KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY, KUMASI

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

COURSE: PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

REPORT ON THE HIGHWAY AND URBAN ROAD ANALYSIS
CIVIL ENGINEERING YEAR 2
GROUP MEMBERS
ABASS, Abdullahi Gubdanda 5854616
ANTWI, Seth Gyimah 5859416
APRAKU, Charles 5860116
BAISSANA, Joachim 5862716
BEMPONG, Kwasi Gyimah 5862816
BOTCHWAY, Nii Martey Douglas 5864016
FREMPONG, Marcia Achiaa(Miss) 5865916
KWAA OWUSU-ADANSI, Bempomaa(Miss) 5867816
MANU, Yeboah Opoku 5869216
MORRISON, Tiffany Adwapa(Miss) 5870016
NARH, Gabriel 5870116
NORMANYO, Henry 5870816
OBIRI OWUSU, Sandy 5871216
YELBERT, Oswald Tandoh 5876316
INTRODUCTION
A road is an open way, a thoroughfare or route usually surfaced with tarmac or concrete,
providing passage from a place to another. It is generally built for transportation. Roads are
classified based on their location and uses. The different types of roads are:
1) Urban roads
2) Highways
3) Feeder roads
4) collector and distributor roads
5) Arterial and sub-arterial roads, etc.

AIMS
1) To find the cross-section of a highway or urban road with its respective layers
2) To take measurements and research on the various road defects

ROAD SELECTION
The highway and urban road used in the making of this report were the Kumasi-Accra Highway
and the urban road connecting Shepherdsville to Elite College.
ROAD DEFECTS
The precise description of pavement surface defects is of primary importance when defining
surface conditions, establishing a diagnosis of the problems encountered and selecting the most
appropriate maintenance treatment. This description must be understandable to all and it is in
particular essential that engineers concerned with road maintenance have a common language for
describing what they observe on road surfaces.
There were different types of road defects we found on the urban road. In the gathering of the
data, we took information from both sides of the road using the precis meter by measuring the
distances.
There are many types of road defects. Some are:
1) Alligator cracking: This is a common type of failure of flexible pavements. This is also known
as fatigue failure. Followings are the primary causes of this type of failure.

 Relative movement of pavement layer material

 Repeated application of heavy wheel loads
 Swelling or shrinkage of subgrade or other layers due to moisture variation
Fix: Because a structural failure is taking place the only possible solution to alligator cracks is to
perform a full depth patch.

2) Consolidation of pavement layers(rutting): Ruts in asphalt pavements are channelized

depressions in the wheel-tracks. Rutting results from consolidation or lateral movement of any of
the pavement layers or the subgrade under traffic. It is caused by insufficient pavement
thickness; lack of compaction of the asphalt, stone base or soil; weak asphalt mixes or moisture
infiltration.
Fix: If rutting is minor or if it has stabilized, the depressions can be filled and overlaid. If the
deformations are severe, the rutted area should be removed and replaced with suitable material.
3) Shear failure causes upheaval of pavement material by forming a fracture or cracking.
Following are the primary causes of shear failure cracking.

 Excessive wheel loading

 Low shearing resistance of pavement mixture

Fix: Asphalt rubber, rubberized asphalt, low-modulus rubberized asphalt and self-leveling
silicone are used for crack sealing

4) Longitudinal cracking: This type of cracks extents to the full thickness of pavement.
The following are the primary causes of longitudinal cracking.

 Differential volume changes in subgrade soil

 Settlement of fill materials
 Sliding of side slopes

Fix: Crack should be filled with liquid asphalt, cutbacks and asphalt emulsions. This however is
temporary work. Asphalt rubber, rubberized asphalt, low-modulus rubberized asphalt and self-
leveling silicone are used for crack sealing. Less severe cracks measuring ½ inch or less can be
sealed to prevent moisture from entering into the subgrade. More sever cracks should be fixed by
removing the cracked pavement layer and replacing it with an overlay.

5) Lack of binding with lower layer (potholes & slippage): When there is lack of binding
between surface course and underlying layer, some portion of surface course loosens up
materials creating patches and potholes. Slippage cracking is one form of this type of failure.
Lack of prime coat or tack coat in between two layers is the primary reason behind this type of
failure.
Fix: Remove the defective material down to a stable base. Square off the edge of the hole
vertically. Dry the hole as much as possible (fiber reinforced mix often does well in wet holes).
Tack the hole with an asphalt pre-mix. Place and compact the mix.
6) Bleeding: excess bituminous binder occurring on the pavement surface causes bleeding.
Bleeding causes a shiny, glass-like, reflective surface that may be tacky to the touch. Usually
found in the wheel paths.
Fix: Minor bleeding can often be corrected by applying coarse sand to blot up the excess asphalt
binder. Major bleeding can be corrected with a motor grader or removing it with a heater planer.
If the resulting surface is excessively rough, resurfacing may be necessary.
7) Transverse cracks are single cracks perpendicular to the pavement's centerline or laydown
direction. Transverse cracks can be caused by reflective cracks from an underlying layer, daily
temperature cycles, and poor construction due to improper operation of the paver.

Fix: Crack should be filled with liquid asphalt, cutbacks and asphalt emulsions. This however is
temporary work. Asphalt rubber, rubberized asphalt, low-modulus rubberized asphalt and self-
leveling silicone are used for crack sealing. Less severe cracks measuring ½ inch or less can be
sealed to prevent moisture from entering into the subgrade. More sever cracks should be fixed by
removing the cracked pavement layer and replacing it with an overlay.

