--- title: "Road construction equipment and mass haul characteristics" subject: "Transportation Engineering II" chapter: 3 key: "semester_7/transportation_engineering_ii:mass-haul-diagram-equipment-plants" source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/transportation_engineering_ii/mass-haul-diagram-equipment-plants site: BCT Engineering --- # Road construction equipment and mass haul characteristics Transportation Engineering II · Chapter 3: Road Construction Technology - Asked in: 2078 Bhadra, 4+4 marks; 2074 Asoj, 8 marks; 2068 Baisakh, 2+6 marks (asked 3 times) - Video: [Lesson 4: Part 2 (Cut-to-Fill Haul Calculations)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byg_t93vvBU) — Heavy Construction Operations and Equipment - Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14 - Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/transportation_engineering_ii/mass-haul-diagram-equipment-plants - Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_7/transportation_engineering_ii/chapter-3 ## Question Discuss tools, equipment and plants used in road construction. List out the characteristics of Mass haul Diagram. ## Short answer Road construction employs bulldozers, excavators, graders, rollers, pavers, crushers, and hot-mix plants for clearing, earthwork, compaction, and paving. Mass haul diagram: a rising curve indicates cut>fill, peaks mark cut-to-fill changes, a balancing line shows balanced sections where vertical distance gives volume and line length gives haul distance; area between curve and line is haul (m³·m). ## Answer #### Tools, equipment and plants used in road construction Tools, equipment and plants are grouped by the work they do. | Work | Equipment / plant | Use | |---|---|---| | Clearing and earth work | Bulldozer, excavator (backhoe), front-end loader, scraper, motor grader, tipper/dumper | Clearing, cutting, loading, hauling, spreading and trimming soil; forming camber and side drains | | Compaction | Smooth-wheel roller (8-10 t), vibratory roller, sheep-foot roller, pneumatic tyre roller, plate compactor, rammer | Compact subgrade, sub-base, base and bituminous layers | | Aggregate production | Stone crusher (jaw/cone), screens, batching plant | Produce graded aggregate for WBM, WMM, bituminous and concrete | | Granular layers | Grader, paver or aggregate spreader, water tanker, WMM mixing plant | Mixing, spreading and wetting of GSB, WBM and WMM | | Bituminous work | Bitumen boiler/heater, pressure distributor (sprayer), hot-mix plant (batch or drum), paver-finisher, chip spreader, sweeper/broom | Spray prime, tack and seal coats; mix, lay and finish bituminous mixes | | Cement concrete | Concrete batching plant, transit mixer, slip-form or fixed-form paver, needle and surface vibrators, joint cutter, curing sprayer | Produce, place, compact and finish PQC; saw joints | | Soil stabilisation | Pulveriser (rotavator), cement/lime spreader | Mix cement or lime with soil | | Small tools | Spades, wheelbarrows, tamping rammers, straight edge, templates, levelling staff, thermometers | Hand work and quality checks | Plants (hot-mix plant, crusher, batching plant) are fixed installations that produce materials; equipment is mobile machinery that places and compacts them. The choice depends on the quantity of work, haul distance, site access and cost; on small hill roads in Nepal, labour-based methods with light equipment are common. #### Characteristics of the mass haul diagram 1. A rising curve shows that cut exceeds fill; a falling curve shows that fill exceeds cut. 2. A peak marks a change from cut to fill, and a valley marks a change from fill to cut. 3. A horizontal line (balancing line) cuts the curve at points between which cut and fill are equal, so the earth between these points is balanced. 4. The vertical distance from the balancing line to the peak (or valley) between two such points gives the volume of earth moved from cut to fill in that section. 5. The length of the balancing line between two intersection points gives the maximum haul distance for that balanced volume. 6. Where the curve lies above the balancing line, the haul is forward (in the direction of increasing chainage); where it lies below, the haul is backward. 7. The area between the curve and the balancing line is the haul (volume times distance, m3-m); dividing it by the balanced volume gives the average haul distance. 8. A steep slope shows heavy earthwork; a flat portion shows little net cut or fill. 9. The ordinate at the end of the curve gives the net excess (to be wasted) or deficit (to be borrowed) for the whole length. ## Check yourself The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why. 1. What is the difference between a plant and equipment? A. Plants are hand tools; equipment is fixed B. Plants are fixed installations that produce materials; equipment is mobile machinery that places and compacts them C. Plants are mobile; equipment is fixed D. They mean the same thing Answer: B. Hot-mix plant, crusher and batching plant are fixed; rollers, pavers and graders are mobile. (Key point: Plant vs equipment) 2. Which group of equipment suits bituminous work? A. Bitumen boiler, pressure distributor, hot-mix plant, paver-finisher, chip spreader B. Jaw crusher and screens only C. Needle vibrators and joint cutter D. Sheep-foot roller and rammer only Answer: A. Bituminous work needs heating, spraying, mixing, laying and chip spreading equipment. (Key point: Equipment for work) 3. What does the end ordinate of the mass haul diagram give? A. The haul distance of the first section B. The free haul distance C. Excess to be wasted or deficit to be borrowed for the whole length D. The shrinkage factor Answer: C. The final cumulative volume is the net surplus (waste) or shortage (borrow). 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