ABSTRACT
This paper deals with the construction of a high road embankment over soft peat up to 15m thick and describes the behavior of the embankment during placement and after opening the road to traffic. To ensure stability during construction it was necessary to determine the maximum safe rate of placement of fill and also the magnitude and rate of settlement due to consolidation of the peat. Comparisons are shown between vane shear strength, immediate undrained shear strength in the triaxial apparatus and point resistance in the Dutch cone penetration test. A relationship between water content and compressibility is established, and it is shown that, as to be expected, there is a very marked increase in undrained shear strength with increase in effective consolidation pressure.
