A
road
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation.
There are many types of ...
,
railway line
Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...
, or
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface fl ...
is normally raised onto an embankment made of compacted soil (typically clay or rock-based) to avoid a change in level required by the
terrain
Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin w ...
, the alternatives being either to have an unacceptable change in level or detour to follow a contour. A
cutting
Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force.
Implements commonly used for cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scalpel and ...
is used for the same purpose where the land is originally higher than required.
Materials
Embankments are often constructed using material obtained from a cutting. Embankments need to be constructed using non-aerated and waterproofed, compacted (or entirely non-porous) material to provide adequate support to the formation and a long-term level surface with stability. An example material for road embankment building is sand-bentonite mixture often used as a protective to protect underground utility cables and pipelines.
Intersection of embankments
To intersect an embankment without a high flyover, a series of tunnels can consist of a section of high
tensile strength
Ultimate tensile strength (UTS), often shortened to tensile strength (TS), ultimate strength, or F_\text within equations, is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking. In brittle materials ...
viaduct
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide va ...
(typically built of brick and/or metal) or pair of facing
abutments
An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...
for a
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
.
Notable embankments
*
Burnley Embankment
The Burnley Embankment is an Embankment (earthworks), embankment carrying the Leeds and Liverpool Canal across the River Calder, Lancashire, Calder and River Brun, Brun valleys in Burnley, Lancashire. Also known as the Straight Mile, the embankm ...
: The largest canal embankment in Asia.
*
Harsimus Stem Embankment
The Harsimus Stem Embankment, also called Sixth Street Embankment, is a half-mile-long historic railroad embankment, now abandoned and largely overgrown with foliage, in the heart of the historic downtown of Jersey City, New Jersey in the U ...
: The remains of a railway built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
*
Stanley Embankment
The Stanley Embankment (known locally as the Cob) is a railway, road and cycleway embankment that crosses the Cymyran Strait in Wales, connecting the Island of Anglesey and Holy Island. It carries both the North Wales Coast Line for trains, wh ...
: A railway, road and cycleway that connects the
Island of Anglesey and
Holy Island, Wales. It carries the
North Wales Coast Line and the
A5 road
A5 Road may refer to:
;Africa
* A5 highway (Nigeria), a road connecting Lagos and Ibadan
* A5 road (Zimbabwe), a road connecting Harare and Francistown
;Americas
* Quebec Autoroute 5, a road in Quebec, Canada
* County Route A5 (California) or Bo ...
.
See also
*
Causeway
A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet ...
*
Cut and fill
*
Cut (earthmoving)
*
Fill dirt
Fill dirt (also called cleanfill, or just 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.Grade (slope)
The grade (also called slope, incline, gradient, mainfall, pitch or rise) of a physical feature, landform or constructed line refers to the tangent of the angle of that surface to the horizontal. It is a special case of the slope, where zero ind ...
*
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclam ...
*
Levee
A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually earthen and that often runs parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastl ...
*
Roadbed
*
Track bed
References
External links
Federal Highway Administration Design Manual: Deep Mixing for Embankment and Foundation SupportFederal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...
Works cited
* Scott, J., Loveridge, F., & O'Brien, A. S. (2007).
of climate and vegetation on railway embankments'.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Embankment (Transportation)
Slope landforms
Rail infrastructure
Road infrastructure
Building engineering
Fills (earthworks)