roads, loading ramps, and installing processingequipment.Operations PlanThe operations plan is prepared before any earth ismoved. The plan includes the limits of the site to bedeveloped, methods of excavation, equipment to beused, number of personnel required, and locations ofroads, structures, and support equipment. Also, plans fortraffic control and drainage are established.Clearing the SiteWhen the site is located in a wooded area, the firstoperation is to clear all timber, standing or fallen. Ifcamouflage is necessary, trees or brush outside thedesignated cleared area should not be removed.Construction equipment operations are usually themost rapid and efficient means of clearing a site. Use ofthe equipment is limited only by unusually large treesand stumps–terrain which hinders their maneuverabilityand maintenance requirements. The constructionequipment used include bulldozers, winches, powersaws, rippers, motor graders, and scrapers. In addition,hand tools are used in certain clearing operations.Brush may be disposed of by burning on the site;however, check to see if a burn permit is required.Timber of suitable dimensions should be stockpiled atthe perimeter of the site. This timber should be saved forpossible use in construction of loading ramps. Allstumps, roots, boulders, vegetation, and rubbish must beexcavated and moved clear of the site.building access roads, and leveling stockpile andequipment sites.In excavating aggregates for concrete, bituminousmixtures, or base courses, the overburden must beremoved while the aggregates are processed. Frozenmaterial is loosened either with a ripper or explosives.Overburden should be kept cleared at least 50 feet backfrom the top of the face of a quarry or pit to prevent rockand other material from falling on personnel workingnear the top of the face. Also, overburden should becleared far enough back from the top so the equipmentbeing used to clear the overburden does not interferewith drilling operations.RoadsOverburdenDrainageAdequate drainage is essential to the operation of apit or quarry. Alluvial gravel pits may be worked wet ordry, depending on water levels. Borrow pits and quarriesare normally worked dry.Drainage facilities are installed as early as possibleso the site will be dry when work starts. The means ofdrainage depends primarily upon the location and theamount of water to be eliminated. Hillside locations areeasy to drain by an interceptor ditch made along theuphill side with a scraper, dozer, or grader. When thefloor of a site is belowground level, both surface andseepage water must be disposed of. When open ditchescannot be dug to take advantage of gravity flow, allwater is directed to a sump hole. A slight slope on thesite floor must be maintained at all times to permit waterto drain away from the working face of the site.Overburden is usually removed from a pit or quarrysite by a continuous process of stripping. The methodsand equipment used in removing overburden aredependent upon the type of excavation planned, thedepth of overburden, and the distance the overburdenmust be moved. It may be advantageous to leave inplacethe overburden at military quarry sites and blast it withthe rock to provide binder for road building materials.Removal is coordinated with excavation to provide acontinuously cleared area. The spoil should be dumpedin a remote area to avoid double handling. On hillsidelocations, the spoil should be placed in banks, locatedon the downhill side, outside the working area.Remember that all overburden is not necessarilywaste. Some of the overburden is suitable for filling,Construction of access roads should start as soon asthe operations plan is completed so they are ready foruse when the pit and quarry equipment arrives. Theaccess roads should be designed for all-weatheroperation under the heaviest loads anticipated. Theroads should follow the shortest and easiest routes thatsatisfy the traffic control plan. To speed up hauling, youmust avoid sharp curves and grades kept as low aspossible. Ten percent grade (10-foot drop or climb every100 feet) is the maximum grade for truck operations,whereas tractors and graders can climb 20-percentgrades for short distances.Except for the loop at the loading site, access roadsshould provide one-way traffic—one route to enter andanother to haul out. Leave enough space between haulroads and borrow pits to avoid traffic hazards.5-9
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