Concrete Pavements for Climate Resilient Low-Volume Roads in Pacific Island Countries

Abstract

In pursuit of economic and social development objectives, governments of Pacific Island Countries (PICs) desire to upgrade unpaved low-volume roads (LVRs) for the improvement in connectivity and quality of life associated with all weather-access. Whilst the benefits are clear, the capital cost of conventional pavement technology and the recurrent cost of maintenance make it hard to justify the required investment in upgrading LVRs. Typical LVRs are surfaced with a bituminous chip seal or a thin asphalt concrete (AC) layer on processed aggregate base and subbase courses. Constructing such pavements in PICs is expensive, given the scarcity of aggregate of requisite quality, relatively limited domestic road construction capacity, and scale diseconomies in the use of equipment, plant and materials. Moreover, vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change necessitates consideration of more resilient paving alternatives. The findings of the study suggest that there is substantial promise for concrete pavements to be used for low-volume (<400 vehicles a day) roads. Four different types of concrete pavement were assessed including the strengths, weaknesses and operations and maintenance (O and M) implications of each pavement type. Although prepared primarily for the PICs, the study provides valuable insights and technical guidance on the application of concrete pavements for LVRs in other regions outside of the Pacific Islands.