Current Topics in Transport

CT10.5

Low cost / low volume roads –

update (2004-2008)
 CURRENT TOPICS IN TRANSPORT
No. 10.5

Low cost / low volume roads – update

(2004-2008)

This issue of Current Topics includes over 75 abstracts of reports, conference papers, books
and journal articles which focus on the design, construction, maintenance, and reinforce-
ment of low cost / low volume roads, including earth roads, forestry roads and gravel roads.
Subjects covered also include standards for low cost roads, pavement management systems,
reinforcement methods and environment protection. These items have been selected from
the material added to the Transport Research Laboratory’s Library Database between 2004
and 2008. Much of the relevant English language published literature from the UK, USA,
Australia and Europe is included; some of the non-UK literature is included courtesy of the
OECD International Transport Research Documentation (ITRD) database.

Produced by: TRL Information Centre,

Crowthorne House, Nine Mile Ride, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 3GA.

TRL titles are published on behalf of TRL by IHS:

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January 2009 Price £30.00

© Transport Research Laboratory 2009 ISSN: 1464-1380

 Low cost / low volume roads – update
(2004-2008)
The use of lightweight tyre bales in the
construction of foundations for roads over soft
ground
Winter, MG
TRL Staff Papers
TRL Limited
(Crowthorne House, Nine Mile Ride, Wokingham
RG40 3GA, United Kingdom)
2008 / PA/INF/5814/07 / 15p / 13 refs
Used tyre disposal is a problem of international
significance and in the European Community
sending whole and part tyres to landfill has been
banned. Sustainable solutions that allow the reuse
and recycling of whole tyres are thus required. At the
same time, road construction over soft ground presents
considerable technical challenges. Such roads often
serve relatively remote communities, carry relatively
low traffic levels, and construction and subsequent
maintenance must therefore be achieved within very
limited budgets. Lightweight construction materials are
highly desirable in this context, but can be costly. A
relatively new lightweight construction material, tyre
bales, is introduced. Issues in relation to the use of tyre
bales such as sustainability, waste management, costs
and end of life are addressed in addition to describing
their application to the construction of road foundations
over soft ground.
Rut Accumulation and Power Law Models for
Low-Volume Pavements Under Mixed Traffic
Dawson, AR
Conference Title: Transportation Research Board
87th Annual Meeting. Location: Washington. Held:
20080113-20080117
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2008-00 / 20p / +refs
The ‘4th Power Law’ has been used for more than 40
years to assist with the modeling of the damage that
accumulates in pavements due to different traffic load
levels and differing numbers of load applications.
The paper studies the applicability and the limits of
applicability of this ‘Law’ to typical low-volume road
pavements with no or only thin seals that obtain their
structural performance primarily from the aggregate
base (or equivalent) layer and for which pavement
deterioration is overwhelmingly due to rutting. After
behavior of unbound granular pavement materials has
been reviewed, data from four different sources is used
to show that it is sometimes impossible to model real
pavement response by any power relationship. Also,
power values, even when usable, are highly variable
and can vary widely with construction material and
with ‘failure’ criterion. It is shown that, even when a
power law is a reasonable way of interpreting data, a
value for the ‘Law’ of 4 is not. Some suggestions are
given as to alternative approaches and adaptations
Spot improvements: safe, reliable access for rural
communities
Done, S
Municipal Engineering (Proceedings of the ICE)
Thomas Telford for ICE
2008-09 / v161(n3) p183-190 / 13 refs
ISSN: 0965-0903
Throughout the developing world, many people live in
rural communities. The tracks and roads upon which
they depend are, in many cases, in poor condition:
difficult in the dry season and impassable in the rains.
This lack of access is the root cause of much rural
poverty as it is difficult to achieve any development-
social or economic-when isolated from schools,
health facilities, centres of employment and markets.
Most government budgets cannot provide all rural
communities with a regularly maintained and passable
road. However, if the ability to travel to a destination
is prioritised over a smooth and uniform road surface,
a possible solution emerges. Sites that are impassable,
dangerous or at risk of imminent failure are improved,
whereas the rest remain unimproved. In this solution,
vehicles can travel safely and reliably and the cost of
the work is much less than a full improvement scheme.
Roads are maintained and, as funds and traffic increase,
more sites can be improved. This approach is known
as ‘spot improvements’. This paper describes key
technical aspects of spot improvements, explains some
problems faced and, using Mozambique as a case study,
outlines how these problems can be addressed.

How Well Does the Falling Weight Deflectometer
Simulate Traffic Loads for Thin Low Volume
Pavements?
Howard, IL
Warren, KA
Conference Title: Transportation Research Board
87th Annual Meeting. Location: Washington. Held:
20080113-20080117
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2008-00 / 17p / + refs
The Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) is commonly
used to evaluate structural characteristics of pavements.
The FWD simulates vehicular loads at typical highway
speeds and the data is used to back-calculate layer
moduli and design overlays (among other functions). In
routine testing, the only data obtained is on the surface
of the pavement, which leaves potentially significant
behaviors within the pavement undetected. The focus
of this paper is to present the analysis of a heavily
instrumented, full-scale flexible pavement that was
subjected to vehicular traffic and FWD loads under
controlled testing conditions. Statistical analysis and
finite element modeling separately demonstrated that
the responses produced by the FWD were, in general,
lower than those from corresponding vehicular traffic,
and this behavior was more pronounced with depth.
The subgrade was a fine-grained, stress softening soil.
Therefore, the increased difference in the data between
methods in this layer is a significant finding that was
made possible by the embedded instrumentation. Finite
element modeling resulted in traffic asphalt strain, base
pressure, and subgrade pressure responses exceeding
FWD responses by factors of 1.27, 1.76, and 2.43,
respectively. Similarly, a statistical analysis resulted
in factors of 1.36, 1.66, and 2.39, respectively.

Highway Development and Management Model
(HDM-4): Calibration and Adoption for Low
Volume Roads in Indian Condition
Thube, DT
Thube, AD
Conference Title: Transportation Research Board
87th Annual Meeting. Location: Washington. Held:
20080113-20080117
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2008-00 / 30p / + refs
Pavement deterioration models help in predicting
the condition of the pavement at a future date. These
model forms an important input in a pavement
management system for assessing the state of health of
pavements and selecting the optimal maintenance and
rehabilitation strategies. The World Bank developed
tool HDM-4 (Highway Development and Management
Model) are used for pavement management activities
and must be adjusted to the specific conditions of
the country or region where they are to be used by
adjusting certain calibration factors. In this study, an
attempt have been made to calibrate HDM-4 pavement
deterioration models for paved Low Volume Roads
(LVR) in India by using the “window” monitoring
techniques which consists of reconstructing the distress
performance curve of a specific road category starting
with observation of the condition of different roads
with similar characteristics but of different ages.
Pavement condition data of 61 identified in service
LVR sections are collected for 2 years period for model
calibration and calibrated pavement deterioration
models are validated for different LVR sections. The
result of the study will be useful input for deciding
the optimal maintenance strategies (type and timing)
for LVR in India.
GIS-Based Travel Demand Modeling for
Estimating Traffic on Low-Class Roads
Zhong, M
Hanson, BL
Conference Title: Transportation Research Board
87th Annual Meeting. Location: Washington. Held:
20080113-20080117
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2008-00 / 15p / + refs
Traffic count data are useful for many purposes, but
often not available for significant portions of road
networks. It would be prohibitive to cover all roads
with traditional sensor-based traffic monitoring system,
particularly for rural, low-class roads. In cases where
traffic volumes are needed but unavailable, travel
demand models (TDMs) can be used to estimate such
information. A literature review indicates that research
work for estimating traffic volumes for low-class roads
using TDM is scarce. The majority of previous research
used traffic count data based regressions. The problem
of such an approach is that it relies available traffic
counts to develop, calibrate, and validate regression
models. Nevertheless, few or no traffic counts are
collected on low-class roads, and therefore makes it
inapplicable. This study implements TDMs for two
regions in the province of New Brunswick, Canada to
estimate traffic volumes for low-class roads. GIS based
TDMs using census data and ITE Quick Response
method produce forecasted traffic for a significant
portion of road network previously without any traffic
information and limit the average estimation errors for
low-class roads to less than 40%. Available traffic data
were increased by 45% in York County and 144% in
the Beresford area. The traffic estimation errors are
comparable to or better than those reported in the
literature, and the forecasted traffic volumes provide
a solid foundation for identifying high-volume road
segments and prioritizing funding. Study results clearly
show TDM is a practical, useful, cost-effective way for
estimating traffic parameters on low-class roads.
Low-volume road grading maintenance
management: New Zealand experience with a
Canadian system
Douglas, RA
Pidwerbesky, B
Mercier, S
2007 Annual Conference and Exhibition of
the Transportation Association of Canada:
Transportation - an Economic Enabler
TAC (Transportation Association of Canada)
(2323 St Laurent Boulevard, Ottawa, Ontario, K1G
4J8, Canada)
2007 / 12p / 5 refs
ISBN: 1551872528
In New Zealand, a leading forestry company and a
major road contractor both experimented with a system
called Optigrade, developed by the Forest Engineering
Research Institute of Canada originally to manage the
grading maintenance of unsealed forest haul roads. The
system comprises accelerometer and GPS hardware
mounted on a haul truck routinely traveling the road,
and software designed to assist managers making
decisions on grading frequency. The system schedules
grading only for those road segments that need it, based
on road roughness measurements. To apply Optigrade
to the management of public low volume road (LVR)
networks laid out in grids rather than the dendritic
road systems typical of forest operations required
modifications to the hardware and the monitoring
and analysis routines. Modifications to the system are
described, together with the challenges and successes.
A discussion of the implications for applying Optigrade
to Canadian public LVR maintenance management
practice is provided.
Selection of Surface Type for Low Volume Roads
Hein, DK
Swan, DJ
Hajek, JJ
2007 Annual Conference and Exhibition of the
Transportation Association of Canada: Transportation
- an Economic Enabler
TAC (Transportation Association of Canada)
(2323 St Laurent Boulevard, Ottawa, Ontario, K1G
4J8, Canada)
2007 / 20p / 5 refs
ISBN: 1551872528
The main objective of the work described in this
paper was the development of a model for surface
type selection for low volume roads and the testing of
the model by applying it to a network of low-volume

roads. Surface treatments, seal coats and chip seals
are commons surface types on low volume roads in
Canada. With changes in traffic volumes and business
activities, transportation agencies face the challenge
of deciding if and when surface-treated pavements
should be upgraded to asphalt concrete pavements or,
alternatively, when asphalt concrete pavements should
be downgraded. Many agencies base the decision to
upgrade a roadway based on traffic volumes, but most
do not have a formal set of guidelines for deciding if
the surface of a low volume road should be surface-
treated or asphalt concrete. This paper describes a
model, based on a numerical score, which facilitates
systematic and judicious selection of pavement surface
type for low volume roads.
Prediction of Permanent Deformations of
Unbound Granular Materials in Low Traffic
Pavements
Hornych, P
Chazallon, C
Allou, F
El Abd, A
International Journal of Road Materials and
Pavement Design
2007 / v8 (n4) p643-666 / 32 refs
Permanent deformations of unbound granular layers and
soils, caused by unfavourable moisture conditions, are
one of the most common mechanisms of deterioration
of low traffic pavements, with unbound granular
bases. The paper presents permanent deformation
models, developed by LCPC and by the University of
Limoges, for the prediction of permanent deformations
of unbound granular materials: a simple empirical
model and two elastoplasticity based models for cyclic
loading: one of them is based on the time independent
plasticity with kinematic hardening, and the second one
on the shakedown theory. The model parameters have
been determined with cyclic triaxial tests performed on
a granular base course material, at different moisture
contents. An application of the models to finite element
calculation of permanent deformations in a pavement
structure is presented. (A)

Developing standards for weight limitation
policies. Road Asset Management Research
Program (VOH) / Painorajoitussuunnittelun
kriteerien kehittaminen. Vaylaomaisuuden
hallinnan tutkimusohjelma (VOH)
Lamsa, VP
Belt, J
Tiehallinnon Selvityksia, Finnra Reports
Finnish Road Administration
(Opastinsilta 12 a, FI-00520, Finland)
2007 / v3201031(n5/2007) / 35p / 0 refs
ISBN: 978-951-803-827-9
ISSN: 1459-1553
The nature of structural thaw weakening on gravel roads
has changed during the inventory period 1996-2006.
Currently, structural thaw weakening is characterized
by damaged areas 20.30m in length instead of longer
thaw-weakened sections. Besides the influence of a
renewed road damage inventory system, the change has
been affected by an increased investment in the repair
of thaw-weakened sections of road. As a result, the
overall length of weight restricted roads has decreased.
On the basis of the received feedback, predicting weight
limitations has been proved to be useful especially in
the form of notifying the various interest groups of the
roads with a potential of becoming weight restricted.
Notification has decreased the amount of traffic during
periods of structural thaw-weakening. This has, for its
part, levelled off the overall number of actual thaw-
weakening problems. The above phenomenon will
gain in significance in springs with forecasts of rough
weather conditions. The fundamental goal of this
project has been to review the action model for the
identification of weight limitation targets on both paved
and gravel roads. On the basis of this project work,
measures for the development of weight limitation
policies are proposed with respect to the following
issues: (1) the follow-up of the melting of road
structure and the observation of the prevailing weather
conditions in springtime (2) the time of imposing and
releasing weight limitations (3) the procedure of thaw
weakening inventories (4) guidelining the classification
of structural thaw weakening (thaw-weakening lists (5)
the reviewing of structural thaw weakening criteria. In
addition, the project work suggests that more accurate
recording of implemented and planned measures
is needed. Regular notification (the so called repair
lists) concerning structural thaw weakening, paving
/ improvements and the measure plan of the coming
summer is of great importance in weight limitations
planning. The changes recommended in the project
report will decrease the number of roads with a
potential for becoming weight limited. In addition,
a review of the criteria for paved roads will shift the
focus from soft asphalt roads towards the protection
of surface treated gravel roads. This report may be
found at http://alk.tiehallinto.fi/julkaisut/pdf/3201031-
v-voh_painorajoitussuunnittelu.pdf
The African Community Access Programme
(AFCAP)
O’Neill, P
Greening, PAK
Fouracre, PR
TRL Staff Paper
TRL Limited
(Crowthorne House, Nine Mile Ride, Wokingham
RG40 3GA, United Kingdom)
2007 / PA/INF/5782/07 / 6p / 2
The African Community Access Programme (AFCAP)
is a UK Department for International Development
(DFID) transport initiative that uses research evidence
to develop sustainable, low-cost and locally owned
access roads for poor rural communities in Africa. The
background to AFCAP and the need to develop new
approaches to rural road management are described.
AFCAP is a research and demonstration project that
identifies good practice that is easily scaled-up and
mainstreamed into policy and investment. It is built
on the general concept of broadening the scope and
geographical reach of the South African Development
Community (SADC) Guideline: low-volume sealed
roads (GLVSR) and customising it for individual
country conditions. Where possible, AFCAP will work
with existing projects. The ways in which AFCAP can
add value to different stakeholders are outlined. The
current status of AFCAP is described.
Improved material specifications for unsealed
roads
Paige-Green, P
Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and
Hydrogeology
Inderscience Enterprises Ltd
2007
Performance-related specifications for the selection
of gravel materials for use in unsealed roads were
developed in South Africa in the late 1980s along with
associated deterioration models. The implementation
of these has shown that, when the material fully
complies with these specifications, and the materials
are compacted to a high density, the actual performance
of the road is even better than predicted by the models.
These specifications have subsequently been tested and
implemented in other countries in the southern African
region. However, whereas in South Africa test methods
are based upon ASTM methods, the test methods used
in other countries are often based upon the British
Standard methods. The inherent differences in these
test methods need to be taken into account so that the
specifications can be effectively applied. A revised
material selection guide and performance prediction
chart have been developed for use when the materials
are tested using the British Standard test methods.
New Twist for Stabilized Roads
Wright, D
2007 Annual Conference and Exhibition of
the Transportation Association of Canada:
Transportation - an Economic Enabler
TAC (Transportation Association of Canada)
(2323 St Laurent Boulevard, Ottawa, Ontario, K1G
4J8, Canada)
2007 / 23p / 4 refs
ISBN: 1551872528
Surface grading, aggregate loss, and dust palliatives
required to safely maintain heavily used gravel roads
can approach $20,000 per km per year. An example of
this is the Tahsis Road on the West Coast of Vancouver
Island. The road is multi-purpose, and serves as the
only public access to a community, a main log haul
route, and numerous recreational users in the summer
months. Complicating maintenance, the road has grades
of up to 18 percent and is used by industry’s 150-tonne
logging trucks. In response, British Columbia Ministry
of Transportation District Staff in consultation with
others, commenced small-scale field trials in 2000
for a ‘New Twist’ for a Stabilized Hard Surface Road.
Three steps have evolved to the new relatively simple
twist and are covered in this paper. The end result when
correctly applied results in a sealed hard surface road
that will carry heavy loads.

