Page 4 - PowerCem Reinstatement of Agricultural Land

Reinstatement of RoadCem Stabilised Soils
For projects which have specific contract requirements relating to the protection of the surface soils this initial assessment work will be carried out in consultation with the project specific Agricultural Liaison Officer or Soil Management Supervisors. It may also be appropriate for a specialist Soil Scientist to be involved in the reinstatement process to agree the strategy and validate the on site reinstatement process with further sampling and testing to the satisfaction of all the stakeholders.
Laboratory blending of trial mix designs will be carried out; this will comprise different percentages of cement binder, RoadCem additive and the site soil samples. Strength testing of the trial mixes after curing will inform the optimum blend of stabilisation components to be used on site to meet the required traffic loads and duration period.
The preferred mix design samples from the laboratory design trials will then be crushed, brought back to their natural moisture content and again tested for the key agricultural nutrient indicators outlined above. This will inform us as to the effect that the stabilisation process has had on the nutrient profile of the soils, including the residual pH level.
Experience tells us that we can expect elevated pH levels which reflect the use of a cementitious binder in the stabilisation process. The exact level of the residual pH will vary depending on its service lifetime. The aim of the reinstatement will be to return the soils to their pre-existing physical state as well as to have the pH and nutrient profiles returned to target soil PH, P and K index ranges as defined within the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)- RB 209 Nutrient Management Guide (April 2020).
Rev 02 - March 2021 4