Highway Maintenance An Overview:
A well-built highway that is suited for a specific category would require very little highway maintenance. The type and level of maintenance required would be determined by the degree of deterioration of the pavement, with ‘roughness' being the most common road feature used to determine this.
It is commonly noticed that the roughness of road over time under traffic reflects its deterioration. The cost of using the road rises as the roughness rises. The national and local economies both benefit from safe and efficient operations.
What is the purpose of highway maintenance?
The word "highway maintenance" refers to a wide variety of general activities that can be classified as follows:
- Responding to inspections, complaints, or emergencies, such as patching potholes and cleaning and repairing damage caused by traffic accidents, is an example of reactive maintenance in highway engineering.
- Surface patching, cycle tasks such as grass cutting, weed spraying, gulley cleaning, road sweeping, and upkeep of planted areas and trees within the roadway are all part of routine maintenance.
- Surface dressing, resurfacing, strengthening, or reconstruction of roads or footways are examples of programmed maintenance. It also incorporates kerbing and improved road drainage.
- Winter Services are tasked with keeping the network secure by salting and clearing ice and snow.
- Weather and other events affecting the roadway network require an immediate response.
- Regulating and inspecting other people's activity on the road network
The Purpose of Road Maintenance
- Reducing deterioration
- Lowering vehicle running expenses
- Maintaining access to the road
- Safety
- Environmental concerns
Possible Precaution:
In road engineering, there are a few things to keep in mind while the roadway design is being built. Here are a few examples:
1. A sufficient highway drainage system with a design flow that can last the duration of the project should be provided. If the road does not have such a facility, it can cause the water table to increase and compromise the pavement foundations. Also, because the area includes field and agriculture fields, there is a higher water input that must be removed or the subgrade will be jeopardized.
2. To successfully remove rainwater, a proper slope should be provided on the road surface.
3. Construction materials should be located close to the project site to avoid delays in the construction process.
4. To ensure that the materials arrive at the site at the exact moment that they are required, neither earlier nor later.
5. In the case of asphalting, the temperature at the time of material laying should be within acceptable limits and in accordance with industry norms.
6. The pavement should be designed to withstand the maximum expected axle load in a given zone, and no more than that load should be permitted to travel through it. In Pakistan, the axle loads for which the roads were constructed are often carried out at regular intervals.
7. The most crucial item to observe is the bitumen grade. The selection of the right grade of bitumen is difficult since proper grading criteria should be used in accordance with climate conditions.
8. To avoid rutting failure, avoid driving in the same lane for long periods of time.
9. In highway design, proper compaction is critical to success.
10. If the soil is lacking in strength, it should be supplemented with chemicals. If necessary, dirt can also be imported from other locations.
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Author: Rajib Dey
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