Privatization of Low-Volume-Road Maintenance
Management: Malaysian Experience
Ahmad, TB
Ahmad, J
Hossain, M
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 281-289 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104645
ISSN: 0361-1981
In 2001, the Malaysian government privatized the
maintenance of its federal road network. The network
was divided into four maintenance regions. The
southern region consists of about 4,000 km of roads;
of that, about 1,800 km is under the Federal Land
Development Authority (FELDA) scheme. Under
the privatization contract, the concessionaire is
required to carry out periodic, routine, and emergency
maintenance of all roads within the FELDA scheme.
The implementation of the privatized maintenance
management program for the low-volume road network
is discussed. The current management program
includes road condition data collection, maintenance
strategy and pavement materials selection, and use of
innovative pavement maintenance technology. Data
collection is carried out by using a high-speed road
data collection survey vehicle; structural assessment is
made by using the falling weight deflectometer, coring
and dynamic cone penetrometer, and a conventional
visual condition survey. An inventory system was also
developed. Components of this privatized maintenance
contract are discussed in detail.
Polymer stabilisation and best value management
of unsealed road networks
Andrews, RC
Duffy, PF
Cairns International Public Works Conference, 2007,
Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Cairns Media Corporate Productions
(301 Draper Street, Cairns, Queensland, 4870,
Australia)
2007-08 / 10p / - refs
This paper describes the development in Australia
of a synthetic polymer stabilisation binder, its field
evaluation over the past five years and its potential
to contribute to an improved triple bottom line. An
economic whole of life analysis using quantitative

engineering assessments has been used to illustrate
the potential for achieving best value management
of unsealed road networks together with estimates of
reduction in consumption of natural materials. (a)
Road safety on the local roads in the Shire of
Campaspe
Aujard, J
Cairns International Public Works Conference, 2007,
Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Cairns Media Corporate Productions
(301 Draper Street, Cairns, Queensland, 4870,
Australia)
2007-08 / 6p / - refs
State road authorities have developed criteria to
prioritise safety treatments at intersections and on
lengths of roads. Usually the criteria only applies
to highly trafficked roads, and where casualty crash
information is available. What should a rural council
consider when addressing the community’s concerns
about safety on lower trafficked roads which don’t
have a documented history of casualty crashes? The
criteria applicable to arterial roads do not translate well
to lower trafficked local roads and hence an alternative
approach is required. As a result the Shire of Campaspe
commenced a project in late 2005 to develop some
criteria to identify and rank safety issues on these lower
trafficked roads. (a)
Rapid Soils Analysis Kit for Low-Volume Roads
and Contingency Airfields
Berney, ES
Wahl, RE
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 71-78 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104637
ISSN: 0361-1981
The ability to determine the construction requirements
for soil without the need to conduct laboratory testing
is essential in performing an expedient airfield or
highway design. Until now, only subjective field
analysis techniques satisfied this requirement, but
their results failed to provide tangible numeric data
that could be used to determine moisture-density
and California bearing ratio (CBR) design criteria.
This paper introduces a rapid soils classification
kit with instruments that are compact and easily
transported to provide an immediate measure of soil
moisture, grain-size distribution, and plastic limit.
An accompanying software program incorporates the
numeric data generated from the soils kit, classifies
the soil, and performs multiple regression routines
based on a statistical analysis of a large database of
soil properties to predict optimum water content and
maximum dry density for the soil of interest. Built-in,
higher-order regression equations allow the user to
visualize complete moisture-density curves for varying
compaction energies as well as soaked and unsoaked
CBR as functions of water content for the constructed
condition of the soil. The moisture-density curve and
CBR strength represent the critical data necessary
to enable contingency design and construction of
highways and airfields.
Commonly Used Aggregate Materials and
Placement Methods: Comparative Analysis for
a Wearing Course on Low-Volume Roads in
Pennsylvania
Bloser, SM
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 178-185 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104637
ISSN: 0361-1981
Aggregate-surfaced roads are a viable component of
the transportation network; they provide significant
increases in road stability over earthen-surfaced roads
while avoiding the high placement and maintenance
costs of pavements. The use of higher-quality, more
stable aggregates will significantly reduce both the
cost of maintaining gravel roads and the environmental
concerns related to road runoff. This paper aims to
provide a better understanding of wearing course
aggregates by describing a comparative analysis
experiment done as part of Pennsylvania’s Dirt and
Gravel Road Maintenance Program. Three aggregates
commonly used in Pennsylvania were placed side by
side under two different placement methods for each
type of aggregate as part of a 3-year study to compare
their long-term durability and cost-effectiveness. The
two methods tested were the “dump and spread” method
known as tailgating and the application of aggregate by
a motor paver. Cross-sectional surveys were done on
each aggregate section for 3 years following placement
to determine elevation changes in the road surfaces.
No significant difference in performance was found
between aggregate sections placed with a paver and the
same aggregate placed by tailgating. Driving surface
aggregate was the only aggregate of the three tested that
did not show a statistically significant change in road
elevation during the 3-year course of study. Results
illustrate the importance of selecting a properly graded
aggregate containing minimal clay and soil material for
use as surface aggregate on low-volume roads.
Time to reflect. Helping road users see the
difference
Bradley, N
Traffic Technology International
UK & International Press
2007-10/11 / p61,63-65 / 0
This article takes a detailed look at the use of road
markings, a relatively low cost traffic management
measure with potentially huge benefits. There have
been many developments over the years in the material
used for line markings one of the latest being Leighs
Paints methyl methacrylate (MMA) which addresses
the problem of wet night visibility. 3M has also
developed an all weather paint which incorporates a
dual optics system, these among others are seen as a
way forward in the fight to make road markings more
visible in all weathers and hence aid road safety.
Prioritization of Low-Volume Pavement Sections
for Maintenance by Using Fuzzy Logic
Chandran, S
Isaac, KP
Veeraragavan, A
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 53-60 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104645
ISSN: 0361-1981
A pavement management system formulated according
to the specific needs and resources of a highway agency
should ensure satisfactory pavement performance
with minimal maintenance cost. The success of
a pavement management system depends on the
pavement condition data, accuracy of the prediction
of pavement performance, and project- and network-
level rehabilitation planning. Of these, the most labor-
intensive, time-consuming, and costly component

is the collection of pavement condition data. The
inventory data include roughness, skid resistance, and
surface distresses. Although mechanical instruments
are available for rapid collection of roughness and
skid resistance data, the collection of distress data
for low-volume rural roads is still manual and hence
labor-intensive and time-consuming. Subjective rating
techniques prove to be a solution to this problem, but
their reliability is poor due to the subjectivity associated
with them. Therefore, there is a need for a rapid and
cost-effective yet reliable method for collecting
pavement condition data. The Prime Minister’s Gram
Sadak Yojana is a project launched in India by the
Government of India to provide all-weather road
connectivity to rural habitations. The investment is
around 600 billion rupees ($15 billion) during the
period 2000-2007. As part of the project, road stretches
are prioritized for maintenance and reconstruction by
using the pavement condition index. The quantification
of the severity and extent of data collected is affected
by each panel member’s perception and judgment.
To deal effectively with the subjectivity associated
with human judgment of distress severity and extent,
mathematical techniques of fuzzy set were used. Fuzzy
membership functions were formulated for severity,
extent, and relative importance of each distress with
respect to maintenance. Fuzzy condition indices were
used to prioritize the pavement sections by suitable
fuzzy ranking methods. The effectiveness of the
method is established by ranking pavement sections.
Design of Low-Volume Pavements Against
Rutting: Simplified Approach
Dawson, AR
Kolisoja, P
Vuorimies, N
Saarenketo, T
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 165-172 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104645
ISSN: 0361-1981
Roads that connect remote communities to each other
and to urban centers are essential for community
survival, yet they often must be funded from a small
taxation base. Because of their thin, often unsealed,
construction, the pavements forming these roads
typically fail by rutting. A simplified means of
designing pavements against rutting that is usable by
engineers in these remote locations is proposed. The
causes of rutting are identified, and simple methods

of material assessment suitable for use by local road
engineers having limited resources are discussed. An
advanced testing and analytical approach is reported
that uses repeated load triaxial testing of aggregates
and nonlinear finite element analysis of chip-sealed
pavements. The results are used to develop a
permissible stress approach for design purposes. This
approach uses simple stress analysis, by chart and
PC-based computations, with readily available in situ
evaluation of materials.
Friction Reliability Criteria Applied to
Horizontal Curve Design of Low-Volume Roads
de Solminihac, HE
Echaveguren, T
Vargas, S
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 138-147 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104645
ISSN: 0361-1981
Design of road horizontal curves usually considers
geometric characteristics and surface pavement
condition by means of friction, superelevation, and
speed equations in a deterministic point of view:
a unique radius and superelevation are selected,
considering a uniform behavior of drivers and pavement
surface condition. However, empirical evidence shows
that operating speed usually exceeds design speed
when design speed is lower than 100 km/h. This means
that the aggregated friction demand exceeds the design
friction. The friction threshold and variability are not
considered in design at the present time. Therefore,
the designer does not know the remaining friction
available and cannot estimate the margin of safety
provided by the design. This problem is important in
low-volume roads (LVRs) because the design speed
usually considered is lower than 100 km/h. In this
paper a methodology to design horizontal curves for
LVRs is proposed, considering the variability of skid
resistance, pavement texture, driver behavior, and
geometric design elements. Critical speed is obtained
for two conditions: consistency between design and
operational conditions and consistency between
friction thresholds considered for the pavement surface
and operational condition. For this purpose, a reliability
index is estimated by using the Hasofer-Lind method.
Results show that a more realistic design is obtained
when an aggregated friction demand based on driver
behavior is considered. A good design is obtained
when design speed ranges around 60 km/h and the
standard deviation of curve radius is lower than 20%
of the mean radius.
Selection and Use of Locally Available Pavement
Materials for Low-Volume Roads in Western
Australia
Emery, S
Cocks, G
Keeley, R
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 194-200 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104637
ISSN: 0361-1981
In many countries locally available granular materials
are an important source for the base course and subbase
in the construction of flexible pavements. On low-
volume roads, these include fine-grained materials
such as well-graded silty and clayey sands (sand-clay),
coarse and medium-grained materials such as natural
gravels, and materials produced by ripping and rolling
rock. Many materials have been used that do not meet
conventional selection criteria but still give satisfactory
performance. Their choice is based on locally developed
selection criteria, nonstandard testing, and attention to
construction technique. Selection criteria are presented
here for lateritic base course gravels (covering a wide
range of climates), crushed lateritic caprock, limestone,
and sand-clay. The criteria have been adapted from
research in several countries and refined through
experience and field research in Western Australia.
Some techniques are suggested for low-volume roads
to cope with large truck combinations on the basis
of the experience of Western Australia, where some
road trains have more than 20 axles. Nonstandard
test methods include the Western Australia confined
compression test accelerated triaxial test and chemical
composition tests. Suggestions are made concerning
the bitumen surfacing of some materials to improve
seal adhesion. Adequate strength by itself is insufficient
for the successful use of locally available materials, and
attention to construction technique and workability is
needed. Guidelines are given on issues such as winning
(mining), curing, mixing, oversize and compaction,
dry-back, and surface preparation before sealing.
Life-Cycle Economic Evaluation of Alternative
Road Construction Methods on Low-Volume
Roads
Gerbrandt, R
Berthelot, C
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 61-71 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104645
ISSN: 0361-1981
The province of Saskatchewan has the largest number
of public roads per capita in Canada and one of the
largest in the world. Over the past decade, pressures
on the road network have increased, resulting in
accelerated road damage and increased demand to
upgrade portions of the highway network. To address
transportation infrastructure sustainability issues,
Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation (DHT)
and Pavement Scientific International, Inc., are
researching more cost-effective methods. The research
work involves evaluating the technical and economic
feasibility of undertaking alternative road construction
techniques. A critical component of this research effort
is to evaluate the economic feasibility associated with
different road construction techniques. The ability to
perform whole-life economic analysis associated with
long-term infrastructure assets is important to long-
term sustainability. By comparing the present value
of initial construction and future preservation costs
across different road structures and technologies, an
accurate assessment of construction and design options
is achievable. On the basis of performance predictions
and projected structural performance, resource
allocation can be optimized more reliably across
limited resources and alternative road strengthening
systems, providing technically sound solutions that
are more economically attractive. With an ability to
predict whole life-cycle performance on the basis of
future maintenance treatments, road managers can
more reliably assess alternative surfacing and structural
preservation strategies. The primary focus of this
paper is to demonstrate the economic considerations
undertaken in evaluating alternative road design and
construction methods. This longer-term evaluation
approach allows strategic investments in highway
infrastructure and allows DHT and other agencies to
consider innovative road structural rehabilitation and
management strategies more effectively.

