The Consultant is to obtain soil borings and perform sampling and testing pertinent to a geotechnical investigation at both sites. The Consultant shall obtain three borings at each site for a total of six soil borings. Each site will require two borings at a depth of 150’ and one boring at a depth of 60’. The 150’ deep borings are to be taken near the centerline of the roadway at existing lifting towers and timber abutments. The 60’ deep borings are to be taken near the centerline of the roadway in the vicinity of the intersecting roadway. The borings shall be made with rotary type drill rigs. Undisturbed samples of cohesive and semi-cohesive soils shall be obtained from each distinct soil stratum that is penetrated, not to exceed depth intervals of 5 feet between samples. The Consultant shall make arrangements for access to boring sites and for clearing utility locations prior to drilling. It will be the responsibility of the Consultant to obtain consent from the respective landowners in order to enter onto private property. In the case that consent is not granted, the Consultant shall contact the Project Manager, who is authorized to execute a Forced Entry, as per Louisiana Revised Statute 48:217. The Consultant shall protect all utilities, public or private, at all times during geotechnical operations and shall restore all damages resulting from boring operations at work site to their original condition prior to termination of contract requirements. Sampling of cohesive and semi-cohesive soil shall be accomplished with a 3 inch diameter Shelby tube sampling barrel. All Shelby tube samples shall be extruded from the barrel at the worksite in accordance with AASHTO Designation T207 by means of a continuous pressure hydraulic ram, such as a Sheffer extruder. Extrusion by water pressure is prohibited. Samples shall be extruded directly onto a sample trough, and shall not be caught with the hands. When cohesionless soils are encountered in any test borings at any depth, samples shall be taken at intervals not to exceed 3 foot centers, in conjunction with the performance of Standard Penetration Tests. All samples shall be placed in sealed containers immediately following extraction in accordance with AASHTO Designation T206 or T207. All sampling, drilling, and borehole sealing practices shall conform to current Standard Specifications for Methods of Sampling and Testing of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Water Wells Rules, Regulations and Standards for the State of Louisiana. All drilling and sealing operations shall be conducted to assure the least possible obstruction to traffic. Roadway and bridge surfaces shall be kept reasonably free from borehole cuttings and sealing material and in such condition that the public can travel in safety. Provisions for Flagman Control Devices shall be the responsibility of the Consultant. Any additional borings or tests required for analysis will be at “No Direct Pay”. F. Laboratory Tests Soil mechanics laboratory tests shall be performed on a majority of the samples obtained from the borings. Unconfined compression tests and Atterberg limit tests shall be performed on at least 50% of the extruded samples. For extruded samples with low plasticity, unconsolidated undrained triaxial compression shear tests shall be performed in lieu of unconfined compression testing and will count toward the 50% of samples tested. Re-molded unconfined compression tests to determine the sensitivity of samples that failed in slickensides at low strains can also be performed as deemed necessary. If necessary, consolidation tests shall be performed according to AASHTO T216, and results shall be reported as graphs of “Void Ratio vs. Log of Pressure” and “Coefficient of Consolidation vs. Log of Pressure”. Both plots may be shown on the same graph, if adequately labeled. Any sample from a clay layer that shows signs of being over-consolidated must be subjected to a load/rebound/re-load cycle during the consolidation testing, as per AASHTO T216. Any sample selected for consolidation testing shall also have the specific gravity determined according to AASHTO T100, and the Atterberg Limits determined According to DOTD TR-428, and with supporting results reported. Laboratory classification of soils shall be in accordance with ASTM D 2487. Additionally, sufficient unit weight tests and natural water content tests shall be performed to augment the other tests and to provide engineering data necessary to design bridge and embankment structures, all in accordance with the present design requirements and standard engineering practice. All tests shall conform to current AASHTO Standard Specifications for Sampling and Testing. G. Laboratory Analysis and Report Logs of borings, laboratory test results, and analysis shall be furnished in a format acceptable to the DOTD. The Consultant shall obtain three or four mil polyester double matte film for use in reporting the results. If the plan sheets are to be drafted manually, the “blank” sheet should be printed in reverse image, and the data placed on the opposite side. The DOTD Materials and Testing Section will provide an example of the format to the Consultant. The lettering used on the profiles shall be of such size and clarity that the legibility of data can be maintained when reduced to 50 % of its original size. The latitude and longitude of each boring shall be shown on the plan sheet in DMS format to the nearest 0.10 seconds. Soil profiles shall be grouped on sheets according to the site location. All boring and test results must be reported in English units. All reported test results, including each profile sheet, shall be signed, sealed, and dated by the Professional Engineer in responsible charge of testing. The Consultant is responsible for verifying the stations and elevations of the borings prior to submitting documents and plans for review. Plan sheets without natural ground elevations at the location of each boring will not be accepted. Each boring shall be plotted on the sheet with the same elevation at the top of the column, showing the horizontal positioning of each boring relative to the others on the sheet.