1994-01-01_PERMIT FILE - C1981017 ‎(5)‎

• Permit No: C1981017
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 1/1/1994
• Doc Name: Road Reclamation at Entire Coal Basin Complex
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

3. Road Construction Methods
Records and aerial photographs show that all roads were constructed
to the mines in Coal Basin prior to 1977. Most of the roads were
constructed in the mid- 1950's with a large dozer such as a D -8 or
D -9. Portions of the Mine #5 haul road were placed on the old
narrow gauge rail bed constructed in the early 1900's, which led to
the old mining camp of Coal Basin, whose ruins are found near Mine
#5. Most of the approximately 15 miles of roads were created by a
bulldozer working the inside edge of the roads into the cut slope
and spoiling the material on the outside edge, which then became
the fill slope.
In some areas, material was downspoiled hundreds of feet down the
outside road edge at a slope of approximately 1.OH:1.OV. In areas
where a) the soil is gravelly, b) no compaction was performed
during placement and c) the material has no cohesion, the slopes
remain intact due to a high friction angle of the material. A
typical road cross - section is given in Exhibit 2. It is important
to note that although the current road width is from 35 to 60 feet,
a portion of the road surface is not located on solid rock. I n many
places, the outside portion of the road is compacted fill which was
cut from the inside of the road. This has a negative impact on the
slope stability safety factor if full restoration of the original
contour is attempted.
Mine personnel recall that the only spots that required blasting
were two small locations where the roads crossed the Rollins
Sandstone immediately below the portal areas. The dozer was able to
break out all remaining areas without blasting. The Mancos Shale
strata broke out along fracture planes and laminations and in areas
where clayey or loamy material was present, some soil was able to
form, resulting in some fill slopes which are stable and have
considerable vegetation. The road to Mine #5 has many examples of
these slopes.
During road construction, there were no mining reclamation laws but
the Forest Service provided assistance in grading the road surface,
placing of drainage ditches, culverts, switchbacks, etc. Exhibit 2
shows that the typical road surface slants slightly to the inside
edge where a drainage ditch gathers all flows from the area above
the road and the road itself. In prescribed locations, culverts
have been placed to pass the flows under the road to the natural
drainages.
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