Establishing Deterioration Models for Local
Roads in Australia
Giummarra, GJ
Martin, T
Hoque, Z
Roper, R
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 270-276 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104637
ISSN: 0361-1981
Local government authorities across Australia have
adopted a variety of pavement management systems
(PMSs) for local roads to guide the development of
pavement maintenance, rehabilitation programs, and
the appropriate allocation of road funding. Many
practitioners managing local roads (the majority of
which are considered low volume) are becoming
disenchanted with their PMS packages, since the
forecast of pavement performance does not accurately
reflect actual pavement condition. A reason for this
deficiency is that the prediction models used in PMSs
are based more on the performance of overseas
pavements. Pavement deterioration models are a
critical component in any PMS, and accurate models
are essential in order to better manage roads at both
strategic (network) and maintenance work (project)
levels to gain greater value from the funding available.
To develop appropriate deterioration models for local
roads, it was considered necessary to establish a
number of sample local road sites at which pavement
performance could be monitored over time. The sites
selected are representative of local road pavements
and cover a range of road types, climatic conditions,
traffic loading, soil types, construction techniques, and
maintenance practices. The study being undertaken
by ARRB Group (formerly the Australian Road
Research Board) as a commercial research project to
establish deterioration models for low-volume roads
across Australia, both sealed and unsealed, is outlined.
The methods used to gain national support for the
study, methodology adopted, performance criteria
established, collection methods used, and interim
results are described.
10
Improved management of unsealed roads
Giummarra, GJ
Cairns International Public Works Conference, 2007,
Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Cairns Media Corporate Productions
(301 Draper Street, Cairns, Queensland, 4870,
Australia)
2007-08 / 8p / - refs
Over the last 15 years ARRB Group has undertaken
research on finding better ways to minimise
maintenance, improve safety and reduce adverse
impacts on the environment by unsealed roads. This
paper covers the latest findings and best practices
relating to dust suppression, safety improvements,
minimising gravel loss, how to make better use of
local materials and estimating, for asset management
purposes, the performance of a road network based
on the recently released deterioration models. It also
covers the many lessons learnt and practical aspects
raised by thousands of practitioners that have attended
over 200 workshops conducted across Australasia over
the last 10 years. (a)
Strip Sealing and Ultra-High-Pressure
Watercutting Technique for Restoring Skid
Resistance on Low-Volume Roads: Life-Cycle
Cost Comparison
Gransberg, DD
Pidwerbesky, B
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 234-239 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104645
ISSN: 0361-1981
Low-volume roads require cost-effective maintenance
methods to minimize the amount of money spent on
them while maximizing the engineering properties
required to furnish the required levels of service. Skid
resistance is an engineering property that is important
for any road. Because chip sealing is a tried-and-true
pavement preservation method, it often is used as
the primary maintenance treatment of these roads.
Unfortunately, chip seals are prone to flushing in the
wheelpaths, which creates a loss of skid resistance. The
economics of replacing strip sealing using conventional
chip seal in the wheelpaths with the ultra-high-pressure
watercutter used in New Zealand are explored. An
economic analysis of typical low-volume roads on
the basis of case studies found in Texas is conducted
to determine the life-cycle costs of using both options
on each case study project. The study applies the
FHWA pavement life-cycle cost methodology, and
the results are reported on a net-present-value basis
to permit assessment of both methodologies. The
analysis is conducted on two levels. First, a traditional
deterministic life-cycle cost analysis is performed, and
that is followed by a stochastic analysis of life-cycle
cost using a Monte Carlo simulation. It is concluded
that the watercutter is an economically viable
alternative to strip sealing with the benefit of restoring
the macrotexture without exacerbating the condition
that caused the loss of skid resistance in the first place.
It also allows the desired engineering objective to be
achieved without additional consumption of asphalt
binder or aggregate, thus making an environmentally
sustainable alternative as well.
A stable future
Hearn, G
Ground Engineering
Emap Construct Ltd
(151 Rosebery Avenue, EC1R 4QX, United
Kingdom)
2007-04 / v40 (n4) pp22 / 4 refs
ISSN: 0017-4653
This article reports slope stabilisation trials in
northern Laos, south-east Asia. Routes 13 North and
7 have suffered from landslides where steep slopes
are underlain by jointed and weathered phyllite.
The current project is to develop a series of trials
aimed at using low cost, local resource solutions
to remedy a range of slope instability problems,
from actual landslides to gradual displacements
of the road formation. Thirteen sites were chosen,
three of which will be stabilised by bio-engineering
techniques of grass, shrub and tree planting, with low
cost engineering structures. The remaining ten are the
subject of geotechnical assessment: a borehole and trial
pitting investigation was combined with topographical
survey and geological mapping. A second phase of
work will combine drainage, earthworks and retention
structures.
HDM-4 based optimal maintenance strategies for
low-volume roads in India
Jain, SS
Parida, M (INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY.
CENTRE FOR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS)
Thube, DT
Road and Transport Research
Vermont South, Victoria, Australia
2007-12 / v16 (n4) p3-15 / 17 refs
ISSN: 1037-5783
The Government of India has recently launched a
road program, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadal Yojana
(PMGSY), costing about US$168 billion. About
370 000 km of low-volume roads (LVRs) are
being constructed under this program by following
specifications given in the Indian manual IRC:SP-20.
There is an immediate need for the development of a
scientific-based maintenance policy for these roads in
view of the huge investment. In this study, an attempt
has been made to calibrate the pavement deterioration
models by carrying out life-cycle cost analysis using
the highway development and maintenance tool
(HDM-4) for different local traffic composition and
environmental conditions of plain, rolling and hilly
terrain in the Uttarakhand State of India, and to suggest
the appropriate type/timing of optimal maintenance
alternative for 70 differently designed LVRs with
varying structural number values. The results of the
study will be useful to field engineers in deciding
optimal maintenance policy. (a)
Aggregate Surfacing Design and Management for
Low-Volume Roads in Temperate, Mountainous
Areas
Mills, K
Pyles, M
Thoreson, R
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 154-160 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104637
ISSN: 0361-1981
An integrated aggregate design and management
system for forest roads in wet, mountainous terrain
requires special considerations. Typically, subgrade
soils, drainage conditions, and compactive effort vary
along the length of new and existing roads. There
are fewer testing opportunities for obtaining design
11
parameters in these remote areas. Nevertheless,
relatively small depths of aggregate can provide high
performance. This design requires characterization
of subgrade materials before or during construction.
It uses steep road grades to advantage for effective
drainage of the subgrade and aggregate. The design
is used in conjunction with drainage practices that
minimize erosion from reaching streams. Compaction
effectiveness can be limited by soil moisture that
is wet of optimum for compaction during the short
construction period, requiring that aggregate depths
be adjusted accordingly. To be used by practitioners,
the design must be simple and not very conservative.
Aggregate properties vary widely, and gradation
specifications must be adjusted on the basis of these
properties. Aggregate roads require timely inspection
and should be graded only when they are rutted or
major defects are present. Drainage and subgrade
problems also need to be addressed during maintenance
of the surface.
Use of Naturally Occurring Pozzolans for Road
Construction in Tanzania
Onyango, MA
Macha, I
Busch, C
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 169-177 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104637
ISSN: 0361-1981
A pilot study has been conducted in Tanzania to
investigate the possibility of using naturally occurring
pozzolan materials as a sand stabilizing agent for
road base and subbase construction. The pozzolan
material investigated was to be used in the coastal
area of Tanzania, which lacks good road construction
materials that meet material specification requirements.
The coastal area produces mainly sand and some poor-
quality limestones that are not particularly suitable for
road construction. Pozzolan samples collected from
different parts of Tanzania were investigated. The
collected pozzolan samples were mixed with lime to
stabilize sand that could be used in a base or subbase
course. Laboratory tests were done to determine
properties of individual pozzolans and lime-pozzolan-
sand mixtures. The compressive strength and split
tensile tests were performed to determine the pozzolan
mixtures’ strength development and their suitability for
road construction. Tanzanian experience with natural
pozzolanic materials resulting from the Dar-Mlandizi
12
road project will be discussed. The Dar-Mlandizi road
was constructed by using sand stabilized with blast
furnace slag as the base course material. The paper
highlights the availability and preliminary testing
of natural pozzolans in Tanzania, which resulted in
follow-up testing of natural pozzolans in Denmark and
the construction of a test road section in Tanzania. The
pilot study can be considered an example of successful
research in investigating the use of local materials for
low-volume road construction.
Development of an Economic and Practical
Alternative to Traditional Bituminous Surface
Treatments
Overby, C
Pinard, MI
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 226-233 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104645
ISSN: 0361-1981
In many developing countries, a substantial portion of
the road network, typically more than 75%, consists
of earth and gravel roads that carry relatively low
volumes of traffic. Traditionally, natural gravel
materials are used for providing, maintaining, and
upgrading such roads. However, most natural gravels
have practical limitations on their use--for example,
steep gradients and high rainfall, dust generation in
dry weather, and slippery surfaces in wet weather.
In addition, there is an increasing scarcity of suitable
materials, and, moreover, maintenance is seldom
carried out effectively in most developing countries.
The inherent problems of maintaining unpaved roads
can be overcome by paving them. However, even
when this solution is economically justifiable, often it
is not adopted widely in developing countries because
of limited funds. However, a type of surfacing that
can provide an economic and practical alternative to
traditional surfacings and, by so doing, make better use
of limited funds is the graded aggregate (Otta) seal. Otta
seal surfacing is presented as an economic and practical
alternative to the more traditional bituminous surface
treatments, such as chip seals and slurry seals. The
origin, properties, design, and construction of the Otta
seal are outlined. The effects of its implementation and
the various factors that contribute to its sustainability
are discussed, and information is provided on global
use of the Otta seal, including a case history relating
to its introduction in southern Africa.
Alaska’s Dense-Graded High-Float Emulsion
Surface Treatments: A New Mix Design
Saboundjian, S
McHattie, RL
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 161-168 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104637
ISSN: 0361-1981
Asphalt surface treatment (AST) pavements using
high-float (HF) emulsions and dense-graded aggregates
have been constructed on Alaska’s low-volume roads
for more than 20 years. These HF ASTs proved to be
relatively inexpensive, were easy to construct, and
provided good service for low-volume roads. However,
the normally positive economics of these pavements
have sometimes been offset by problems during or
after construction. It was argued that most problems
could be solved if a mix design method was devised
to ensure optimum application rates of emulsion
and aggregate. This paper presents a standardized
laboratory mix design method for HF emulsion and
dense-graded aggregates based on simple volumetric
calculations. The method accounts specifically for
aggregate maximum size, compaction characteristics,
moisture content, and air voids. An outline of the
design method and an example numerical application
are presented, and reasons supporting each element of
the design method are discussed. The paper addresses
the variables that control the emulsion and aggregate
contents of these mixes. New laboratory test methods
are proposed for determining aggregate density.
The proposed mix design method requires that 15%
additional aggregate be added to the design amount
determined through voids calculations. The paper also
presents information that improves the constructability
and long-term performance of HF pavements.
Environmental and Traffic Deterioration with
Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Model:
Canadian Example
Tighe, S
Huen, K
Haas, R
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 336-343 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104637
ISSN: 0361-1981
Limited budgets are resulting in a need for better design
of low-volume roads. Traffic loading, environmental
conditions, subgrade soil, and construction and
maintenance quality are among the various factors that
influence pavement performance and must be considered
in the design process. Environmental conditions have a
significant impact on the performance of low-volume
pavements. Performance-graded asphalts, which are
mixes designed for the in-service environment of the
pavement, are vital in Canada, where low-temperature
cracking has been a prevalent distress. In addition,
southern Ontario has a moderate climate with high
traffic volumes, whereas in northern Ontario the
winters are severe and traffic loading is lower. A
mechanistic-empirical (M-E) model is described that
has been developed for Ontario, the Ontario Pavement
Analysis of Cost (OPAC 2000) model, and the data
presented relate specifically to low-volume roads,
namely, collector and local facilities. The M-E model
incorporates elastic layer analysis to predict pavement
response. It uses cumulative equivalent single-axle
loads, subgrade type, and layer thickness to determine
the most effective design. The pavement performance
is based on the cumulative effect of the environment
and traffic. The output of the M-E model is predicted
pavement performance and projected economic
impacts on the agency and the public. Examples are
provided to illustrate the relative deterioration and
performance curves for various design situations. For
instance, the predicted total life-cycle economic impact
of low-volume roads in Ontario, per kilometer, ranges
from $250,000 to $750,000 (Canadian). Although this
system was initially developed for Ontario conditions,
the M-E model can be recalibrated to apply to other
conditions.
13
Empirical Design Methods for Geosynthetic-
Reinforced Low-Volume Roads
Tingle, JS
Jersey, SR
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2007-00 / (n1989) / 91-101 / + refs
ISBN: 0309104637
ISSN: 0361-1981
Low-volume road managers are forced to focus their
limited resources on higher-capacity infrastructure,
with minimal funding for repairing, maintaining, or
improving unpaved low-volume roads as a result.
Insufficient funding requires road managers to consider
the use of innovative stabilization and reinforcement
materials to reduce operational costs and minimize
maintenance requirements. Geosynthetic materials
have been used for many years to improve the quality
of low-volume roads in an effort to reduce the amount
of aggregate required or to extend the service life
of the pavement. The objective of this paper is to
review the use of geotextiles and geogrids in unpaved
roads, compare common design approaches, discuss
advantages and limitations of current design methods,
and seek directions for future research efforts to improve
the implementation of geosynthetic technologies. This
paper summarizes prior research activities to establish
the historical performance of geosynthetic-reinforced
unpaved roads. Once the performance benefits have
been generally supported, current design methods for
separation and reinforcement, including advantages
and limiting assumptions, are discussed. The sensitivity
of the design methods to specific input parameters
is examined to provide users with an understanding
of the impact of design assumptions on the resulting
structural design. Design methods are compared by
performing designs with different methods for a variety
of site conditions. Finally, the paper discusses the
essential requirements for the development of more
advanced design methods.
14
Improvement of Low-Volume Road Selection for
Paving Through Simulation
Cygas, D
Zilioniene, D
Juzenas, AA
Laurinavicius, A
10th International Conference on Asphalt Pavements
- August 12 to 17, 2006, Quebec City, Canada
International Society for Asphalt Pavements (ISAP)
(c/o Texas Research and Development Foundation,
2602 Dellana Lane, Austin, Texas, 78746, USA)
2006 / vol2,293-302 / 11 refs
ISBN: 2550490088
At present, in the Republic of Lithuania there are
21,300 km of state roads. Low-volume roads do not
comply with the rapidly increasing traffic in terms of
their technical and operational parameters. Since 1998,
gravel road (low-volume road) paving programmes
have been implemented in Lithuania. It is planned that
the length of low-volume roads in the total state road
network will decrease to 32 % from 54% by 2015.
When selecting low-volume road routes for asphalt
paving, solving pavement structure design issues
according to the research data of gravel road structures
to be asphalt paved as well as the study of local
conditions, the enhancement of investment in gravel
road paving is expressed through the substantiated
reduction of gravel road paving costs and the increase
of internal rate of return (IRR).
Economical maintenance of low volume roads
- summary / S14 Vahaliikenteisten teiden
taloudellinen yllapito - yhteenveto
Perala, M
Valkeisenmaki, A
Weckstrom, L
Penttinen, O
Tiehallinnon Selvityksia, Finnra Reports
Finnish Road Administration
(Opastinsilta 12 a, FI-00520, Finland)
2006 / v3200987(n11/2006) / 69p+app / 38 refs
ISBN: 9518036772
ISSN: 1457-9871
Low-volume public roads refer in this study to those
connecting roads and regional roads on which traffic
volume is no more than 200 vehicles a day. Extremely
low-volume roads refer to those connecting roads and
regional roads on which traffic volume is no more
than 50 vehicles a day. At the beginning of the year
2005 there are 34 420 km of low-volume roads, in
other words 44% of all public roads and 5 923 km of
extremely low-volume roads, in other words less than
8% of all public roads. About 9 000 km (26%) of the
low-volume roads are paved with chip-sealing or soft
asphalt concrete. Other roads have a gravel surface.
“Economical maintenance of low volume roads” was
a strategic research programme (S14) by Finnish Road
Administration (Finnra). The main goals of the S14
research programme were to find environmentally
sustainable, more efficient and economic solutions to
the maintenance of low volume roads. Based on the
