CONSTRUCTION OF GRAVEL ROAD

CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
1.2 Definitions
1.3 Traffic
2 TYPICAL ROAD DEFECTS
2.1 Carriageway
2.2 Shoulders and side slopes
2.3 Side and cross drains
3 DESIGN OF GRAVEL ROADS
3.1 Geometric design
3.2 Thickness design
4 CONSTRUCTION
4.1 Subgrade preparation
4.2 Gravel operations
4.3 Surface course construction
4.3.1 Thickness
4.3.2 Compaction
4.3.3 Finish and shape
4.4 Drainage
4.1 Surface water
4.2 Subsurface water
5 EQUIPMENTS
5.1 Earthmoving equipment
5.2 Construction vehicles
5.3 Construction equipment

REFERENCES
1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background
The economic well-being of a country is solely related to the state of its road network. The agricultural,
mining, forestry and tourist industries of all countries rely heavily on an adequate network of all-weather
roads for their economic viability. The future development of most third-world countries is fundamentally
dependent on the existence of adequate road networks.
Most of the country’s unpaved roads are located in the rural areas. These are mostly farm-to-market
roads. These roads are usually the sole structures that facilitate access of the rural residents to health
centers, schools, public markets, and government offices. Since these roads are often far from the main
roads and entrusted to the local government level with the least in resources and technical capacity, these
are often neglected and therefore susceptible to deterioration and damage from natural elements like
rains and floods.

1.2 Definition
Gravel roads is a type of unpaved roads. These roads have a designed layer of imported material which is
typically constructed to a specified standard and width and provides an all-weather surface. The vertical
and horizontal alignment is generally upgraded to appropriate standards. Maintenance of gravel roads is
carried out on a more regular and systematic basis and a higher level of service is obtained, although the
roughness varies considerably with time and depends significantly on the maintenance activity (TRH,
1990).

1.3 Traffic
Gravel roads are nearly always lightly trafficked. These roads are carrying less than 200 vehicles per day,
with less than 60 of these being heavy (80 kN axles).
2 TYPICAL ROAD DEFECTS

Deterioration of gravel rural roads is usually caused by heavy rainfall and flooding that softens the
carriageway thereby making it prone to damage. This process is hastened by traffic involving heavy
vehicles or animal-pulled sleds. Poor quality design and construction also contribute to early
deterioration.
The more common types of deterioration or damage are:
a.) ruts, potholes and corrugations on the carriageway;
b.) deformation of road shoulders due to erosion, thereby weakening the road structure; and
c.) silting and erosion of the drainage system, including the canals and culverts.

Characteristics of a defective and poorly constructed/maintained road:

2.1 Carriageway. This is the main part of the road where vehicles pass through. The common defects
are:
Loss of shape, or camber. Camber refers to the shape of the road wherein the middle is higher than the
sides to allow surface water to flow towards the side ditches. The loss of shape is usually caused by
erosion, loose and poorly-compacted surface, and frequent traffic especially by vehicles with heavy loads;
Ruts. Ruts are depressions along the length of the road surface caused by wheels of vehicles or by animal-
drawn sleds that repeatedly pass through the same depression.
Potholes. These are depressions on the road surface caused by poorly compacted materials aggravated
by surface water that remain.
Corrugations. These are wave-like patterns perpendicular to vehicle direction caused by volume and
speed of traffic, variations on surfacing material as well as actions of surface water. These can also be
attributed to poor compaction or intentional removal of materials by people.
2.2 Shoulders and side slopes. These refer to the areas at the sides of the roadway other than the
canals and culverts. The common defects are:
Deformation by as much as 20 to 50 percent due to loss or accumulation of materials. Materials loosened
from the carriageway are often pushed to the side by vehicular traffic. This is due to either poor material
selection or lack of compaction. Erosion also plays a part, or sometimes by simply leaving excess materials
from previous repair or reconstruction work.
Slides. Side slopes, left exposed and unstable when segments of the road were cut during construction,
are liable to move during heavy rains, sliding to cover side drains and shoulders and leaving rocks and soil
on the carriageway;
Scouring. The volume and speed of flowing water eat away and carry soil particles from along its path.
Continuous action of flowing water can scour unprotected components of the road structure.
Thick and overgrown vegetation. Shrubs, small trees and grasses on roadsides block drainage lines and
obstruct the drivers’ line of sight while on the road.
2.3 Side and cross drains. The primary purpose of these road components is to efficiently and effectively
drain surface water away from the road to protect it from possible damage. The common defects are:
Blocks that prevent free flow of water. When unmaintained, side and cross drains accumulate silt, soil
and debris carried by surface runoff and hinder normal water flow, thereby resulting in floods that
accelerate road deterioration.
Structural damage. Canals and culverts can be damaged by strong rains and storms. Faulty construction
also contributes to damage to these road components.
3 DESIGN OF GRAVEL ROAD

