CONSTRUCTING THE ROAD BED

Soil as Structure – with the long study of the unending road failures, road agencies have established a more detailed
procedure regarding the kind of materials to be used on a particular condition, type and behavior of the soil where the
road is to be constructed.

Three Major Structural Parts of Roadway:

1. The Sub-grade or sub-base is the earth or soil beneath the road, properly arranges and graded, compacted and
stabilized.
a.) Cut Section of Road – the sub-base is the original soil below the layers designated as the base
b.) Fill Section of Road – the sub-base consists of transported materials taken from nearby roadway cuts or
from borrow pit.

2. The Base Coarse – is the materials laid on top of the sub-grade or sub-base consisting of crushed stone or
gravel, sometimes mixed with asphalt binders.

3. The Pavement – is the materials laid over the base coarse base course consisting of Asphalt Concrete or
Portland Cement Concrete.

Sub-grade or Sub-base Coarse Aggregate is classified by DPWH as:

1. Item 200, Item 201, Item 202 which consist of furnishings, placing and compacting aggregate sub-base
coarse on a prepared sub-grade that differ from the grading requirements and conditions of the DPWH
standards.
2. Item 203 – Lime Stabilized Road Mix Base Coarse - consist of foundation for a surface coarse composed
of soil aggregate, lime and water proportion mixed on site and constructed on a prepared sub-grade or sub-
base.
3. Item 204 – Portland Cement Stabilized Road Mix Base Coarse – consist of a foundation for surface
composed of soil aggregate, Portland cement and water, proper proportions of road-mixed placed on a
prepared sub-grade or sub-base.
4. Item 205 – Asphalt Stabilized Road Mixed Base Coarse – Asphalt materials should be Anionic r Cationic
Emulsion asphalt of the slow setting type. The amount of asphalt material to be added to aggregate should
be from 4 to 7 mass percent of the dry aggregate.
5. Item 206 – Portland Cement Treated Plant Mix Base Coarse
a.) Travel Plant Mixing Method – new aggregate is pulverized at least 80 mass percent other than stone or
gravel.
b.) Central Plant Mixing Method – the plant is equipped with feeding and metering devices that will
introduce the cement aggregate and water into the mixer in quantities specified.
c.) Spreading, Compacting and Finishing – not more than 60 minutes should elapse from the start of
mixing to compaction of the laid mixture.

Types of Base Coarse

1. The granular base coarse or untreated soil mixture – it is a road surface of untreated soil mixture described
as gravel road
2. Treated base coarse – in order to stabilize the base coarse either asphalt, lime Portland cement or other
materials are mixed with the aggregates base coarse.
 a.) Sand and Asphalt Base Coarse – composed of either loose beach sand, dune pit or river sand cemented
with asphalt materials.
b.) Fine Grain Asphalt Base – is an asphalt stabilized base and sub-grade constructed with fine grained has a
controlled Plastic Index of 6 to 10.
c.) Soil and Base Coarse Stabilized with Cement – cement stabilization y mixing natural materials and
Portland cement compacted at optimum moisture content and cured to hydrate the cement is considerably
strong and stable base.
Clearing and Grubbing is categorized by DPWH standard specifications as:
1. Item 100 – which consist of clearing, grubbing, removing and disposing of all vegetable matter and debris
except those objects that are designated to remain in place or are to be removed in consonance with other
provisions of the specifications.
2. Method of Measurement
a.) Area Basis – by hectare and fractions thereof acceptably cleared and grubbed.
b.) Lump Sum Basis – no measurement will be made
c.) Individual Unit Basis – selective clearing. Diameter of trees will be measured 1.4 meters above the
ground.
d.) Pay item designation according to schedule of sizes:
- Over 15 cm to 90 cm - Small
- Over 90 cm - Large
Excavation
The process of loosening and removing earth or rock from its original position in a cut and transporting it to a fill or
to waste deposit.
Classification of Road Excavation:
1. Unclassified excavation – excavation and disposal of all materials regardless of its nature, or not classified
and included in the Bill of Quantities under other pay item

2. Rock excavation – consist of rocks that cannot be excavated without blasting or use of rippers and all
boulders or other detached stones each having a volume of 1 cubic meter.

