17

Protection Work
17 -1 APRON

17-1.1 Description

This work shall consist of laying boulders directly or in gabion crates on the bed of rivers for
protection against scour.

17-1.2 General

The stones used in apron shall be sound, hard, durable and fairly regular in shape. Stones
subject to marked deterioration by water or weather shall not be used.

The thickness and shape of apron shall be as indicated in the drawings.

The surface on which the apron is to be laid shall be levelled and prepared for the length and
width as shown on the drawings.

17-1.3 Laying Boulder Apron

The size of stone shall be as large as possible. In no case, shall any fragment weigh less than
40 kg. The specific gravity of stones shall be as high as possible and it shall not be less than
2.50.

To ensure regular and orderly disposition of the full intended quantity of stone in the apron,
template cross walls in dry masonry shall be built about a metre thick and to the full height of
the specified thickness of the apron at intervals of 30 m all along the length and width of the
apron. Within these walls, the stone shall then be hand-packed.

17-1.4 Laying GI Wire Crates (Gabion) and Mattresses in the Apron

The crates shall be made from 5 mm galvanised iron wire. The mesh of the crate shall not be
more than 150 mm.

Wire crates for shallow or accessible situations shall be 3 m x 1 m x 0.5 m in size. Where
there is a chance of overturning, the crate shall be divided into 1.5 m compartments by cross
netting.

For deep or inaccessible situations, wire crates can be made smaller subject to the approval of
the Engineer.

Wire crates built in-situ shall not be larger than 3 m x 1 m x 1 m nor smaller than 2 m x 1 m
x 0.3 m. Sides of large crates shall be securely stayed at intervals of not more than 1.5 m to
prevent bulging.

The netting shall be made by fixing a row of spikes on a beam at a spacing equal to the mesh.
The beam must be a little longer than the width of netting required. The wire is to be cut to
lengths about three times the length of the net required. Each piece is bent at the middle and
circled around one of the spikes. Then, the weaving shall commence from one corner.

A double twist shall be given at each intersection. This twisting shall be carefully done by
means of a strong iron bar. In twisting, 5 half turns shall be given to the bar at each splice.
 The bottom and two ends of the crate or mattress shall be made at one time. The other two
sides shall be made separately and shall be secured to the bottom and to the ends by twisting
adjacent wires together. The top of the crate shall be made separately. It shall be fixed in the
same manner as the sides after the crate or mattress has been filled with stones.

Wherever possible, crates shall be placed in position before filling with boulders. The crates
shall be filled carefully by hand-packing of the boulders as tightly as possible. Mere
throwing of stones or boulders shall not be permitted.

17 -2 PITCHING ON SLOPES

17-2.1 Description

The work “pitching” shall consist of covering the slopes of guide banks, river training works
and road embankments with stones, boulders or bricks over a layer of granular material called
‘filter’.

17-2.2 General

The pitching shall be provided as indicated on the drawings.

Stones subjected to marked deterioration by water or weather shall not be accepted. The
stones shall be sound, hard, durable and fairly regular in shape. The largest possible stones
shall be supplied. In no case, shall any fragment of stone weigh less than 40 kg unless
otherwise permitted by the Engineer. The sizes of spalls shall be minimum of 25 mm and
shall be suitable to fill the voids in the pitching.

To drain out seepage water and to prevent erosion of the base material, one or more layers of
graded materials, commonly known as a filter medium, shall be provided underneath the
pitching. The material for the filter shall consist of sound gravel, stone or brick ballast and
coarse sand. For a single-layer filter, the compacted thickness shall not be less than 150 mm.
For a multi-layer filter, the compacted thickness of each layer shall not be less than 115 mm.

The gradation of the filter material shall satisfy the following requirements:

Requirements for filter material

A. (i) D15 of Filter = 5 to 40, provided that the filter does not contain
D15 of Base Material more than 5% of material finer than 0.075
mm.
Note 1 : Filter may not be required if embankment consists of CH or Ch soils having a liquid limit of greater
than 30 and a resistance to surface erosion.
Note 2 : In this case, if a layer of material is used as bedding for pitching then it shall be well graded and its
D85 size shall be at least twice the size of maximum void in pitching.
Note 3 : D15 means the size of the sieve that allows 15% by weight of the filter material to pass through it.

(ii) D15 of Filter = 5 or less.

(iii) The grain-size curve of the filter should be roughly parallel to that of the base
material.
 B. If more than one filter layer is required, the same requirement as given above shall be
followed. The finer filter shall be considered as the base material for selection of
gradation of the coarser filter.

C. The filter material shall be suitably compacted to a firm condition.

17-2.3 Construction Operations

Before laying the pitching, the sides of banks shall be trimmed to the required slope and
profiles. Prior to trimming, the line shall be demarcated by pegs fixed at intervals of 3 m in
order to ensure regular straight work and an uniform slope throughout. Depressions shall be
filled and thoroughly compacted.

