Optimal pavement maintenance and management strategies for flood affected low volume rural roads

Abstract

Due to the increase in urbanization and industrial development in India, there has been substantial traffic on the existing roads. This impact had increased public demand for good quality roads with better maintenance and high serviceability. Further, catastrophic events like flooding can cause damage to pavements, especially in those with granular base layers and thin asphalt mix surface layers. The degree of damage relies upon the vulnerability of the pavement to the entrance of surface water, the measure of water immersion, and the drainage quality of the pavement. The extensive literature review found limited studies on the post-flood maintenance strategy for low-volume roads by considering flood resilience. In the present scenario of changing climatic conditions, it is necessary to conduct a study on the post-flood maintenance strategy of low-volume rural roads in India. This study focuses on an approach to developing post-flood maintenance and rehabilitation strategies for flood-affected low-volume roads. Ten road stretches adversely affected by the flood were selected to fulfil the aim of the study. The post-flood maintenance strategy was determined based on the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) and deflection-based pavement performance with flood resiliency of pavement materials and budget constraints. The extensive data analysis revealed that the pavement with a cement-treated base or subbase has a longer service life and less Net Present Value (NPV) than all other alternatives. NPV is 30 to 45 for rehabilitation and 52 to 55 for reconstruction, lower than other alternatives considered in the study.