Engineers Tip: Soil Stabilization for Cost Savings
May 03, 2013

Are you dealing with soft/wet soils?

Is removal and replacement of the silty/clayey soils too costly? Is the time of year affecting your project schedule?

If so, you may want to consider soil stabilization using lime, fly ash, kiln dust or cement to treat your soft/wet soils in­place to allow for 95% compaction.

The addition of lime to a soil increases its optimum moisture content, reduces the moisture content of the soils and reduces the plasticity of the clay soils making them workable and able to achieve the proper compaction.  Treated soils can be used as structural fills for roadways and buildings.

The soil stabilization process is simple and efficient. In short, Lime (or fly ash, kiln dust, cement) is spread over the area to be treated and mixed into the soils by a tiller or tracking of a dozer.

Contractors and Owners can utilize this process on most projects as it helps dry soils allowing them to be compacted in lifts. The soil can be treated and reused as structural fill instead of removing and disposing of the soils.  It also eliminates the need to import new fill. This can result in a significant cost savings on most projects and allows you to stay on schedule.