Evaluation of Experimental Flexible Pavements: Construction of Altavista Bypass Experimental Pavement

About the report:

Deflection tests conducted during the construction and shortly after the completion of a large experimental pavement project are reported. Four different pavement designs, as follows, are compared: 1. 6-inch cement stabilized subgrade, 6-inch crushed stone base, 71/2-inch bituminous concrete. 2. 6-inch cement stabilized subgrade, 91/2-inch bituminous concrete. 3. 4-inch cement stabilized crushed stone subbase, 6-inch crushed stone base, 7 1/2-inch bituminous concrete. 4. 6-inch cement stabilized subgrade, 4-inch cement stabilized crushed stone base, 5 1/2-inch bituminous concrete. The results of these early tests support the following conclusions. 1. Pavements having equivalent design parameters are not necessarily equivalent in either early structural strength or in construction costs. 2. Very early deflection tests are not good indicators of the ultimate strength characteristics of pavements having cement stabilized layers. 3. Highly resilient soils must be stabilized to achieve a good working platform and to assure the early development of design strength. 4. Design No. 4, above, develops the design structural strength more rapidly and at a lower cost than the other three designs.

Authors