Methods and Techniques in Highway Design

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Civil ENGINEERING
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Task 1
Earthwork
Earthwork is the process of excavating soil, transporting it and placing it away from the original
site during the construction of different types of engineering projects. The process of earthwork
usually involves the following process;
1. Excavating or shifting the soil
2. Transporting of the excavated soil
3. Offloading the soil
4. Placing and compacting of the soil.
Different methods and equipment are used to carry out the process of earthwork depending on
the site conditions, amount of work which should be carried out and availability of resources1.
Equipment used in earthwork processes
There are many equipment used in earthwork, they are grouped according to the
earthwork process where they are used and they include;
Excavating equipment
These are the equipment which are used in excavating the soil and they include; Power shovels,
Backhoe, Dragline, Bulldozers, Clamshell and Scrapers
Equipment used for transportation
1 Antony Wood, the Tall Buildings Reference Book, Berlin, Routledge, 2018

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These are equipment used in transporting the excavated soil from the given site and they include;
dumpers, tippers, trucks, belt conveyers and graders
Equipment used for compaction
These are equipment used for compacting the soil after placement and they include; smooth
wheel roller, sheep foot roller, pneumatic tired roller and the vibratory roller equipment.
Earthwork techniques
Various techniques are used during the earthwork process and they include;
 Borrow
 Levelling
 U-cut 2
 Cut to crossfil
Methods to create complex foundation
There are many methods that can be used for the construction of the deep foundations .There are
many types of foundations for different uses depending on factors such as; cost, ground
condition, the nature of the load requiring support, durability of the materials and load exerted on
the piles. There are many types of foundations that are currently available, that are suitable.
Method used for pilling works
2 John Gardner, Earthwork in Railway Engineering, Read Books, Kiev, 2018

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Different methods can be used for construction and installation of piles. The selection of the
material to be used will depend on functions of the piles, available materials and the involved
installation procedures.
The piling work will be carried out through drilling of a vertical hole into the soil using a bore
piling machine. The drilling of the piles can also be achieved by the use of a pile driver. Piling
work will be preferred in places with poor conditions of the soil.3
Work of drainage
Drainage work entailed activities such as:
 Control of rill type of erosion through sheet runoff management
 Dividing the site into areas of drainage to make them manageable
 Diverting runoff of the storm water
 Reducing soil erosion by monitoring the velocity of the flow.
Methods and techniques used in culvert and underpass construction
The construction of the culverts will involve.
Pipe culverts
Pipe arch culvert
Box culverts
3 John Macneill, Tables for Calculating the Cubic Quantity of Earth Work in the Cuttings and
Embankments of Canals, Railways, and Turnpike Roads, Chicago, Roake and Varty, 2016