Low Cost Roads

LOW COST ROADS
LOW COST ROAD
• A low cost road is a road constructed at low cost and capable of being maintained at low
cost.
• A very large proportion of roads in all the countries is not subjected to a large quantity of
traffic to justify large expenditures for improvement and the proper utilization of low-cost,
low-type wearing surface becomes very important in their development.
• The construction of low cost roads consists of maximum use of materials found in the vicinity
of the roads.
• Laboratory procedures designed to test the properties of materials will help to accomplish
the goals.
VARIOUS LOW COST ROADS
 Natural Soil Roads:

• For low volume roads, natural soil from sides of the road is bladed to the centre to form
a crown with a ditch along each side to which water drains.
• The surface is dusty and rutting occurs quickly. As a result crown gets destroyed and
water pockets are formed on the surface easily.
• Stability of road bed can be preserved by distribution of traffic over the full width of road
which can be achieved by providing a moderate crown of 4 to 6 cm per m.
• Minimum formation width of 5 m has been recommended by IRC for village roads and 7
m for other district roads.
 Natural Soil Treated Roads:

• A natural soil bladed road can be improved considerably by treatment with bitumen calcium chloride.
• 2 litres per square m of bituminous material is applied by a pressure distributor directly to the surface and
allowed to penetrate without any cover.
• As soon as this application has soaked in, a second application of the same material in the amount 1 to 2 litres
per sq m is applied and is left to be absorbed without cover.
• The surface should be watched and the road may be opened to traffic when this application has been observed.
• Additional applications of 0.5 to 1 litres per sq m may be applied on the road from time to time as needed
 Natural Soil Treated Roads:

• In the case of clay subgrades, good results can be obtained by treatment with bituminous material and
thin blotter of gravel and gravelly sand.
• For treatment of highly capillary clay liable to be waterlogged, a bituminous seal with hot application of
asphalt cement of penetration 250 at the rate of 2 to 3 litres per sq m is provided 30 cm below the
finished surface of the road.
• After it is cooled, a 30 mm layer of earth is placed and consolidated and further treated with bituminous
material and blotter.
 Roads of other Local Materials:

• It is likely that at places where hard stone required in Water Bound Macadam is not economically
available, there are large deposits of naturally occurring soft aggregates which can be used for low cost
roads.
• All these materials are low in wear resistance, may become dusty and rut under traffic. They are
sometimes covered with a heavier treatment of a hard crushed stone or gravel to add to their wear
resistance.
• They can also be improved by light oil or chloride treatment.
• For higher intensity traffic, bituminous surface treatment or carpet coat can be laid over the surface.
Suitable and easily processed local materials for low cost roads are mentioned below:
Kankar:
It is an impure form of limestone which exists in hard or soft form. The hard type occurs in nodular form and the
soft variety occurs in layers.
Good kankar is as strong as some of the stones but weak kankar can be easily broken when allowed to fall from a
height of 0.5m to 1m.This material has been successfully used in low-cost road construction in India.
Kankar used in base courses, is 8 to 10cm in size. For wearing courses, which are generally about 10 cm thick, the
material generally used is of 63 to 53mm size.
Kankar is generally consolidated during rainy season, as plenty of water is needed for consolidation.
Moorums:
They are iron-stone gravels mixed with red clay, resulting from disintegration of rocks by weathering
agencies.
Laterites:
When recovered, it is soft to cut. After exposure to the air for a few months, it becomes hard due to
formation of hydrated iron oxides. They are perforated and cellular in structure having deep brown red
colour. Laterites can be used in Water Bound macadam type of construction.
Slag:
In regions where blast furnace slag is readily available, low cost roads may be built of slag using method
similar to water bound macadam.The depth of slag is usually 15 cm to 20 cm.
Volcanic Cinders:
Volcanic cinders occur widely in many countries e.g. Japan, U.S.A. etc and for long have been employed
in the construction of low-cost roads. This aggregate is pre-coated either with a matrix of clay and
water, or a bituminous sand slurry and consolidated by rolling with 3 to 5 tonne roller.
Shells:
Deposits of oyster, clam and similar shells, usually obtained by dredging can be used as surfacing
for low-cost roads. The mud that is dredged with the shells serve as binder. When the traffic is
heavy, the surface should be protected by a bituminous treatment or stabilized with Portland
Cement.
Low Grade Iron Ore:
Consisting of Haematite or Limonite used in construction similar to water or traffic-bound
macadam and having high natural cementing value, it compacts and binds together to form a firm
and smooth surface.
 Well burnt brick and brick aggregate pavements:

• In India, wherever good hard road building materials are not available or are costly as they have to be carried
from a very long distance.
• Well burnt bricks have been used as base course and well burnt or over-burnt crushed brick aggregates have
been used as wearing course.
• Well burnt or slightly over-burnt bricks have also been laid as paving material which may be protected with
bituminous surface treatment or carpet coat as the increased traffic demands.
• Due to necessity of using a cheaper and suitable road material in modernization work over existing kankar
surface. Over burnt brick ballast produced from bricks has been used quite extensively in place of stone
metal in U.P. for the last several years.
• The other alternative for construction of low-cost roads using bricks is to lay brick
pavement either direct on the subgrade where it is feasible or to use such bricks for
modernization purposes by laying them on an existing kankar or other soft aggregate
surface with sand or earth cushion and then leaving the surface as such under traffic and
provide a bituminous surface treatment as the traffic conditions demand.
Advantages of brick pavement:

• The surface is dust free.
• Relaying can be earned out any time of the year and can be so programmed as these
utilize the village labour during slack season.
• Maintenance cost is low
• Does not need water for consolidation.
Over burnt brick aggregate:

• The bricks used for this purpose are over burnt and not merely well burnt. A 50kg sample should conform to
the following requirements:
1. The whole quantity to pass through a screen 12.5mm bigger than the specified gauge.
2. Not more than 25% to pass through a screen 12.5mm smaller than the specified.
3. No portion to pass through a screen having square meshes 40mm smaller than the specified gauge.
The usual thickness of base course is 10cm loose and size of aggregate used is 40 mm to 50mm.
• Construction method for brick pavements:

1. If brick pavements are laid on old surface foundation, any variations in the old surface are first corrected by
levelling up with water bound macadam or other suitable material.
2. Before laying bricks, locally available soil can be used as a levelling or bedding course over the old surface
and also in filling the joints between the bricks.
3. Brick pavements may consist of flat brick (8cm) or brick-on-edge (11cm).
4. Three types of bonds are adopted: Herring bone bond, Header bond and stretcher bond
5.The brick pavement may be protected with bituminous surface treatment.

6. Brick joints may sometimes be filled with bituminous material, but this is however expensive and is often
used for high-type brick pavement.
7. Regarding use of over-burnt brick aggregate, the material is spread on the road to the required thickness,
proper camber and grade provided and is compacted like water-bound macadam with 6 to 8 tonnes roller.
8. Necessary clay or other binding soil is added to fill up the voids.

Low Cost Roads

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LOW COST ROADS

LOW COST ROAD

 Natural Soil Roads:

 Natural Soil Treated Roads:

 Natural Soil Treated Roads:

 Roads of other Local Materials:

 Well burnt brick and brick aggregate pavements:

Advantages of brick pavement:

Over burnt brick aggregate:

• Construction method for brick pavements:

5.The brick pavement may be protected with bituminous surface treatment.

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