD Specifications. Items of Pipe
Culverts are, however, covered separately in Chapter 9.
13. Bridges
Items in Chapters 11, 12 & 13 on Foundation, Substructure and Superstructure cover both minor
and major bridge works including well sinking, protection bunds and PSC Structures as per
relevant sections 1500 to 2700 of MORTH Specifications.
(i) Bridge bearing and expansion joints are readymade items commercially
produced by specialized firms and in certain cases using imported technology and parts. The rates of
these, items are to be obtained directly from different manufacturers approved by the Ministry
(MORTH) and shall be adopted after comparison.
(ii) Normal method of curing has been covered in the schedule. Analysis for steam
curing has been included in the analysis of pre-cast concrete PSC beams.
(iii) The testing of materials and finished items of work is covered under overhead
charges.
(iv) Traffic arrangements during construction are covered under overhead charges.
(v) In the items for well foundation, provision for nominal island/temporary
protection, deep islands/cofferdams with wooden ballies and sheet piles has been made.
(vi) For innovative type of structures like cable stayed bridges, suspension bridges,
arch bridges, bow string girder bridges, erected by innovative techniques where errection stage is as
important as the construction of bridge components in terms of input of machinery, manpower and
materials, special analysis is called for.
(vii) For some of the items, certain size/specifications have been assumed. If
size/specifications other than the same are adopted, corresponding modifications may be made in the
inputs of analysis.
(viii) The items do not cover all components of bridge projects for all situations. There may be
specialized items for specific cases, which need to be analysed keeping in view the basic approach.
Guide Bund
(ix) The items for the guide bund are excavation, embankment and protection works.
The required inputs for these items may be taken from the respective chapters.
(x) In case bridge construction works are to be done on wide and deep water channels in major rivers
or in sea creeks etc., provision of floating barrages etc. for taking the construction materials and
equipments inside water shall also be made separately.
(xi) Analysis for sinking of wells cover diameters from 6 m to 12 and Twin D
Type of size 12 m x 6 m. For other shapes like rectangular or any other size, the inputs of sinking

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may be worked out on pro-rata basis.

(xii) The lift for casting of concrete in well steining may be 2 to 2.5 m restricting the
free fall of concrete to 1.5 m and concreting layer to 450 mm.
14. Concrete Items
14.1. For concrete work, the grades of concrete covered by the Data Book in accordance
with MORD / MORTH Specifications are:
i) PCC M15 grade to M25 for structures
(For lean concrete under foundation, M10 can be used).
ii) RCC grade M20, M25 and M30 for structures.
iii) Design mix concrete - M25 and M30 for concrete pavement.
14.2. The Data accounts for input of materials by weight and use of ordinary mixer and as well
as using Batching Plant, Transit Mixer and Concrete Pump.
14.3. Use of vibrators for all concreting work has been included in the items.
14.4. Ten per cent extra cement may be provided for concreting under water, where required.
14.5. Quantities of cement in various grades of cement concrete are to be as per nominal mix/design
mix. Grade of cement may also be adopted as per mix design.
14.6. Quantities of cement in various grades of cement concrete for structures have
been taken as per IRC:21:2000&IRC:78:2000.
14.7. Steel reinforcement for cement concrete work is required to be provided separately unless
otherwise specified in the item. The Data for the same has been indicated separately.
14.8. As per the MORD Specifications, the type of superstructure envisaged for rural roads are
RCC slabs and box culverts not exceeding 15 m span as well brick/stone masonry arches
and composite girder type of superstructure. RCC arches provided for in IRC:SP:20 have
also been analysed.
15. Measurement and Rates
15.1. Measurement of various items and their units shall be as defined in the respective Clauses
of MORD / MORTH Specifications.
15.2. The rates for various items of work shall include all sub items defined in the respective
Clauses of MORD / MORTH Specifications.
16. Privileged Document
The Standard Data Book is for Department use only. It should not be produced in any court of law as
reference/ authority and to that extent it is a privileged document.

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