COMPARISON OF GENERAL ROUTES BY TERRAIN APPRAISAL METHODS IN NEW YORK STATE

THE APPRAISAL OF SOIL AND GEOLOGIC CONDITIONS OF TERRAINS BY THE ENGINEERING INTERPRETATION OF AIR-PHOTOS AND OTHER METHODS OF ANALYSIS HAS BECOME A VALUABLE PROCEDURE IN ASCERTAINING THE OPTIMUM LOCATIONS OF PROPOSED HIGHWAYS FROM THE STANDPOINT OF SUBSURFACE CONDITIONS. FREQUENTLY, IT IS IMPORTANT TO COMPARE THE RELATIVE EARTHWORK CONSTRUCTION COSTS OF TWO OR MORE ROUTES CONSIDERED FOR ANY PROPOSED HIGHWAY. THE METHOD USED BY THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS TO COMPARE THE PROBABLE RELATIVE EARTHWORK COSTS OF TWO GENERAL ROUTES CONSIDERED FOR A 90-MILE SECTION OF A FEDERAL INTERSTATE HIGHWAY IS DEMONSTRATED. THE SOIL AND GEOLOGIC CONDITIONS OF THE TERRAINS TRAVERSED BY THE ROUTES WERE FIRST IDENTIFIED, DELINEATED AND CLASSIFIED. THE ACTUAL EARTHWORK COSTS OF SIMILAR CLASS HIGHWAYS CONSTRUCTED IN THE PAST ON SIMILAR TERRAINS WERE STUDIED, AND INVOLVED IN THE PROPOSED ROUTES. THE PROBABLE TOTAL RELATIVE EARTHWORK CONSTRUCTION COSTS WERE THEN COMPARED FOR THE TWO GENERAL ROUTES. THESE STUDIES WERE UTILIZED, ALONG WITH OTHER CONSIDERATIONS, IN SELECTING THE MOST ECONOMICAL ROUTE FOR THE PROPOSED HIGHWAY. /AUTHOR/