3.1 Geometric design

The road alignment should, however, be adapted to the prevailing conditions. A different philosophy
should be applied to roads opening up areas and those which are likely to be forerunners of paved roads.
It is not usually economically feasible to construct deep cuts, high fills or large radius horizontal curves in
mountainous areas in order to accommodate the recommended geometric standards. Economic
constraints usually dictate that the geometric standards have to be compromised (with speed restrictions
or warning signs where necessary). Where possible, construction along watersheds is recommended.

The width and alignment of gravel roads should generally be appropriate to the prevailing traffic, climate
and topography and geometric standards for gravel roads should be flexible enough to provide for this.
Care should, however be taken to create a speed environment with matching geometric elements to
eliminate the element of surprise and avoid unsafe conditions to which driver awareness is not sensitive.

3.2 Thickness design

The thickness of gravel layers in a gravel road must be sufficient to distribute the heaviest loads so that
stresses imposed on the subgrade will be reduced below those that will cause noticeable rutting. As with
bituminous surfaced roads, the required thickness will be a function of the subgrade strength, traditionally
measured as California Bearing Ratio or CBR, the axle loads and the number of load applications. However
some small amounts of surface deformation can be tolerated in a gravel road since there is no expensive
asphalt surface to be damaged and modest deformation, corrugation or rutting will be corrected by
periodic reshaping with a grader. Hence the thickness of the pavement layers is not so critical in the case
of gravel roads. The important thing apart from resistance to rutting is that the pavement surface should:

Present a smooth riding surface for vehicles

Resist wearing, raveling and corrugation
Possess adequate tire/soil friction so that vehicles will not skid and driving wheels will not spin

Table 6-1 contains the recommended total minimum thickness of gravel related to traffic, soil and
drainage conditions. It is suggested that when the drainage is poor or the CBR is below 3% additional
thickness should be provided. The minimum thickness of gravel surface course that should be used is 100
mm and the material underneath shall satisfy the specifications for sub-base. The shoulders will generally
be surfaced with the same material as the road, but the thickness of material can be reduced by tapering
it to give the shoulders a steeper slope than the camber on the road, this facilitating drainage.
4 CONSTRUCTION

4.1 Subgrade preparation

Many gravel roads, however lightly trafficked at the time of construction, will with the passage of time
capture more traffic and increase in use (and importance) as the local population increases. They may
eventually be upgraded to higher standard gravel roads or even relatively lightly trafficked paved roads.
Good preparation of the subgrade for a new gravel road is therefore extremely important as this will often
be the subgrade for a large part of the future improved road.

Initially the subgrade should be cleared of bush and trees over the full width of the road prism. All
vegetable matter and organic soil should be removed by grader or bulldozer from the road prism. The
road bed should be ripped and mixed, sprayed with water to about Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) an
then be compacted to a density of at least 90% Mod AASHTO (about 95% Proctor) maximum dry density.
Adequate subgrade compaction reduces the possibility of subgrade deformation and reduces the
permeability and strengthens the subgrade. The subgrade should then be smoothed and shaped with a
suitable cross-fall.

4.2 Gravel operations

The location, winning and transportation of wearing course gravels is one of the most expensive
operations associated with the development of unpaved roads. It is therefore important that the optimum
material be located nearby and used to maximum advantage.

4.3 Surface course construction

Good construction practices for surface courses will:
Provide the correct thickness of material;
Provide adequate compaction;
Provide a smooth finish with a good cross-sectional shape

4.3.1 Thickness
It is important that the material be dumped on the road at the correct spacing to provide for the expected
thickness of gravel after spreading and compaction. If the constructed thickness is incorrect, the
management of the maintenance of the road network will be disrupted as premature regravelling may be
necessary or the road may need a thinner layer of gravel when being regravelled. Both of these variations
affect the budgeting requirements. The thickness must be as consistent as possible over the length of the
link to avoid total loss of gravel over portions of the link only.

