Best soil for filling under drainage ditches and creeks

[alchemon]

I am working on a project that involves laying fiber lines for several miles. We will be crossing multiple creeks and drainage ditches. Several of the creeks are extremely eroded with silty bottoms, and we will need to fill them in to allow for crossing. Similarly, several drainage ditches are heavily damaged and will need to be filled in as they were built as concrete lined ditches that have been undermined from snow and ice over the years.

Trenchless crossings are not feasible for several of the spots.

What is the best type of soil to use as backfill above the fiber? I know we can't use gravel under the creeks due to the risk of draining it. Is standard select backfill that is compacted satisfactory?

 

[SWComposites]

Huh? You can’t just fill in a creek. Or do you mean fill in the trench thru the bottom of the creek?

 

[alchemon]

Creeks are filled in all the time for roadways and then they are diverted to a new trench or a so called stream relocation. But yes I meant to fill in to the original creek bottom.

 

[SlideRuleEra]

alchemon - Check with a local civil or geotechnical engineer to see what is the best soil in your area. For example, crushed, complacted sedimentary limestone is ideal for your application... but if the project is not on the southern USA coastal plain it won't be available.

 

[coloeng]

In our area, they install fiber lines under drainages using directional drilling. No need to worry about filling in the trench under the drainage.