ROAD PAVEMENT FAILURE INDUCED BY POOR SOIL PROPERTIES ALONG GOMBI-BIU HIGHWAY, NIGERIA

Hijab Mahmoud¹, Zaynab A.  Belel¹ and Hadi A.  Abba²

Department of Civil Engineering, Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola

²Department of Civil Engineering, Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna State

E-mail: hijabmahmoud@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

This article investigates highway pavement failure on critical locations due to poor soil properties along Gombi – Biu Road. Visual observation of the affected areas revealed substantial structural failure. Laboratory test results of the disturbed soil samples collected from the failed sections of the road showed that the natural soil moisture ranged from 7.0% to 15.9%, the liquid limits and Plasticity Indexes did not conform to specification. The CBR values ranged from 5.1% to 31.1% indicating poor soil or strong reduction in the strength of the soil materials used in the construction of the road. Excess fines and very low liquid limit values combined with a very low CBR value to cause the failure of the pavement at this locality. The geotechnical properties indicated substandard paving properties for Nigerian roads. Therefore, soil stabilization is suggested to improve the strength of the soil and prolong the useful life and durability of the road.

Keywords: Pavement, Materials, Failure.