Civil engineering grading design

In many instances, the biggest variable cost for developing a site is grading. Grading is the construction process of altering existing ground surface elevations for producing roadways, parking lots, building pads and other site development features.

There are numerous economic factors civil engineers consider during the grading design process, including:

1. Rock excavation can be very expensive, and areas of cut (lowering existing ground surface elevations) should be minimized in areas with rock.
2. Grading volumes should be balanced between the amount of cut and fill (increasing existing ground surface elevations). Too much cut and soil will need to be hauled from the site; too much fill and soil will need to be hauled to the site. With high diesel fuel prices, the hauling expense may not be economically feasible for a development project.
3. Areas with unsuitable soils (soils with insufficient strength or other undesirable properties to support the planned use) will have to be excavated, removed and replaced, driving up the construction cost for site development.

The LandTech civil engineering grading design process places an emphasis on minimizing rock excavation, minimizing cut and fill volumes, balancing cut and fill volumes, and if possible avoiding areas of the site with unsuitable soil.

We would be happy to discuss any grading design question you have about your site development project in the Knoxville or East Tennessee region.

For more information, visit our website: http://landtechco.com/home