Road Pavement Design for the Pacific Region - Desk Research on the Use of Locally Available Materials.
The study aims to investigate options to engineer the use of locally available pavement materials to improve pavement quality, resilience and sustainability, as well as reduce the overall whole-of-life cost of road construction and maintenance. The report explores the extent to which locally available pavement materials can be used to construct resilient low volume roads. It also sets out factors to ensure success, which include ongoing training and support, coupled with use of appropriately-scaled and resourced pavement investigation, design, material supply and processing; sound road construction practices; and knowledge of local materials and their applicability and limitations.
The study focuses on effective use of local materials and resources for improvement of low volume roads (both unsealed and sealed). However, it is stressed that while the use of more robust, cost effective and stable materials is important, proper asset maintenance is also needed to minimize whole-of-life costs and ensure sustainability.
The ideas presented in this report will require corroboration from in-field trials and performance monitoring to determine the long-term sustainability of the pavements. Trials will be conducted in association with one of the PRIF partner's projects in the near future. The resulting information database containing relevant feedback on processes and costs that can be linked to ongoing project performance reviews will enable local engineers to reasonably evaluate material and design options, and to develop and implement ongoing country-based training and support for pavement design and maintenance.
