HIGHWAY ENGINEERING III

Chapter-One
ROAD CONSTRUCTION

By: Frezer Eniyew.

M.Sc. In Road and Transport Engineering
E-mail: frezereniyew@gmail.com
 Road Construction
1.1 Earthwork Operations & Equipment

1.2 Construction of Sub-bases & Bases

1.3 Construction of Bituminous Pavements

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 1.1 Earthwork Operations & Equipment

 Preparation of Right-of-Way (ROW)

 The initial operation in the construction of a highway facility
 All obstructions & Objectionable Materials like trees, undergrowth, abandoned utilities,
drainage structures etc.. , are to be removed and disposed of in accordance with the
governing specifications.
 The Contractor is responsible for the protection and the preservation of all property, both
in and adjacent to the right-of-way.
 The boundaries of all areas in which the project work is to be performed should be clearly
marked.
 A careful investigation should be made to determine the location of all underground

facilities within the right-of-way. 3

1.1 Earthwork…
Clearing & Grubbing:

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1.1 Earthwork…

 Clearing & Grubbing:

Clearing – cutting/taking down, removal and disposal
of everything above ground level.

Grubbing – removal and disposal of surface vegetation, bases

of stumps, roots, underground parts of structures, and other
obstructions to a depths of at least 500 mm below ground level.

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1.1 Earthwork…

 All trees, undergrowth, stumps, shrubs, etc… not designated to remain in

place shall be cleared & grubbed.
 Trees & shrubs which will not interfere with the use of a highway & its
drainage system are often selected to remain in place for their scenic,
historical, and other values.
 All holes, ruts, etc… remaining after clearing & grubbing, should be
backfilled and compacted to prevent ponding of water.
 Disposal of Materials obtained from clearing & grubbing.

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 1.1 Earthwork…
 Preparation of Roadbed & Protection of Earthworks
 covers all work in connection with the preparation of the road bed,
prior to the construction of the embankments or capping layers, and the
preparation of the sub-grade prior to the construction of the pavement
layers.
 The existing ground beneath embankments or the bottoms of cuttings
classified as suitable material which has a density of grater than 95% of
the maximum dry density be scarified to a minimum depth of 150mm,
watered and re-compacted in accordance with the requirements.

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1.1 Earthwork…
 The existing ground in fill sections, or the roadbed materials in cut sections
should be treated as hereunder:
 Removal of Unsuitable Material
 Three-pass roller Compaction
 Preparationand compaction of existing ground in fill sections and
of roadbed material in cut sections
 Draining of existing ground and road bed
 In-situ treatment of roadbed
 Widening the roadbed.

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1.1 Earthwork…
Preparation of Roadbed

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1.1 Earthwork…
 Excavation & Embankment
 Roadway excavation, which is that material obtained from within the
right-of-way, exclusive of channel and structural excavation, may be
composed of common earth, solid rock, loose rock, or any combination
of these materials.
 Excavation involves the loosening, digging, loading, hauling, disposal
of material obtained from roadway cuts, channel changes, ditches,
structure foundations, and/or borrow pits.
 Excavation includes the constructing, shaping, and finishing of all
earth work for the entire length of the roadway, and its approaches in
conformity to the required lines, grades, typical sections, and pertinent
specifications.

