In-situ performance assessment of low volume roads in three districts of Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

This study represents the largest of its kind to evaluate the Rural Road Pavement Performance (RRPPS) in Andhra Pradesh in co-operation with the National Rural Roads Development Agency (NRRDA), for sponsoring the research project. Rural roads not only account for a major portion of national road networks, but also play a very vital role in the socio-economic growth of a country. Realizing this fact, in the present study an attempt has been made to assess the condition of rural road under varied climatic and environment conditions to assess their performance. To fulfill the objectives three districts namely Warangal, Guntur and Kurnool were selected for pavement evaluation study purpose. Based on the extensive field study and analysis it is concluded that rutting values over a season increases. This is due to the ingress of moisture content in base sub base and sub-grade layers. A correlation between the allowable number of Load repetitions to limit permanent deformation and compressive vertical strain on the top of the sub-grade was developed. Further it is observed that most of the roads have Pavement Serviceability Index (PSI) values below two indicating the need for immediate maintenance. Finally a model to predict the distress and condition ratings of the pavement was proposed.