resources

Patiently starve to death. Questioned, who would be responsible for blood? Replied, He, who imposed starvation
Sultan Ibrahim bin Adham, Bin Mansur al-Balkhi al- Ijli, Abu Ishaq

GPS Waypoints

Strabag Camp
40 Q 0753574
UTM 2401984
Elevation: 42m
Terrain: Hard flat ground

Sarig
40 Q 0753200
UTM 2397921
Elevation: 12m
Terrain: New tarmac, sandy, sabkha

Meet old road
40 Q 0746391
UTM 2399705
Elevation: 15m
Terrain: hard, levelled gravel

Turn right off old road
40 Q 0740311
UTM 2390098
Elevation: 25m
Terrain: sandy tracks

Woodlands in Wadi Shkool
40 Q 0738427
UTM 2388734
Elevation: 30m
Terrain: sandy tracks

Mosque at Muwaleh
40 Q 0736456
UTM 2388459
Elevation: 41m
Terrain: sandy tracks

Umm Sama
40 Q 0735354
UTM 2389419
Elevation: 49m
Terrain: Sandy tracks

Kharekhar
40 Q 0734499
UTM 2393626
Elevation: 62m
Terrain: sandy tracks

Suat
40 Q 0735595
UTM 2397581
Elevation: 64m
Terrain: sandy tracks

School at Zayin
40 Q 0738756
UTM 2405982
Elevation: 64m
Terrain: sandy tracks

Old falaj system at Qabit
40 Q 0738930
UTM 2415838
Elevation: 63m
Terrain: sandy tracks, vegetation, few stones

Shra’a
40 Q 0738518
UTM 2417593
Elevation: 54m
Terrain: sandy tracks, sabkha

Ancient watchtower
40 Q 0738930
UTM 2418579
Elevation: 59m
Terrain: gravel outcrop, sabkha, sand

Nazla
40 Q 0737978
UTM 2421830
Elevation: 57m
Terrain: sandy tracks

Tuiyeh
40 Q 0737200
UTM 2423778
Elevation: 78m
Terrain: hard, gravel

Enter Jaalan Bani Bu Ali
40 Q 0741135
UTM 2433770
Elevation: 75m
Terrain: hard gravel meets tarmac



The long road home

Director General of Roads
The government body in charge of roads is the Director General of Roads, under the Ministry of Transport and Communication. The DGR is split into three sections that look after roads: the Director of Study and Planning, the Director of Projects and the Director of Maintenance.

Start to finish
The Director of Study and Planning is involved in the initial stage of preparing for a new road. What route the road will take and what form it will have is decided between it and an external consultant, subject to approval by the DGR and its parent ministry. Such a consultant will look to such concerns as whether and how the local people need the road, its benefits for tourism, safety concerns, an estimation of costs and the design of construction. Based on such factors, a tender is thrown open to road construction companies. Based on their level of skill, history, plan and quotations, a contract is awarded.

Al Ashkharah-Shannah road
The Ashkharah-Shannah road has been divided into two parts. Phase One, 57.4km from Jiffin just south of Al Ashkharah to Khuwaymah (plus a 3.38km slip road to Bander Quroon), has just been completed by Strabag at a cost of RO4.77mn. The next 96km from Khuwaymah to Shannah, Phase Two, is being constructed by Arabian Projects at a cost of RO11.2mn.



Knowing your CBR

The California Bearing Ratio (CBR) is a penetration test for evaluation of the mechanical strength of road sub-grades. It was developed by the California State Highways Department.

The test is performed by measuring the pressure required to penetrate a soil sample with a plunger of standard area. The measured pressure is then divided by the pressure required to achieve an equal penetration on a standard crushed rock material. The test can be performed on laboratory-prepared samples or in the field. The California Bearing Ratio test is described in ASTM Standards D1883 and D4429, and AASHTO T193.

The CBR rating was developed for measuring the load-bearing capacity of soils used for building roads. The CBR can also be used for measuring the load-bearing capacity of unimproved airstrips or for soils under paved airstrips. The harder the surface, the higher the CBR rating. A CBR of 3 equates to tilled farmland, a CBR of 4.75 equates to turf or moist clay, while moist sand may have a CBR of 10. High quality crushed rock has a CBR of 100.

< Previous



© 2001-2007 Pinaki