Transportation Engineering and Heavy Civil Construction Review

Flashcards covering the fundamentals of transportation engineering design and heavy civil construction processes, roles, and materials.

Planning

The first phase of the transportation project lifecycle where the owner identifies a problem.

Environmental Review

The process of evaluating a project's environmental impacts and determining if they can be minimized or mitigated.

Horizontal Alignment

The top-down view design of a roadway layout, determining where the road goes and how curves are laid out.

Vertical Alignment

The side view design of a roadway profile, determining grades and elevations for safety, drainage, and driver visibility.

Typical Section

A standard cross-sectional layout showing lane widths, shoulders, and pavement layers that represents the roadway throughout the project.

Cross Sections

Slices of the roadway at various locations used to show existing ground, proposed roadway, and calculate cut and fill quantities.

Plan View

A birds-eye view of the project showing the roadway location, lines, and stationing.

Profile View

A side view used to design grades, hills, drainage, and driver visibility.

Detail Sheets

Enlarged drawings showing construction requirements, dimensions, and materials for specific components like curbs or guardrails.

Topographic Survey

A survey conducted before design to collect existing site information like elevations and utilities to create a base map.

Construction Layout

Surveying conducted during construction to mark exact locations of roadway features on the ground.

Benchmark (BM)

A permanent point with a known elevation used as the reference point for all elevation measurements on a project.

Control Point

A point with known horizontal and vertical coordinates used as a reference for surveying and layout.

Stationing

A system used to identify locations along a roadway, typically measured every $100\,ft$ from the starting point.

Total Station

Survey equipment used to measure precise distances and angles.

GPS/GNSS

Technology used to determine accurate locations using satellites.

Subgrade

The compacted native soil that forms the foundation of the roadway and supports all layers above it.

Subbase

An optional intermediate granular layer of crushed aggregate used for additional strength and drainage when existing soils are weak.

Base Course

A compacted layer of crushed aggregate placed above the subgrade or subbase to distribute vehicle loads.

Asphalt

A flexible pavement that is less expensive and easier to repair but requires more maintenance over time.

Concrete

A rigid pavement that is more durable and common on heavy-duty facilities, though it has a higher initial cost.

Mobilization

The phase in heavy civil construction involving setting up the jobsite and bringing in equipment.

Clearing and Grubbing

The removal of existing vegetation and debris to start with a clean site for construction.

Project Manager (PM)

The role responsible for budget, schedule, client communication, contracts, and overall project success.

Superintendent

The leader of the field who runs construction daily work, crews, equipment, safety, and productivity.

Foreman

The individual who directly supervises the construction crew.

Cut

The removal of material in areas where the existing ground is higher than the design elevation.

Fill

The addition of material in areas where the existing ground is lower than the design elevation.

Embankment

Engineered fill that is placed and compacted specifically to raise the ground or roadway.

Earthwork Balancing

The process of reusing suitable cut material as fill to minimize hauling and the need for imported material.

Borrow

Material brought onto the project site from an external source when more fill is needed.

Waste/Export

Excess or unsuitable excavated material that must be removed from the project site.

Grade

Slope expressed as vertical change relative to horizontal distance; for example, $2\%$ equals $2\,ft$ vertical per $100\,ft$ horizontal.

Lifts

Thin layers of fill that are individually placed and compacted rather than all at once.

Compaction

Mechanically increasing soil density by reducing air voids to improve stability and reduce settlement.

Optimum Moisture Content (OMC)

The moisture content associated with maximum dry density for a specified compactive effort.

Maximum Dry Density (MDD)

The maximum dry density of a soil as established through a laboratory compaction test.

Proctor Test

A laboratory test used to establish the relationship between soil moisture content and dry density.

Percent Compaction

The ratio of field dry density compared with laboratory maximum dry density, such as $95\%$ of $MDD$.

Smooth/Vibratory Roller

Compaction equipment commonly used for granular soils.

Padfoot/Sheepsfoot Roller

Compaction equipment designed for cohesive soils.

Pneumatic Roller

Equipment that uses pressure and kneading for compaction.

Plate Compactor/Jumping Jack

Manual compaction equipment used for confined areas or trenches.