UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

OREGON

[CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATION]{.underline}

[CS-14 EARTH FILL, CLASS A]{.underline}

14.1 SCOPE

> The work shall consist of the construction of earth fills where the
> degree of compaction is to be checked and controlled by standard
> compaction tests and continuous inspection.

14.2 [MATERIALS]{.underline}

> All fill material shall be obtained from the approved excavation or
> borrow area. The selection, blending, routing and disposition of
> materials within the embankment shall be subject to the approval of
> the technician. Fill materials shall contain no frozen material and
> shall be free of all organic and foreign material. Cobbles and rock
> fragments having a maximum lineal dimension of more than 6 inches
> shall be removed from the fill prior to compaction. No fill shall be
> placed on a frozen surface.

14.3 [FOUNDATION PREPARATION]{.underline}

> After stripping, the foundation shall be loosened thoroughly by
> scarifying or plowing to a minimum depth of 2 inches. The foundation
> area shall be bonded with the first layer of fill and compacted to the
> density and moisture specified for the fill. All foundation and
> abutment surfaces shall not be steeper than 1:1 unless otherwise
> specified on the drawings.

14.4 [PLACEMENT]{.underline}

> All foundation excavation and/or preparation shall be completed before
> placing fill. The fill shall be placed such that the distribution of
> materials is essentially uniform throughout the entire fill and is
> free from lenses, pockets, streaks, frozen material or layers of
> material differing substantially from surrounding material.
>
> Equipment weighing 400 pounds or more per foot of width shall not be
> operated within 2 feet of any structure.
>
> Fill shall be placed in approximately equal horizontal layers. Fill
> layer thickness before compaction shall not exceed 6 inches for
> machine compaction. The foundation area shall be bonded with the first
> layer of fill. Fill layer thickness adjacent to structure walls shall
> not exceed 4 inches before compaction by hand directed power tampers.

14.5 [MOISTURE CONTENT]{.underline}

> Moisture content for the fill matrix at the time of compaction shall
> be specified within the range of +/- 2% of the optimum moisture as
> determined using ASTM D-698. Adequate moisture to control dust shall
> be maintained at all work areas.
>
> The fill material shall be brought to the specified moisture range
> before compaction. Material that is too wet for compaction shall be
> allowed to dry before compaction or be removed from the embankment.
>
> If the top surface of a preceding layer or foundation becomes too dry
> or over compacted, it shall be scarified and moistened prior to
> placement of the next layer of fill.

14.6 [COMPACTION]{.underline}

> The compacted fill shall have a density of not less than 95% of the
> standard proctor density as determined by ASTM D-698. The in-place
> density of the compacted fill shall be determined using test
> procedures ASTM D-1556, "Density of Soil in Place by the Sand-Cone
> Method", ASTM
>
> D-2167, "Density of Soil in Place by the Rubber Balloon Method", ASTM
> D-2937, "Standard Test Method for Density of Soil in Place by the
> Drive-Cylinder Method", ASTM D-2923, and "Density of Soil and Soil
> Aggregate in Place by Nuclear Methods at Shallow Depths".
>
> The passage of heavy equipment shall not be allowed over cast-in-place
> conduits until 7 days after placement of the concrete. The passage of
> heavy equipment over conduits shall not be allowed until the height of
> the compacted backfill above the top surface of the conduit equals
> one-half of the clear span width of the conduit, or 2 feet, whichever
> is greater.
>
> Compaction of backfill adjacent to structures is governed by
> Construction Specification CS-17, Structural Backfill.

14.7 [TESTING]{.underline}

> Density of the compacted fill shall be tested during the course of the
> work by the technician following the methods described in ASTM D-698,
> D-1556, and D-2167. Moisture content may be field measured by use of
> Speedy Moisture testing, but the readings shall be verified by the
> oven-dry method described in ASTM D-2216. Test procedures and records
> shall be maintained for the installation.

14.8 [ITEMS OF WORK AND CONSTRUCTION DETAILS FOR THIS
PROJECT]{.underline}