HIGHWAY

CONSTRUCTION
PRINCIPLES

PREPARED BY,
DR. RAJESH GUJAR
DEVELOPMENT IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION :
HISTORY AND CURRENT METHODS

 In ancient times, river transport was much faster and

easier than road transport. The Romans were one of the
first to build stone paved roads in North Africa and Europe
to support their military operations.

 Later the Arabs built roads that were covered with tar.
The roads were constructed by preparing earthworks and
lifting the road foundation at the center for water
drainage.

 Road construction techniques gradually improved by the

study of road traffic, stone thickness, road alignment, and
slope gradients.
DEVELOPMENT IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION :
HISTORY AND CURRENT METHODS

 Initial road construction materials were stones that were

laid in a regular, compact design, and covered with smaller
stones to produce a solid layer.

 The building techniques were simple but effective as they

reduced the travel time considerably and connected one
place to another by land.

 The Appian Way in Rome still exists although it was

constructed 2300 years ago. If Roman roads are considered
the beginning of road construction, Telford Pavements are
known as the second step of this process, followed by the
Macadam Pavements that ultimately lead to the Bitumen
Roads. Today, the concrete roads have added another
dimension to stability and strength of the roadways
DEVELOPMENT IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION :
HISTORY AND CURRENT METHODS
 Modern road construction involves the removal of
geographic obstacles, and the use of new construction
materials that are far more improved and durable.

 Rock and earth is removed by explosion or digging.

Embankments, tunnels, and bridges are constructed, and
then vegetation is removed by deforestation, if necessary.
Finally, the pavement material is laid by using a range of
road construction equipment.

 Storm drainage and ecological considerations should be

considered seriously. Sediments and erosion are controlled
to avoid damaging effects. Drainage systems are
constructed so that they should be able to carry waste
water to a waterway, stream, river, or the sea.
DEVELOPMENT IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION IN
INDIA
 The past couple of years have been very encouraging for the
road sector. A record length of about 10,000 km was
awarded and about 6,000 km of road stretches were
completed in 2015-16. The current construction rate for
national highways has gone up to about 18 km per day. The
sector also received a 25 per cent higher allocation (central
plan outlay) in the 2016-17 Budget.

 In addition, National Highways and Infrastructure

Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) is implementing
109 contracts (7,150 km) on an EPC basis in the Northeast.

 A total of 14 projects have been awarded on a hybrid

annuity basis. The ministry also plans to offer about 104 toll
projects for a 20-year lease period on a ToT(toll-operate-
transfer) basis.
EMBANKMENT CONSTRUCTION
 The knowledge acquired will enable the Technician to
implement the skills necessary to insure a good, solid, and
lasting embankment which is absolutely necessary for a
durable and safe highway. Different classifications of
materials encountered, lift requirements, compaction
methods, benching, density tests, moisture content,
earthwork calculations, and Specifications relating to each
particular area of embankment of construction are necessary
to study for embankment construction .
EMBANKMENT CONSTRUCTION : ROCK
EMBANKMENT
 Rock excavation consists of removing rock which cannot be
excavated without blasting. This material includes all
boulders or other detached stones each having a volume of
1/2 yd3 or more.

 In a rock fill, the lifts are thick and the voids between the
rock chunks are large. Although these voids are filled with
fines at the top and sides of the embankment, inside the
embankment many large voids remain. If these rock
pieces remain intact, deformations are small within the
embankment because of the friction and interlocking
between pieces.
 EMBANKMENT CONSTRUCTION : ROCK
EMBANKMENT
LIFT REQUIREMENTS
 No large stones are allowed to nest and are distributed
over the area to avoid pockets.
 The final 2 ft of the embankment just below the subgrade
elevation is required to be composed of suitable material
placed in layers not exceeding 8 in. loose measurement
and compacted to the required density.
 Shale or shale-like materials are not permitted in the
upper 2 ft of embankment.
 Where the depth of an embankment is greater than 5 ft
and consists entirely of rock, the rock is deposited in lifts
not to exceed the top size of the material being placed,
but in no case exceeding 4 ft.
EMBANKMENT CONSTRUCTION : ROCK
EMBANKMENT
LIFT REQUIREMENTS
 Where the depth of an embankment is 5 ft or less, or
where the material being placed does not consist entirely
of rock, the material is placed in lifts not to exceed the top
size of the rock being placed, but in no case exceeding 2
ft.
 The rock for any particular lift is required to be deposited
on and pushed over the end of the lift being constructed.
If the voids of the last lift are not closed sufficiently, they
are required to be choked with small broken stones or
other suitable material and compacted as directed.
 Where a rock fill is to be placed over a structure, the
structure is first covered with 2 to 4 ft of earth or other
approved material, and properly compacted before the
rock is placed.
 Shale is not incorporated as rock embankment unless
written permission is obtained.
EMBANKMENT CONSTRUCTION : ROCK
EMBANKMENT
COMPACTION METHODS