studies and reports of the S14 research programme the
most important recommendations are the following
ones: 1) The low volume roads should be grouped
according to their significance. The significance
grouping will be used in the programming and
planning of maintenance measures. 2) Repair and small
improvements are generally more cost-effective than
heavy rehabilitation or new construction. 3) Practical
knowledge is used more extensively in the planning
and execution of rehabilitation works of for example
drainage structures and gravel roads weakened
by spring thaw. 4) The acquisition procedures of
maintenance and the contents of service agreements
are developed to encourage contractors and planning
consultants to use innovative solutions based on life
cycle principles. The joint contracts of the maintenance
with the municipalities are increased. 5) The policies
on load restrictions of roads should be developed
further by Finnra. 6) Evaluation of the pavements
of low volume road condition should be based on
longitudinal and transverse unevenness and on the
entirely new parameter VSt, which is based on the
service level experienced by road users. 7) The carrying
capacity lacks of the bridges of low volume roads
are removed. 8) Road sections with typical drainage
problems are rehabilitated. Those gravel roads which in
the long run have widened are narrowed to correspond
to the needs of the traffic and the profile of the road
surface is shaped to lead the surface water away. 9)
All low volume roads with damaged pavements are
not worth for repaving. It can be more economical
to change them to roads with gravel surface. These
considerations should be made with care. Usually it
is economical to rehabilitate the damaged pavement
if the traffic volume is more than 100 vehicles a day.
10) The Finnra should activate contractors to product
development and innovation activities. The effects
of the suggested measures have been evaluated. The
cost-effectiveness of the maintenance of low volume
roads can be improved distinctly. This report may be
found at http://alk.tiehallinto.fi/julkaisut/pdf/3200987-
v-s14-yhteenveto.pdf
Low Cost Local Road Safety Solutions
American Traffic Safety Services Association
(15 Riverside Parkway, Suite 100, Fredericksburg,
VA, 22406-, USA)
2006-00-00 / 42p / - refs
This report targets highway safety on two lane rural
roads. However, many of the safety solutions described
in the report are applicable to urban highways as well.
The table of contents lists the following headings:
Sign and Pavement Marking Improvements Reduce
Crashes; Post-Mounted Delineators and Chevrons
Reduce Crashes and Speeds in Curves; In-Street
Pedestrian Crossing Signs Increase Driver Yielding
Compliance; Rear-Facing Flashing Beacons on
School Speed Limit Signs Have a Positive Effect on
Speeds; Edge Lines on Two-Lane Roadways Improve
Safety; Wider Longitudinal Pavement Markings
Improve Safety; Raised Pavement Markers Reduce
Crashes on Two-Lane Roadways; Shoulder and
Edge Line Rumble Strips Reduce Run-Off-Road
Crashes; Centerline Rumble Strips Reduce Head-
On and Sideswipe Crashes; Pavement Markings
Over Rumble Strips (Rumble Stripes) Improve
Pavement Marking Visibility; On-Pavement Horizontal
Signing - Information in the Driver’s Line-of-Sight;
Converging Chevron Pavement Marking Pattern Slows
Down Traffic and Reduces Crashes; Longitudinal
Channelizers Reduce Gate Violations at Highway-
Railroad Grade Crossings; Roadside Cable Barrier
Reduces the Severity of Run-Off-Road Crashes; Cable
Median barrier Reduces Crossover Crashes; and How
Do I Conduct a Crash Study?
Influence of Compactive Efforts on Lime-Slag
Treated Tropical Black Clay
Osinubi, KJ
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
American Society of Civil Engineers
(1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA, 20191-
4400, USA)
2006-03 / v18 (n2) / 175-181 / + refs
ISSN: 0899-1561
The results of a laboratory study on the influence of
standard Proctor and West African Standard (WAS)
compactive efforts on the compaction and strength
characteristics of tropical black clay with a maximum
of 8% lime and 10% slag (by dry weight of soil) is
presented. Lime stabilized soil was admixed with
slag in order to establish its soil improving potentials.
Unconfined compressive strength and California
bearing ratio tests on the soil-lime-slag mixtures yielded
peak values at 8% lime and 7.5% slag concentrations
15
in all the cases considered. The soil-lime-slag mixtures
can be used as subbase and base courses of lightly
trafficked roads when compacted at the energies of the
standard Proctor and WAS, respectively.
Managing the unsealed road network
Bruty, M
Adelaide International Public Works Conference,
2005, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia
(IPWEA)
(Po Box 156, Longford, Tasmania, 7301, Australia)
2005 / 7p / 1 ref
Rural communities are more likely to complain to
their Council about the condition of unsealed roads
than any other Council service. Unsealed roads are
notoriously difficult to manage. Campaspe Shire has
taken on the challenge of unsealed roads by looking
at all aspects and identifying where improvements in
their management can be made. Attention has been
given to: researching customer needs; quantifying
the network; learning about pavement behaviour;
measuring pavement condition; practising asset
management; training staff in maintenance techniques;
prioritising resources to be applied and meeting
customer needs. No magic solutions have been found
and the continuous journey needs to continue, however
Campaspe now has a much better grasp on what it is
dealing with and how it should go about the task of
providing better unsealed roads. (a)
Establishing deterioration models for local roads
in Australia
Giummarra, GJ
Adelaide International Public Works Conference,
2005, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia
(IPWEA)
(Po Box 156, Longford, Tasmania, 7301, Australia)
2005 / 11p / 7 refs
Many practitioners managing local roads have
difficulties with their Pavement Management Systems
(PMS) packages, as the prediction of pavement
performance does not accurately match actual pavement
conditions. This is due primarily to the pavement
prediction models used in existing PMS being based
mainly on the performance of overseas pavements
and therefore not necessarily accurately predicting
pavement performance under Australian conditions.
16
In order to develop appropriate deterioration models
for local roads in Australia the ARRB Group (ARRB)
initiated a study to establish a large number of sites
across Australia on which pavement performance is
to be monitored over 5 years. The sites selected are
aimed at being representative of local road pavements
covering a range of roads types, including both sealed
and unsealed roads, climatic conditions, traffic loading,
soil types, construction techniques and maintenance
practices across Australia. The paper outlines the study
being undertaken by ARRB across Australia and some
interim results to date. (a)
Maintenance of low volume poor condition
pavement roads - Final report / Heikkokuntoisen
paallystetyn alemman tieverkon yllapito -
Loppuraportti
Lamsa, VP
Belt, J
Tiehallinnon Selvityksia, Finnra Reports
Finnish Road Administration
(Opastinsilta 12 a, FI-00520, Finland)
2005 / v3200957(n45/2005) / 42p / 11 refs
ISBN: 9518035717
ISSN: 1459-1553
The level of service at public roads is presently
defined by technical basis with road condition and
functionality. This Maintenance of Low Volume Poor
Condition Pavement Roads project deals with low
volume road level of service, typical problems and
maintenance alternatives from operative, economical
and customer oriented point of view. Within this project
is introduced new alternative pavement condition
parameters and management systems considering
factors of road user level of service to improve
maintenance of low volume roads. Low volume
pavement road network (all connecting roads and
regional highways with ADT less than 200) length is
25 600 km which is about 32% of all public pavement
roads in Finland. Nearly 90% (22500 km) of these
low volume roads have average daily traffic less than
1000 vehicles/day. On the grounds of driving comfort
research the most uncomfortable pavement surface
damages from road user viewpoint are holes, poor-
quality patching, all kinds of stepped cracking and
road edge depression. Windingness and hilliness of
the road does not reduce passenger car traffic level
of service as much as pavement surface damages or
unevenness. Heavy vehicle drivers regard single high
bumps causing extreme vertical movements (such as
frost heaves) as highly significant driving comfort and
traffic safety deteriorating factors. Evaluation of low
volume road condition should be based on longitudinal
and transverse unevenness (IRI and Cross_Ridge) and
entirely new parameter VSt, which is based on the
level of service of the road users. Single high bumps
should also be defined from the road network. These
new procedures presume some changes to the Finnra
Road Condition Data Bank and pavement management
system PMS. Measuring the single high bumps needs
also generating new calculation algorithm to the
measuring system. New parameters with failure criteria
for the PMS are not necessarily directly suitable for the
whole road network in Finland, because parameters are
based on low volume pavement road network. Primary
pavement damage survey development items discuss
how serious level of pavement damages are, stepped
cracking and poor-quality patching themes. Returning
SOP (Gravel road surface treatment) road back to
gravel road is not reasonable until SOP maintenance
costs are greater than costs of gravel road maintenance.
It is economically worthwhile to try to extend the
service life of low volume roads, targeting to the basic
level of service. Suitable ADT boundary for SOP road
improvement measures (returning to gravel road or
new asphalt pavement) is 100 vehicles/day. Boundary
setting means that returning back to gravel road can be
considered together with social factors if ADT is less
than 100. If ADT is greater than 100, gravel road is
generally not a realistic alternative. This report may be
found at http://alk.tiehallinto.fi/julkaisut/pdf/3200957-
vheikkokuntpaallystetyn_alemmantieverkonyllapito.
pdf
Cost-effective and safe maintenance of
road bridges with low traffic volume /
Vahaliikenteisten teiden siltojen taloudellinen ja
turvallinen yllapito, vaihe 2
Lunabba, T
Ramet, A
Jaakkola, A
Sihvonen, E
Tiehallinnon Selvityksia, Finnra Reports
Finnish Road Administration
(Opastinsilta 12 a, FI-00520, Finland)
2005 / v3200941(n29/2005) / 87p / 9 refs
ISBN: 951-803-514-4
ISSN: 1459-1553
The purpose of this study is, regarding present-day
requirements, to list bridges with bearing capacity
problems on low traffic volume roads and to suggest
improvement measures as well as to estimate the
implementation costs of such measures. In addition,
cost estimations are prepared for the upkeep and
maintenance measures of all the low traffic volume
road bridges for different time periods, as well as for
the removal of bridges with problematic/insufficient
bearing capacities. A previous study, phase 1, was
focused on bridge type, length, design load and
condition. In addition old design load schemes and
true traffic loads were reviewed (vehicle weight study,
vehicles transporting forest harvesting machines or
crusher aggregates and crane trucks). The safe load of
bridges on low traffic volume roads has been estimated
by comparing the calculated dimensioning load with
the design load and/or with the bridge’s estimated safe
load. As the estimated dimensioning load, the load
determined in the 1990s Finnish Vehicle Decree, and
the measured weights of crane trucks, and vehicles
transporting forest harvesting machines or crusher
aggregates, was used. Safe load is also assessed for
the true traffic loads reported in the axle and vehicle
weight study made by the Finnish National Road
Administration in the 1990s. The safe load of steel
tube and steel arch bridges are estimated based on
the steel plate thickness and the thickness of the earth
layer covering the vault. In order to calculate bridge
reliability, a probability method was developed, which
takes into account the true traffic volume, the different
axle and bogie weights, or the total weight of the
vehicle. In addition, a load model was developed for
bridges long enough to carry one or more articulated
vehicles. This model takes into account not only the
type and weight of the vehicles but also the real-
life possibilities of queues and vehicles meeting on
bridges. Load intensity with a return period of once
in a hundred years and the load scheme critical for
the bridge was estimated for different bridge lengths,
and the probability of the bridge collapsing under this
load was calculated. These probability figures were
used to calculate the carrying capacity partial safety
factors for low traffic volume bridges according to the
load calculating instructions. By this, the calculation
method turned into conventional safe load calculation
with partial safety factors. The result of this study
was a list of low traffic volume road bridges with
insufficient bearing capacities and weight restrictions.
For economic and safe bridge maintenance, the
most urgent measures for the so called new problem
bridges are the checking of the safe load, and general
inspections. The cost estimations given in this study
indicate that the upkeep and maintenance costs (about
6.1 million Euros/year) of bridges with the lowest
traffic volumes are considerably higher than the costs
(about 2.1 million Euros/year) of taking the appropriate
improvement measures for problem bridges, that is the
removal of all carrying capacity insufficiency during 20
years. This report may be found at http://alk.tiehallinto.
fi/julkaisut/pdf/3200941-v-vahaliikenteisettiet.pdf
17
TravelSmart: the innovative solution to
competing demands
McKay, L
McGaw, N
Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and
Management (AITPM) National Conference, 2005,
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and
Management (AITPM)
(Po Box 6684, Halifax Street, Adelaide, South
Australia, 5000, Australia)
2005 / p363-75 / 28 refs
ISBN: 0957554036
In an environment of competing demands on the
transport dollar, TravelSmartTM is offering an
innovative, low cost solution to reduce traffic which
also delivers a wide range of benefits beyond the
transport sector. TravelSmartTM addresses the serious
issue of unsustainable car use which comes with rapidly
growing car ownership, by encouraging sustainable
transport choices -walking, cycling, car pooling and
public transport. Community-wide household-based
initiatives have achieved up to 21 per cent mode shift
away from single-occupancy car use. TravelSmartTM
behaviour delivers a wide range benefits such as
reduced traffic congestion and pollution; improved
physical activity levels and safety; more social and
liveable communities; cost savings to consumers and
businesses; savings to government in fuel subsidies,
and road maintenance. While benefits are many, the
main objectives of TravelSmartTM programs are to
reduce vehicle kilometres travelled and reduce CO2
emissions. (a)
The socio-economical meaning of maintenance
of low volume roads / Vahaliikenteisten
teiden yllapidon ja korvausinvestointien
yhteiskunnallinen merkitys
Pastinen, V
Lehto, H
Paatalo, M
Tiehallinnon Selvityksia, Finnra Reports
Finnish Road Administration
(Opastinsilta 12 a, FI-00520, Finland)
2005 / v3200935(n23/2005) / 80p / 50 refs
ISBN: 9518034923
ISSN: 1457-9871
Models for the economic assessment of road
maintenance are mainly designed for roads carrying
high traffic volumes. They either do not apply or are not
very suitable for low-volume roads. Roadway class and
18
minimum level of service considerations are often more
important for low-volume roads than the level of traffic.
Low-volume roads comprise connecting and regional
roads with traffic volumes of less than 200 vehicles a
day. Methods for assisting in the programming of road
maintenance for low-volume roads is not available in
Finland or elsewhere in the world. However, base data
and process flows required for estimating the social
aspects of maintaining and upgrading of low-volume
roads exist or, at least, are under development. This
study presents a verification and calculation method
suitable for the social assessment of the maintenance
and upgrading programs for low-volume roads and
bridges. The road characteristics examined are surface
treatment, road base, bridges, equipment and fixtures as
well as the gravel surface. The evaluation method takes
account of maintenance and upgrading costs as well
as savings achieved in related maintenance activities.
The method is based on the road’s importance and
its level of service class. The central principles are
safeguarding a minimum acceptable level of service
and implementing projects based on level of service
targets in which social importance is taken account of
as much as possible. Social importance is measured
with the VYM index. It specifies the road’s social
significance in terms of costs and savings. Its scope of
application is restricted to low-traffic roads, for which
a cost-benefit ratio does not apply. The method is a
tool for assisting in setting the direction for low traffic
road maintenance and improvement investment plans
based on social factors. Maintenance activities for
actual road segments are examined. Road maintenance
programming and decision-making are thereby
supported. The method, as such, is not suitable for
policy work at a national level. It can though provide
new insights, also about policies. The method has
been tested using data from Kaakkois-Suomi region
of Finnish Road Administration. This report may be
found at http://alk.tiehallinto.fi/julkaisut/pdf/3200935-
v_vahaliikenteisten_teiden_yhteiskunnallinen.pdf
Drainage of low-volume roads, typical features
and maintenance / Vahaliikenteisten teiden
kuivatus, ominaispiirteet ja kunnostaminen
Rantanen, T
Turunen, J
Nousiainen, A
Tiehallinnon Selvityksia, Finnra Reports
Finnish Road Administration
(Opastinsilta 12 a, FI-00520, Finland)
2005 / v3200979(n65/2005) / 38p+app / 16 refs
ISBN: 9518036519
ISSN: 1457-9871
The functioning of the drainage system has a major
influence on road condition. That is the reason why
it was chosen as one of the study subjects in the
research on economical maintenance of low-volume
roads. The present-state evaluation was based on
in-situ observations and interviews. According to it
the function of the drainage system is comprised of
the condition of several factors. Some of the factors
need administrational measures to get improved;
some need more detailed data of the present state
and identification of the circumstances. On some
occasions the contractors are supposed to produce
more accurately the requested quality, and also the
administration is supposed to demand more strictly the
fulfilling of the goals. The used classifications “lack
in drainage, drainage class” are not accurate enough
as data in bidding or planning maintenance actions
or supervising. It is recommended to make drainage
plans as described in this report for at least the most
significant of roads and to make field-inventories.
Knowing the present state in detail is a prerequisite for
defining the goals by functional demands. Giving more
information to landowners about the responsibilities
and liabilities is supposed to contribute to better
functioning of the drainage system. The information
is easiest to distribute during the drainage planning
process. When a gravel road has widened out along
with loadings it is most beneficial to narrow the road
while maintaining the ditches. The maintenance of
the wide gravel road is difficult and traffic safety is
endangered due to poor bearing capacity of the road
edges. At least roads having ADT less than 50 could be
narrowed, or actually the original width of those roads
could be restored. The evaluation of the influence of
maintenance actions and interdependency of different
factors should be improved by collecting follow-up
data and by education. Only then it is possible to define
the most cost-effective action in different situations.
For example poor functioning of the drainage system
is a major cause of spring thaw weakening. It is thus
important to plan the rehabilitation of the road at
