DRAFT Geotechnical Engineering Report
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December 4, 2015 DRAFT Geotechnical Engineering Report Nursery Avenue Roadway and Drainage Improvements Town of Purcellville, Virginia 19955 Highland Vista Drive, Suite 170 Ashburn, VA 20147 Phone 703 726 8030 ● www.geoconcepts-eng.com 19955 Highland Vista Dr., Suite 170 Ashburn, Virginia 20147 (703) 726-8030 www.geoconcepts-eng.com December 4, 2015 Mr. Thomas Fleming, PE ATCS, PLC 2553 Dulles View Drive, Suite 300 Herndon, Virginia 20171 Subject: Geotechnical Engineering Report, Nursery Avenue Roadway and Drainage Improvements, Town of Purcellville, Virginia (GeoConcepts Project No. 12422.01) Dear Mr. Fleming: GeoConcepts Engineering, Inc. (GeoConcepts) is pleased to present the following geotechnical engineering report prepared for Nursery Avenue Roadway and Drainage Improvements located in Purcellville, Virginia. We appreciate the opportunity to serve as your geotechnical consultant on this project. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or want to meet to discuss the findings and recommendations contained in the report. Sincerely, GEOCONCEPTS ENGINEERING, INC. Christopher Lynch, EIT Project Engineer [email protected] DRAFT Table of Contents 1.0 Scope of Services .......................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Site Description and Proposed Construction .................................................................................... 1 3.0 Subsurface Conditions ................................................................................................................... 1 3.1 Geology .............................................................................................................................. 1 3.2 Published Soils .................................................................................................................... 2 3.3 Stratification ....................................................................................................................... 2 3.4 Groundwater ...................................................................................................................... 3 3.5 Soil Laboratory Test Results ................................................................................................. 3 3.5.1 Classification Test Results ............................................................................................ 4 3.5.2 Standard Proctor and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Test Results .................................. 4 3.5.3 Metal Corrosion Test Results ........................................................................................ 4 3.5.4 Concrete Attack Test Results ....................................................................................... 5 3.5.5 USDA Textural Classification Test Results ..................................................................... 5 4.0 Engineering Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 5 4.1 Pavements.......................................................................................................................... 5 4.2 Drainage Pipe Installations .................................................................................................. 9 4.3 Earthwork ......................................................................................................................... 10 4.4 Infiltration Analysis ........................................................................................................... 11 4.4.1 Field Infiltration Test Results ..................................................................................... 11 4.4.2 Classification Test Results .......................................................................................... 12 4.4.3 Seasonally High Water Table Determination................................................................ 12 4.4.4 Recommended Design Infiltration Rate ....................................................................... 12 5.0 General Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 13 Figure 1: Site Vicinity Map Appendix A: Subsurface Investigation Appendix B: Soil Laboratory Test Results Appendix C: Engineering Calculations DRAFT 1.0 Scope of Services This geotechnical engineering report presents the results of the field investigation, soil laboratory testing, and engineering analysis of the geotechnical data. This report specifically addresses the following: • An evaluation of subsurface conditions along the proposed construction, including comments on corrosion potential of the on-site soils based on the results of pH, resistivity, and sulfates content lab testing. • Recommendations for design and construction of the proposed roadway pavements, including a recommended flexible pavement section. Recommended pavement remediation measures based on the existing pavement condition index survey, pavement coring, test boring data, laboratory test data, traffic data analyses, and maintenance history. • Recommendations for drainage pipe installations including bearing materials and bedding thicknesses. • Earthwork recommendations for construction of roadways, including an assessment of on-site soils to be excavated for re-use as compacted fill and recommendations for fill subgrade and final pavement subgrade preparation. • Recommendations regarding the feasibility of using stormwater management by infiltration, including estimated infiltration rates based on field tests and published correlations with soil classifications. Services not specifically identified in the contract for this project are not included in the scope of services. 2.0 Site Description and Proposed Construction The Nursery Avenue Roadway and Drainage Improvements site is located in the Town of Purcellville, Virginia, from Main Street continuing south to just north of School Street, and is approximately 1,400 feet in length. A site vicinity map is presented as Figure 1 at the end of this report. Based on plans provided to us by ATCS, the proposed roadway improvements consist of construction of curb and gutter along the entire length of the project on both sides of the roadway, as well as drainage improvements. One drainage pipe greater than 36 inches in diameter will be installed near the southern limit of the project. We understand that maximum proposed cuts/fills will not exceed about 5 feet. 3.0 Subsurface Conditions Subsurface conditions were investigated by drilling a total of seven test borings in the proposed construction area. Test boring logs and a boring location plan are presented in Appendix A of this report. 3.1 Geology The Nursery Avenue site lies within the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province of Virginia. The Blue Ridge Province is a generally mountainousDRAFT upland extending from northeast to southwest, lying between the Piedmont Physiographic Province to the east and the Great Valley section of the Valley and Ridge Province to the west. The Blue Ridge Province is unusual in that it is defined based on the nature of the rocks underlying it, rather than any characteristic topography (in many places the eastern edge of the Blue Ridge Province is indistinguishable topographically from the adjacent western Piedmont Province). The Blue Ridge Mountains, also sometimes referred to as the “Blue Ridge Front”, form a prominent escarpment visible for many miles to the east, marking the erosion resistant central rocks of the Province. The elevation of the peaks along the crest of the Blue Ridge range from less than 2,000 feet in the northeast, to over 5,000 feet above sea level in the southwest, reaching a maximum elevation at Mount Rogers (EL 5,729), the highest point in Virginia. December 4, 2015 12422.01 Page 1 The Blue Ridge province contains some of the oldest rocks in Virginia, dating to 1.8 billion years before present. These ancient rocks are folded upwards in an eroded “anticlinorium”, the flanks of which are surrounded by younger rocks ranging from 1 billion to 400 million years before present. The entire region was formed during the mountain-building event called the “Appalachian Orogeny” a result of the collision of the North American and African tectonic plates at the end of the Paleozoic geologic era, approximately 265 million years ago. The underlying natural soils are residual materials derived from the physical and chemical weathering of the underlying bedrock. The bedrock beneath the site consists of a granite rock belonging to the Garnetiferous Leucocratic Metagranite Formation from the Pre-Cambrian Geologic Period. 3.2 Published Soils A review of the Loudoun County soils maps indicates that the construction will be built on Class I and IV soils. Specifically, Soil Mapping Units 10B and 23B are located on the site. The groundwater conditions are discussed in Section 3.4 of this report. The Loudoun County soils mapping is shown on Figures 2A and 2B in Appendix A of this report, and is presented in the table below. Soil Type Characteristics by Mapping Unit Published Published Mapping Slope Hydrologic Depth to Depth to Soil Group Drainage Unit (percent) Soil Group Water Restrictive Table Feature Mongle Loam Brief About 10 to 24 10B 0 to 7 D > 80 inches (Class IV) ponding inches Purcellville Silt Well- 23B 2 to 7 B > 80 inches > 80 inches Loam (Class I) drained According to the Interpretive Guide to the Use of Soils Maps – Loudoun County, Virginia (2000),