Earthen Roads

1. 1. Borrow Pits
2. Balancing Earthwork
3. Lead & Lift
4. Spoil Bank

2. Borrow Pits
 Small pits dug parallel to the road alignment on both
sides of the road formation to draw extra earth
required to fill in embankment.

3. Spoil Bank
 Extra earth excavated and to be dumped on the road
sides in road in cutting.
 Dumped in regular shape for future use.

4. Balancing Earthwork
 While constructing road, it is desirable for a segment
of road, that the quantity of earthwork in cutting and
embankment should be nearly equal if the soil
available is good for the use.
 If possible, keeping in mind the limiting values of
gradients and curves, the alignment is so fixed to have
the equal quantity of earthwork in cutting and
banking.
 This is known as balancing earthwork.

5. Lead & Lift
 Lead: Horizontal distance travelled by the earth to be
moved for banking or dumping.
 Lift : Vertical distance travelled by the earthwork after
excavating.

6. Construction Procedure for Earthen Road
 Preparation of Sub-Grade: Arranging sub-grade in
proper gradient & camber.
 The sub-grade is rolled & watered to have OMC &
compacted to MDD.
 Over it, a layer of soil 10cm thick is sprayed, rolled, &
finished to have required camber & gradient.
 4-5 days curing.
 Opening to traffic.
 Watering for 10 days after opening to traffic.
Soil Layer 10 cm Thick
Sub-Grade

7. Marking Road Levels & Boundaries
 Marking the centre line of alignment on ground with
the help of theodolite.
 Marking carriageway, shoulder, berms, borrow pits &
road boundaries.
 Putting pegs & clearing stakes in the sides & cleaning
the area within the clearing stakes.

8. Construction Steps
 Clearing & Grubbing: It includes removing any
unwanted material i.e. tree roots, grass, loose soil,
Preparing the leveled surface
 Stripping off the top of soil to avoid the plant growth
on the road.
 Excavation: if the existing material is not suitable for
the road, other suitable material is dumped in the
excavated portion.
 Embankment preparation

9. Sheep Foot Roller