 When rock is used for embankment construction and has

such a large top size as to make the material impractical
to conduct density tests, such material may be compacted
with crawler-tread equipment or with approved vibratory
equipment, or both. Each lift is compacted thoroughly by
successive passes back and forth with the tread areas
overlapping enough on each trip so that all portions are
compacted uniformly.
EMBANKMENT CONSTRUCTION : SHALE AND SOFT
ROCK EMBANKMENTS
 If a rock fill were built of rocks which weathered rapidly in
the fill, the rock pieces would become soil, which could in
turn fall down into the rock voids. The cumulative result
of this would be considerable settlement of the
embankment and subsequent slope failure. Shales are a
good example of this type of failure, since large pieces
may degrade (slake) into soil which squeeze down into the
large voids. The net result is that large settlements, and
even slope instability, may occur.
EMBANKMENT CONSTRUCTION : SHALE AND SOFT
ROCK EMBANKMENTS

LIFT AND COMPACTION REQUIREMENTS

 Shale, shale and soft rock mixtures, or soft rock are placed
in 8 in. maximum loose lifts.

 2) The compaction is required to be done with an

approved vibratory tamping-foot roller in conjunction with
a static tamping-foot roller. Each tamping foot on the
static roller is required to project from the drum a
minimum of 6 in. Each tamping foot on the vibratory roller
is required to project from the drum a minimum of 4 in.

 3) Shale, shale and soft rock mixtures, or soft rock are

required to be compacted to at least 95 % of maximum dry
density.
EMBANKMENT CONSTRUCTION : SHALE AND SOFT
ROCK EMBANKMENTS
LIFT AND COMPACTION REQUIREMENTS
 The moisture content is required to be controlled within -2 and
+1 percentage points of optimum moisture content.

 The density is measured with a calibrated nuclear gauge.

 Water is required to be applied to the shale in the cut to

accelerate the slaking action and again prior to disking and
compaction. Water is paid for on a volume basis.

 The water is required to be uniformly incorporated throughout

the entire lift by a multiple gang disk with a minimum disk wheel
diameter of 24 in.

 Unless otherwise approved in writing, each embankment lift is

required to receive a minimum of three passes with the vibratory
roller. A roller pass is defined as being one complete coverage
of a given area. The material is required to be bladed before
METHODS FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT
 Vertical drains
 Soil nailing
 Stone columns
 Vibro compaction
 Dynamic compaction
 METHODS FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT :
VERTICAL DRAINS

 These consist of a column of pervious material placed in

cylindrical vertical holes at sufficiently close spaces.
 All drains should be connected at the ground surface to a
drainage blanket.
 Vertical drains accelerate consolidation by facilitating
drainage of pore water.
 Vertical drains are laid out in rows, staggered, or aligned
to form patterns of equilateral triangles or squares.
PREFABRICATED VERTICAL DRAINS
METHODS FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT :
VERTICAL DRAINS
Two types of drains are discussed below :
 SAND DRAINS : A sand drain is a simple process, employing
a column of at least 10 inches in width augered into
ground to be surcharged & consolidated. The column is
then filled with sand and connected to a free-draining
blanket of granular soil.
METHODS FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT :
VERTICAL DRAINS
Two types of drains are discussed below :
 WICK DRAIN : A wick drain is usually about, 4 inches wide,
1/8-inch thick which acts as a high-permeability conduit
for water to flow out of the soil and to the surface.Most
common application of wick drains is for accelerating the
settlement rate of compressible soils.
 METHODS FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT :
SOIL NAILING
 This ground reinforcement process uses steel tendons
which are drilled and grouted into the soil to create a
composite mass.
 A shotcrete facing is typically applied.
 Soil Nailing is an in situ technique for reinforcing,
stabilizing and retaining excavations and deep cuts.
 METHODS FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT :
SOIL NAILING
 Shotcreteing
 METHODS FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT :
SOIL NAILING
 Holes are drilled though machine
 METHODS FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT :
STONE COLUMN