the same time as the drainage. The designer should
recognize different situations: when the drainage
should be improved first and when it is essential to
strengthen the road structure before digging the ditches
deeper. It is important to define new maintenance
actions improving the drainage system and to identify
situations needing special actions: covered drains, deep
drains, new culverts, strengthening of the road edges
etc. This report may be found at http://alk.tiehallinto.
fi/julkaisut/pdf/3200979-v-kuivatusraportti.pdf
Unsealed surfaced roads for rural development
in India
Chandrasekhar, BP
Indian Highways
Indian Roads Congress
(Jamnagar House, Shahjahan Road, 110011, India)
2005-01 / p83-91 / 0 refs
ISSN: 0376-7256
This article examines the benefits of using unsealed-
surface roads in rural areas in India. Roads connecting
rural settlements provide social and economic benefit
and a major rural road development programme has
been instituted. However, it is not seen as economic
to provide a bituminous pavement as a sealed surface
unless high-volume traffic is expected, when pavement
design can create an effective unsealed road surface.
The two important design parameters are sub-grade
strength and expected traffic load. The traffic is best
judged in terms of standard axles. Suitable materials
include locally sourced gravels, gravel/soil aggregate
and additives of other materials, graded according to
recent specifications. Maintenance depends on accurate
grading of materials, drainage and road shape.
Guidelines for Prime Coat Usage on Low-Volume
Roads
Cross, SA
Voth, MD
Shrestha, PP
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC,
20418, USA)
2005-00 / (n1913) / 117-125 / + refs
ISBN: 0309093864
ISSN: 0361-1981
Prime coat has a purpose in the pavement construction
process, yet many times prime is misused or eliminated
during the project. Although most of the time no harm
19
appears to occur to the roadway, and thus this practice
may be viewed as acceptable, technical guidance is
warranted to ensure appropriate usage. The objective of
this study was to produce a prime coat guide for Central
Federal Lands Highway Division project development
and field personnel to provide decision-making
guidance. The study consisted of a literature search,
which focused on handbooks and technical reports,
and a review of agency construction specifications. A
phone survey of state departments of transportation in
the region was undertaken to provide information on
current practice. Finally, a review of both the potential
harmful and the positive environmental effects of the
prime coat process, including the various bituminous
products used, was undertaken. On the basis of
the information collected, a guideline for project
development and field personnel was developed. The
guideline provides guidance on how to use, when to
keep, and when to eliminate prime coats.
Desarrollo de procedimientos de gestion del
sistema viario rural en Espana / Development of
Mechanisms for the Management of the Rural
Road Network in Spain
Gallego Vazquez, E
Ramirez Gomez, A
Ayuga Tellez, F
Segura Graino, J
Carreteras, Revista Tecnica de la Asociacion
Espanola de la Carretera
Asociacion Espanola de la Carretera
(Goya, 23, 28001, Singapore)
2005-11/12 / (n143) p69-78 / 16 refs
ISSN: 0212-6389
The Rural Road Network plays an important role in the
support of the Agricultural Spanish Sector. In addition,
it represents the 64.9 per cent of the overall length of
the Spanish Road Network. These routes carry out
many functions, including some not very well-known.
For example, rural roads are sometimes used by fire
emergency services or they constitute the only way to
get to recreational areas. Moreover, they also acquire
some functions usually devoted to highways like
connecting towns. However, there is a certain lack
of maintenance of these low traffic intensity roads.
Thus, many deficiencies can be observed in rural
roads as well as an absence of management plans
or an appropriate legal framework. In this paper, the
authors show the current situation of the Rural Road
Network in Spain and their specific characteristics.
Furthermore, they present several mechanisms to its
management and conservation, focusing on funding
strategies. (A).
20
Economics of Upgrading an Aggregate Road
Jahren, CT
Thorius, JM
Rukashaza-Makome, MC
Smith, D
White, DJ
Johnson, GD
Conference Title: Proceedings of the 2005 Mid-
Continent Transportation Research Symposium.
Location: Ames. Held: 20050818-20050819
Iowa State University
(Center for Transportation Research and Education,
2901 S. Loop Drive, Suite 3100, Ames, IA, 50010,
USA)
2005-00 / 1p
ISBN: 9780965231084
This research provides local government agencies
with information and procedures to make informed
decisions about advantageous times for upgrading
and paving gravel roads. It also provides resources
to explain to the public why certain maintenance
or construction techniques are used or policies are
decided. Two approaches were used for estimating
future costs. The first was a historical cost analysis
based on the spending history for low-volume roads,
found in the annual reports of selected Minnesota
counties. The effects of traffic volume and road surface
type on cost are included in the analysis. The second
was a method for estimating the cost of maintaining
gravel roads, which is useful when the requirements
for labor, equipment, and materials can be predicted.
Additional information was gleaned from interviews
with local road officials. Considered maintenance
and upgrading activities included maintenance
grading, re-gravelling, dust control/stabilization,
reconstruction/regarding, paving, and others. As part
of this presentation, an analysis will be presented that
compares the cost of maintaining a gravel road with
the cost of upgrading to a paved surface. This analysis
can be modified to address local conditions. Such an
analysis may be used as a tool to help make decisions
about upgrading a gravel road to a paved road.
Design Methodology for the Modified Beam-in-
Slab Bridge System
Konda, TF
Klaiber, FW
Wipf, TJ
Conference Title: Proceedings of the 2005 Mid-
Continent Transportation Research Symposium.
Location: Ames. Held: 20050818-20050819
Iowa State University
(Center for Transportation Research and Education,
2901 S. Loop Drive, Suite 3100, Ames, IA, 50010,
USA)
2005-00 / 12p / ISBN: 9780965231084
Researchers at the Iowa State University (ISU) Bridge
Engineering Center have developed the modified
beam-in-slab bridge (MBISB) system as an alternative
replacement for use on low-volume roads. The system
consists of longitudinal steel girders with a concrete
arched deck cast between the girders. Composite
action between the concrete and steel is obtained by
using an alternative shear connector, also developed at
ISU. Other than the nominal transverse reinforcement
required for the ASC, the MBISB requires only
minimal additional reinforcement. After an extensive
laboratory testing phase, two demonstration bridges
were constructed and field tested to determine the
properties of the design. The demonstration bridges,
MBISB 1 (L=50 ft, W=31 ft) and MBISB 2 (L=70
ft, W=32 ft), were constructed by in-house forces
using standard construction equipment. The resulting
structures saved the bridge owner slightly more than
20% over the costs of conventional designs. Test results
indicated that the MBISB design exceeded strength
and serviceability requirements, and the experimental
lateral load distribution factors were comparable to
AASHTO LRFD values. The experimental data were
corroborated through analytical modeling, leading to
the development of a design methodology for MBISBs
ranging in length from 40 ft to 80 ft. An HS-20 truck was
used as the design vehicle and all applicable AASHTO
LRFD design criteria for steel girder/concrete deck
bridges were satisfied. Design tables based on the
desired bridge length, width, material strengths, and
deck thickness were developed, along with design aids
that include a sample design and standard plan sheets.
The design tables are included in Volume 2 of the final
report for Iowa DOT Project TR-467.
Determination and Evaluation of Alternative
Methods for Managing and Controlling Highway-
Related Dust: Phase II - Demonstration Project
Morgan, RJ
Schaefer, VR
Sharma, RS
Iowa State University, Ames
(Center for Transportation Research and Education,
Ames, IA, 50010, USA)
Iowa Department of Transportation
(800 Lincoln Way, Ames, IA, 50010, USA)
2005-06 / 114p / + refs
The State of Iowa has approximately 69,000 miles of
unpaved secondary roads. Due to the low traffic count
on these unpaved roads, paving with asphalt or Portland
cement concrete is not economical. Therefore to reduce
dust production, the use of dust suppressants has been
utilized for decades. This study was conducted to
evaluate the effectiveness of several widely used dust
suppressants through quantitative field testing on two
of Iowa’s most widely used secondary road surface
treatments: crushed limestone rock and alluvial sand/
gravel. These commercially available dust suppressants
included: lignin sulfonate, calcium chloride, and
soybean oil soapstock. These suppressants were
applied to 1000 ft test sections on four unpaved roads
in Story County, Iowa. To duplicate field conditions,
the suppressants were applied as a surface spray once in
early June and again in late August or early September.
The four unpaved roads included two with crushed
limestone rock and two with alluvial sand/gravel surface
treatments as well as high and low traffic counts. The
effectiveness of the dust suppressants was evaluated
by comparing the dust produced on treated and
untreated test sections. Dust collection was scheduled
for 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after each application, for
a total testing period of 16 weeks. Results of a cost
analysis between annual dust suppressant application
and biennial aggregate replacement indicated that
the cost of the dust suppressant, its transportation,
and application were relatively high when compared
to that of the two aggregate types. Therefore, the
biennial aggregate replacement is considered more
economical than annual dust suppressant application,
although the application of annual dust suppressant
reduced the cost of road maintenance by 75%.
Results of the dust collection indicated that the lignin
sulfonate suppressant outperformed calcium chloride
and soybean oil soapstock on all four unpaved roads,
the effect of the suppressants on the alluvial sand/
gravel surface treatment was less than that on the
crushed limestone rock, the residual effects of all the
products seem reasonably well after blading, and the
combination of alluvial sand/gravel surface treatment
and high traffic count caused dust reduction to decrease
dramatically.
21
Low-Volume Road Abutment Design Standards
Robbins, VW
Klaiber, FW
White, DJ
Phares, BM
Wipf, TJ
Conference Title: Proceedings of the 2005 Mid-
Continent Transportation Research Symposium.
Location: Ames. Held: 20050818-20050819
Iowa State University
(Center for Transportation Research and Education,
2901 S. Loop Drive, Suite 3100, Ames, IA, 50010,
USA)
2005-00 / 15p / + refs
ISBN: 9780965231084
Although several superstructure design methodologies
have been developed for low-volume road bridges
by the Iowa State University Bridge Engineering
Center, no standard abutment designs had been
developed. Thus, there was need for an easy-to-use
design methodology, generic abutment construction
drawings, and other design aids for the more common
substructure systems used in Iowa. A survey of the
Iowa county engineers determined that while most
counties use similar types of abutments, only 17% use
some type of standard abutment designs or plans. In
consultation with the Project Advisory Committee, a
design methodology was developed for single-span stub
abutments supported on steel or timber piles for bridge
spans ranging from 20 to 90 ft and roadway widths of
24 and 30 ft. Using the foundation design template
provided, other roadway widths can also be designed.
The backwall height was limited to between 6 and 12
ft, while both cohesive and cohesionless soil types
were considered. Depending upon the combination of
variables for a specific site, tiebacks may be required;
the design of tiebacks is also included. Various design
aids, for example charts for determining dead and
live gravity loads based on the roadway width, span
length, and superstructure type, were developed for
the design of the stub abutments. A foundation design
template was developed in which the engineer can
check a substructure design by inputting basic bridge
site information. Information for estimating pile
friction and end bearing for different combinations
of soils and pile types published by the Iowa DOT
were also included. Generic standard abutment plans
were developed to enable engineers to detail county
bridge substructures more efficiently. In addition to
briefly describing the substructure design methodology
developed in this project, two example problems
with different combinations of soil type, backwall
height, and pile type, plus a construction drawing
example, will be presented to show the versatility and
applicability of the materials developed.
22
Structural Behavior of Cast In Situ Concrete
Block Pavement
Ryntathiang, TL
Mazumdar, M
Pandey, BB
Journal of Transportation Engineering
American Society of Civil Engineers
(1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA, 20191-
4400, USA)
2005-09 / v131(n9) p662-668 / + refs
ISSN: 0733-947X
This paper describes the findings of a study carried
out for evaluating the performance of cast in situ
concrete block pavements for low volume roads.
Concrete is filled up into a formwork of cells 150
mmÃ--150 mmÃ--100mm made up of thin plastic
sheets and compacted to form flexible interlocked
concrete blocks. Details of a laboratory investigation
on the proportioning of mixes and the evaluation of
the strength of different mixes are presented. Cast in
situ block pavements were constructed and tested in
an accelerated pavement test facility. It was found
that the blocks became interlocked and that the block
pavement displayed a very little amount of rutting
along the wheel path. A falling weight deflectometer
test indicated that the equivalent elastic modulus of
cast in situ concrete blocks was over 2,500 MPa. An
example of pavement design using cast in situ concrete
blocks is presented.
Maintenance grading of unsealed roads: the
‘Smart’ way
Smart, W
Giummarra, G
Road and Transport Research
ARRB Group Ltd
(500 Burwood Highway, Vermont South, Victoria,
3133, Australia)
2005-03 / v14(n1) p92-5 / 0 refs
ISSN: 1037-5783
Maintaining unsealed roads is one of the most
important and difficult operations performed by grader
operators. The major defects encountered include
potholes, corrugations, and inadequate or inappropriate
pavement materials and when combined with a lack
of training and funding, poor geometric design of
many unsealed roads and difficult weather conditions
can lead to the difficulties experienced by most
grader operators. The primary purpose of this article
is to provide assistance in the better maintenance of
unsealed roads. The information included is based on
many years of grading experience that has proven to
result in improved productivity and road maintenance
savings in excess of 50 per cent. It has been provided
to assist grader operators to improve the efficiency
of grading activities in a language that can readily be
understood. (a)
Portable Falling Weight Deflectometer Study
Steinert, BC
Humphrey, DN
Kestler, MA
University of Maine, Orono
(Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center,
Orono, ME, 04469, USA)
New England Transportation Consortium
(University of Connecticut, Transportation Institute,
Storrs, CT, 06269-5202, USA)
2005-03-11 / 299p / + refs
This research investigated the effectiveness of the
Portable Falling Weight Deflectometer (PFWD) for
evaluating the support capacity of pavements during
the spring thaw and evaluating the adequacy of
subgrade and base compaction during construction.
The performance of ten asphalt and gravel surfaced
low volume roads were evaluated through spring
thaw and recovery. Comparisons were made to the
traditional FWD as well as other portable measuring
devices. It was shown that the PFWD was able to
follow seasonal stiffness variations and compared well
with FWD derived moduli on both asphalt and gravel
surfaces. Recommendations were made for using a
PFWD to determine when to place and remove load
restrictions. Field and laboratory tests were conducted
to develop correlations between composite modulus,
percent compaction, and water content for a range of
aggregate types typical of New England. Comparisons
were made between multiple PFWDs. A tentative
technique was recommended for using a PFWD for
compaction quality control for aggregate base and
subbase courses. This is based on a rough equivalency
between the PFWD composite modulus and percent
compaction for aggregate at optimum water content.
Factors are provided to correct the modulus at the field
water content to the equivalent value at optimum.
A method for the appraisal of low volume roads
in Tanzania
Benmaamar, M
Proceedings of the 22nd PIARC World Road
Congress,19-25 October 2003, Durban, South Africa
-Individual Papers Strategic Theme 5
World Road Association (PIARC)
(La Grande Arche, Paroi North, Level 5, F-92055,
France)
2004 / 10p / 5 refs
The objective of this paper is to present a ranking
method of low volume road interventions as an
alternative appraisal method to the consumer surplus
approach used by HDM. The consumer surplus method
is reliable to apply to high volume roads (AADT
>200). However, its application to low-volume roads
(AADT < 50) encounters problems related to the
small magnitude of user benefits and the stronger
influence of the environment rather than traffic on
road deterioration. Considering the low volume of
traffic and its composition on most of the unpaved
road network in Tanzania, it is recommended that
the cost effectiveness approach that takes account
of the social and economic importance of rural
infrastructure interventions be applied to prioritise
investments. Establishing the priorities of rural road
intervention in Tanzania requires a selection process
consisting of a combination of screening and ranking
procedures. The screening process reduces the number
of investment alternatives. This can be done through
targeting disadvantaged communities based on poverty
indices using the Human Development Index by
region. After screening methods have been applied to
a given set of investment choices, resources are still
unlikely to be sufficient to finance the balance of the
remaining desirable interventions, and hence a ranking
or prioritisation method based on Cost Effectiveness
Analysis (CEA) was developed.
23
A Framework For The Appropriate Use Of
Marginal Materials
Cook, JR
Gourley, CS
Proceedings of the 22nd Piarc World Road
Congress,19-25 October 2003, Durban, South
Africa - C12 Technical Committee on Earthworks,
Drainage and SubGrade
World Road Association (PIARC)
(La Grande Arche, Paroi North, Level 5, F-92055,
France)
2004 / 21p / 22 refs
There is a growing awareness of the socio-economic and
technical reasons for developing rural infrastructures
based on low volume sealed roads within the
appropriate environments. There are significant
challenges to be met, however, not only technically
but also in convincing governments and funding
agencies of the whole life economic advantages.
The technical issues may be dealt with by taking on
board the concept of appropriate or environmentally
optimised design. Although the standard road design
methods and standards remain largely appropriate for
trunk roads, their applicability to low volume trunk
roads and much of the secondary and feeder road
network is questionable. The utilisation of locally
available and task-suited pavement materials is a
fundamental issue within the concept of appropriate
design. Locally available materials may be out-
specification with respect to standard sealed road
design; however, the concept of fitness for purpose
within a specific road environment may allow many
of these non-standard materials to be designated both
acceptable and suitable. Their use needs to be justified
in terms of cost and engineering risk to sceptical