3. Common excavation – not included in the Bill of Quantities under rock excavation or other pay items.

4. Muck excavation – removal and disposal of saturated or unsaturated mixtures of soils and organic matter not
suitable for foundation materials regardless of moisture contents.

5. Borrow excavation – excavation and utilization of approved materials for the construction of embankment

Free Haul and Overhaul

Free Haul – is the specified distance wherein an excavated material will be hauled without additional cost,
usually 600 meters unless specified in the contract.
Overhaul – is an authorized hauling in excess of free haul distance.
Construction of Fill and Embankment
Fill - refers to a volume of earthen material that is placed and compacted for the purpose of filling in a hole or
depression.
Embankments or Fills - are constructed of materials that usually consist of soil, but may also include
aggregate, rock, or crushed paving material.

Construction
Stable embankment is attained by spreading the materials into thin layers then compacted at moisture content
closer to optimum.

Embankment Control
1. Specify the expected value and to ascertain from the fill density test that the specified amount is
obtained
2. Specify the manner and methods of constructing the embankment particularly the layer thickness,
moisture control and the number of passes by a roller of specified type and weight.
3. Use of proper spreading and compaction equipment

Construction Requirements & Equipment

1. Density test requirements
2. Moisture control
3. Compaction equipment

Compaction Equipment
1. Tamping Roller or compactor
2. Grid Roller
3. Pneumatic Tire Roller
4. Smooth Tired Roller
5. Vibratory Compactor
6. Bob Cat Compactor

Hauling Equipment
1. Pay loader
2. Backhoe
3. Dump truck
4. Trailer & Tractor
5. Bulldozer
6. Ready Mixed Concrete Truck

DPWH Specifications on Embankment is Item 104

1. Embankment shall be constructed of suitable materials
2. Must follow the construction method as specified
a.) Sods and vegetable matters must be removed for embankment below 120 cm below the sub-grade
b.) Loose volume of soil must be compacted not exceeding 20 cm before the next layer is placed
c.) Remove rocks greater than the thickness of the layers prescribed
d.) Hauling and leveling equipment should be routed and distributed over each layer of the fill to
make use of compaction efforts affording and to minimize rutting and uneven compaction.
3. Must conduct full-scale compaction trials on areas not less than 10 meters wide and 50 meters long,
before any work with the corresponding material is allowed to start.
4. Protection of Roadbed during construction it shall be maintained and drained at all times.
5. Rounding and Warping Slope - the top and bottom of all slopes including the slope drainage, ditches,
are rounded as planned. Warping slope in order to avoid injury to trees.

Sub-grade Preparation
Sub-grade preparation is categorized under Item 105 of the DPWH standard specifications.

Material requirements
1. Depth of sub-grade materials should be 15 cm or more
2. Prior to start of the sub-grade preparation, all culverts, cross drains, conduits and the like including
the backfill, ditches, drains and drainage outlets are thoroughly compacted.

Compaction and Stabilization

Materials placed in the sub-base should acquire the following properties:
1. The soil must have adequate strength
2. The soil must be relatively incompressible to avoid insignificant future settlement
3. The soil must be stable against volume change as water content or other factors vary
4. The soil must be durable and save against deterioration
5. The soil must possess proper permeability
CONSTRUCTING THE ROAD BED

Assignment
Semifinal Period

Research the usage, capacity and produce at least 2 pictures of the equipment listed below. Submit your
report in at least 2 pages of long size paper on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018.

Compaction Equipment
1. Tamping Roller or compactor - Homer Bartolay
2. Grid Roller - Ian Briones
3. Pneumatic Tire Roller - Norjel Contreras
4. Smooth Tired Roller - Angelo Javines
5. Vibratory Compactor - Waren Luzada

Hauling Equipment
7. Grader - Pearly Masangya
8. Pay loader - Franklin Mirana
9. Backhoe - Jan Noble
10. Dump truck - Christian Pabilando
11. Trailer & Tractor - Mark Sarol
12. Bulldozer - John Solo