| Author | Kunzang Wangdi |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no. TE-95-05 |
| Subject(s) | Roads--Bhutan--Maintenance and repair
|
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of
Engineering, School of Civil Engineering
|
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. TE-95-05 |
| Abstract | Most of Bhutan's road network comprising of more than 3000 km of highways, district
and feeder roads is deteriorating at a much faster pace than it can be repaired. Lack of
experience in road maintenance and shortage of funds further contributes to increased
deterioration. The East-West Highway in particular has suffered considerable deterioration
since its construction in the early eighties. Indeed, the tasks of road construction and
maintenance are difficult owing to Bhutan's rugged mountainous terrain. At present
maintenance needs are decided largely on the basis of past experience rather than on a
systematic needs appraisal. The lack of a rational system for pavement evaluation has made
PWD rely heavily on past experiences in deciding the maintenance needs. This study presents
a method for evaluation of pavement condition based on Pavement Condition Index procedure
with particular reference to the maintenance of the East-West Highway.
Detailed pavement distress data on the highway stretch between Semtokha to Nobding
covering a distance of 95 Km were collected using visual method. For the purpose of analyses
this highway section was grouped into two categories depending on the existing surface types.
The first group contained 82 pavement sections with premix surface dressing application and
the second group comprised of 13 sections with surface dressing application. The pavement
condition index (PCI) for each section was determined using the "deduct value" approach. The
deduct value represents the amount of deterioration suffered by each designated pavement
section.
Regression analyses were conducted to establish the pavement deterioration parameters
for premix surfacing and surface dressing applications. Adopting the PCI terminal value of 60
as the service life the service life of the premix surface application was found to be 8 years
whereas that for surface treatment application was about 6 years. The annual maintenance cost
for premix surface pavement was found to be lower than that for surface treatment pavement,
implying that in the long run premix surface application is cheaper. A matrix of maintenance
costs for various PCI ranges was developed from the maintenance unit costs and the surface
density matrix. A fiercest of future maintenance funds requirement was made for a five year
planning period (1996-2000) by predicting the pavement condition index in the succeeding
years of the planning horizon.
An attempt was made to compare the cracking predicted by the PCI method and the
cracking progression simulated by HDM-111. The cracking progression simulated by HOM-III
was found to be significantly higher than that predicted by the PCI method. However this is a
subject of further research. |
| Year | 1996 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. TE-95-05 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Civil Engineering |
| Department | Department of Civil and Infrastucture Engineering (DCIE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Transportation Engineering (TE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Chen, Jian-Shiuh; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Morisugi, Hisa;Bergado Dennes Taganahan; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Bhutan-Netherlands Bilateral Sustainable
Development Project; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1996 |