# Temp Road on Wet and Unstable Ground



## Trencher (Mar 6, 2007)

Hi guys!

I am working a job that has a limited budget. It is a 150 foot temporary drive for a business with high volume.

In the beginning I went in and cut out 6 inches, or more, of dirt to ensure solid foundation. Once cut and was letting dry, in came a demo. crew with a huge Sky-Trac forklift to wreck a portion of a building. 

Well, in doing the demo RIGHT AFTER IT RAINED they rutted the ground and got the forklift buried. As it would be, they tried the forks to push themselves out by using my road I had cut. :furious:

Now the base is screwed up and it rained again - saturating it ALL!
A week went by with the forklift still stuck and had been rained on a couple of times afterwards. They finally got the forklift out but did not pump out the water. So now the forklift is out and I graded out the ruts BUT the PM wants to build the road with what I have to work with - A SATURATED BASE. :no:

So, with limited funds, he said to go ahead and put down the GeoGrid and put my rock on top of it (engineered suggested 6/10 limestone for the grid). :blink: I rolled out grid and placed the 6/10 on it (packing as I went). From the looks of it, it had the looks of a good foundation....*until*...
We had a huge rainstorm come through dumping more than 4 inches in 6 hours (guessing). Now the ground is completely saturated, the road is one big dripping sponge, and the PM wants to open the road to traffic!!!!! 

Well, as things would have it cars instantly started to pump the road and pushed the 6/10 through the grid into the mud. Ruts were being created causing the road to sink and become unuseable. With the bad foundation, wet limestone and no time to set and dry I had to sit and babysit this thing as people were getting pissed off as they drove through it getting their cars muddy! 


There are no rocks in the ground. It is common southern earth. The ground has been disturbed and is saturated at least 4 feet in depth. 

Any suggestions as to how to go about making a road in this area and it be usable on Monday with limited funds the PM is willing to spend? (which I have no clue as to the amount)

I have a suggestion for the PM, but he will not want to do it. I would like to hear ya'lls ideas before I tell mine...that way I will be convinced I had a good one. 

Thanks!




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## tgeb (Feb 9, 2006)

To steal from Alan Jackson, "This won't take too long it'll just take money" 

Is there any way to dewater this area with some drain piping?

I would cut out and salvage as much of the stone as possible, then cut out a good bit of that muddy stuff, get down at least 2 feet from finish grade.

Then lay down some filter fabric, and put down a layer of 2" to 3" stone at least 1 foot thick before compacting it, then put clean stone on top of that.

You can "bridge" soft spots this way, and since this is a temporary driveway you should be alright.

Good luck with it.
If it's as high volume business as you indicate I would think he could spend a few bucks to keep the traffic flowing.


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## TMatt142 (Apr 28, 2006)

Well, of course if you have some area to drain the water off to, grade it first so it will drain off. Not sure how much sand is in your area but sand when wet becomes firm. plus it would soak up the water from the clay base. Any way you look at it, your PM is going to need to understand that you can't build sh*t with sh*t!!! Rock is great and all that but it does nothing for the subgrade underneath if it's clay especially if it's only 6" of it. If there is no place for the water to go, your always going to have trouble keeping that area hard enough for traffic to run on it....


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## rino1494 (Jan 31, 2006)

Right thing to do is to take out the mud and lay down a layer of shale or shot rock for a base. 

Consult with the engineer. We did a job a few years back where it was all fly ash and we couldn't get compaction. The engineer suggested mixing in mortar mix. We had to keep mixing it around with the bucket. The material got like concrete and passed the compaction tests.


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## Trencher (Mar 6, 2007)

Thanks guys!

My father, who used to be the premiere drilling location and road constructor in N. Louisiana, said the exact same thing ALL of you said. 

bridging, fly ash mixing, de-watering with piping, etc..

My idea was similar, but based on the time given for this to be opened, and the pending weather, I was going to suggest a mat road for the quickest fix. Although the mats would still sink and be uneven, if not tied in together, I would connect them with timber. Now, that is not the best solution, but it may be the best band-aid with the time and money constraints.

Now, with the rental/purchase of the mats you still run into a HUGE cost, so the PM may just have to delay the opening of the road and bridge it by properly cutting out 3+ foot of bad dirt (slush mud), fill 1 foot of 3-4 inch limestone, layer of river sand, Barrac 1100 grid, 57 stone, 6/10 limestone, compact and grade.

Corrections?


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## Blas (Jan 29, 2008)

I would subcut the road about two feet or so (salvaging the class 5) and tell anybody hauling broken blacktop free dump. It makes an awesome temp road and breaks up with a dozer crawling on it. (respread the salvaged rock for an even grade). That is just my opinion. I am not sure if that would be a viable option in your situation.

Good luck and see below for reassurance.


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## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

i'd dig down to firm ground and get all that crap out of there, haul everything currently you have filled in there to the rubble site. lay in some underdrains to create a method of keeping it free of water, you maybe able to daylight this somewhere, of by means of sump pumps. lay down some fabric on top of that, and haul in whatever granular material locally that's cheap to bring it up 2 within 6" of desired grade, top it of with 6" of recycle asphalt


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## Trencher (Mar 6, 2007)

The classic, "I am going to give you free reign on this job; just get it done", lie.

The PM gives the OK to do what it takes, but when I run it by him what I am intending to do, he desides against it saying, "We are going to do it the way I said we are going to do it.", 

so I told him the classic, "I am not taking responsibility for the failure of the task", response. 


So, the plan is to take up 1 foot of dirt...(mud)..., spread 57 stone, double layer grid (offset), relayer 6/10 limestone, and drive on it regardless of condition. 


I will take some pictures of this as hell breaks loose when customers start to get stuck.


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## Cole (Aug 27, 2004)

Looking forward to the pics!


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## rino1494 (Jan 31, 2006)

Still need a good subase such as shale or shot rock. With smaller stone, the weight of cars just push it down in the mud and the driveway "pumps". With bigger rock as a base, it will keep from pushing into the mud. The flatter ther rock, the better.

Surfboards are not round.


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

Trench,

The conditions you describe are caused by the inability for the water in the ground to migrate through the ground and go someplace else. Creating a way for it to move through the ground would be the most effective thing to do.

You then need to create a surface to travel on. Years ago we would bring in the biggest blasted rock or surface boulders and dump them in and run them over until they hardened up the area. So if there's a pile of junk rock somewhere? These roads have never moved.

Today with fabric's the idea of bridging the wet area is the most popular way to go. From what you have described the it seems it will be hard to achieve the desired results. Make sure your getting paid no matter what!! Get paid up to date before you start the new idea.


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## Trencher (Mar 6, 2007)

There is this one section of the road I believe needs to have a French mattress installed. I doubt it will be allowed with the purchase of new materials, but it would stop the sinking of that particular part of the drive.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!!!!


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## Driftwood (Feb 15, 2004)

From what you've said,You need to dump This Guy quick! Think He's really going to pay you? You're getting set up! Talk to Dad about this on!


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