8) Depressions are localized pavement surface areas with slightly lower elevations than the
surrounding pavement. Depressions are very noticeable after a rain when they fill with water.

Fix: Depending on the severity of the depression the asphalt may have to be removed and
replaced(severe). Less severe depressions can be fixed by applying a thin surface patch or
infrared patch.

9) Shoving: Shoving is the formation of ripples across a pavement. This characteristic shape is
why this type of distress is sometimes called wash-boarding. Shoving occurs at locations having
severe horizontal stresses, such as intersections. It is typically caused by: excess asphalt; too
much fine aggregate; rounded aggregate; too soft an asphalt; or a weak granular base.
Fix: Partial or full depth patch

10) Edge step and Edge failure: Edge step is the loosening of the aggregates used in making the
asphalt on the road due to the loss of the binding material (bituminous dense material). This
leads to a gradual corrosion of the edge of the edge of the road. Edge failure is the complete
removal of aggregates and other related material from the edge of the road, sometimes eroding
all the way to the base material.

Fix: There must be resurfacing of the edge with a premixed asphalt coating. If cases are sever,
the base should be redone and compacted before surface coating.

ROAD DEFECTS FROM THE RIGHT SIDE

At 3.9m from the start point, there was a depression.
At 9.4m to 11.1m, there was a pothole.
From 11.1m to 15.6m, there was an edge step
From 18.0m to 19.6m, there was a depression.
From 19.6m to 47.9m, there was an edge failure interspersed with potholes and longitudinal
cracks.
From 47.9m to 54.2m, there was a depression.
From 58.1m to 64.0m there was rutting and shoving.
From 64.0m to 68.9m, there was an edge failure.
From 81.6m to 95.0m, there was an edge failure.

ROAD DEFECTS FROM THE LEFT SIDE

At 5m to 6.4m there was a pothole.
At 7.9m to 9.4m, there was a pothole.
At 7.9m to 13.2m, there was an edge failure with an accompanying transverse crack.
At 13.2m to 15.4m, there was a pothole and edge failure.
At 32.4m to 33.6m, there was a depression.
At 33.6m to 35.0m, there was an edge failure.
At 35.5m to 37m, there was a pothole.
At 39.2m to 43m, there was a longitudinal crack.
At 42m to 53.7m there was an edge failure.
At 54m to 73.7m, there was an edge failure.
At 81.0m to 82.5m, there was an edge step.
 Examples of the Various Road Defects Observed on Site

ROAD DESIGN AND PAVEMENT LAYERS

Typical layers of a conventional flexible pavement includes seal coat, surface course, tack coat,
binder course, prime coat, base course, sub-base course, compacted sub-grade, and natural sub-
grade (Figure 1).
Seal coat is a thin surface treatment used to water-proof the surface and to provide skid
resistance.
Tack coat is a very light application of asphalt, usually asphalt emulsion diluted with water. It
provides proper bonding between two layer of binder course and must be thin, uniformly cover
the entire surface, and set very fast.
Prime coat is an application of low viscous cutback bitumen to an absorbent surface like
granular bases on which binder layer is placed. It provides bonding between two layers. Unlike
tack coat, prime coat penetrates into the layer below, plugs the voids, and forms a water tight
surface.

Figure 1: Typical cross section of a flexible pavement

Surface course is the layer directly in contact with traffic loads and generally contains superior
quality materials. They are usually constructed with dense graded asphalt concrete(AC).
Binder course:
This layer provides the bulk of the asphalt concrete structure. It's chief purpose is to distribute
load to the base course The binder course generally consists of aggregates having less asphalt
and doesn't require quality as high as the surface course, so replacing a part of the surface course
by the binder course results in more economical design.
Base course:
The base course is the layer of material immediately beneath the surface of binder course and it
provides additional load distribution and contributes to the sub-surface drainage It may be
composed of crushed stone, crushed slag, and other untreated or stabilized materials.
Subbase course:
The sub-base course is the layer of material beneath the base course and the primary functions
are to provide structural support, improve drainage, and reduce the intrusion of fines from the
sub-grade in the pavement structure If the base course is open graded, then the sub-base course
with more fines can serve as a filler between sub-grade and the base course A sub-base course is
not always needed or used. For example, a pavement constructed over a high quality, stiff sub-
grade may not need the additional features offered by a sub-base course. In such situations, sub-
base course may not be provided.
Sub-grade:
The top soil or sub-grade is a layer of natural soil prepared to receive the stresses from the layers
above. It is essential that at no time soil sub-grade is overstressed. It should be compacted to the
desirable density, near the optimum moisture content.
METHOD USED IN TAKING MEASUREMENTS
A precis meter was used in taking the measurements of the road; both transvers and longitudinal
measurements wile a measuring tape was used in measurement of the depth of the drains.
 REFERENCES
HMA Pavement Mix Type Selection Guide. IS 128. National Asphalt Pavement Association and
Federal Highway Administration. Lanham, MD and Washington D.C. respectively.↵
http://nptel.ac.in/courses/105101087/19-Ltexhtml/p6/p.html
http://civilblog.org/2015/09/18/10-different-types-of-failures-of-flexible-pavement/