AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye NAC Property owners ROAD

Kwik Walk, when was the last time you came down here? The road from the circle to the bridge has been completed for quite some time now.

Make it 8' so police could pass and restrict it to golf carts, 4 wheelers and emergency vehicles as is the law. that would be pretty cheapif we used soil stabilization techniques. Before we never wanted that graded because we knew that when we broke the hard crust and got into loose sand we would have big problems. With bigger, heavier vehicles someone decided to grade to accommodate the illegal traffic instead of doing the right thing and demand enforcement of the existing vehicle ban on North Ambergris as a first solution and then build the 8' road for super light vehicles. Then change the law to accommodate the heavier traffic as soon as the road and bridge will support it but not before. Realize that the road can never be a practical way to get construction materials north as all trucks would have to pass through town and the bridge will not support it for long at all.

Does anyone know what the actual or estimated cost of a real paved road would be per mile with all costs included on the island of Ambergris Caye.Has it been researched .If all owners of property north of the bridge would know the actual cost and a formula for shared payment was put to a vote I believe it would pass.The GOB provide the aggregate and cut the red tape,the SPTC provide what assistance it can . Than it could be put out to bid to all local and international construction companies.Believe me they are looking for work all around the world , the prices should be reasonable. Asphalt is used everywhere in tropical climates,it just needs to be the correct mix .This can be done and it would improve commerce and safety for all on our island

The concrete slabs are way cheaper and easier to maintain and replace than the cobblestones. The town council has quotes from Medina's to pave most of the streets in and around town, but I don't know if there is a quote for over the roads bridge.

Plus , I believe, paving involves petroleum products that could leach out and kill the reef. My understanding is that blocks were chosen to use in town for that reason.

We are getting off track here.

I spoke with the Mayor and Carlos the Counciller in charge of roads. I have thier permission to grade and fill the road and install culverts, PERIOD
There was no talk of paving, re-engineering,or building new roads.

That may be addressed in the future, but for now the goal is to get the road drivable. I am talking about the WHOLE road right up to Sapphire Beach.

Take a look at what Tammy did in front of The Hotel. THere is a thin layer of Gravel filling the potholes and forming a surface that will help hold down the sand.

We do that, then just keep adding to it layer by layer. We will only make it better and firmer for if / and when the road may be paved.

Yes we may lose some material as it sinks into the ground and may have to keep filling but, if you want to bake a cake you have to crack some eggs.

For now, today the plan is to get 50 sponsors at $100.00 per month. that will give us $5000.00 per month.

That will buy a dozen or so truckloads of gravel/hardcore.
and a few steel culverts every month.

We stockpile a bit, then, we do like the clean up campain. we do a massive fix up two or three times a year.

Everyone can then pitch in, We hire a platoon of locals and we can get Town council to help with trucks and equipment, as well as the big resorts.

Homeowners would pitch in by lending us rakes and shovels and helping to supervise the crews.

FUNDING.

The Mayor made it quite clear. San Pedro Town Council has No money for the North road. Its a dead issue for now.

Government of Belize.... If anyone wants to solicit the Government for funds, be my guest. Don't hold your breath waiting.

I'm trying to get the name of the descision maker for BEL re the BEL ROW. The more they move North the more they need to get the trucks through for maintenance of the lines and clearing of brush.
I think if we are going to get some assistance, they are our best shot.


I have met with some people on the street and will write up a proposal soon. Last chance to get your comments, good or bad in, but please keep it to the subject of road funding.

Right back at ya Green Fairy!

Hate to disagree with you Mike, But floating roads have been used in Scotland with great success. If you are really interested here is what I had in mind. I welcome Comments/opinions from qualified landscapers and contractors/engineers.
If you are not interested in Road engineering you need not bother reading this.


FLOATING ROADS ON PEAT

What is a floating road?
A floating road on peat in its simplest form is a road that is constructed directly on top of the peat relying on the strength of the in-situ peat for its support. The road does not actually "float" on the peat rather an equilibrium builds up between the weight of the road and the in situ strength of the peat whereby the combined system comes into balance.
Modern construction practice generally calls for a geosynthetic layer to be placed on the surface of the peat before the road is constructed to give a working platform for the road and provide a separation layer between the road and the peat below. This layer, however, does not support the road. The road is supported by the peat.


