This set of guidelines generally follows current practice in the Division for obtaining soil profiles and is intended to establish standardized procedures for use by the District Materials Sections in the performance of uniform and adequate soils investigations. It is not design manual. The recommendations presented herein are oriented toward the solution of such problems as pavement design, slope design, slope appearance, cost, landslides, embankment subsidence and settlement, excavation characteristics, expansive materials, drainage, and compaction characteristics. All of these problems are directly related to the character and distribution of soil and rock bodies both inside and out-side of the right-of-way, and to the influence of-surface and sub-surface water on these materials. With the proper amount and kind of samples and field information, the designers are provided with data denoting the types of materials to be encountered, the vertical and horizontal boundaries of the changes in these materials, and their strength and deformation characteristics. Adequate preliminary investigation will help prevent uneconomical over design and unforeseen failure resulting from under design.
