Practical Optimization of Access Road Construction Methods in Soft Soil Areas: Case Study

Abstract

In one of the smelter projects at West Kalimantan, access road construction was planned to use soil embankment above the geo-membrane layer. But this method is not highly effective considering rainfall intensity is very high in the project location. Therefore, optimization needs to be done to obtain the most effective method in terms of cost and timely accomplishment of the access road. The optimization method is done by making a comparison matrix of the output results of the running simulation schedule on software. From the several methods proposed, the duration of completion, completion costs, and resource requirements are compared and scored to get the most optimized method. Other than that, carbon emissions resulting from each method are also compared. The optimization result concluded that boulder stone layer addition with optimum quantity in the embankment is the most optimal method considering the remaining time and encountering intensive rainfall. This optimized method can result in an accelerated construction duration of 140 days, cost efficiency of 11.46%, and a reduction in carbon emissions of 44% compared to the initial method. This optimization method is expected can be applied to access road embankment projects of soft soil areas in other locations, especially in the Kalimantan region.