Civil Engineering 121 – Spring 2020

Lab #8
Grading (Cut & Fill)
Due Tuesday, April 14 at 11:59 pm

The objective of this lab is to perform the required grading to create a roadway and building pad
in a site design.
Directions
1. Open Blackboard and download the following two files from the “Lab 8” folder:
▪ CutFill_Roadway.dwg – contains the property line of the site, as well as a
proposed roadway and building pad which needs to be developed.
▪ CutFill_Topography.dwg – contains a topographic map of the area.
2. Open CutFill_Roadway.dwg in AutoCAD (you should be in the “Drafting and Annotation”
workspace). In your CIVE121 folder on your USB drive, Save As using the standard
CIVE121 file naming convention:
“CIVE121_H#_LastName_FirstName” (where LastName is your last name, FirstName is
your first name, and H# is the homework number)
Example: CIVE121_H8_Parsons_Tammy (this will have file extension .dwg)
Make sure that this file is saved in the same folder as the CutFill_Topography.dwg file.

3. Use the command XREF (Insert tab  Reference panel  ) to open the External
References palette. Create an external reference ( AttachDWG) to the
CutFill_Topography file with the following options:
▪ Path type – No path (this is why the files must be in the same folder).
▪ Scale, Insertion point, Rotation – Specify On-screen box unchecked for ALL.
4. Use the command XCLIP (Insert tab  Reference panel  Clip) to clip the contour lines (in
the topographic map) to the boundary defined by the property line (blue).
▪ When prompted to select objects, choose the contour lines and then right click or
press Enter.
▪ When prompted to enter clipping option, select “New boundary” and then “Select
polyline.” Choose the blue property line.
5. Create a new layer named “Contours-NEWW,” select color red (1) and line weight 0.3 mm,
and make this the active layer. Use the following guidelines to perform the required grading
(create/modify contour lines) to make the proposed roadway and building pad at an
elevation of 1278 feet:
▪ Only one existing contour line (elevation 1278 ft.) can cross the proposed roadway.
Figure 1 illustrates the location where the existing contour (1278) will remain and
cross the proposed pad. All other contour lines must be moved.
▪ Do not create contour lines that produce ground slopes greater than 2:1
(Horizontal:Vertical) between new contours or between new and existing contours.
▪ At the point where new contour lines connect to existing contour lines, the
connection must be a smooth, gradual transition (no sharp angles).

CIVE 121 1 Spring 2020

Lab 8 Instructions
 ▪ All contour lines must be closed loops or continue to the edge of the drawing.
▪ The amount of required earthwork should be minimized.
a. Start by drawing the 1278 ft. altitude contour line that goes through points A
and B and connects to the existing 1278 contour as shown in Figure 1. You
will use the Polyline tool (PLINE), with the arc option when necessary.
b. Zoom in near Section 1 in Figure 1 and draw a short, straight line segment
on top of the contour line that you just drew.
c. Offset this line segment by 2″ above to form part of the “closed loop”
contour which is at the same elevation (see Figure 1 for explanation).
d. Change offset distance to 4′ and offset several more times in the same
direction. (Why is the offset distance 4′?)
e. Copy the line to the other side of the proposed roadway and offset it in the
other direction several times.
f. Copy the line to a location near Section 2 in Figure 1 and paste it on both
sides of the roadway. Offset it several times above and several times below
the proposed roadway.
g. Select the circular proposed building pad and use the EXPLODE command
to separate it from the roadway. Use offset (4′) to create several concentric
circles outside of the existing circle.
h. Now you can begin grading. Go back to line segment that you drew in step
c and extend it (use PLINE) to form the “closed loop” at elevation 1278. Use
the arc option to ensure a smooth connection to the existing contour line.
i. Connect the rest of the new contour lines to the existing contours at the
same elevation (taking care to avoid sharp angles) to form closed loops.
Use the TRIM, EXTEND and STRETCH commands as needed. You can
also drag grips to perform stretch, move, and scale operations.
j. You will determine that you have added enough contour lines in each area
when your new contour line does not cross over an existing contour of
greater/lesser elevation (depending on whether you are cutting or filling).
This means that you have graded to meet the existing topography.
6. After you have completed the grading, make layer 0 active, click on the Layout Tab to go to
Paper Space, and add the standard Title Block and Border Block (created in Lab 6).
▪ Select the best standard engineering scale for the drawing (refer to Lab 8 notes).
1. Determine the maximum Paper Space Dimensions.
a. Refer to the border block dimensions to determine the x and y
dimensions of space available to print the drawing.
2. Determine your Model Space limits.
a. Move cursor to the limits of the drawing in the x and y directions
(min and max), and view the drawing coordinates on the Status Bar.
b. Calculate the x and y dimensions of the drawing in Model Space.
3. Calculate the necessary scale in the x and y directions.
a. Divide Paper Space dimension by Model Space Dimension for both
x and y (be sure to keep your units consistent).
b. Must use the smaller scale.
4. Choose the standard engineering scale that is closest to your calculated
scale without going over.

