Modular Road, an Access Option for Wetland Environments

Abstract

A significant proportion of the expected oil reserves to be found and produced in Eastern Venezuela, are located on wetlands from the Orinoco River Delta (Monagas and Delta Amacuro States). These environments have complex hydraulic due to the confluence in a very flat topography of mayor drainage and confinements basins of the Orinoco River. Additional complexity is derived from a tidal system with back tides and varying tidal levels according to locations. Furthermore, previous studies have demonstrated that great extensions of these wetlands have several meters of peat accumulations, laid on top of sulphidic marine clays that can generate strong acidification problems if are drained and 1or exposed to oxidation. In order to solve this environmental constraints, allowing access without dredging and minimum perturbation of this substrates, a modular road concept was developed and tested in a swamp environment at the Caripito Oil Terminal (Monagas State), that uses a light concrete cylinder and other smaller components as building blocks. The cylinder of 860 Kg. and 0.7 m. of outer diameter has a length of 2.82m. An internal honeycomb structure allows for flotation. In order to test the concept a road of 50 m length was built using 270 cylinders placed over a swamp soil with a resistance of 0,18 Kg/cm2. A truck loaded with 100 ton. was passed over 110 times, and settling rates and road deformation was topographically measured. The road was subsequently dismounted and the cylinder inspected for fractures. No fractures were reported in any of the cylinders.