ITEM 104 – EMBANKMENT

ITEM 104 – EMBANKMENT

 A road, railway line or canal is normally raised onto an
embankment made of compacted soil to avoid a change in
level required by the terrain, the alternatives being either to
have an unacceptable change in level or detour to follow a
contour.
104.2 Material Requirements
Embankments shall be constructed of suitable materials, in consonance with the
following definitions:
1. Suitable Material – Material which is acceptable in accordance with the
Contract and which can be compacted in the manner specified in this Item. It
can be common material or rock.
2. . Unsuitable Material – Material other than suitable materials such as:
 (a) Materials containing detrimental quantities of organic materials, such as
grass, roots and sewerage.
 (b) Organic soils such as peat and muck.
 (c) Soils with liquid limit exceeding 80 and/or plasticity index exceeding 55.
 (d) Soils with a natural water content exceeding 100%.
 (e) Soils with very low natural density, 800 kg/m3 or lower.
 (f) Soils that cannot be properly compacted as determined by the Engineer.
104.3.1 Construction Requirements
 Prior to construction of embankment, all necessary clearing and grubbing in
that area shall have been performed in conformity with Item 100, Clearing
and Grubbing.
 Embankment construction shall consist of constructing roadway
embankments, including preparation of the areas upon which they are to be
placed; the construction of dikes within or adjacent to the roadway; the
placing and compacting of approved material within roadway areas where
unsuitable material has been removed; and the placing and compacting of
embankment material in holes, pits, and other depressions within the
roadway area.
 bankments and backfills shall contain no muck, peat, sod, roots or other
deleterious matter. Rocks, broken concrete or other solid, bulky materials
shall not be placed in embankment areas where piling is to be placed or
driven.
104.3.2 Methods of Construction
 Plans or special Provisions, where an embankment of less than 1.2 m (4
feet) below subgrade is to be made, all sod and vegetable matter shall be
removed from the surface upon which the embankment is to be placed,
and the cleared surfaced shall be completely broken up by plowing,
scarifying, or steeping to a minimum depth of 150 mm except as provided
in Subsection 102.2.2.Wherever a compacted road surface containing
granular materials lies within 900 mm (36 inches) of the subgrade, such
old road surface shall be scarified to a depth of at least 150 mm (6 inches)
whenever directed by the Engineer. This scarified materials shall then be
compacted as provided in Subsection 104.3.3.
Methods of Construction
104.3.3 Compaction Trials
 Before commencing the formation of embankments, the
Contractor shall submit in writing to the Engineer for
approval his proposals for the compaction of each type of fill
material to be used in the works.

 The Contractor shall carry out full scale compaction trials on

areas not less than 10 m wide and 50 m long as required by
the Engineer and using his proposed procedures or such
amendments thereto as may be found necessary to satisfy
the Engineer that all the specified requirements regarding
compaction can be consistently achieved.
104.3.4 Protection of Roadbed During
Construction
 A roadbed is a structure onto which the road base course is
laid.Depending on whether roadbed is located in a cut or in
an embankment, it has its own specific aspects and
different structure.
 During the construction of the roadway, the roadbed shall be
maintained in such condition that it will be well drained at all
times. Side ditches or gutters emptying from cuts to
embankments or otherwise shall be so constructed as to
avoid damage to embankments by erosion.
104.3.5 Protection of Structure
 If embankment can be deposited on one side only
of abutments, wing walls, piers or culvert
headwalls, care shall be taken that the area
immediately adjacent to the structure is not
compacted to the extent that it will cause
overturning of, or excessive pressure against the
structure.
104.3.6Rounding and Warping Slopes
 Rounding-Except in solid rock, the tops and bottoms of all
slopes, including the slopes of drainage ditches, shall be
rounded as indicated on the Plans.
 Warping-adjustments in slopes shall be made to avoid
injury in standing trees or marring of weathered rock, or
to harmonize with existing landscape features, and the
transition to such adjusted slopes shall be gradual.
Rounding and Warping Slopes
104.3.7Finishing Roadbed and Slopes
 After the roadbed has been substantially completed, the full
width shall be conditioned by removing any soft or other
unstable material that will not compact properly or serve the
intended purpose. The resulting areas and all other low
sections, holes of depressions shall be brought to grade with
suitable selected material.

