Earthwork Rules

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

PROPOSED FINISH GRADE:

Must connect to another proposed finish grade element or existing ground.
It also must connect to existing ground at a minimum of two locations on each cross section.

PROPOSED UNDERCUTS:

Must connect to another proposed undercut or proposed finish grade, not to existing ground.
ALL excavation generated by these elements will be included with the default excavation, specified by the existing ground elements.
Backfill can be isolated by the "soil type" for each specific PROPOSED UNDERCUT.

EXISTING SUITABLES:

Usually connect to another existing unsuitable or suitable or existing ground, never to any proposed finish grade element.

Inplace removals for existing suitables will not be calculated unless:

1.   Undercut layers for backfilling the removal are defined.....or
2.   An existing unsuitable lies underneath the existing suitable.

EXISTING UNSUITABLES

Usually connect to another existing unsuitable or suitable or existing ground, never to any proposed finish grade element.

An example of this (usually connecting statement) would be the "topsoil" line drawn by the Existing Features Typical Section.   This line parallels existing ground at a user defined vertical offset and doesn't connect to anything.

Unless an undercut line is also drawn, backfill for EXISTING UNSUITABLES or SUITABLES is included with the default backfill.

EXCAVATION TYPES:

Common Exc:

Excavation between top of proposed finish grade and existing ground, or completely enclosed proposed finish grade shapes, ie.. (curb & gutter).
These areas are never backfilled with any earthwork material.

Excavation between subgrade and existing ground, unless the top of proposed finish grade is encountered between subgrade and existing ground.   In those cases, subgrade excavation is the area between subgrade and top of proposed finish grade.
These areas are backfilled, usually a surfacing material such as aggregate base or pavement.

Subsoil Exc:

Excavation below existing ground and/or subgrade.   Subsoil exc would only occur where unsuitable material is being removed between user defined Excavation Limits.   These areas are normally backfilled with the default fill material (added together with typical embankment end areas).   If these areas are to be excluded from the typical embankment, simply enclose the area with an element meeting the symbology of the existing unsuitable, and add that element symbology to the input file under "Proposed Finish Grade".   Since a fully enclosed proposed finish grade is never considered fill, it will not be considered for backfill.

An example illustrating these Excavation types is shown below: