Building a cycle path – Day 2

Following the initial site setup and agreeing the route of the cycleway, on Day 2 the full excavation works were completed. The surface vegetation and top soil were stripped off and the pathway was excavated to good ground. Any vegetation or top soil could decompose leaving voids in the sub-grade possibly resulting in pathway failure through settlement. Fortunately in this case we reached a firm clay and rock subsoil at the specified formation level so were not required to excavate any further. Poor ground, soft spots and previous construction backfill can often require the sub-grade to be reduced even further which can add time and expense to a project.

Excavation to formation level

 

Due to the anticipated light-duty traffic of a cycle path it is generally not a requirement to test the strength of a sub-grade on site. In this case, the Highways Inspector made another visit to confirm the suitability of the soil and allowed the next phase of works to commence: the sub-base…

Visual inspection of the sub-grade