consultants, government agencies and donors and a
verifiable evaluation sequence will give credence to
their investigation and use. The UK’s Department
for International Development (DFID) and others
have funded, over a number of years, research on
the selection and use of locally available “marginal”
materials for road construction. These studies, based on
both the construction and long term monitoring of full-
scale trials as well as detailed investigation of selected
sections on existing road networks, show that there is
considerable scope for relaxation of current material
selection standards. A recent review of much of this
research has led to the development of an evaluation
framework that recognises the needs of the road design
environment. The approach is founded on a synthesis of
current knowledge and the practical experience gained
over many years by TRL and others working largely
within tropical and sub-tropical regions. It is suggested
that the principles of the approach, which are outlined
in this paper, are also valid for other regions and also
for many different types of materials.
24
A gravel management system for management of
operations for the construction and maintenance
of gravel roads
Henderson, MG
Van Zyl, GD
International Conference on Managing Pavements,
6TH, 2004, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Queensland. Department of Main Roads
(Gpo Box 1412, Brisbane, Queensland, 4001,
Australia)
2004 / 16p / 6 refs
In the Western Cape Province, South Africa, poorly
performing gravel roads were the norm. This was due to
poor quality wearing course gravels and a low standard
of construction. A systematic approach was adopted
to identify and address all processes and standards
in the provision and maintenance of unsurfaced
roads. This led to the development of an operations
level gravel management system (GMS) that is fully
integrated with strategic and tactical level systems,
such as gravel road management, traffic counting,
road network information, maintenance management
and pavement quality management. The scope of the
processes incorporated into the GMS is as follows:
management of borrow pits; investigation and design
of scheduled maintenance projects; acceptance control;
project control; and blading optimisation. The paper
describes the processes incorporated in the GMS and
its integration with strategic and tactical level systems
and highlights the benefits obtained from the new and
improved processes. (a)
Road Asset Management Research Program,
Annual Report 2003 / Vaylaomaisuuden
hallinnan tutkimusohjelma, vuosiraportti 2003
Inkala, M
Tiehallinnon Selvityksia, Finnra Reports
Finnish Road Administration
(Opastinsilta 12 a, FI-00520, Finland)
2004 / vTIEH 3200872(n22) / 50p+13app / - refs
ISBN: 9518032556
ISSN: 1457-9871
Finnish Road Administration launched a research
program for road asset management in January 2003.
Road Asset Management Research Program will
continue for four years (2003-2006) and its total cost will
be 2.8 billion euros. The main objective of the research
program is to establish the necessary knowledge base
and information management systems as well as
systematic framework for effective management of
the road networks. The research program will focus on
the most important and controllable parts of the road
assets (i.e. pavements, gravel roads, bridges and road
furniture). In the future the focus can be expanded to
all road assets. The research program started off slowly,
but the speed has improved greatly and all the first
years’ projects have been started on schedule. Some of
the projects will continue from the previous year and
have been ordered and negotiated separately. On the
other hand, completely new projects (5) have been in
a competition. Participation has been active and 5-8
companies have taken part in each competition and
the level of offers has been good. During this time, 20
companies have announced their interest towards the
research program. From these 13 have taken part in
the competition and have made an offer of a project
where they would act as project leaders. Work has been
ordered from 15 different suppliers. During the first
year, the main emphasis has been on data collection
and management. Within this research area for instance
connection between old and new rut and evenness
indicators have been defined and report on automatic
damage indicators has been made. Also a report has
been drawn up in order to find out the road furniture
information needs and private road information needs.
Service level classification development has been
under investigation as well as development of test road
follow-ups. In order to develop road asset management,
new network and programme level models for roads
and bridges have been developed. Also a study has been
made on road condition and geometry and their effect
on time and accident costs. Management of bicycle
ways have also been one of developing issues. The
information of those ways will be imported into road
condition registry and after that their maintenance can
be programmed with PMS (Pavement Management
System). To increase the utilisation and issuing of road
management data is one goal of the research program.
Therefore a project has been started in order to develop
and standardise guidelines and condition targets. Also
a partnership agreement has been signed as to improve
road asset management and its development. Total
Highway Management is the fourth main research
area of the program. A project has been started as to
fit road asset management and acquisition together.
One of the main issues in the research program is the
observation of acquisition and its needs and how to
integrate the available information with it. The research
program is flexible and will be updated should the
needs change. During the first year no particular needs
for updating occurred. However, certain specifications
will be made keeping in mind the new road and traffic
data management framework. In practice this means
that while defining projects, the role of Finnish Road
Administration as an information and service provider
will be highlighted. There will be a need for a project
to discuss how to turn the information services into
products. Therefore the research program will still
need some specifications.
A new approach to making decisions about the
type of pavement to be adopted
Jones, A
Bell, A
Road System and Engineering Technology Forum,
2004, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Queensland. Department of Main Roads. Technical
Training Solutions
(Gpo Box 1412, Brisbane, Queensland, 4001,
Australia)
2004 / 28p / 0 refs
Increasing load intensities and increasing traffic
volumes are driving the need to reassess the type of
pavements being constructed. Because individual
pavement elements have different finite lives, some of
which can be very short with increasing load intensity,
all pavements need frequent interventions to achieve
their service lives. With low load intensities and
low traffic volumes, these interventions (frequently
enrichments and reseals) are not difficult to manage,
subject to budget availability. However, intervention
costs escalate with increasing traffic, and not only strain
future budgets but can also significantly increase user
costs, disruption and delay. This paper describes the
consequences of increasing traffic and load intensities
on pavement performance; the effect on intervention
costs and whole-of-life costs; and proposals to provide
a system that adequately generates and assesses the
practical alternatives. (a)
Unbound granular pavements
Jones, A
Road System and Engineering Technology Forum,
2004, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Queensland. Department of Main Roads. Technical
Training Solutions
(Gpo Box 1412, Brisbane, Queensland, 4001,
Australia)
2004 / 18p / 0 refs
To maintain competitiveness in the global market and
service to the community, unbound granular pavements
will continue to provide the majority of the pavement
network in the foreseeable future. How unbound
granular pavements work is reasonably understood
theoretically but there is a considerable deficiency of
test methods, calibration of the methods and models,
material source date and quality control mechanisms.
Additionally, the optimum economic solution involves
the use of local materials that requires individual and
frequently one off development. This is significantly
different to the emerging global optimum where lower
25
transport and communication costs results in greater
concentrations of the development and manufacturing
components of a product. Future delivery of unbound
granular pavements will involve the introduction of
not only more science but calibration of the properties
and the models and development of source specific
specifications. This paper describers the delivery
model and the use of the available science in the new
specification. (a)
Maintenance and replacement investment costs
of low-volume roads / Vahaliikenteisten teiden
hoidon, yllapidon ja korvausinvestointien
kustannukset
Kuusisto, H
Tiehallinnon Selvityksia, Finnra Reports
Finnish Road Administration
(Opastinsilta 12 a, FI-00520, Finland)
2004 / vTIEH 3200854(n5) / 26p+1app / 4 refs
ISBN: 9518032068
ISSN: 1457-9871
In this study quiet roads refer to connecting roads and
regional roads with a traffic volume lower than 200
vehicles/day. There are about 53,000 km of Finnra
orders road maintenance and replacement investments
from the Finnish Road Enterprise and private
contractors by subjecting to competitive bidding
as area contracts and separate contracts. This study
examines the maintenance and replacement investment
costs of low-volume roads at both the unit price level
of procedures and the product-specific annual costs
according to Finnra’s product categorization, using
as source material the price data of competitively bid
area and separate contracts in recent years. From the
area contract price data, the study examines the annual
costs of products ordered on the basis of overall price
and the unit prices of work ordered on the basis of
unit price, using the units specified in requests for
bids. Fluctuations in the prices of area contracts are
affected by differences in contractors’ pricing bases,
availability and price variations of subcontractors and
materials, and in some unit price-based products, the
amount ordered. Price fluctuations of overall-priced
work are also affected by regional differences in the
amount and difficulty of the work. Renewal of road
markings, repaving, structural improvement and
repair of thaw weakening of gravel roads are ordered
as separate contracts, except where repair of thaw
weakening is included in area maintenance contracts.
Price fluctuations of separate contracts are primarily
caused by variations in material prices and differences
in the size of contracts and sites. Calculated annual
costs per kilometer can be considered quite accurate
for procedures repeated every year. They include most
26
maintenance work. On the other hand, the durable life
and work cycles of less frequently repeated procedures
may vary considerably. For this reason it is difficult
to accurately estimate the annual costs of repavement
or the repair of thaw weakening of gravel roads, for
example. The annual total costs of maintenance and
repair investments of low-volume roads was calculated
to be around 2300 Euros/km, while the corresponding
figure for the maintenance of the entire road network
was 5200 Euros/km in 2002. Thus, about 45% of
annual costs are related to maintenance of low-volume
roads. Of the maintenance costs of low-volume roads,
on average, 1900 Euros are related to gravel roads and
2700 Euros are related to paved roads.
Roadex - Improving low traffic volume road
condition management in the northern periphery
area
Poyry, T
Saarenketo, T
Proceedings of the 22nd PIARC World Road
Congress,19-25 October 2003, Durban, South Africa
-Individual Papers Strategic Theme 5
World Road Association (PIARC)
(La Grande Arche, Paroi North, Level 5, F-92055,
France)
2004 / 10p / 1 ref
In 1998 the road districts of Lapland in Finland,
Northern Region in Sweden, Troms County in
Norway, and the Highlands in Scotland initiated
a technical, trans-national collaborative project
named ROADEX. The aim of this collaboration was,
through the exchange of experience, to identify the
best practice strategies and develop procedures for
dealing with common challenges associated with the
maintenance of low traffic volume road networks
in sparsely populated northern regions. The Roadex
project was partly financed by an EU (ERDF, Article
10) funded Northern Periphery Programme. ROADEX
was divided into two sub-projects: Sub project A
dealt with road condition management issues; and
sub project B studied winter maintenance problems
common to the partner road districts. The focus of
the ROADEX sub project A (SPA) was on the low
traffic volume roads of the partner districts. One of
the sub project’s special interests was the use of traffic
restrictions in the partner districts and techniques to
improve bearing capacity of these roads. This paper
presents the results of the project, a comparison study
of each road district’s current policies and techniques
in addressing the issues, and also summarises some the
results of the phase II field tests, which focused on the
standard and best practise structures as well as testing
the different kinds of special structures utilised in the
road districts. The Roadex project identified a few
common major structural problems: drainage of roads
located on transversely sloping ground, permanent
deformation due to freeze-thaw cycles, poor quality
materials, and road sections resting on peat. The
results of the Roadex subproject “Road Condition
management” show that each country has emphasized
slightly different strategies and techniques when trying
to resolve bearing capacity problems in their low traffic
volume road network. A significant problem for low
traffic volume road condition management, shared
by all partner districts, is that almost all the structural
maintenance funds and resources are allocated to main
roads at the expense of medium and low traffic volume
roads. As a result, the performance of main roads has
been improving over the last few years, while the state
of low traffic volume roads has become worse. Another
aspect gaining publicity and placing pressure on road
districts has been that, due to increasing logistical
demands, the industries using the lower class networks
for their transportation routes have increased their
complaints regarding permanent or temporary load
restrictions and poor quality road networks.
Road engineering for development - second
edition
Robinson, R (ed)
Thagesen, B (ed)
Spon Press
(2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon,
OX14 4RN)
2004 / xxii+514p / + refs
ISBN: 0415279488
This textbook covers the wide range of technical and
non-technical problems that may confront engineers
working in the developing countries of Africa, the
Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and
Central America. Topics covered include planning,
design, construction and maintenance of roads and
traffic management; safety problems associated with
the testing of road materials and the construction and
maintenance of roads. Several experienced engineers
have contributed chapters to the book. Highway
planning methods and economic evaluation techniques
are discussed with reference to the World Bank HDM
model. Traffic characteristics are considered together
with their effect on traffic safety. Advice is given on
highway geometric design, drainage and pavement
design. Construction contracts and supervision are
covered with the emphasis on labour-based techniques.
Maintenance operations and management are discussed
and details given of possible development assistance
available. Recommendations are made on methods of
meeting training needs.
Extent of structural thaw weakening and
load restrictions / Kelirikon vaikeus ja
painorajoitukset
Ryynanen, T
Lamsa, VP
Belt, J
Ehrola, E
Tiehallinnon Selvityksia, Finnra Reports
Finnish Road Administration
(Opastinsilta 12 a, FI-00520, Finland)
2004 / vTIEH 3200878(n28) / 50p / 7 refs
ISBN: 9518032815
ISSN: 1457-9871
Finnish National Road Administration has decided
to take into use a new countrywide and uniform
load restriction practice during year 2004, the aim
of which is to reduce load restrictions and the harms
caused thereby as a whole, and further, to improve
the predictability of the necessity of load restrictions
as well as information and communication with road
users. In compliance with this new practice, spring
2004 will see the roads in road networks classified
as ‘load-restricted’ to be defined according to load
restrictions already during February, by means of the
volume prediction of thaw-weakening for the spring
concerned. The starting point for the classification
of load restriction on gravel road networks is the
susceptibility of the road to structural thaw-weakening
by its extent and yearly recurrence. On paved road
networks, the classification is based on the quantity of
alligator cracking. The classification of load restrictions
is also related to the amount of traffic. On important
roads, where the average daily traffic exceeds 200,
load restrictions are only placed in exceptional cases.
In order to predict thaw-weakening, a model was
designed by which the country was divided into 14
districts. The extent of structural thaw-weakening is
predicted for each district according to a three-tier
classification (easy, medium, rough). In line with the
most significant variables of this model, a long freezing
time, previously occurred high volume of structural
thaw-weakening typical for the district, and a high
level of ground-water add to the extent of structural
thaw-weakening. Of the variables included by the
model, the freezing index of late January and an early
start of the cold period also increase the volume of
structural thaw-weakening to some extent. According
to the model, in spring 2004 the extent of thaw-
weakening is predicted to be medium, exclusive of the
most northern district 1. Thus, in accordance with the
above-mentioned national practice, in district 1, load
restriction is placed on gravel roads of load restriction
classification B, C and D as well as on paved roads
of classification B and D. In the other districts, load
restriction is placed on roads of classification C and D
only, and on paved roads of classification D only. The
27
conclusive load restriction is defined on the basis of a
thaw-weakening check conducted in the road district
on approach of the placement time of the restriction.
On paved lightly-trafficked roads the placement of road
restrictions is timely when the day mean temperature is
continuously above zero. On gravel road networks, this
point ought to be a starting signal for local monitoring
of the thawing process of the structure. The increase
of thawing index might be used as a starting signal for
more detailed local monitoring, on the basis of which
the conclusive time for removing the load restrictions
would be defined. At this point the road structure will
have thawed approximately over 50 cm. This practice
promotes the removal of load restrictions in good time
to avoid too long restriction times. Spring 2004 will
be a pilot period to test the functionality of the load
restriction practice. On this occasion, it would also be
worth investigating the functionality of both the timing
of the load restrictions and the prediction practice of
the volume of structural thaw weakening. Furthermore
it would be worth considering the formation of
observation network related to thawing.
further. Finally, the principles of setting seasonal
weight limits in Minnesota and currently in Finland
are described. The possibilities of improvement in
specifying the timing and level of weight limits are
discussed. In appendix, a preliminary study on the cost-
effectiveness of weight limits is presented, as well as
project proposals for the future development work.
Minimizing the Environmental and Economic
Impact of Unpaved Road Maintenance
Yuzdepski, K
Merkosky, R
2004 Annual Conference and Exhibition of
the Transportation Association of Canada -
Transportation Innovation - Accelerating the Pace
TAC (Transportation Association of Canada)
(2323 St Laurent Boulevard, Ottawa, Ontario, K1G
4J8, Canada)
2004 / p13 / - refs