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1.1 Earthwork…
 Different types of Excavation:
 Common Excavation: Excavate and use or dispose of all material
encountered. Clear, grub, and remove topsoil before beginning
excavation, grading and embankment operations. Dispose of surplus or
unsuitable excavated material.
 Rock Excavation: includes all masses of material, which cannot be
removed without blasting or ripping, and all detached stones or
boulders having a volume of 2m3 or more.
 Borrow Excavation: that material coming from approved sources
normally outside the limits of the project.
 Unsuitable Excavation: used to provide the removal and disposal of
saturated or unsaturated mixtures of soil and organic matter not suitable
for foundation material.
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1.1 EARTHWORK…
 Surplus Material: the one obtained when the required excavation
yields more material than the proposed embankment construction
requires. This surplus material is normally classified as waste.
 Embankment Construction: construction methods which ensure, to
the extent economically feasible, uniformity of material, layer
thickness, moisture content, and compaction effort are vital in the
accomplishment of proper embankment construction.
 Hauling, Spreading and Shaping.
 More uniformity of compaction is ordinarily obtained when earth
embankment layers are relatively thin.
 1.1 EARTHWORK…
Embankment Construction
1.1 EARTHWORK…
 Subgrade Preparation:
 consists of scarifying at least the top 15cm of the subgrade, mixing
until uniform in color and texture, compacting to a higher density than
normal embankment layers at a specified moisture content, and
shaping to the required typical section within specified tolerances.
 It is essential that every possible measure is taken to control erosion
during highway construction. The effective way to control erosion and
siltation is early treatment of slopes-both cut and fill.

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1.1 EARTHWORK…
 Protection of Earthworks
 Earthworks shall be protected from the weather at all times.
 The compacted layers of fill and the bottom of excavations shall be
adequately drained and shaped to prevent free water standing on or
scouring the completed layer or the in-situ material.
 Any windrows or ridges, which will impede the free drainage of water,
shall be removed from the surface.

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1.1 EARTHWORK…
 All permanent drains, plus additional necessary temporary drains, shall
be constructed as soon as possible to protect the earthworks.
 Ruts, potholes and other damaged sections of earthworks and slopes
shall be reinstated.
 Drains shall be so constructed as to avoid damage, caused by erosion,
to embankments.

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 Equipment's Used in Earthwork Operations
Equipment Type Typical Uses

Bulldozers Loosening rocky earth, short distance

earthmovings
Motor grader Shaping pavement layers & slopes

Crane Excavation, placing & handling, lifting

Trucks & Wagons Hauling operations

Rollers Compaction
Loaders Excavation, filling, cleaning
Scrapers Digging, loading, transporting, dumping,
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& spreading
1.2 Construction of Sub-bases & Bases
 Sub-bases:
 The materials used for the construction of sub-bases could be either:
 Natural Gravel
 Scoria (Cinder Gravel)
 Weathered Rock
 Crushed Gravel
 Crushed Rock or Crushed Boulders
 Recycled Pavement Material
And any other granular material complying with the requirements of
sub-bases

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1.2 Sub-bases & Bases…
 Gravel Sub-base materials should conform to the following
requirements
 Grading Limits: the material should have a smooth continuous
grading within the limits of grading
 Plasticity Index (PI)
 California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
 Compaction Requirements
 Los Angeles Abrasion (LAA)
 Particle Shape; Flakiness Index (for crushed stone sub-base)

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1.2 Sub-bases & Bases…
 Construction Requirements
 Sub-basematerial should be spread on the approved subgrade by
mechanical means without segregation.
 The material should be loosely spread in layers to give a
compacted thickness not exceeding 200mm and not less than
100mm.
 The final compacted layer should be free from concentrations of
coarse or fine materials.
 The surface of each completed layer should be moistened prior to
the construction of the succeeding layer.

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1.2 Sub-bases & Bases…
 Spread and shape the mixture on the prepared surface in a uniform
layer
 The material should be compacted by the use of rollers progressing
gradually from the outside towards the center of the layer, except
on super elevated curves, where the rolling should begin at the low
side and progress to the high side.
 Rollingshould continue until the entire thickness of each layer is
thoroughly and uniformly compacted to the specified density.

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1.2 Sub-bases & Bases…
Sub-base Construction

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1.2 Sub-bases & Bases…
 Road Bases:
 The materials used for the construction of road base layers could be
one of the following:
 Crushed Rock or Stone
 Naturally Occurring Granular Materials, Boulders, Weathered
Rock
 Dense Bitumen Macadam

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1.2 Sub-bases & Bases…
 Graded Crushed Stone Base (GB1)
 This material is produced by crushing fresh, quarried rock and may
be a crusher-run or the material may be separated by screening and
recombined to produce a desired particle size distribution.
 The material should be clean and free from organic matter, lumps
of clays or other deleterious substances.
 The material should be in such a nature that it can be readily
transported, spread and compacted without segregation.

