Pavement Assessment of Farm Roads in Bhutan

Authors

  • Narayan Dungana Master’s in Civil Engineering, University of Sannio, Benevento 82100, Italy
  • Tashi Dubjur Assistant Engineer (Civil), Tangsibji Hydro Energy Limited, Trongsa, Bhutan

Keywords:

Farm road, pavement, distress, level of severity, subjective assessment, California Bearing Ratio (CBR).

Abstract

A subjective assessment was carried out to study the present condition of farm road pavements in Bhutan. Three farm roads, each in Phuentsholing, Tsirang and Paro were selected for the study, taking into considerations the road environment parameters. A subjective approach of evaluation was adopted for the study. The total of 12km stretch of farm roads were segmented into unit of one kilometer and every distress parameter data was collected in an assessment form. The results were analyzed to identify the conditioning factors for deterioration of the pavement of farm roads. The results obtained from three different farm roads were also compared to study the impact of pavement layer, climate, soil type and terrain on the performance of the pavement of farm roads. The constructional defect was identified as one of the main contributors for the failure of the pavement of farm roads. The degree of distresses was compared with some of the standard rating criteria and most of the distresses were found to contribute to the poor performance of the pavement. Accordingly, some areas of improvement were prioritized for immediate implementation for the construction of upcoming farm roads in the nation.

References

[1]. Ministry of Agriculture. “Technical Guidelines for the Construction of Farm Roads”, Bhutan, 2009.
[2]. Ministry of Agriculture. “Technical Specifications and Standard Drawings for the Construction of Farm Roads”, Bhutan, 2009.
[3]. Ministry of Agriculture. “Guidelines for Farm Road Development”, Bhutan, 2009.
[4]. Cook, J. R. and Petts, R. C. “Rural Road Gravel Assessment Programme Module 4”, SEACAP 4, Vietnam, pp. 14, 2005.
[5]. Hearn, G. J. Slope Engineering for Mountain Roads, Geological Society, -London, Engineering Geology Special Publication, 2001, pp. 1-6.
[6]. Namgyal, G. “Farm Roads Blocked as the Monsoon Peaks”, Kuensel, Bhutan, (Jan 2, 2013).
[7]. Figueroa, C. “Assessment Procedures for Gravel road”. Purdue University. (April, 2013).
[8]. Paige-Green, P. “Appropriate Roads for Rural Access”. CSIR Built Environment, PO Box 395. Pretoria, South Africa, 2005.

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Published

2016-06-29

How to Cite

Dungana, N., & Dubjur, T. (2016). Pavement Assessment of Farm Roads in Bhutan. American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences, 21(1), 91–98. Retrieved from https://asrjetsjournal.org/index.php/American_Scientific_Journal/article/view/1735

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Articles