Every year the total length of roads in Canada increases

Determination of timing and level of seasonal with the greatest amount of growth in non-paved
weight limits. Prestudy / Painorajoituksen roads for resource recovery and rural development.
ajoituksen ja suuruuden maarittaminen. Accompanying this growth in road kilometers is
Esiselvitys a general decrease in the availability of aggregate
resources for new construction and maintenance. In
Saarelainen, S order to maximize the use of available aggregate and
Tornqvist, J financial resources, this desktop study reviews the
various methods and equipment available for non-
Tiehallinnon Selvityksia, Finnra Reports paved road maintenance. This study uses case histories
Finnish Road Administration and conventional procedures as part of the review
(Opastinsilta 12 a, FI-00520, Finland) process. The paper’s conclusions provide engineers,
2004 / vTIEH 3200858(n8) / 63p+18app public works supervisors and anyone responsible for
29 refs non-paved road maintenance an overall review of the
ISBN: 9518032238 applicability of various maintenance techniques, their
ISSN: 1457-9871 pros and cons and the most appropriate occasion for
their use.
Seasonal weight limits are applied in Finland
during spring thaw period to prevent thaw damage
on light surfaced or gravel roads. The weight limit
is determined, in general, according to the local
conditions to mainly concern earth aggregate or wood
transport. The weight limit criteria and operation has
been found to vary greatly between regions. In this
report, the development and estimating of frost and
thaw penetration are studied for timing the risk of thaw
damage and better specifying the weight limit period.
Methods to investigate the pavement and subgrade
and local road conditions are described as well as
the procedure, timing and analysis of the pavement
modulus measurement. Rutting and resulting pavement
damage during the deep thaw weakening can be
simulated with deformation models. The traffic loading
data during thaw period was seen to be non-specific
and deficient, and the procedure should be developed
28
Stabilization techniques for unpaved roads
Bushman, WH
Freeman, TE
Hoppe, EJ
Virginia Transportation Research Council
(530 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA, 22903,
USA)
Virginia Department of Transportation
(1401 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA, 23219,
USA)
2004-06 / 21p / 0 refs
This study presents the basis for evaluating promising
soil stabilization products using the relatively new
technique of deeply mixing chemical additives into
unpaved roadbeds. The work is in response to an
amendment to House Bill 1400, Item 490, No. 1h,
passed by Virginia’s 2003 General Assembly, that
called for the Virginia Transportation Research
Council to “continue its evaluation of soil stabilizers
as an alternative to paving low-volume secondary
roads.” This work is based on the construction of a
1.75-mile-long trial installation on Old Wheatland
Road in Loudoun County wherein seven different
commercially available stabilization products were
applied to the unpaved road. A rigorous evaluation
of treatment performance will provide the basis
for recommendations to the Virginia Department
of Transportation’s operating divisions regarding
improvements to the maintenance practices for gravel
roads. Results thus far indicate that the introduction
of soil stabilizers through deep mixing is promising.
The life cycle cost analysis indicates that constructing
a standard bituminous surface-treated roadway and
maintaining it as such is much more cost-effective
than using any of the products in this trial. Further,
the analysis indicates the bituminous surface treatment
alternative is also much more cost-effective than
maintaining an unpaved road.
Towards the development of an improved
mix design of granular sub-base layers in the
construction of national highway projects
Behera, J
Indian Highways
Indian Roads Congress
(Jamnagar House, Shahjahan Road, 110011, India)
2004-05 / v32(n5) p35-49 / 11 refs
ISSN: 0376-7256
The development of a mix design and method of
production for granular sub-base layers in a national
highway project in Orissa, India, is described. The
grading requirement and physical requirements are
outlined and field trials and the results of laboratory
tests are reported. The existing grading Table 400-1A
was amended to a revised Table 400-1A to facilitate
the production of the drainage layer consisting of
crushed, screened and natural materials. The upper
layer consisted of 70% screened natural gravel and
30% sand.
Development of maintenance plan for earth roads
Gandhi, U
Shenoy, MN
Sarkar, AK
Indian Highways
Indian Roads Congress
(Jamnagar House, Shahjahan Road, 110011, India)
2004-09 / v32(n9) p61-76 / 5 refs
ISSN: 0376-7256
In India, 44% of villages are connected by unpaved
roads. Earth roads are suitable for low traffic volumes,
but get damaged by traffic in the rainy season.
Maintenance is needed to prolong the life of earth roads
and to lower the operating costs of vehicles. A structured
approach to visually evaluating and prioritising the
maintenance of earth roads was developed. The effects
of dust cover, wet weather trafficability, undulations
and potholes on the performance of earth roads were
considered. The maintenance priority index, defined
as road condition index multiplied by the road usage
factor, was calculated for each link of the road
network. The model was tested in two case studies:
Jherli and Dhandar in Rajasthan. The methodology
was successfully used to evaluate the condition of the
earth roads, prioritise them and generate a plan for the
effective utilisation of funds.
29
Design method for geogrid-reinforced unpaved
roads. Ii. Calibration and applications
Giroud, JP
Han, J
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
Engineering (ASCE)
American Society of Civil Engineers
(1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA, 20191-
4400, USA)
2004-08 / v130(n8) p787-797 / - refs
ISSN: 1090-0241
A theoretically-based, base course thickness design
method for unpaved roads was developed in a
companion paper. This paper presents a calibration of
the design method using data from field wheel load
and lab cyclic plate loading tests on un-reinforced
and reinforced base courses. The constants in the
design method are determined during the calibration.
The calibrated design method is used for analyzing
the test data through 3 case studies. In addition, the
design procedures and a design example are provided
to demonstrate the use of the design method.
Design method for geogrid-reinforced unpaved
roads. I. Development of design method
Giroud, JP
Han, J
Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
American Society of Civil Engineers
(1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA, 20191-
4400, USA)
2004-08 / v130(n8) p774-786 / - refs
ISSN: 0733-9410
A theoretically-based design method for the thickness
of the base course of unpaved roads is developed that
considers distribution of stress, strength of base course
material, interlock between geosynthetic and base
course material, and geosynthetic stiffness, in addition
to conditions considered in prior methods: traffic
volume, wheel loads, tire pressure, subgrade strength,
rut depth, and influence of the presence of a reinforcing
geosynthetic (geotextile or geogrid) on the failure
mode of the unpaved road or area. In this method, the
required base course thickness for a reinforced unpaved
road is calculated by a unique equation, whereas more
than 1 equation was needed with earlier methods. This
design method was developed for geogrid-reinforced
unpaved roads. However, it can be used for geotextile-
reinforced unpaved roads and for unreinforced roads
with appropriate values of relevant parameters. The
calibration of this design method using data from field
30
wheel load tests and lab cyclic plate loading tests on
unreinforced and reinforced base courses is presented
in a companion paper by the authors of this paper.
Prioritising maintenance management of
unsealed roads
Marshall, I
Hamilton, R
Hutchinson, D
Towards Sustainable Land Transport Conference,
2004, Wellington, New Zealand
New Zealand Institute of Highway Technology
(NZIHT)
(Po Box 4273, 4601, New Zealand)
2004-11 / 8p / 5 refs
Southland District Council (SDC) has more than 1,000
km of unsealed roads in its Central Area. These range
over a distance of about 50 km east-west, and 70 km
in the north-south direction. The maintenance contract
requires that Contractor Works Infrastructure Limited
(Works) manages the underpinned quantities, and
hence it is important that work is targeted appropriately.
In order to limit the amount of reactive maintenance
activity, and to lift activity to a more strategic level,
a programme of information-gathering of simple data
has been commenced to prioritise locations where
structural, surface or drainage maintenance activity
is called for. A single numerical measure of need
is calculated, and its components are subsequently
examined. The pros and cons of this approach are
discussed, including its ability to limit “scatter gun”
reactive maintenance. (a)
Reducing sediment runoff from unsealed roads
McRobert, J
Kemp, A
Road and Transport Research
ARRB Transport Research Ltd
(Vermont South, Victoria)
2004-09 / v13(n3) p63-9
0 refs
ISSN: 1037-5783
The Unsealed Roads Stormwater Project has been
investigating practical ways to control stormwater
pollutants from unsealed roads. With funding by EPA
Victoria as part of the Victorian Stormwater Action
Program, the municipalities of Cardinia, Casey and
Mornington Peninsula initiated the project in an
effort to protect stormwater quality in the Westernport
catchment. The research project aimed to compare
the effectiveness of various road maintenance
techniques in minimising sediment runoff from
an unsealed pavement, particularly the interaction
between the road profile, gravel quality and quantity
, and surface treatment and their effects on sediment
production and delivery rates. Research input to the
project was provided by the three councils, ARRB
Transport Research and University of Western Sydney.
The Cooperative Research Centre for Catchment
Hydrology at Monash University also had input to
the experimental design and results analysis for the
project. (a)
Effect of stress-dependent modulus and Poisson’s
ratio on structural responses in thin asphalt
pavements
Park, S-W
Lytton, RL
Journal of Transportation Engineering (ASCE)
American Society of Civil Engineers
(1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA, 20191-
4400, USA)
2004-05 / v130(n3) p387-394 / - refs
ISSN: 0733-947X
Most low-volume roads are primarily thin flexible
pavements with an unbound base and subgrades. This
is especially true for the behavior of unbound pavement
materials, which is very nonlinear and stress dependent,
even at low traffic stresses. Therefore, a need exists for
more realistic prediction of pavement response for such
pavements, based on proper constitutive models and
computational methods. For this reason, a nonlinear,
stress dependent finite-element program for pavement
analysis was developed. Stress-dependent models for
the resilient modulus and Poisson’s ratio of unbound
pavement materials are incorporated into the finite-
element model to predict the resilient behavior within
the pavement layers under specified wheel loads. The
results of this study show that the developed finite-
element model with stress dependency is suitable
for calculating a reduced horizontal tension in the
bottom half of unbound aggregate base layers. Unlike
conventional methods for correcting horizontal tension,
compressive stresses can be obtained only by the use
of proper constitutive material models and the finite-
element approach. It is also noted that the effects of
nonlinearity and the varying stress-dependent modulus
and Poisson’s ratio, especially in the base layers, could
be substantial, and the proper selection of material
properties is very important to improve the prediction
of those behaviors.
Sediment control on unsealed roads: a handbook
of practical guidelines for improving stormwater
quality
Unsealed Roads Stormwater Project
Kemp, A
Technical Report
EPA Victoria
(Gpo Box 4395qq, Melbourne, Victoria, 3001,
Australia)
2004-09 / 36p + APPENDICES / - refs
This Handbook is a product of the project ‘Minimisation
of the impact of unsealed roads on stormwater quality’,
hereafter called the Unsealed Roads Stormwater
Project. With funding by EPA Victoria as part of the
Victorian Stormwater Action Program (VSAP), the
municipalities of Cardinia, Casey and Mornington
Peninsula initiated the project in an effort to protect
stormwater quality in the Westernport catchment.
The information contained in the Handbook has been
collected from field trials, experiments, literature
searches and industry liaison. It aims to provide
guidance on best unsealed road maintenance practices,
including measures to control sediment and improve
stormwater quality. Accompanying this Handbook,
are a Technical Report, Field Guide and a Video.
The Handbook is designed as an aid for councils
to implement erosion and sediment control along
unsealed roads. It was developed with council
operations and limited resources in mind, thus the
practices outlined are typically low cost and relatively
easy to install. (a)
VSAP stormwater project: minimisation of the
impact of unsealed roads on stormwater quality
Unsealed Roads Stormwater Project
Kemp, A
Technical Report
EPA Victoria
(Gpo Box 4395qq, Melbourne, Victoria, 3001,
Australia)
2004-09 / 1 VOL (VARIOUS PAGINGS) / - refs
This Technical Report is a product of the project
‘Minimisation of the impact of unsealed roads on
stormwater quality’, hereafter called the Unsealed
Roads Stormwater Project. With funding by EPA
Victoria as part of the Victorian Stormwater Action
Program (VSAP), the municipalities of Cardinia, Casey
and Mornington Peninsula initiated the project in an
effort to protect stormwater quality in the Westernport
catchment. The information contained in the Technical
Report was collected from field trials, experiments,
31
literature searches and industry liaison, and is a Heavy duty unsealed roads: upgrading for
comprehensive report detailing project activities for logging development
the twelve-month period. Accompanying this Technical
Report are the following documents:1. Handbook: An Voss, M
instructional handbook on the best practice unsealed Hutchison, D
road maintenance measures to control sediment and Crichton, D
improve stormwater quality; 2. Field Guide & Video:
An on-site guide outlining simple steps for protecting Towards Sustainable Land Transport Conference,
water quality along unsealed roads. (a) 2004, Wellington, New Zealand
New Zealand Institute of Highway Technology
(NZIHT)
(Po Box 4273, 4601, New Zealand)
INVESTMENT IN RURAL ROADS: 2004-11 / 7p / 2 refs
WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR IMPROVED
GRAVEL ROAD SERVICE IN FREIGHT The Tarndale Road is a remote road, some 28 kilometres
TRANSPORTATION long, situated approximately 80 kilometres Northwest
of Gisborne. The area poses significant challenges
Vanwechel, T in road construction activities. The last 10 kilometre
Vachal, K section of Tarndale Road forms part of the public road
network that enables transportation of logs from two
Mountain-Plains Consortium major forests. Over the next 25 years, it is expected
(North Dakota State University, P.O. Box 5074, that 1.6 million tonnes will be transported from these
Fargo, ND, 58105-, USA) forests along this road. Tarndale Road was assessed
2004-12 / 35 / -refs as a high priority within the Regional Development
ISSN: N/A- Roading programme funding allocation framework.
The design and construct project is being managed by
North Dakota, as well as other Great Plains states, the Gisborne District Council and undertaken by Works
relies heavily on agriculture for economic viability. Infrastructure. This paper reports on the key drivers
Transport of commodities from farm to market is an that dictated the approach to the road upgrade and the
important issue and one where research is needed. process adopted as a stimulus to these drivers for the
As funding for rural roads is decreasing, the need for investigation, design and construction of upgrade of
improvements and maintenance of rural roads used the existing 10-km road. (a)
for agricultural freight transportation is increasing.
The objective of this report is to ascertain information
on user willingness-to-pay for improving service
on gravel roads and user perceptions of funding for
improving freight transportation services, such as road
surface, safety and maintenance in rural areas. Data
were collected using a survey to ask producers about
their perceptions of roads used to haul commodities to
market. When asked if they would be willing to pay for
improvements to rural roads if it meant higher vehicle
weight limits, 34% of respondents said yes. Thirty
percent said yes to the willingness-to-pay question
regarding improvements to rural roads that would lead
to shorter driving distances to market. When asked
about willingness-to-pay for pavement of gravel roads,
20% said yes. For improvement to rural road signing
12% said they would be willing to pay more.

