Title: The design of low-cost, low-volume roads in Australia
Abstract: Rural roads throughout Australia are constructed in a great range of operating environments which can vary from sub-zero to tropical. The greatest length of the road network however, is associated with inland arid or semi-arid areas which are subjected to periods of low precipitation and high evaporation frequently followed by periods of high rainfall. Locally available materials for road-making do not meet the usual road authority standards for high quality aggregates and are termed marginal, or inferior. In addition to these problems many of the subgrades within these areas are sensitive to water ingress and are termed cracking or expansive clays. Inexpensive roads constructed using local knowledge of material behaviour are able to meet rural traffic requirements without the need for importation of hard, quarried crushed rock or gravel. The formulation of locally derived specifications for specific materials allows more efficient expansion and maintenance of road networks in the more remote rural areas. The combination of hostile environment, poor subgrade and marginal construction aggregates means that the engineer must take an entrepreneurial approach when developing the rural road infrastructure. This paper outlines some of the methods used to develop and maintain a highway infrastructure for remote rural areas in Australia using the Western Queensland region for illustrative purposes.
Publication Year: 1994
Publication Date: 1994-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot