Chapter 1

Site Investigation Manual - 2002 Introduction

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This manual provides technical information necessary to carry out geotechnical

investigations to determine surface and subsurface conditions for a highway project. This
manual stipulates procedures and methods to obtain samples, to perform engineering tests,
and to identify and classify suitable soils and material sources.

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This manual gives standard guidelines for various stages of road study and design. It
describes field sampling, types of tests to perform, and recording and evaluation of test
results. This manual also contains a section on the preparation of a Soils and Materials
Report for any individual project.

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Along with traffic and economic criteria, the design of a road, and of a road’s pavement in
particular, is based on the surface and subsoils conditions, and the characteristics and quality
of construction materials used. The methods and procedures described in this manual can be
used to determine these characteristics, which are required to comply with the standards of
material quality considered in pavement design and in selecting the pavement layers. This
manual is also useful in other aspects of road design, such as the determination of bearing
capacity of subgrade soils for road pavement support, and in initiating the foundation design
of structures.

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Road study and design may be divided into three stages, namely feasibility study,
preliminary design and final design. These stages of development of the study and design are
usually specified in the terms of reference of the consultancy services specific to the road
project under consideration and should be verified prior to initiating the work, and
particularly the fieldwork.

During the feasibility study, the road alignment is approximately defined on existing aerial
photographs or existing maps. The preliminary design includes a definition of the typical
sections and longitudinal profiles, preliminary mass diagrams, pavement design, and cost
estimates. During the final design, all the elements of the design are improved and refined,
checked and quantified, and construction contract documents are finalized.

Occasionally, certain elements of the various phases overlap, and the distinction between
phases is somewhat blurred. It should also be noted that the design of the bridge structures
may follow a different schedule than that of the rest of the road design. Nevertheless,
described hereunder are the programs of sampling and testing considered appropriate for
each stage of the study and design.

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Chapter 1
Introduction Site Investigation Manual - 2002

The organization of this manual is given in Figure 1-1. Chapter 2 of this manual describes
the feasibility study in terms of goals, scope and recommended methods of field and office
investigations. Chapters 3 and 4 describe the recommended investigations for the
preliminary and final phases of design, respectively including required laboratory testing.

Chapter 5 lists special investigations that may be required. These can include investigation in
deep cuts, in embankments over soft and compressible soils, natural slopes, and expansive
soils.

Chapter 6 outlines the investigations necessary to estimate bridge scour, and Chapter 7 lists
special geophysical investigations using seismic methods and electrical resistivity.

Finally Chapter 8 gives a recommended outline for a Soils and Materials Report which
should summarize the results of the investigations.

Figure 1-2 serves as a supplement to the Organization of the Manual, by giving a flow chart
for the site investigation process.

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This manual is a manual about investigations. It is not a pavement design manual (for this
topic, the reader should refer to the ERA’s 3DYHPHQW'HVLJQ0DQXDOV (Volume 1 – Ref. 1,
Volume 2 – Ref. 2). It is not a geotechnical design manual either: this is why, for instance,
while recommendations are given regarding investigations of soft deposits for embankment
stability, design methods for embankments on such soils are not developed at length herein.

It is also important to note that emphasis is not placed on investigations of existing roads in
view of their rehabilitation. This is because pavement rehabilitation makes use of special
methods and techniques, which are covered elsewhere. For this reason, detailed descriptions
of deflection surveys are not given herein (e.g. using Benkleman Beams or Falling Weight
Deflectometers). Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) tests are mentioned to the extent that
such measurements under existing road pavements and their correlation to CBR are directly
relevant to the assessment of subgrade strength for new road projects or for significant
upgrading of existing roads requiring new pavements.

It should also be stressed that this manual is about investigations for design, not about
construction control. It is the role of specifications, and the Resident Engineer in charge of
their enforcement, to ensure that proper control is exercised during construction.

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Site Investigation Manual - 2002
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• Frequency of Sampling
• Laboratory Testing
• Subgrade Classification
• DCP Tests
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Special Investigations
• Deep Cuts
• Embankments
• Natural Slopes
• Expansive Soils
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Chapter 1
Introduction
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Introduction
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Investigations for Feasibility Studies • Preliminary Studies
• Existing Documents • Geophysical Tests
• Field Reconnaissance • Site Reconnaissance
• Limited Tests/Probes
• Inventory of Minor Structures
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Investigations for Design
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• Soil Problems • Existing Pavement Material • Soils and Gravels
• Rock Problems • Soil and Gravel Borrow Pits • Stones, Aggregates and Sand
• Subsurface Exploration Program • Quarry Materials • Cement/Lime Treated Mat’ls
• Laboratory Testing • Water • DCP
• Scour • Experience • Boring Logs
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Bridge Inspection Engineering Geophysics
• Office Review • Use of Data
• Inspection • Scheduling
• Computations • Seismic Methods
• Electrical Resistivity methods
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Soils and Materials Report
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Chapter 1
Introduction Site Investigation Manual - 2002

Conduct Feasibility Study

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Obtain Geology, Soils,

Topo, Vegetation, Climatic,
and Land Region Data

Study Minor Drainage

Structures

Site Investigations
Conducted in one
Operation?

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Perform Preliminary Perform Final Design

Design Investigations Investigations
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Perform Special Design
Investigations
Submit Preliminary &KDSWHU
Design

Perform Final Design

Investigations
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Soils and Material Report

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