32
 CURRENT TOPICS IN TRANSPORT – RECENT TITLES
THEME 1: TRANSPORT PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT

CT 1.4 Traffic calming – update (04-05) £30

4.2 Bus deregulation – update (95-99) £30
5.4 Vehicle emissions and pollution – update (06-07) £30
6.4 Traffic signal control – update (02-05) £30
8.4 Congestion – update (06-07) £30
15.3 Planning for pedestrians and cyclists – update (03-05) £30
16.4 Land use and transport planning – update (04-05) £30
18.2 Privatisation in transport – update (01-04) £30
20.2 Road building and the environment – update (00-04 £30
21.4 Noise and vibration from traffic – update (03-05) £30
22.4 Transport for the disabled and elderly – update (04-07) £30
23.3 Electric and hybrid vehicles – update (04-07) £30
24.5 High speed rail – update (05-08) £30
50.2 Transport: pollution and health – update (00-04) £30
51.3 Shopping centres and transport – update (04-08) £30
52.3 Environmental impact assessment studies – update (02-05) £30
53.3 LRT and rapid transit systems – update (03-05) £30
54.3 Lorries and the environment – update (02-05) £30
55.2 Transport of hazardous goods – update (00-03) £30
56.3 Fuel consumption and alternative fuels – update (05-07) £30
57.3 Transport in developing countries: Public transport – update (01-05) £30
81.3 Sustainability in transport – update (06-08) £30
85.3 Traffic modelling – update (06-07) £30
88.3 Private funding of transport infrastructure – update (05-07) £30
90.4 Intermodal freight transport – update (04-07) £30
95.2 Traffic de/generation – update (01-05) £30
101.2 Road accident costs – update (01-06) £30
106.3 Transport policies in the EU – update (03-06) £30
108.3 Rail privatisation – update (04-08) £30
110.2 Journey to work – update (00-01) £30
111.2 Taxi and paratransit – update (01-05) £30
112.2 Car ownership – update (01-04) £30
113.2 Intermodal passenger transport – update (00-06) £30
115.1 Airport access (road/rail) – update (01-04) £30
116.2 Town centres and traffic management – update (03-06) £30
117.2 UK transport policy – update (03-06) £30
118.2 Transport in London – update (01-04) £30
122.2 Junction and roundabout design – update (03-07) £30
126.2 Parking in urban areas – update (05-08) £30
127.1 Vehicle operating costs – update (01-04) £30
131.2 Transport in developing countries: planning & investment – update (03-05) £30
132.3 Integrated transport planning – update (04-07) £30
134.2 Freight transport logistics – update (02-05) £30
135.2 Transport demand and modal shift – update (04-07) £30
139.1 Local transport planning – update (00-02) £30
141.2 Junction delay and safety – update (05-08) £30
142.2 Car usage reduction methods – update (03-06) £30
143.2 Managed vehicle lanes – update (03-08) £30
144 Transport modelling (94-00) £30
147 Rural transport in developed countries (98-02) £30
149.1 Bus service improvement – update (04-08) £30
151 Transport and social inclusion (00-04) £30
157 Transport planning for exceptional events (01-06) £30
159 Transport and climate change (04-07) £30
 THEME 2: ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATIONS IN TRANSPORT

CT 19.4 Bus priority measures – update (02-05) £30

25.6 Road pricing – update (06-07) £30
27.6 Transport telematics – update (05-07) £30
28.5 GIS in transport – update (05-07) £30
29.6 Electronic route guidance – update (06-08) £30
30.5 Parking systems technology – update (05-07) £30
31.5 Passenger information technology – update (03-06) £30
32.4 Video in traffic management – update (03-06) £30
58.5 Driver information systems – update (04-06) £30
59.6 Urban traffic control – update (06-08) £30
60.5 Vehicle location and identification – update (04-06) £30
61.4 Smart technology in transport – update (05-06) £30
64.4 Variable message signs – update (04-06) £30
96.4 Collision avoidance systems – update (04-07) £30
103.4 Intelligent transport systems (ITS) – update (06-07) £30
109.3 Vehicle communication and vehicle-highway communication – update (06-08) £30
120.4 Traffic monitoring and incident detection – update (06-08) £30
146.2 Transport information and the Internet – update (02-06) £30
148.1 Law enforcement and legal aspects of intelligent transport systems (02-07) £30
150.1 Marketing and acceptance of intelligent transport systems – update (03-06) £30
152 Intelligent transport systems and winter conditions (00-04) £30
153 Railway signalling technology (00-04) £30
154 Intelligent transport systems and environment protection (00-04) £30
155.1 ITS-driver interfaces – update (2004-2008) £30

THEME 3: CIVIL ENGINEERING

CT 3.5 Bridge maintenance – update (05-06) £30

10.5 Low cost / low volume roads – update (04-08) £30
13.2 Alkali-silica reaction in concrete – update (00-05) £30
34.4 Streetworks and reinstatement – update (03-06) £30
35.4 Winter maintenance – update (04-05) £30
36.4 Recycling of road materials – update (04-07) £30
37.4 Geotextiles in civil engineering – update (02-05) £30
38.3 Bridge design and construction – update (07-08) £30
40.5 Bituminous road design and construction – update (05-07) £30
41.4 Concrete road design and construction – update (03-06) £30
65.4 Reinforced earth – update (02-05) £30
66.3 Steel corrosion in reinforced concrete – update (04-06) £30
67.4 Road surface noise – update (05-07) £30
68.4 Deterioration of road surfaces – update (03-07) £30
69.4 Embankments & earthworks: design & construction – update (06-08) £30
70.3 Site investigation – update (01-05) £30
71.2 Design and construction of tunnels – update (01-04) £30
72.3 Tunnel lighting and ventilation – update (03-07) £30
75.5 Safety barriers – update (05-08) £30
82.4 Pavement management systems – update (04-05) £30
89.4 Aggregates in road construction – update (06-08) £30
92.3 Highway drainage and construction – update (04-06) £30
98.2 Amenity paving (including concrete block paving) – update (99-03) £30
105.3 Soil mechanics / settlement studies – update (04-06) £30
119.2 Bituminous binders and mix design – update (06-08) £30
121.3 Non destructive testing – update (04-07) £30
125.3 Fibre reinforced concrete – update (05-08) £30
128.2 Bridge assessment and testing – update (05-07) £30
130.2 Rubber in bituminous pavements – update (01-04) £30
 133.2 Transport in developing countries: road design and construction – update (02-07) £30
136.3 Road surfacing treatments – update (05-08) £30
137.2 Transport in developing countries: bridges and tunnels - design and £30
construction – update (02-07)
145.2 Sustainable development – update (04-06) £30
156 Multi storey parking garages (02-04) £30

THEME 4: TRANSPORT SAFETY

CT 2.4 Cycling safety – update (02-05) £30

9.4 Seat belts and in-car safety – update (02-05) £30
12.2 Road accidents – weather and seasonal aspects – update (01-05) £30
42.4 Alcohol, drugs and driving – update (05-07) £30
43.4 Accident prevention measures – update (03-05) £30
44.4 In-car safety: children – update (04-07) £30
45.5 Child safety on the road – update (04-07) £30
46.2 Accident blackspots – update (01-05) £30
47.4 Pedestrian accident studies – update (03-06) £30
48.4 Crashworthiness: vehicle structure & safety – update (05-07) £30
49.4 Motorcycle safety – update (04-07) £30
73.4 Air bag safety systems – update (03-05) £30
74.3 ABS braking systems – update (01-05) £30
76.4 Elderly drivers – update (04-07) £30
77.3 Driver training – update (02-05) £30
78.3 Road safety education – update (04-08) £30
79.3 Driver fatigue – update (04-07) £30
80.3 Driver behaviour – update (04-06) £30
83.3 Safety helmets (cycle and motorcycle) – update (04-08) £30
84.4 Speed and road accidents – update (06-08) £30
87.3 Bus, coach and minibus safety – update (04-06) £30
91.2 Causes of road traffic accidents – update (01-04) £30
93.2 Engine design (materials & fuel consumption) – update (01-04) £30
94.3 Street lighting and vehicle lighting – update (04-07) £30
97.2 Injuries from traffic accidents – update (03-06) £30
99.2 Side impact vehicle protection – update (01-04) £30
100.3 Vehicle tyres - design and safety – update (05-07) £30
102.3 Rollover accident studies – update (05-08) £30
104.2 Vehicle design for the disabled – update (00-06) £30
107.3 Road safety publicity campaigns – update (04-06) £30
123.2 Driver risk perception – update (01-05) £30
138.2 Railway safety – update (02-04) £30
140.2 Highway safety auditing – update (02-05) £30
158.1 Transport terrorism and vandalism – update (05-08) £30
160 Accident statistics and modelling (05-08) £30

(Prices current at 8 December 2008)

This list shows recent and forthcoming titles. A complete list of all titles from 1992 is available on request.
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Current Topics in Transport

A selection of abstracts added to the TRL Library database during a specified period, published in
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Civil Engineering; Transport Safety.
Over 75 abstracts of reports, conference papers, books and journal articles which focus on the
design, construction, maintenance, and reinforcement of low cost / low volume roads, including
earth roads, forestry roads and gravel roads. Subjects covered also include standards for low cost
roads, pavement management systems, reinforcement methods and environment protection.

Other Current Topics published in the Civil Engineering theme

CT36.4 Recycling of road materials – update (2004-2007)

CT40.5 Bituminous road design and construction - update (2005-2007)

CT67.4 Road surface noise – update (2005-2007)

CT68.4 Deterioration of road surfaces – update (2003-2007)

CT128.2 Bridge assessment and testing – update (2005-2007)

CT133.2 Transport in developing countries: road design and construction – update (2002-2007)

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