 All earth slopes shall be left with roughened surfaces but

shall be reasonably uniform, without any noticeable break,
and in reasonably close conformity with the Plans or other
surfaces indicated on the Plans or as staked by the
Engineer, with no variations therefrom readily discernible as
viewed from the road.
104.3.8 Serrated Slopes
 Cut slopes in rippable material (soft rock) having
slope ratios between 0.75:1 and 2:1 shall be
constructed so that the final slope line shall consist
of a series of small horizontal steps. The step rise
and tread dimensions shall be shown on the
Plans.
104.3.9 Earth Berms
 Earth Berms is a  level space, shelf, or raised barrier (usually made
of compacted soil) separating two areas. 

 When called for in the Contract, permanent earth berms shall be

constructed of well graded materials with no rocks having a diameter
greater than 0.25 the height of the berm.
Earth Berms
104.3.9 Compacted Berm
 Compacted berm construction shall consist of moistening or
drying and placing material as necessary in locations shown
on the drawings or as established by the Engineer.
104.4 Method of Measurement
 The quantity of embankment to be paid for shall be the volume of
material compacted in place, accepted by the Engineer and formed
with material obtained from any source.

 Material from excavation per Item 102 which is used in embankment

and accepted by the Engineer will be paid under Embankment and
such payment will be deemed to include the cost of excavating,
hauling, stockpiling and all other costs incidental to the work.
104.5 Basis of Payment
 The accepted quantities, measured as prescribed in Section
104.4, shall be paid for at the Contract unit price for each of
the Pay Items listed below that is included in the Bill of
Quantities. The payment shall continue full compensation for
placing and compacting all materials including all labor,
equipment, tools and incidentals necessary to complete the
work prescribed in this Item.
 Payment will be made under:
 Pay Item Number Description Unit of Measurement

 104 (1) Embankment Cubic Meter

 104 (2) Selected, Borrow

 for topping, Case 1 Cubic Meter

 104 (3) Selected Borrow

 for topping, Case 2 Cubic Meter

 104 (4) Earth Berm Meter

Item 105 – SUBGRADE PREPARATION
 This Item shall consist of the preparation of the subgrade for the support
of overlying structural layers. It shall extend to full width of the roadway.

  subgrade is the foundation of the pavement structure, on which the

subbase is laid. Preparation of the subgrade for construction usually
involves digging, in order to remove surface vegetation, topsoil and other
unwanted material, and to create space for the upper layer of the
pavement.
105.2 Material Requirements
 stated in the Contract and except when the
subgrade is in rock cut, all materials below
subgrade level to a depth 150 mm or to such
greater depth as may be specified shall meet the
requirements of Section 104.2, Selected Borrow
for Topping.
 105.3.1 Prior Works
 Prior to commencing preparation of the subgrade, all
culverts, cross drains, ducts and the like (including their fully
compacted backfill), ditches, drains and drainage outlets
shall be completed.
105.3.2 Subgrade Level Tolerances
 The finished compacted surface of the subgrade shall conform to the
allowable tolerances as specified hereunder:

 Permitted variation from + 20 mm

design LEVEL OF SURFACE - 30 mm
Permitted SURFACE IRREGULARITY

 MEASURED BY 3-m STRAIGHT EDGE 30 mm

Permitted variation from
design CROSSFALL OR CAMBER + 0.5 %
Permitted variation from
design LONGITUDINAL GRADE over ± 0.1 %
25 m length
 105.3.4 Subgrade in Rock Excavation
 Surface irregularities under the subgrade level
remaining after trimming of the rock excavation shall
be leveled by placing specified material and
compacted to the requirements of Subsection
104.3.3.
ITEM 509 – SHEET PILES
 Sheet piles are sections of sheet materials with
interlocking edges that are driven into the ground
to provide earth retention and excavation support. 
 509.2.1 Timber Sheet Piles- are generally used for short spans in temporary
structures, and to resist light lateral loads. They are typically connected
together by tongue and groove joints.
Method of Measurement
 Sheet piling will be measured by the linear meter
of sheet piling as shown on the Plans or as
directed in writing by the Engineer, complete in
place and accepted.
 Basis of Payment
 Pay Item Number Description Unit of Measurement

509 (a) Sheet Piles (Timber) Linear Meter

509 (b) Sheet Piles (Steel) Linear Meter

509 (c) Sheet Piles (Concrete) Linear Meter