The granular filter material shall be laid over the prepared base and suitably compacted to a
thickness of 150 mm or as specified in the drawings.

The lowest course of pitching shall be started from the toe wall. Then, the pitching operation
shall progress in similar courses upward. The toe wall shall be in dry rubble masonry (un-
coursed) conforming to clause 8-3.3 in case of rubble pitching. It shall be in brick work in
cement mortar 1:4 (cement : sand) in case of brick pitching.

The stone pitching shall commence in a trench below the toe of the slope. Stones shall be
placed by hand to the required length, thickness and depth as per the drawings. Stones shall
be set normal to the slope and placed so that the largest dimension is perpendicular to the
face of the slope, unless such dimension is greater than the specified thickness of pitching.
The largest stones shall be placed in the bottom courses and shall be used as headers for
subsequent courses.

When full depth of pitching can be formed with a single stone, the stones shall be laid
breaking joints and all interstices between adjacent stones shall be filled in with spalls of the
proper size and wedged in with hammers to ensure tight packing.

When two or more layers of stones must be laid to obtain the design thickness of pitching,
dry masonry shall be used and stones shall be well bonded.

Where bricks are to be used, the same shall be laid on the prepared base in one or more layers
as specified. When more than one layer is to be adopted, adjacent layers shall be properly
bonded by means of a sufficient number of pin headers extending from one layer to the other.
The bond used in laying shall be as directed by the Engineer.

17 -3 RUBBLE STONE/BRICK FLOORING OVER CEMENT CONCRETE BEDDING

17-3.1 Description

This work shall consist of constructing rubble stone/brick flooring in cement mortar laid over
a cement concrete bedding.

17-3.2 Construction Operations

The base for the cement concrete bedding shall be prepared to the specified levels and slope
and compacted suitably to have an even bedding surface.
 Cement concrete of the specified mix shall then be laid to the required thickness in
accordance with the provisions given in Section 11 except that the surface of the concrete
shall not be given a smooth finish. The paving work shall start only after the concrete has
been in position for at least 48 hours.

Where rubble stone is specified, the thickness of paving shall be made up with one stone
only. The stones shall be bedded on a layer of cement mortar prepared in accordance with
clause 7 -1. Spalls shall be used to fill the voids. The joints shall then be filled with cement
mortar and finished neatly. The stone shall break joints and the joint shall not exceed 20 mm
in thickness.

Where bricks are to be used, the flooring shall be built up in one or more layers as specified.
Each layer of brick shall be bedded on cement mortar and the joints shall be filled with
cement mortar. The bond used for laying shall be as directed by the Engineer. The thickness
of the joints shall not exceed 10 mm.

17 -4 DRY RUBBLE/BRICK FLOORING

This work shall consist of constructing dry rubble stone/brick flooring at cross drainage
works.

The base for flooring shall be prepared to the specified levels and slope and compacted
suitably with hand rammers or by other means to give an even bedding.

Where rubble stone is specified, the thickness of flooring shall be made with one stone only.
The stones shall be laid closely breaking joints and all joints shall be filled with spalls of the
proper size and wedged in with rammers to ensure tight packing.

Where brick is the material to be used, the same shall be laid closely on the prepared base in
one or more layers as specified. The bond used shall be as directed by the Engineer.

17 -5 MEASUREMENTS FOR PAYMENT

The protection works shall be measured as described below:

If directed by the Engineer, the materials may have to be stacked at site for measurement
before laying. No extra payment shall be made to the Contractor for such stacking.

The boulders and wire crates (gabion) in apron shall be measured in cubic metres.

The filter and stone pitching shall be measured separately in cubic metres, unless otherwise
specified.

Rubble stone flooring and cement concrete bedding shall be measured in cubic metres for
each class of material.

Brick flooring shall be measured in square metres for one or two layers as specified.

Preparation of base for laying the flooring shall be deemed incidental to the work.
 For laying apron, excavation up to an average depth of 15 cm shall be deemed to be included
in the main item and shall not be measured separately, unless otherwise specified.
Excavation for more than 15 cm depth shall be measured in cubic metres as given in clause 2
-4.

17 -6 RATE

The contract unit rate for one cubic metre of finished work of apron shall include the cost of
all labour, materials required to complete the work as per the Specifications. Excavation up
to an average depth of 15 cm shall also be deemed to be included in this rate as dressing of
the bed. Excavation beyond this depth shall be paid separately, unless otherwise specified.

The contract unit rate for one cubic metre of filter or stone pitching on slopes shall include
the cost of preparing the base; placing materials to the profile; laying and compacting the
filter; and stone pitching of dry rubble/brick revetment for embankment slopes to the
specified thickness, lines, curves, slopes and levels including the cost of all labour, materials
required to complete the work as per the Specifications.

The contract unit rate for rubble stone/brick flooring shall include the cost of all labour and
materials required to complete the work as per the Specifications and drawings.