CONSTRUCTION AND FEASIBILITY ASSOCIATED WITH NUCLEAR EXCAVATION

THE PROJECT CARRYALL FEASIBILITY WAS DETERMINED OF EXCAVATING WITH NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES A CUT OF THE REQUIRED LENGTH /APPROXIMATELY 2-MILES/, BOTTOM WIDTH /APPROXIMATELY 325 FT/ AND DEPTH /BETWEEN 100 AND 350 FT/ INVOLVING THE REMOVAL OF 68,000,000 CUBIC YARDS OF MATERIAL. PHOTOGRAMMETRIC CONTROLS WERE ESTABLISHED AND THE CRATER AND ADJACENT AREAS MAPPED. THE ENGINEERING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESULTING CUT, SUCH AS SLOPE STABILITY, ROCK SIZE, AND COMPACTION WILL MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO CONSTRUCT A RAILROAD AND HIGHWAY THROUGH THE CUT, USING CONVENTIONAL CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES WITHOUT INORDINATE OR EXTRAORDINARY COSTS. NO OBVIOUS SAFETY PROBLEMS WERE ENCOUNTERED. THE COST OF THE NUCLEAR PROGRAM IS ESTIMATED TO BE 8,000,000 DOLLARS LESS THAN THE CONVENTIONAL SOLUTION, EXCLUSIVE OF CHARGES FOR THE NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES. ROADWAY CONSTRUCTION WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY CONVENTIONAL ENGEIEERING TECHNIQUES.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1964/50/50-005.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Prentice, H C
  • Peterson Jr, E J L
• Publication Date: 1964

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: pp 48-53
• Monograph Title: Nuclear Excavation 1963
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 50
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Compaction; Construction; Economic benefits; Excavations; Explosives; Feasibility analysis; Mapping; Nuclear explosions; Photogrammetry; Railroads; Road construction; Slope stability
• Old TRIS Terms: Project carryall; Rock line profiles
• Subject Areas: Construction; Economics; Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00215791
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Dec 12 1994 12:00AM