Chapter five

Earth Work and Drainage

structure
 Key terms and its Definitions:
Excavation- the amount of material that needs to
be removed from the grade.
Embankment- the amount of material that needs
to be added to the grade.
 Borrow- material not obtained from roadway
excavation but secured by widening cuts,
flattening back slopes, excavating from sources
adjacent to the road within the right-of-way, or
from selected borrow pits.
Cont.…d
 Cont.….d
 Waste- material excavated from roadway cuts but
not required for making the embankment.
 Haul: the transportation of excavated material from
its original position to is final location in the work
or other disposal area.
 Is defined as the sum of the product of each load
by its respective haul distance.
 Free Haul- the maximum distance through which
excavated material may be transported without the
added cost above the unit bid price.
 Overhaul- excavated material transported to a
distance beyond the free haul distance.
 Cont.….d
Average haul- determined from mass diagram.
Average haul is the area of the mass diagram
representing the number of cubic meter stations
of haul between balance points divided by the
ordinate of the mass which is hauled.
Economic Limit of Haul- distance through which it
is more economical to haul excavated material
than to waste and borrow.
𝐿. 𝐸. 𝐻. 𝐷 = 𝐹𝐻𝐷 + 𝐸𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑎𝑢𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤
𝐸𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑎𝑢𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 =
𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑎𝑢𝑙
 Steps of Earth work computation
The steps involved in the computation of
earthwork quantities and the development of
the optimal mass haul diagram are:
End area calculations.
Earthwork calculations
Preparation of mass haul diagram.
Balancing earthworks using the mass haul
diagram.
 End Area Calculation
End area calculations are usually made by one
of the following methods:
1. Planimeter Method
2. Electronic Computer Method
 The area between the existing ground and
proposed ground is calculated at each cross
section.
 The area between two consecutive cross
sections is averaged.
 Earth Work Calculation
This area is multiplied by the distance between
two cross-sections to get the earthwork
quantity.
 Mass Haul Diagram
Mass Diagram- A graphical representation of
the cumulative amount of earthwork moved
along the centerline and distances over which
the earth and materials are to be transported.
Vertical Axis- Cubic meter (excavation and
embankment).
Horizontal Axis- Stationing
Mass ordinates are the cumulative total of the
excavation and embankment on the project.
 Mass Haul Graph
Mass Haul Graph:
 Uphill line indicates cut
Downhill line indicates fill
Flat line indicates cut and fill are equal
Balance point is where the diagram intersects
the baseline and indicates where the cut and fill
have balanced out.
peaks indicate a change from cut to fill
valleys occur when the earthwork changes from
fill to cu
 Mass haul diagram
The mass haul diagram can be used to determine:
 Proper distribution of excavated material
Amount and location of waste
Amount and location of borrow
Mass diagrams determine the average haul, free
haul, and overhaul on a given segment of
roadway.
Direction of haul.
 Construction procedure of mass haul
diagram
1. Divide the length of the center line profile of the road in to
station at 20 meter interval.
2. Against chainage in the table, enter ground level and the
formation level and from this data obtain depth of
cutting(+) and depth of filling (-).
3. Compute the volume of cutting or filling for each station
using average end area method.
4. Plot longitudinal section of each station on a suitable scale.
5. Determine the cumulative volume of earth work at each
station taking the volume at the starting chainage as zero.
Plot the cumulative volume as ordinate, taking
the positive volume above the base line and
negative cumulative volume below the base
line.
Join the end of the adjacent ordinates by a
smooth and continues curve.
 Characteristics of mass-haul diagram
Mass haul curve represents the algebraic
summation of the quantity of earth work in
the direction in which chainage of the station
progress.
An upward slope on the mass curve indicates
excavation, and conversely, a downward slope
indicates embankment.
The steeper the slope of the mass curve, the
greater the cubic meters of excavation or
embankment.
The maximum ordinate of the mass curve occurs
at the point where excavation ends and
embankment starts.
Similarly, the minimum ordinate occurs at the
point where embankment ends and excavation
starts.
Cut and fill quantities between the points at
which any horizontal line cuts off a loop of the
mass curve will exactly balance. Such horizontal
lines are called balance lines and the points at
which these lines intersect the mass curve are
called balance points.
Areas below the balance line indicate that
hauling of excavation to embankment is from
right to left, whereas areas above the balance
line indicate that the haul is from left to right.
The area between a balance line and its
corresponding loop of the mass curve is a
measure of haul (product of the volume and
distance in station-meters).
The ordinate at any station represents the
accumulated amount of surplus or deficit of
material at the station. It does not indicate the
amount of cut or fill volume at that station.
 Total Cost of Earth Work
 Calculation of total cost of earthworks:
1. Cost of free haul = cost of free haul per m3 * Volume of free
haul.

