Geotechnical and geophysical characterisations of construction waste-infilled quarry for housing and commercial developments: Case study of Tehran, Iran.

The fast population growth in the metropolitan areas of the province of Tehran has led to the scarcity of land and inevitable expansion of urban construction to non-engineered fills and construction/demolition waste disposal sites. An abandoned aggregate quarry, infilled with construction wastes over 16 years, has been recently selected for a new development project consisting of several multi-storey commercial and residential complexes (up to 7 storeys). This study was aimed at delineation of the waste materials, geophysical and field and laboratory geotechnical characterisations prior to foundation design, and the design of the excavation programme.