CIVE 121 2 Spring 2020

Lab 8 Instructions
 ▪ Maximize the size of the Viewport within the printable area and position your
drawing in the center of the Viewport. Use the ZOOM command to scale your
viewport.
▪ In your Title Block, indicate the scale used.
7. Determine the volume of cut (in cubic yards) required to create the circular building pad.
▪ See Lab 8 notes for formulas.
▪ On layer 0 in Model Space, add a text box that contains: “Cut Volume = XXX Cubic
Yards.”
▪ The text height must measure 0.12 inches in Paper Space. Calculate the text
height you will need to use in Model Space (See Lab 8 notes).
8. Open the Dimension Style Manager and create a new style named “CIVE 121.”
▪ Primary Units tab 
Linear Dimensions – Unit format: Engineering; Precision 0′-0″
▪ Text tab  Text height (Text height should be 0.12″ in Paper Space; See Lab 8
notes to figure out what it should be in Model Space.)
▪ Fit tab  Scale for dimension features: Use overall scale of 1
9. Create a layer named “Dimensions” with color red and make the Dimensions layer active. In
Model Space:
▪ Dimension the radius of the circular pad.
▪ Dimension the width of the roadway at the entrance to the pad. (See Figure 1.)
(Hint: Use “Snap to perpendicular”)
10. Answer the following questions in a Word file:
i. Explain why the new contours you drew were set 4′ apart.
ii. To complete the grading, how many contour lines did you need to add near Section
1 on the side of the proposed roadway towards the bottom of your screen?
11. Do a print preview to ensure that the plot is satisfactory (Border and Title Blocks displayed,
all layers of drawing included and drawing at correct scale).
12. Print the AutoCAD drawing (in color) and the Word file and include in your homework
portfolio.

The drawing to the left gives a general idea of what the contour lines will
look like once grading is completed.

CIVE 121 3 Spring 2020

Lab 8 Instructions
 Figure 1

Figure 1 shows how to connect contour elevation 1278 from Point A to Point B.
▪ The line (shown below) from Point A to B is a new contour line and must be in your file.
▪ You must create a closed loop with the rest of contour line 1278.
▪ Repeat this process for the other contour lines to make a downward-sloping sink hole.
▪ Note, the space between the two 1278 contour lines (C) is assumed to be flat. You can
only have two contour lines with the same elevation next to each other if one of the
contours lines is a closed loop (as shown below).

This is also contour elevation 1278. Note

that it connects to the existing 1278
contour line to make a closed loop. You
Point B can only have two contour lines with the
same elevation next to each other if one of
them is a closed loop contour line. The
space between the two contour lines is flat.

Section 1

C
Point A

This is contour elevation 1278. This is the

only location and this is the only contour
line that can cross through the proposed
building/roadway pad. You must connect
Points A and B with contour 1278 as
shown above.

Section 2

CIVE 121 4 Spring 2020

Lab 8 Instructions
In Figure 1, there are two magenta straight lines (Sections 1 and 2). These lines are shown to
help you understand the problem. Do not include these lines in your drawing file. The sections
below are not to scale and are only intended to show the general uphill or downhill directions
from the roadway for your final grading plan.

Section 1
(Drawing is not to scale. The slopes are exaggerated to help with visualization.)

Down Hill from Roadway

New Ground Surface

Roadway
(approx. 1278 ft.)
ft.)

Existing Ground surface

Section 2
(Drawing is not to scale. The slopes are exaggerated to help with visualization.)

Existing Ground surface

Up Hill from Roadway

Roadway
(approx. 1278 ft.)

New Ground Surface

CIVE 121 5 Spring 2020

Lab 8 Instructions