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1.2 Sub-bases & Bases…
 CrushedStone Base materials should conform to the following
requirements
 Grading

 Plastic Index
 California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
 ACV ( Aggregate Crushing Value)
 Mechanical Strength Requirements (TFVT)
 Flakiness Index

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 1.2 Sub-bases & Bases…
 Graded Natural Gravel (GB2, GB3)
 Lateritic, calcareous and quartzite gravels, river gravels,
boulders and other transported gravels, or granular materials
resulting from the weathering of rocks can be used
successfully as base course materials.
 These materials should be of such a nature that it can be
readily transported, spread and compacted without
segregation.
 GradedNatural Gravel Base materials should conform to the
requirements.
 Dense Bitumen Macadam
Bitumen macadam in which the aggregates and filler are so graded as
to form a close textured mixture, of low permeability, when
spread and compacted. 26
1.2 Sub-bases & Bases…
 Construction Requirements
 The material should be laid either by a self propelled paving
machine or by means of a grader.
 The equipment should be of adequate rated capacity & in good
working order.
 The mixing plant could be either a batch type or continuous type
and equipped with means of accurately controlling the
proportions of all constituent material.
 Compaction should be carried out using 8-10 smooth wheel
rollers or multi wheeled pneumatic-tyred rollers.
 Road base material should be spread by mechanical means
without segregation.
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1.2 Sub-bases & Bases…
 The material should loosely be spread in layers to give a
compacted thickness within 10-20cm.
 The surface of each completed layer should be moistened prior
to the construction of the succeeding layer
 Priorto compaction the moisture content of the spread material
should be adjusted either by the uniform application of water or
drying out to achieve the OMC.
 The surface of the completed layer should be tightly bound,
free from movement under the compaction plant, and free from
laminations, ridges, cracks, or loose or segregated materials.
 The in-situ density of the completed layer should achieve the
desired MDD.

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1.2 Sub-bases & Bases…
 The completed road base layer should not be used by
construction or public traffic prior to the application of prime
coat.
 Vehicles used for transporting dense bitumen macadam base
should have tipping bodies capable of discharging directly into
the paving machine.

 Construction Tolerances

 Level & Grade

 Width

 Thickness

 Cross-Section
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1.2 Sub-bases & Bases…
 Dense Bitumen Macadam Road Base and priming should not be
carried out in the following adverse weather conditions
 During foggy or wet conditions
 When rain is imminent
 when wind is sufficiently strong to cause uneven spraying;
 When the surface on which the layer is to be constructed is wet
 When the temperature of the surface on which the layer is to be
constructed is less than 10°c.

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1.3 Construction of Bituminous Pavements
 Bituminous Surfacing's
 Materials

 Bituminous binders
 Aggregates

 Resistance to crushing (ACV)

 Shape of the aggregate (flakiness index)
 Polishing

 Adhesion

 Absorption

 Sand equivalent
 Design requirements
 Grading

 Rolled-in 31
chippings
 Fillers
1.3 Construction of Bituminous…

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1.3 Construction of Bituminous…

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1.3 Construction of Bituminous…
Fig. Production and Loading of Bituminous
Mixes

 Surface Requirements
 Correction of road base
 Cleaning of Surface
 Tack Coat
 Preparation for placing the overlays

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1.3 Construction of Bituminous…

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1.3 Construction of Bituminous…

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1.3 Construction of Bituminous…
Fig. Transporting and Spreading of Bituminous Mixes

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1.3 Construction of Bituminous…

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1.3 Construction of Bituminous…
Fig. Paving and Compaction of Bituminous Mixes

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