PE review required. Sample illustrative output. Every recommendation here must be reviewed and stamped by a licensed Professional Engineer before use in any bid commitment or construction document.
Brookhaven Distribution Park Site Development
Earthwork · site development
Why bid: Mass earthwork and site utilities are core self-performed work. The site grades to a near-balanced cut/fill so the bulk of the material stays on-site with a short haul, and we run our own excavator and dozer spreads within a day of the site. The soil report gives us the undercut depth and the borrow source, so the risk sits in the weather, not the scope.
An 85-acre greenfield industrial park with mass grading for six building pads, on-site storm and sanitary mains, a watermain loop, and subbase for the internal road network. Ridgeline Contractors, the GC, is bidding a spring start. The grading plan balances cut and fill to within 3% across the site, keeping most earthmoving on-site with a haul under 2,000 ft. The soil investigation identifies a variable 2-6 ft layer of unsuitable organic silt requiring undercut and replacement; a 38,000 CY allowance is carried against the mapped extent. Storm outfall to the county ditch requires a permit with a 6-week review window. The spring start lands in the wet season, so compaction moisture control and weather-day risk must be priced into the schedule.
The plan moves 420,000 CY of cut against 408,000 CY of fill across the site, with a maximum haul of ~2,000 ft. No off-site borrow is required in the base case, which keeps haul cost and trucking exposure low.
Subsurface borings map an organic silt layer across roughly 30% of the pads. A 38,000 CY undercut-and-replace allowance is carried against the mapped extent; actual depth is confirmed only by test pits at each pad.
Discharge to the county ditch requires a stormwater and outfall permit. The 6-week review sits on the critical path; apply at NTP or the grading start slips.
Mass grading with on-site balanced cut/fill, storm and sanitary utilities, and a 38,000 CY unsuitable-soil undercut allowance
Spring wet season hampers compaction and stops earthmoving
HIGHMitigation: Hold a dry-weather work window in the schedule; price 12 weather days and an undercut-dewatering allowance.
Unsuitable-soil extent exceeds the mapped 38,000 CY undercut
HIGHMitigation: Undercut is paid by measured quantity; carry unit rates and require test pits at each pad before mass grading starts.
Storm outfall permit review slips the grading start
MEDIUMMitigation: Submit the permit package at NTP; sequence pad grading independent of the outfall so early work can proceed.
Haul route through the county road draws traffic restrictions
LOWMitigation: Confirm haul hours and road-bond requirements with the county before mobilizing; route off peak hours.
Is the unsuitable-soil undercut paid by measured quantity or carried as a lump sum?
HIGH priorityThe bid form carries a single allowance line. Measured-quantity pricing caps our downside if the silt is deeper than mapped.
Who owns the storm outfall permit application and the review clock?
HIGH priorityBid form is silent on permit responsibility. A 6-week review that lands on us moves the start date.
Confirm the allowable haul-route hours and the road-maintenance bond.
MEDIUM priorityCounty restrictions may cap daily trucking; unclear whether the bond is contractor or owner cost.
- Mass excavation and structural fill — 420,000 CY cut / 408,000 CY fill
- Undercut and replacement of unsuitable soils — 38,000 CY allowance
- Storm and sanitary utility installation — 19,200 LF combined
- Spring wet-season weather days and moisture-conditioning effort
This is one of three sample analyses.
Bring a real geotech package to a 30-minute demo and we'll run a cited analysis on it together.