Explosive ordnance investigation for federal and state roads

Specialist assessment should begin as soon as rehabilitation, widening, bypass construction, an urban through-road, utility construction, drainage, bridge works, a junction or cycle path enters a ground volume that has not yet been reliably assessed. Road classification and length alone are not decisive; the construction section, working width, depth, existing utilities, traffic phase and required statement matter. Early assessment helps with tendering, coordination with utility operators and the construction sequence.

On urban through-roads, the carriageway, footways, cycle paths, stops, access points and utility networks are close together. Access to adjoining properties, municipal works and utility diversions are coordinated with traffic phases. Investigation is divided by side of the road, subarea and intervention. In long motorway corridors, by contrast, the directional carriageway, contract package and large-scale traffic phases are assigned. In both cases, the actual ground volumes and depths determine the investigation scope.

The carriageway, footways and cycle paths, verges, slopes, utility trenches, drainage, bus stops, junctions, bridges, retaining walls, noise barriers, lighting and site establishment areas have different widths and depths. A near-surface carriageway investigation does not automatically address deep shaft, pile, shoring or mast points. Each ground volume therefore receives its own location and depth reference.

For each traffic and construction phase, the accessible area, utilities or existing installations that will remain, and next earthworks step are defined. Surveying, data checking and handover are timed accordingly. Areas accessible only later remain documented as outstanding zones. This allows work on one side of the road to continue without improperly extending statements to the opposite direction or subsequent construction phases.

The method depends on the suspected hazard, target object, surface, ground, utility density and depth. Magnetometry, TDEM and ground-penetrating radar respond to different physical properties. Deep shafts, piles, sheet piles, masts or boreholes are assessed for the required point-specific and depth-specific investigation scope. A suitable further method is defined for areas that cannot be adequately surveyed in advance. In a technically suitable explosive ordnance survey alongside construction, each layer is surveyed using technical equipment and assessed. Controlled removal in layers and supplementary visual inspection follow; these steps are repeated down to the agreed excavation base. Simply watching excavation is insufficient.

Useful documents include site and road improvement plans, chainage, construction section and traffic phase plans, cross-sections, utility and existing-condition plans, drainage, borehole and foundation point lists, historical assessments, correspondence with authorities, ground investigation documents and existing survey reports. For urban through-roads, access points, stops, footways, cycle paths, private connections and ancillary municipal works should be identifiable.

Information and requirements from authorities are supplied with their date, complete appendices and geographical scope. In Germany, the competent ordnance disposal service, local public-order authority and, where relevant, building-control authority are established for the project location. Outside Germany, the locally competent bodies are identified through coordination.

In Germany, responsibility for road construction and maintenance, planning, and local traffic and hazard prevention matters is clarified for the project location and circumstances. The authorities responsible make their respective procedural decisions. FONTANA-EOD provides the agreed private specialist service and prepares spatial and technical information for the client, planners and site management. Reporting and coordination routes are defined before work begins; outside Germany, the responsibilities applicable there apply.

If an unexpected suspicious object is found, stop work. Do not touch, move or uncover it further. Leave the immediate area and warn others without putting yourself at risk. In Germany, notify the police on 110; outside Germany, use the local emergency reporting procedure. The competent authorities determine what happens next; a project enquiry does not replace reporting the find.

Factors include section length, road cross-section, urban or open-road setting, number of traffic phases, existing utilities and structures, surfaces, access, number and depth of localised interventions, methods required, setting-out and documentation scope, and possible follow-up measures. For a reliable cost calculation, quantities are divided by subarea, line, point and construction phase rather than based solely on road length.