4.3.2 Compaction
Good compaction produces a tightly bound gravel with optimum particle interlock, minimum permeability
and porosity and significantly increased strength.
The importance of adequate moist compaction has been clearly shown that a high degree of moist
compaction resulted in a road with a lower roughness than similar materials which were poorly
compacted in a dry condition. The roughness was much slower and gravel loss and dust emission were
significantly reduced.

A poor degree of compaction results in a low density, permeable material which ravels easily and is highly
moisture sensitive. Deep rutting, compaction under traffic, potholing, corrugations and passability
problems under soaked conditions are common problems with poorly compacted material.
4.3.3 Finish and shape
The roughness of the road is one of the most important factors influencing vehicle operating cost,
affecting contributor except depreciation. It is important therefore to make use of competent grader
operators who can provide a smooth, well-finished riding surface. A good surface after construction can
be maintained to a much better standard than a poorly finished surface.
The cross-section and shape of the road should ensure a definite crown with a cross-fall of about 3
percent. Large stones which have found their way into the gravel, should be removed and discarded at a
distance from the road to ensure that they are not bladed onto the road during routine blading or drain
clearing.
A common problem is the use of oversize material which is repeatedly rolled until it is embedded well into
the layer and often, even the subgrade. In a short time these stones and boulders protrude from the
surface, causing a rapid deterioration in the roughness and significant maintenance problems.

4.4 Drainage
Gravel roads are totally exposed to the elements and rainfall can result in significant maintenance
problems. The importance of good drainage cannot be overemphasized. The moisture content of a gravel
road is one of the few causes of problems which can be controlled by the road maintenance team.

The water in a gravel road can only come from two sources:
surface water from precipitation (including flooding);
subsurface water from high water tables, seepage, springs and capillary suction.

4.4.1 Surface water

Surface water is predominantly in the form of rain. Infiltration of this water into the surface course can
be limited by ensuring a compact, tightly bound surface course with an adequate cross-fall which removes
the water rapidly from the road surface into the side drains without causing scouring. Side drains should
only be used where natural dispersion of surface water is disrupted, as concentration of water is the root
cause of erosion. The side drains should run parallel to the road, collecting the surface water from the
pavement and shoulders and removing it through mitre drains (or turnout) as far from the road as
practically possible, where it can soak into the ground or flow into a natural drainage course without
influencing the road structure. The drains should be deep and wide enough to contain the expected water
volumes and avoid flooding of the carriageway. Their dimensions should be such that the velocity of flow
is not excessive (which results in scouring and erosion) and the intended maintenance is practical.

4.4.2 Subsurface water

Subsurface water is derived mainly from high ground-water levels (temporary or permanent) and
seepage, but occasionally springs beneath the road may be encountered, especially in cuttings. Capillary
rise of water from relatively high ground-water levels may occur in clayey soils. Subsurface drainage
problems are usually manifested as damp areas on the road surface which eventually result in potholes.
The remedial actions may require subsurface drains if the water is due to high water tables or capillary
suction, or cut-off side drains when the water seeps from areas adjacent to the road. These are, however,
not recommended as they are expensive and often require careful maintenance. The use of rock-fill
embankments is a possible alternative, but geotechnical assistance should be obtained to identify the
source of the water and propose remedial measures in the cases.
5 EQUIPMENT

5.1 Earthmoving equipment

Earthmoving equipment is used in the construction industry to:

- shift large amounts of earth,
- dig foundations, and landscape areas
5.2 Construction vehicles

Engineering or Construction vehicles are heavy-duty vehicles, specially designed for executing
construction tasks, most frequently, ones involving earth moving.

5.3 Construction equipment

REFERENCES

DPWH DESIGN GUIDELINES, CRITERIA & STANDARDS,

Volume 4 Highway Design, 2015

INTERIM PAVEMENT DESIGN GUIDE

LOCAL RESOURCE-BASED ROAD MAINTENANCE IN THE PHILIPPINES, A GUIDE

THE STRUCTURAL DEISGN, CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF UNPAVED ROADS