 Also known as vibro-replacement or vibro-displacement, is

a ground improvement process where vertical columns of
compacted aggregate are formed through the soils to be
improved.
 The vibrator first penetrates to the required depth by
vibration and air or water jetting or by vibration alone.
 Gravel is then added at the tip of the vibrator and
progressive raising and repenetration of the vibrator
results in the gravel being pushed into the surrounding
soil.
 The soil-column matrix results in an overall mass having a
high shear strength and a low compressibility.
METHODS FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT :
STONE COLUMN
 METHODS FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT :
VIBRO COMPACTION

 It is a ground improvement process for densifying loose

sands to create stable foundation soils.
 The action of the vibrator, usually accompanied by water
jetting, reduces the inter-granular forces between the soil
particles, allowing them to move into a denser
configuration, typically achieving a relative density of 70
to 85 percent.
 Compaction is achieved above and below the water table.
METHODS FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT :
VIBRO COMPACTION
 METHODS FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT :
DYNAMIC COMPACTION

 Dynamic Compaction is the dropping of heavy weights on

the ground surface to densify the soils at depth.
 It involves the repeated dropping of large steel tampers by
means of crawler cranes.
 Tampers typically range from 6 to 20 tons and are dropped
from heights of about 40 to 80 feet.
METHODS FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT :
DYNAMIC COMPACTION
 GROUND IMPROVEMENT BY STRUCTURAL FILL

Basis of this philosophy is to replace a weak soil with a

better
one. Use lightweight materials instead of heavier earth fills
above weak ground is a recent advancement of this method.
Major ground treatment methods include;

 Removal and replacement

 Displacement
 Reducing load
 GROUND IMPROVEMENT BY ADMIXTURES
 The use of additives and admixtures, such as lime,
cement, oils and bitumen and chemicals like sulphur, is
one of the oldest and most widespread methods of
improving a soil. Purpose of this method is to strengthen a
locally available soil fill to construct a low-cost road base.
 Cement stabilized soil or soil-cement, or to mix lime into
highly plastic clays is a typical example. Major ground
treatment methods include;
 Lime columns (Swedish method)
 Lime and cement columns (Japanese method)
 Mix-in-place by single auger or Deep Soil Mixing
 Lime stabilization of slopes
 Lime stabilization of pavements
 Cement stabilization of pavement
 GROUND IMPROVEMENT BY GROUTING
 Grouting can be defined as controlled injection of
material, usually in a fluid phase, into soil or rock in order
to improve the physical characteristics of the ground.
Major ground treatment methods include;
 Grouting processes
 Permeation grouting
 Hydrofracture grouting
 Jet grouting
 Compaction, squeeze and compensation grouting
 Cavity filling
GROUND IMPROVEMENT BY GROUTING
GROUND IMPROVEMENT BY THERMAL
STABILIZATION
 The removal of heat from the soil turning its pore water
into ice is a very powerful technique rendering the ground
impermeable and, for unconsolidated materials, making
them stronger.
 Applying heat to clays to drive out free pore water and, at
higher temperatures, the water adsorbed on particle
surfaces, creates a very hard, durable material, as when
making brick or mud building blocks. Major ground
treatment methods include;
 Artificial ground freezing
 Artificial ground heating
GROUND IMPROVEMENT BY VEGETATION
 Combining engineering and horticulture, vegetation as
ground improvement is the biological reinforcement of soil
by plant roots to retain earth masses and prevent soil loss.
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