PEAT AS A ROAD FOUNDATION Peat in its normal, unloaded state, is a very weak material on which to build a road but if it can be carefully loaded, allowing time for it to consolidate and increase in strength, it can be transformed into a very useable foundation
Peat is not universally recognized as a foundation on which to build a road and the construction of roads on peat has all too frequently been considered to be a "black art" by some authorities.

As a result many engineers opt for conservative forms of construction such as excavation and displacement techniques to minimize perceived construction risks. These conservative practices are, however, expensive, especially when dealing with deep peat deposits, and ignore the extensive body of experience of floating roads around the world. Excavation and displacement techniques are also primary users of scarce natural resources in times when sustainable construction methods are demanded, and they are only really affordable for the construction of high speed, high volume national roads that demand carriageway surfaces with high tolerances.
The internal road networks of small developments on the other hand do not need to have such high specification routes and can consequently utilize the in situ peat as a serviceable sub grade. These roads can take advantage of the known benefits of floating road construction in deeper peat, such as lower cost and environmental impact than excavated construction, to produce safe and cost effective access routes that are directly suited to their design need.


INITIAL CONSIDERATIONS
The term "peat" can cover a wide range of organic soil types.

The Soil Survey of Scotland defines peat as having a surface horizon greater than 50cm thick with an organic matter content of more than 60 percent. Peat is a natural material and as a result is seldom uniform.

A basic understanding of its properties is therefore necessary before it can be considered as a suitable foundation for a floating road.

Peat forms in a landscape when the natural decay processes fail to keep up with the amount of vegetation being produced. This usually happens on waterlogged land starved of oxygen, where the lack of oxygen prevents the natural micro-organisms from decomposing the dead plant material. Where these conditions occur the dying vegetation does not decay at the end of the growing season as normal but instead accumulates year on year as a layer of peat.
Over thousands of years this slow accumulation of organic material can create a continues deposit over the landscape. In Scotland this takes the form of a "blanket bog." This form of bog typically takes approximately 1000 years to form 0.5 meters of peat.


The most important feature in the peat development scenario is water and in particular the water balance within the peat. For a peat land to survive, the water balance cannot be negative, i.e. the water input must keep up with the water loss.

Within each peat landscape the in situ peat is highly variable due to the way that it has been formed and this gives rise to a range of highly variable characteristics, both horizontally and vertically, in the peat deposit. Such variations are associated with the origins of the peat, the type of plant from which it was derived, the mineral content of the deposit, and the amount of decay or humification that has occurred. This variation (heterogeneity) is particularly noticeable with depth as peat deposits are generally formed in layers, which may differ considerably in their nature.

Fresh fibrous peat tends to occur at the top of a deposit (Acrotelm) while the lower layers (Catotelm) are frequently composed of soft, relatively dense and highly decayed material. Within the catotelm, decayed tree stumps, or peat with a plate-like structure derived from decayed rushes, may be encountered.

The most distinctive characteristic of a virgin peat deposit however is its high water content and most of the basic engineering characteristics of peat as a foundation material result from this simple property.

For example, the shear strength of a peat deposit depends on its water content, degree of decay and mineral content, with water content having a high influence.
Shear strength is a key parameter for floating roads applications and normally the higher the water content of the peat the lower its shear strength, the more fibrous the peat the greater its shear strength, and the higher the degree of decay of the peat the lower its shear strength. The strength of a peat in a deposit will seldom be directly related to depth. Frequently a peat bog will show a decrease in strength with depth due to the changing character of the peat, particularly where it becomes less fibrous and more amorphous with depth, but this is not always the case. Each site will invariably have its own particular characteristics that are a consequence of how the peat was formed. A simple visual classification together with water content can give an early indication of many of the important parameters of interest to the engineer for floating roads, but this should be followed up by a ground investigation to inform the design.

BASIC ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF PEAT
Peat is generally considered to fall into 3 main groups for engineering purposes: amorphous-granular peat (i.e. well decayed peat),fine fibrous peat and course fibrous peat. The first group of amorphous-granular peats have high colloidal mineral elements and tend to hold their water locked in an adsorbed state around the grain structure much like clay.