2. Cost of borrow = cost of borrow per m3 * Volume of borrow.

3. Cost of waste = cost of waste per m3 * Volume of waste.

4. Cost of overhaul = [cost of free haul per m3 * volume of

overhaul] + [cost of free haul per m3 .station * volume of
overhaul * {average hauling distance -free haul distance}].
 Example
Example: Given the following end areas for cut & fill, complete the
earthwork calculation using a shrinkage of 10%. Then draw the
M.H.D. and the longitudinal profile of the earthworks & find the
following:
a) Limit of Economic Haul distance (L.E.H.).
b) Free haul volume (F.H.V.).
c) Overhaul volume (O.H.V.).
d) Waste volume.
e) Borrow volume.
f) Total cost of the earthworks.
Given that: -
Cost of overhaul = 30 ID/m3 .station.
Cost of borrow = 120 ID/m3 .
Cost of free haul = 70 ID/m3 .
Free haul Distance (F.H.D.) = 200m = 2 stations.
 Volume of cut and fill
Distance(m) Area(m2) Volume(m3) corrected volume(m3) Com.volume(m3)

cut fill cut fill cut fill

0 10 0

100 12 1100 1100 1100

200 14 1300 1300 2400

300 16 1500 1500 3900

400 14 1500 1500 5400

500 10 350 250 350 275 5475

600 16 1300 1430 4045

700 14 1500 1650 2395

800 12 1300 1430 965

900 8 1000 1100 -135

1000 12 300 200 300 220 -55

1100 16 1400 1400 1345

 6000
5900
5800
5700
5600
5500 5475
5400 5400
5300
5200
5100
5000
4900
4800
4700
4600
4500
4400
4300
4200
4100 4045
4000
3900 3900
3800
3700
3600
3500
3400
3300
3200
Net volume(m3)

3100
3000
2900
2800
2700
2600
2500
2400 2400 2395
2300
2200
2100
2000
1900
1800
1700
1600
1500
1400 1345
1300
1200
1100 1100
1000 965
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0 0 -55
-100
-200 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 -135
950 1000 1050 1100
-300
-400
-500
Station
 Drainage structure
 Water is the main contributor to the wear and
damage of roads.
 The water can be in the form of ground water,
surface water (streams and rivers) or rain and it can
damage the road in several ways:
 by washing away the soil (erosion and scouring)
 by making the road body less resistant to traffic
(i.e. weakening the load bearing capacity)
 by depositing soils (silting) which may obstruct
the passage of water
 by washing away entire sections of the road or
its structures.
 Damage and wear to the road can be reduced if the flow
of water is controlled.
 Minor damages can easily be repaired as part of the
regular maintenance provided to the road and its
structures.
 An efficient drainage system is therefore essential to
allow water to flow off and away from the road as
quickly as possible. This is achieved by a system
consisting of the following components
 road surface drainage which enables the water to flow off the
road surface, cross fall and longitudinal gradient
 side drains and mitre drains which collect and lead the water
away from the road,
 Road embankments in flood flat terrain, lifting the road
surface well above the highest flood levels,
 Catch-water drains which catch surface water before it
reaches the road,
 Scour checks, preventing erosion in the ditches by
slowing down the flow of the water,
 culverts which lead the water from the side drains
under the road to the other (lower) side,
 bridges and drifts which allows the road to cross rivers
and streams in a controlled manner throughout the
seasons
 Road Surface Drainage
Drainage of the road surface is provided by:
1. shaping the carriageway with a camber or a cross slope.
2. Providing the vertical alignment of the road with a gentle
longitudal gradient improves the road surface drainage.
3. Road Pavement
 The combination of stagnant water on the road surface
and traffic can quickly cause erosion of the road surface.
 Secondly, if surface water penetrates into the road body, it
reduces the load bearing capacity of the pavement, which
may cause further damage to the road.
 Side Drains
The function of the side drains (or ditches) is to
collect water from the carriageway and
surrounding areas and lead it to an exit point
where it can be safely discharged.
Sides drains can be constructed in three forms:
V-shaped,
rectangular
trapezoid.
 Mitre Drains
The mitre drains (or off-shoot drains) lead
water away from the side ditches to lower
areas.
By installing mitre drains at frequent intervals,
it is possible to reduce the risk of both soil
erosion and silting.
Mitre drains are also used for diverting water
away from the abutments on crossroad
drainage structures such as bridges and drifts.
 Scour Checks
These are only used in hilly terrain with steep
gradients where it is not possible to remove
water using mitre drains.
When road gradients are steeper than 4
percent, the drainage water gains higher
speeds, which may cause erosion of the side
drains.
Their function is to slow down the water flow
by reducing the natural gradient of the drain by
allowing the drain to silt up behind the scour
check.
 Catch-water Drains (Cut-off Drains)
Catch water drains are ditches more or less
parallel to the road.
Their function is to catch and lead away the
surface water coming from higher lying areas
before it reaches the road or to direct water to
where it can safely cross the road at constructed
water crossings such as culverts, bridges and
drifts.
 Drifts
Drifts provide an efficient and economic
method of allowing water to cross from one
side of a road to the other.
 In the case of drifts, the water is actually
allowed to pass on top of the road surface.
 Vented Fords
Vented fords , also referred to as causeway,
can provide a cost-effective alternative to
culverts and bridges.
While drifts are appropriate for streams which
dry out during periods of the year, vented
fords are commonly used for crossing rivers
and streams which carry a minimal flow of
water through the dry season.
 Culverts
Culverts are the most common cross drainage
structure used on roads.
They are built using a variety of materials, in
different shapes and sizes, depending on the
preferred design and construction practices.
Culverts are required in order to:
(i) allow natural streams to cross the road, and
(ii) discharge surface water from drains and the
areas adjacent to the road.
 Classification of bridges
Bridges can be classified on the basis of the
following characteristics.
Construction materials (concrete, steel, or
combination of any two or more)
Span length as short, medium or large
Span type (simple, continuous, cantilever)
THE END!!