Deterioration Unsealed Roads

Unsealed Roads Classification

• Gravel

• Earth (or Sand) *

* Engineered roads

2
Unsealed Roads

3
Unsealed Roads Deterioration

4
 Models of Distress

• Roughness HDM-4
• Material Loss

• Rutting
• Looseness

• Impassability

5
 Unsealed Road Work Classification

Preservation Development
• Routine • Improvements
 Off carriageway
 Widening
 Grading
 Realignment
 Spot regravelling

• Periodic • Construction
 Regravelling  Upgrading
 New sections
• Special
 Emergencies
 Winter maintenance

6
 Unsealed Roads Models

• Roughness:
 Progression

 Effect of mechanical compaction

 Effect of grading
 Average annual roughness
 Steady state roughness
• Material Loss
7
 Roughness Without Compaction

30

25

200 veh/day 100 veh/day 50 veh/day

20 10 veh/day
IRI (m/km)

15

10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Surface Age (years)

8
Grading

9
 Long term average roughness
35

30 No grading

25
Average IRI (m/km)

Grading 2 per year

20

15 Grading 4 per year

10
Grading 12 per year

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
AADT

11
 Roughness: Effect of Grading
Frequency and Traffic
Effect of Grading Frequency and Traffic on Roughness
Flat and Level Terrain / Sub-humid Environment

21

19

17 Grading
Frequency
Roughness (IRI)

15 24 Months
13 18 Months
12 Months
11
9 Months
9 6 Months
3 Months
7
1 Months
5

3
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300
Average Daily Traffic (ADT)

12
Roughness: Effect of Terrain Type
and Traffic
Effect on Terrain Type and Traffic on Roughness
Gradings Every 6 Months / Sub-humid Environment

21

19

17
Terrain
Roughness (IRI)

15
Type
13 Mountainous
Hilly & Rolling
11
Flat & Level
9

3
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300
Average Daily Traffic (ADT)

13
Roughness: Effect of Environment
Type and Traffic
Effect of Environment and Traffic on Roughness
Gradings Every 6 Months / Flat and Level Terrain

21

19

17 Environment
Type
Roughness (IRI)

15
Arid
13
Semi-arid
11 Sub-humid
Humid
9

3
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300
Average Daily Traffic (ADT)

14
 Roughness: Effect of Material
Properties

Lateritic Gravel Earth Road

Semi-arid Environment Semi-arid Environment
Frequency Flat & Rolling & Flat & Rolling &
Traffic of Gradings Level Hilly Mountainous Level Hilly Mountainous
(ADT) (months) Terrain Terrain Terrain Terrain Terrain Terrain
25 1 4.0 4.2 4.4 2.8 3.0 3.3
25 3 6.0 6.5 7.1 5.0 5.6 6.3
25 6 8.3 9.1 10.0 7.4 8.2 9.3
25 9 9.7 10.7 11.8 8.8 9.8 11.1
25 12 10.8 11.8 13.1 9.8 10.9 12.3
25 18 12.3 13.4 14.9 11.2 12.4 14.0
25 24 13.2 14.5 16.1 12.1 13.4 15.1

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 Material loss
Effect of Rainfall and Traffic

16
 Material loss
Effect of Rainfall and Terrain

17
 Road Roughness of Unsealed Roads

• Roughness equations valid for engineered unsealed

roads with good maintenance (good drainage).
Therefore:

 Higher rainfall yields lower roughness

 Higher percent of trucks yields lower roughness
 Earth roads (finer soils) have lower roughness than
gravel roads, making difficult to evaluate
regravelling works
• In practice, the condition of an unsealed road can be
different from what is being predicted by the HDM
models, specially related to the passability on the wet
season
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 Road Roughness of Unsealed Roads

• HDM equations for

deterioration of
unsealed roads are
valid for engineered
roads with proper
drainage
• There is a need to
understand the HDM
relationships and
calibrate the equations
if proper drainage is not
available

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