We roll out with a vacuum excavator and a crew of three to cut test pits along road shoulders in Chatham-Kent. The goal is to expose the subgrade and measure how fast water drains through the existing soil layers. We log soil types per CFEM and run field permeability tests with a double-ring infiltrometer. Back in the lab, we correlate those field numbers with lab-derived hydraulic conductivity from a flexible-wall permeameter. That data feeds directly into the drainage layer design, trench depth, and pipe spacing calculations. Before we start cutting pavement, we always check for buried utilities through Ontario One Call. For roads with soft subgrades, we combine drainage analysis with a soil mechanics study to evaluate bearing capacity under saturated conditions. The whole process takes two to four days depending on road length and the number of test locations.
Chatham-Kent's flat clay plains demand drainage systems that move water laterally fast, because vertical infiltration barely happens.