The two fibrous peat groups, fine-fibrous and coarse-fibrous peat, are woodier and hold most of their water within the peat mass as free water. These three groups of peat are a direct consequence of how and where the peat deposit grew and, as a result, govern the main engineering properties of the particular peat.

BEHAVIOUR OF PEAT REACTION WHEN LOADED - THE GOOD AND THE BAD
Peat can react in two ways when load is applied to its surface:

A. Slowly, with a steady settlement and volume change as water is forced out of the peat mass. This is the desired method for the construction of a floating road and permits the peat to gradually compress and consolidate allowing time for it to gain in strength and take up the new load. For this to happen the loading phases need to be carefully controlled in order to keep the stresses induced in the peat below the strength of the peat at the time. This is a key consideration for the construction of a stable floating road.


B. Rapidly, accompanied by sudden spread and shear of the peat causing failure. This rapid failure scenario has to be avoided in floating road construction by carefully managing the loading phases of the road. It can however be used as an effective engineering technique ("displacement") where it is intended that the road should be founded on the hard strata below.

It is therefore vitally important that the Designer should have an appreciation of how construction loading rates can affect the consolidation and settlement behaviour of peat in order to avoid a failure on site. Modern site investigation and analysis techniques can quantify such risks so that appropriate measures can be put in place to ensure that the works can be constructed safely.

CONSOLIDATION & SETTLEMENT

In the normal course of events the consolidation and settlement of a peat can be seen to follow two main phases, primary consolidation and secondary compression. There is also an instantaneous elastic phase that happens as the load is initially placed on the peat, but this is generally discounted in the monitoring of consolidation as it is almost impossible to measure.


Peat in its natural state is a highly permeable material and the magnitude of the initial primary consolidation settlement under load is normally fairly large and the period of settlement short, usually days.

During this primary phase the new load is jointly supported by the free water within the peat and the peat vegetal mass. As the vegetal structure takes up the load it compresses, and strengthens, and causes load to be transferred back into the free water increasing the pore water pressures locally.

This pressure in turn releases into the adjacent unloaded peat causing load to be taken up again by peat vegetal structure with further settlement, strength improvement and load transfer.
Normally this primary consolidation process takes place within the time it takes to place the layers of the road and its magnitude is usually dependent on the weight of the road and the thickness of the peat deposit and any other compressible layers. Once the phase has passed, and the primary excess water pressures have dissipated, the settlement under load continues at a much slower „secondary compression rate which is generally accepted to be linear with the logarithm of time.

Secondary compression

In the secondary compression phase the load on the peat continues to transfer from the water within the peat to the internal peat skeleton as the peat continues to respond to the applied load. This is generally accepted to be the result of the loaded plant fragments within the peat mass slipping and re-organizing to form a denser matrix. As these peat fragments come together, and the pore voids close up, the permeability through the peat reduces in response.
This simple 2 phase „primary consolidation and secondary compression scenario does not of course give the full picture of the complex consolidation and strength improvement processes at work in peat, but it does give an indication of the continuous dynamic consolidation process within the loaded peat mass. The amount of primary consolidation that is incurred at a location will vary with type of peat but it can be generally approximated to around 50 per cent of the total settlement over time. For the purposes of design, secondary compression is normally accepted to take place over a period of 30 years.


Summary

Peat should be loaded slowly to allow the underlying peat to respond to the increasing load and be given sufficient time to consolidate and gain strength rather than shear.
If a floated road is placed too quickly so as to approach, or exceed, the in situ strength of the underlying peat then failure can follow. If peat is loaded too quickly, without allowing time for water pressures to be released, the in situ peat will effectively have the shear strength of its water, i.e. zero. This has to be avoided at all costs. Modern design methodologies and risk management strategies can help prevent this but designers should be aware that serious shear stresses can be induced in peat, even by moderate fills, if loadings are not sufficiently controlled

Would our sea weed be considered peat. I know lots of people use it to fill their lots but I've heard locals complain when it is added to pot holes.

Seagrass contributes to the formation of the peat when it dies and decomposes.
although it takes a long long time.
putting it in potholes just holds the water and when it decays it forms more of an unstable mush (We all know what it smells like after its been sitting wet for a few days)

So it is a short term solution but in the long run it creates more problems than it solves. Makes good compost though!!!