Winter Earthwork Construction in Upper Michigan.
Abstract
Winter earthwork construction was observed in three counties in Michigan's Upper Peninsula during the 1975-76 season. These included a state highway in Alger County, a county highway in Marquette County being built essentially to state standards, and a series of county road segments in Ontonagon County for primarily local traffic. In all cases, construction methods are used which exclude frozen soil from the central core of the embankment, with frozen soil permitted in the outer slope zone. This zone must be compacted during warm weather as part of final shaping and cleanup. While all projects were technically successful, construction was halted in early February on one project because it was uneconomical for the contractor to continue. The need for frequent removal of snowfall was one factor in this decision. On another project, the contractor successfully exploited soil freezing to form stable smooth haul roads for his scrapers. In this case, the sand was so clean that hauling would have been difficult if the sand had not been frozen. The road construction in Ontonagon County was done by county road commission employees when their time and equipment were not needed for snow removal. Most of the work consisted of raising the grade of existing roads by 18 inches of non-frost-susceptible soil to minimize frost heaving and loss of bearing capacity. This winter activity resulted in better utilization of county equipment and work crews. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA049052
Entities
People
- B. D. Alkire
- J. E. Dingeldein
- W. M. Haas
Organizations
- Michigan Technological University