Land Development, Construction, and Engineering Surveying
What this domain tests
Translating a design into stakes, grades, and quantities: earthwork, alignments, drainage, and the tolerances a contractor will actually build to.
Platting and site layout
Subdivision plats must satisfy local zoning (setbacks, lot width, frontage), dedicate right-of-way, and show easements and floodplain limits. Utility easements must be wide enough for maintenance, not merely for the pipe.
Grades and staking
- Percent grade = (elevation difference / horizontal distance) × 100.
- Slope stakes are set where the catch point of the design side slope meets original ground.
- Stake offsets and cut/fill notes must be referenced to a stated datum and station.
Earthwork
The average end area method is V = (A₁ + A₂)/2 × L; the prismoidal method is more exact where areas change rapidly. A mass diagram shows cumulative cut and fill and the balancing point; the haul distance is the area under the curve.
Drainage
Pipe slope from invert elevations: S = (upstream invert − downstream invert) / length. Verify cover, rim, and outfall elevations, and check that the design storm path is continuous.
Worked example
Station 10+00 has an end area of 450 ft² and station 11+00 has 610 ft², 100 ft apart. Volume = (450 + 610)/2 × 100 = 53,000 ft³. Divide by 27: 1,963 yd³ (about 1,963 cubic yards). Note the sign convention: end areas from cut are positive and fill negative, so a mixed section reduces to a net value and can hide a large balanced quantity.
Traps that cost marks
- Flipping cut and fill signs and reporting a net where the job needs both.
- Ignoring topsoil stripping, shrinkage, or compaction factors in a pay quantity.
- Using slope distance instead of horizontal distance in a grade calculation.
- Staking to design elevations without checking the as-built surface or the datum note.