Fill

Fill is earthy material which is used to fill in a depression or hole in the ground or create
mounds or otherwise artificially change the grade or elevation of real property. It is
generally sourced from cuttings, borrow pits or from other excavations on-site. In some
instances, where fill is not available on-site, it may need to be imported from elsewhere.

Fill is usually subsoil (soil from beneath the top soil) which has little soil organic matter or
biological activity. Fill should be as free of organic matter as possible since organic matter
will decompose creating pockets of empty space within the fill which could result in settling.
Uneven or excessive settling of the fill can result in damage to any structures built on the
fill. Fill is generally a natural material that has been cut/dug out of the ground with little to
no processing, and is required to provide sufficient strength to hold form when compacted
or placed.

In roadworks, fill is most commonly used to build up the road embankment or shoulders, or
to replace material that is unsuitable to construct upon. Fill used for embankment
construction is most prevalent when filling valleys/gullies in undulating terrain, and where
roads are to be 'built up' on flood plains and bridge approaches. Types of fill include:

Select fill

Select fill is superior quality material, used principally as capping, selected material,
structural material and/or verge material and which is specified with a minimum California
Bearing Ratio (CBR) value. Select fill materials are commonly specified for use in the
construction of:

 the earthworks layer immediately beneath the pavement layers

 earthworks capping and verge layers
 spill-through abutment fills and behind abutment areas of bridge approach
embankments
 reinforced soil embankments
 fill placed adjacent to retaining walls
 pipe and culvert backfill.
The maximum stone size for select fill used for roadwork's is 75mm. Select fill is required to
be compacted; and when compacted, should be non-permeable (i.e water should not flow
through it).

General fill

General fill is a medium quality material which does not meet the requirements of select fill,
which is usually specified with a minimum CBR value. General fill materials are usually used
to:

 Provide a stable platform during construction so that select fill and pavement layers
can be satisfactorily placed.
 Provide an elevated platform for a pavement such that adequate clearance is
provided between the groundwater table or inundation level and the bottom of the
pavement, and to protect the pavement from moisture infiltration.
 Provide a more economical earthworks design than when using higher quality
material for the whole of the fill embankment.

Non-structural fill

Non-structural fill is a lesser quality material which does not meet the requirements of
select fill or general fill material, and which may be used in non-structural zones of
embankments.

Rock fill

Rock fill is a permeable material comprised of larger rock and rock fragments which may be
used as drainage layers in areas subject to inundation or groundwater inflows or where
general and non-structural fills are unsuitable, commonly due to the low strength of in situ
soils.

Permeable fill

Permeable fill material is a self-draining material, typically sand or aggregate that is

generally used to provide a capillary break within a layered earthworks/pavement profile or
to provide a drainage medium to intercept and drain groundwater inflow.

Related Pages

 Road Construction

External Links & References