Miles and miles of silt fence

I was driving I 20 W and in the median there was 40 foot sections of silt fence spanning the grass median and it was placed every 20-40 feet for MILES. I already know it was a huge waste of money, but what was the intended purpose?

Part of Trumps wall?

treemanjohn said:

I was driving I 20 W and in the median there was 40 foot sections of silt fence spanning the grass median and it was placed every 20-40 feet for MILES. I already know it was a huge waste of money, but what was the intended purpose?

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Probably to line some politicians brother in law's pockets.

Jeff C. said:

Probably to line some politicians brother in law's pockets.

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Bingo!

treemanjohn said:

I was driving I 20 W and in the median there was 40 foot sections of silt fence spanning the grass median and it was placed every 20-40 feet for MILES. I already know it was a huge waste of money, but what was the intended purpose?

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Probably EPA regulations until GDOT starts working on the project again.

Crakajak said:

Probably EPA regulations until GDOT starts working on the project again.

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You are dead on the money as all of that has to be done to control any erosion problem possibilities and it has to be done before any future construction actually begins. GDOT contractors also have to paint the length of each piece on the fabric and also the actual date of it being installed on the fabric in legible paint.

I get why they put it lower part of where they are working. Also when they start working and fence falls down no one fixes it. What I can't figure out why do they put up hill also. Someone is making a ton of money.

If it wasn't for erosion the Appalachians would be taller. And the oceans would be deeper. There would be no Grand Canyon.

Silt Fence Installer Full Employment Act of 2018 is all.

glynr329 said:

I get why they put it lower part of where they are working. Also when they start working and fence falls down no one fixes it. What I can't figure out why do they put up hill also. Someone is making a ton of money.

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Very simple. The erosion starts in every area of the entire slope from the top of a hill all the way down to the bottom. You try to stop the progression of more and more erosion as the water flows down hill. If you didn't put it along the slope in stages, all you would have would be a flooded mud puddle at the bottom and all of the stability of the dirt uphill would be gone at that point.

I never thought that it was a waste of time and money BECAUSE I have been educated over the years. I know that in many cases, it actually saves BIG money because a lot of the work invested initially in the actual work of the project does not have to be done again over and over if the erosion control fabric does the proper job when it is installed correctly. It is a lot cheaper to erect erosion control fabric on a job site than it is to keep having to do the same work over and over again when the heavy machinery is having to move the same dirt back up the hill again and again etc.

My late Father worked for and retired from the Georgia DOT Engineering Division. He taught me a lot about Engineering and actual construction details as his crew did all of the work in building Interstate 20 right through hundreds of thick swamps across Georgia with a transit, a level, a plumb-bob, 100 foot tape measures, plenty of axes and "bush-hooks", and heavy boots, and hundreds of ledger books that every detail had to written down in as there were no computers or other electronic devices to store all of those details in for future reference.

elfiii said:

Silt Fence Installer Full Employment Act of 2018 is all.

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I was one of 3 full time erosion control contractors back in the late 1980's in Ga when the regs started being enforced . EPA and GDOT didn't mess around then either.I was called a lot of names by grading contractors that didn't want to control the runoff and sediment.Worse ones were in the North Fulton area that drained directly into the Chattahoochee.Sold that business in 1990 to a competitor .

Back in the day I sold 4/4 and 5/4 oak frame stock to a man that made silt fence stakes. He was a DOT approved supplier and made bank.

Timberman said:

Back in the day I sold 4/4 and 5/4 oak frame stock to a man that made silt fence stakes. He was a DOT approved supplier and made bank.

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Robert Hood?

Like the community signs in the middle of no where.

Robert Hood?

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No it wasn't him. All this guy made was the stakes they were then sold to whomever made the fence.

Having it every 20-40 feet is a bit excessive, but you can't just have one run of silt fence at the bottom of a long hill, because silt fence is rated to handle sediment runoff at a rate of 1/4 acre per 100 linear feet of silt fence. So if its a 40 foot wide median, that 40 foot section of silt fence would adequately handle 4,356 square feet (0.1 acres) of silt runoff. So there should be a run of silt fence every 110 feet. If the slope is steep, then the placement has to be even closer.

DCHunter said:

Having it every 20-40 feet is a bit excessive, but you can't just have one run of silt fence at the bottom of a long hill, because silt fence is rated to handle sediment runoff at a rate of 1/4 acre per 100 linear feet of silt fence. So if its a 40 foot wide median, that 40 foot section of silt fence would adequately handle 4,356 square feet (0.1 acres) of silt runoff. So there should be a run of silt fence every 110 feet. If the slope is steep, then the placement has to be even closer.

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Well I imagine that 110 ft looks more like 20 ft while one is travelling at 80 mph.

Yeah, but 2 cop cars with lights going then no construction for 10 miles? Don’t get it

It stops the migration of the armadillo

My neighbor has the patent on those silt fences. He's got a big house