Soil and rock construction

Stable structures require stable foundations

Each new road begins with soil and rock construction

Nature does not always provide the ideal ground conditions – whether for civil engineering or structural engineering projects. Quite often, the existing soil requires preliminary treatment to improve its bearing capacity. In other places, massive rock formations need to be levelled. Which methods are used to lay the foundations?

Classical applications in earthworks and rock construction are: Soil compaction, soil stabilization, routing, construction of base layers and frost protection layers.

Soil Compaction

Since the soil is frequently loose and insufficiently cohesive, earthworks are required before the base course, binder course and surface course can be laid. Compaction is the most important process in earthworks. The purpose of compaction is to reduce the volume of soil filled with air and water. This gives the soil the desired properties: it becomes more resistant to the stresses imposed by traffic and climate.

To the application
Soil Stabilisation

Road construction requires a stable base. How to improve the nature of existing soil? What are the binding agents used for this purpose?

Extremely cohesive and wet soils are not suitable for compaction by rollers. In such cases, the existing soil needs to be stabilized first to improve its bearing capacity and prepare it as a suitable base for the upper pavement structure.

To the application
Routing Operations

Before commencing the actual road building operation, the prerequisites for doing so need to be established. When driving roads through rocky terrain, cold milling machines or surface miners are used to prepare the ground for road construction – or to cut the route, as the professionals would say.

To the application
Construction of base layers

The base layer of a road lays the foundation for the upper pavement structure. It must offer excellent bearing capacity, be capable of withstanding a broad range of different climatic conditions, and remain functional over several decades. What materials are used for the construction of base layers? What properties do they need to possess?

To the application
Frost Protection Layer

The frost protection layer prevents water from rising into the road body – thus preventing frost damage to the superstructure. To this end, rock is crushed and sieved into graded aggregates, which are then laid and compacted.

To the application
Job Reports

Achieving high-quality compaction on small, cramped construction sites is often a challenge. This is why, with the H 7i, HAMM has developed a compactor that boasts super-compact dimensions.

The H 7i VIO compactor in use

A remote-controlled compactor from the H series with many extras allowed for efficient recultivation in a quarry in Southern Germany.

Remote controlled single drum roller

Benninghoven: Wirtgen soil stabilizers and Hamm rollers laid the solid foundation for the state-of-the-art asphalt mixing plant facility in Wittlich-Wengerohr.

A Facility with a Solid Foundation

At London Heathrow Airport’s new Terminal 5, the most important condition for earthworks was that the binding agents be dust-free and worked into the foundation soil.

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Solution and application expertise from a single source: Wirtgen Group machines stabilize the soil at the exhibition grounds of Germany’s 2019 national garden show.

BUGA 2019 in Heilbronn

A WR 200i combined with two Hamm compactors and a Streumaster binding agent spreader stabilized the soil during the expansion of a factory site.

Teamwork: Soil stabilization in Backnan

Wirtgen surface miners can do far more than just mine minerals. During the construction of the Chisholm Trail Parkway, they reliably chewed their way through hard rock.

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Over the course of two summers, an artificial reservoir was constructed in the Ötztal Alps. The 3520 HT compactor made a decisive contribution here to the successful construction of a lake basin.

Storage lake Ötztal Alps

The same situation at five very different job sites: the Wirtgen WR 240i handles soil stabilization and cold recycling with ease.

Top quality on every job
John Deere Construction Equipment
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